I bought this book because I was facing a few specific problems while implementing Analysis Services. This book did not help much there. As I was reading, I found that this book does have great content on the design of MS-AS2005. It's a great reference book to have handy because it consolidates information in one book and often describes the motivations for certain designs. Likewise, the book never discussed the significant missing feature in the product, nor workarounds to handle some of the very common requirements. That, while not surprising given the authors are from Microsoft design team, is not helpful.

Ultimately I don't regret buying this book, but don't expect it to solve many of your challenging problems. The materials in this book should have been included in the original product documentations!

I came from the world of Hyperion Essbase and decided to switch to Microsoft SQL Server Analysis services. The SQL server books online seemed to be lacking in some details (or examples) and other SSAS printed books seem to be more of the beginner level books or step by step tutorial books. They are good to start with but not deep enough. If you are just starting in the BI and OLAP world, get those books first.

This book is not a general BI book and is more specific to SSAS details. Because of my prior understanding of of data warehousing and OLAP, I was able to build SSAS cubes in no time but there were some lingering questions on how do I do this in SSAS (compared to doing it in Essbase) and other low level details. This is the only SSAS book that I found so far that goes into enough details of SSAS that no other book goes into.

If you are just starting with Microsoft BI and need to learn the concepts of data warehousing (star and snowflake schema), OLAP, ETL and SSIS, get one of the other books first. Then do the SSAS books online tutorials. Once you are ready to dig deeper into SSAS and build enterprise class analysis services cubes, this book would be a great help.

Here is a quote from Nigel Pendse of The OLAP Report in the foreword of this book:
"This book is not intended to teach new users how to use Analysis Services 2005; it is for technically competent implementers who want to make the most of Analysis Services by understanding how it really works..."

If you must, avoid this book. Looks like they threw in all chapters in a bin and did a pot luck. No flow whatsoever. Only good for quick lookup. But then you have MSDN. I am utterly dissappointed

I have read 3 SQL 2005 Business Intelligence books and this one is the best by far. For one, it provides a working sample SQL 2005 Business Intelligence Project Solution. This solution is a predesigned HOLAP. The OLTP database is also provided.

The level of expertise of the authors is very high. They go into granular detail on the architecture of the SQL 2005 BI (but not as much as I have liked). They also go into details on how one can improve the performance of SQL 2005 BI. Administration and security features are also covered. It was little weak on ETL (SSIS) but that topic has few thick books of its own.

SQL 2005 Business Intelligence is very different (conceptually and architecturally) from its SQL 2005 OLTP counterpart. It is not an exaggeration to say they are completely different products integrated into one. If you have no previous BI background, then expect a steep learning curve.

I highy recommend this book for anyone who is interested in learning SQL 2005 BI.

Here are the contents:

1)Introduction
2)Creating Multidimensional Models
3)Using MDX
4)Creating Data Warehouse
5)Bringing Data into Analysis Services
6)Analysis Server Architecture
7)Accessing Data in Analysis Services
8)Security
9)Management

As a professional consultant for microsoft, I know what a good book on SSAS look like and this book is a great book compared to many other ones. I want in depth coverage for the saavy professional so I bought it and read it cover to cover. I used this as a reference guide when I'm stuck on some design issues. This book has helped me delivered many projects for large customers.

I wish we have a new version for SSAS 2008 !!! (the author informed me that he's considering it !!! and this is great news).

I agree with a previous reviewer that you should not use this book to learn Analysis Services. Read another book for that, then come to this book if you need a more in depth theoretical understanding of the product.

However I have to emphasize that the book is a very difficult read. I don't know how to say it better than that - it requires intense concentration to try and read through it and understand, and even then it's not easy. I would have preferred more clear examples that explained what they're talking about.

I can't recommend this book simply due to the difficulty of reading it. It should have been written in a more accessible, clearer way. I believe only the most determined readers will complete the book.

Again it does have some excellent in depth information on the product and why it was designed as it was, and gives a different perspective on everything which is indeed valuable - it's just hard to read, which in my opinion is a huge flaw.

Don't use this book to learn Analysis Services. Use this book as a reference after you have already learned Analysis Services from other books such as the ones by Teo Lachev or Reed Jacobson. This book doesn't even attempt to explain what a Dimension is, what an Attribute is etc. Instead it gives you DDL (XML) dumps for those things. Concepts are not explained using examples. I still gave it 2 stars because it has some programming info that other books do not have, and is good as a reference book for Analysis Services experts.

If you're serious about using Analysis Services this book is a must have. No other book gives you as much detail about inner workings of MSAS 2005, period. Anything less than 5 stars would be unfair. Nor can we expect anyone to know MSAS better than the people who wrote it.

Having said that, however, you should keep the following in mind:

1. This book is not for beginners. If you need MSAS "click here" type of book, look elsewhere. I really wish this book had been condensed a bit so it would be more focused on advanced material. My guess is that the authors were trying to capture a wider audience. If you're just now trying to build your first cube, come back to this book in 6 months.

2. Although the book gives a great deal of detail about the inner workings of MSAS it does NOT tell you exact steps for tuning your solutions. There is a severe shortage of case studies documenting how you can tune / scale MSAS applications. For now we're limited to performance guides and white papers which are typically shallow and too general. Unfortunately this book does not fill the void. Much like knowing the structure of system tables won't make you a great SQL DBA, knowledge of MSAS storage structures doesn't immediately help with building great solutions. However, the knowledge of internals does help you wrap your brain around how the product works.

