Connecting to Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services(SSAS) data source
Bold BI supports connecting Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) database using the SQL MDX Query (C# API).
Choose a Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) data source
To configure the Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) data source, follow these steps:
-
Click the Data Sources button in the configuration panel to add a new data connection.
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Click CREATE NEW to launch a new connection from the connection panel.
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Select the Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services connection in the connection panel.
NOTE: You can also create a data source from the home page by clicking on the Data Sources menu on the left menu panel and selecting Create Data Source from the data sources page.
Connect to Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS)
Create a Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) data source
After clicking on the data source, the NEW DATA SOURCE configuration panel opens. Follow the steps to create a Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) data source:
-
Enter a name and description (optional) for the data source.
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Enter a valid SSAS server (Syncfusion supports both multi-dimensional tabular mode connection) or host name in the Server name text box.
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Choose None, Windows Authentication, or Server Authentication in the Authentication Mechanism combo box.
-
Enter a valid SSAS server username and password, if you choose Server Authentication Mechanism.
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Select the database you want to query from the listed databases associated with the given SSAS Server in the Database combo box.
In future, you can edit the connection information using the Edit Connection option.
Connect using custom attribute and dashboard parameter
We have added support for custom attributes and dashboard parameters in the data source connection. You can now connect to the data source using custom attributes or dashboard parameters.
Custom Attribute
Dashboard Parameter
Note: Refer to the Dashboard Parameter Documentation and Custom Attributes Documentation for more details.
Cube customization
IMPORTANT: The code view and join operation are not supported, and the buttons are always in a disabled state. Additionally, data preview is also not supported for the dragged cube.
- Click Connect to connect to the SSAS server with the configured details.
The available list of Cubes is displayed in a treeview for the selected database, which are retrieved from the SSAS server.
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In the data design view page, drag and drop the cube.
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Syncfusion only supports conversion from String to Date. You can convert the string to date format and then use this column in filter and widget operations.
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Click Save to save the data source with a relevant name.
Connect to expression designer
The Expression Designer is used to create a calculated field or column based on the field(s) or column(s) in the selected cube(s).
Supported expression list
| Function Type | Function Name | Numbers | ABS, ACOS, ASIN, ATAN, COS, DEGREES, EXP, LOG, PI, POWER, RADIAN, ROUND, SIGN, SIN, SQRT, TAN |
|---|---|
| Aggregation | AVG, COUNT, COUNTD, MAX, MIN, STDEV, SUM, VAR |
| Logical | AND, OR, NOT |
| Conditional | IF, IFNULL, ISNULL, ISNOTNULL |
| Date | NOW, DATESUB, DATEADD, TODAY |
| String | CHAR, LEN, LEFT, RIGHT, LTRIM, RTRIM |
Query filters or Initial filters
Query filters can be used to filter data for the created data source. For example, if you want to create a data source to display share market data only for the year 2018, then you can utilize this filter.
You can configure the filter by dragging the required columns to the right side canvas.
The condition can be defined based on two options:
- Custom
- Parameters
- Custom Attributes
Custom
In Custom, The Values will be listed.Select the values and Configure.
Parameters
Filter the records based on the dashboard parameter values. This allows for dynamically changing the parameter values in both view and preview modes.
Click on the Parameters option as shown below.
Select the desired parameter lists from the dropdown menu. The first parameter will be selected by default.
To create parameters, follow the instructions provided in configuring dashboard parameters
Custom Attributes
Similar to the Parameters, we can configure the filters with Custom Attributes
To create Custom Attributes, follow the instructions provided in configuring custom attribute
Connecting through MDX query
You can connect to the data source of specific data connections through a custom MDX Query. By default, the data design view opens in the design view. Switch to the code view by enabling the toggle option in the tools pane in the data design view, as shown in the following image.
This will open the query editor window as follows.
In the Query Editor Window, you can enter the MDX Query, which helps access table schema information. After entering your query, click the Run button in the tools pane.
You can also view the data for your query at the bottom of the Query Editor by clicking Update.
Features Limitations:
When using the Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services data source, not all the features provided in Bold BI work the same as with relational data sources, or they may not even be available.
The following table lists the differences.
| Feature | Support Availability |
|---|---|
| Extract Mode connection | Not applicable |
| Aggregating Value Columns Based on Fields | Not applicable |
| Data Sampling | Not applicable |
| Dynamic connection string | Not applicable |
| Shared Tables | Not applicable |
| Joining Tables | Not applicable |
| User Filter | Not applicable |
| Preview Data source | Not applicable |
| Expressions |
Please find supported expression items here. Below Expression items are not available in the Expression Module. Numbers: COT, CEIL, FLOOR Aggregation: AVGD, TOTAL, SUMD Conditional: COALESCE Date: CURRENT YEAR, CURRENT MONTH, DATEDIFF, DATENAME, DATEPART, DAY, DAYDIFF, HOUR, MINUTE, MONTH, PREVIOUSMONTH, PREVIOUS YEAR, YEAR, YESTERDAY String: CONCAT, CONTAINS, ENDSWITH, LOWER, MAX, MIN, REPLACE, STARTSWITH, SUBSTR, TRIM, UPPER Row: RUNNING COUNT, RUNNING AVG, RUNNING MAX, RUNNING MIN, RUNNING SUM |
| Sorting | Field based sorting support not available |
| Customizing Tooltip | Support available for Measure fields |
| Formatting Columns | Renaming column support not available and date, string to integer, integer to string, date type conversion support not available. |
| Code view support | Support available for tables Internal Queries |
Notes: We have provided the code view mode support in SQL Server Analysis Services using subselects.
Subselects have the following Limitations:
• Usage of “WITH” and “DAX” queries is restricted and will be provided in the future through extract mode.
• The WHERE clause does not filter the subspace.
• The WHERE clause changes the default member in the sub-cube only.
• The NON-EMPTY clause is not allowed in an axis clause; use a filter (MDX) function expression instead.
• The HAVING clause is not allowed in an axis clause. Use a filter (MDX) function expression instead.
For reference, click on the this documentation.
Connecting Bold BI to Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services(SSAS) via REST API
Prerequisites
Type while creating the data source needs to be ssas.
Parameters for creating Data Source
| Parameters | Details |
|---|---|
| Servername required | `string` Server name or Host name of the connection |
| IntegratedSecurity optional | `string` This is used to specify the authentication mechanism. You need to provide "true" for Windows Authentication and "false" for Basic Authentication. default value is false |
| Username optional | `string` A valid username is required if Integrated Security is not provided or is set to false. |
| Password optional | `string` A valid Password is required if Integrated Security is not provided or is set to false. |
| Database required | `string` database which needs to be connected |
| Schemaname required for table mode | `string` Enter a valid Schemaname. Need to provide this as Cubes. |
| Tablename required for table mode | `string` Enter a valid Tablename |
| Query required for code view mode | `string` Enter a valid Query |
| Impersonate optional | `boolean` Enable or disable user impersonation. By default, it is false. |
| AdvancedSettings optional | `string` Additional optional connection parameters can be provided. By default, it is empty. |
| CommandTimeout optional | `string` Enter a valid Timeout for connection. By default, it is 300 |
| Expressions optional | `Array of Objects` |
Parameters for adding expressions when creating Data Source
| Parameters | Details |
|---|---|
| Name required | `string` Name of the Expression |
| Expression required | `string`
Expression
|
Parameters for editing Data Source
NOTE: To edit a Data Source via API, all parameters are optional. Only provide the parameter that needs to be changed.
Parameters for modifying expressions when editing Data Source
| Parameters | Details |
|---|---|
| Name required | `string` Name of the Expression |
| Expression required | `string`
Expression
|
| Action optional | `string` add/delete/edit By default, it is add. |
| NewName optional | `string` For renaming the expression. This is applicable only if the Action is edit |
Connection Sample for Table Mode
For creating connection:
"Connection":
{
"Servername": "string",
"IntegratedSecurity": "false",
"Username": "string",
"Password": "string",
"Database": "string",
"Schemaname": "Cubes",
"Tablename": "string",
"Impersonate": "false",
"AdvancedSettings": "string",
"CommandTimeout": "300",
"Expressions" : [{
"Name": "Expression1",
"Expression" : "SUM(numeric expression)"
},
{
"Name": "Expression2",
"Expression" : "UPPER(string expression)"
}]
}
For editing connection:
"Connection":
{
"Servername": "string",
"IntegratedSecurity": "false",
"Username": "string",
"Password": "string",
"Database": "string",
"Schemaname": "Cubes",
"Tablename": "string",
"Impersonate": "false",
"AdvancedSettings": "string",
"CommandTimeout": "300",
"Expressions" : [{
"Name": "Expression1",
"Expression" : "SUM(numeric expression)",
"NewName" : "Sum",
"Action": "edit"
},
{
"Name": "Expression2",
"Expression" : "UPPER(string expression)"
"Action": "delete"
}]
}
Connection Sample for Code View Mode
"Connection":
{
"Servername": "string",
"IntegratedSecurity": "false",
"Username": "string",
"Password": "string",
"Database": "string",
"Query": "string",
"Impersonate": "false",
"AdvancedSettings": "string",
"CommandTimeout": "300",
"Expressions" : [{
"Name": "Expression1",
"Expression" : "SUM(numeric expression)"
},
{
"Name": "Expression2",
"Expression" : "UPPER(string expression)"
}]
}