3. The writing is sometimes hard to follow. This is not a novel you should be reading before falling asleep, so let's not be too picky. For the next edition it probably wouldn't hurt to have more professional writers on the team.

4. This is not an MDX book. There are several chapters on MDX, but I'd recommend scanning through these relatively quickly. There is still not a book that measures up to MDX Solutions (Spofford, et al). Will there ever be one?

5. This book is written by developers. They tell you how the product is supposed to work. Sometimes you might find that the product doesn't work the way it's supposed to. If so, be sure to report bugs to MSFT.

Even with the points above, I highly recommend this book.

If you're serious about using Analysis Services this book is a must have. No other book gives you as much detail about inner workings of MSAS 2005, period. Anything less than 5 stars would be unfair. Nor can we expect anyone to know MSAS better than the people who wrote it.

Having said that, however, you should keep the following in mind:

1. This book is not for beginners. If you need MSAS "click here" type of book, look elsewhere. I really wish this book had been condensed a bit so it would be more focused on advanced material. My guess is that the authors were trying to capture a wider audience. If you're just now trying to build your first cube, come back to this book in 6 months.

2. Although the book gives a great deal of detail about the inner workings of MSAS it does NOT tell you exact steps for tuning your solutions. There is a severe shortage of case studies documenting how you can tune / scale MSAS applications. For now we're limited to performance guides and white papers which are typically shallow and too general. Unfortunately this book does not fill the void. Much like knowing the structure of system tables won't make you a great SQL DBA, knowledge of MSAS storage structures doesn't immediately help with building great solutions. However, the knowledge of internals does help you wrap your brain around how the product works.

3. The writing is sometimes hard to follow. This is not a novel you should be reading before falling asleep, so let's not be too picky. For the next edition it probably wouldn't hurt to have more professional writers on the team.

4. This is not an MDX book. There are several chapters on MDX, but I'd recommend scanning through these relatively quickly. There is still not a book that measures up to MDX Solutions (Spofford, et al). Will there ever be one?

5. This book is written by developers. They tell you how the product is supposed to work. Sometimes you might find that the product doesn't work the way it's supposed to. If so, be sure to report bugs to MSFT.

Even with the points above, I highly recommend this book.

My title says it all: if you want a nuts and bolts book about Analysis Services and MDX, this is the book for you. If you want to know how to implement OLAP from a higher level, their are other books I recommend (Mundy and Thornwaite, for example). So far I haven't found a book that explains what goes on under the hood as well as this one, but then these guys invented it.

However, if you have specific implementation problem, there are really no solution short cuts in the book. On the other hand, you can probably figure out if you will be able to solve it by digging into the specifics of Analysis Services implementation.

The book is not meant for beginners, but, doesn't expect the reader to be an expert on OLAP either. Some introductory knowledge of OLAP would be enough to derive a great deal of benefit from this book. Most books on Analysis services deal with the user facing aspects of it - MDX or database modelling. This is the only book that covers the storage engine of Analysis Services and not just covers it - offers a great deal of detail in a way that is easily understood. This is not to say that query evaluation through MDX is given a short shrift. Both aspects of Analysis services are covered in a very detailed fashion. No other book talks about the implementation of processing algorithms, memory management, query evaluation and the like in such a clear and in depth fashion. Topics like Distinct count and Many to Many dimensions that many implementations stumble over are explained well. The book will pay for itself over and over again when you have to implement Analysis Services. It should really have been called Inside Microsoft Analysis Services 2005.

Actually its not that easy to beginners, however if the reader are already introduced to the subject, it does worth.

I have been around and working with SQL Server for 8 years. This book doesn't teach the beginner anything, I don't understand a word they are talking about. After reading the first 100 pages I put it away..too confusing. Ask me what I remember from reading it? Zero. I will pick it up again after I have a better grasp of the subject.

because it is pretty heavy and might make a good door stop. I suppose if you are already expert on SSAS it might serve as a decent reference source but save yourself the 40 bucks and use BOL. This tomb is absolutely useless for someone starting from scratch.

The book teaches a means of analysing massive data sets, that is different from SQL, but which can be applied to SQL databases. Called MDX, it lets you, the analyst, define a hyperspace of several dimensions, where the number of dimensions can be greater than 3. Along each axis, there is a discrete set of values. Unlike engineering or physics analysis, where the spaces often take on continuum values.

The authors show how MDX comes with a rich set of built in functions. But you can also easily write your own, that use these, or start from scratch. The Analysis Service version 2005 encompasses MDX, along with a user interface. The MDX syntax borrows deliberately in part from SQL, since as a practical matter, many of its users will come from a SQL background. But for analysis, it is often superior, offering a more flexible and intuitive syntax geared towards analysis. One potential 'problem', which is not mentioned, is that if you get used to the MDX syntax, going back to writing code for a strict SQL application might now seem so constricting. Of course, this is scarcely MDX's fault.

The book's chapters are often quite short ("bite-sized") and are easy to follow.

The book teaches a means of analysing massive data sets, that is different from SQL, but which can be applied to SQL databases. Called MDX, it lets you, the analyst, define a hyperspace of several dimensions, where the number of dimensions can be greater than 3. Along each axis, there is a discrete set of values. Unlike engineering or physics analysis, where the spaces often take on continuum values.

The authors show how MDX comes with a rich set of built in functions. But you can also easily write your own, that use these, or start from scratch. The Analysis Service version 2005 encompasses MDX, along with a user interface. The MDX syntax borrows deliberately in part from SQL, since as a practical matter, many of its users will come from a SQL background. But for analysis, it is often superior, offering a more flexible and intuitive syntax geared towards analysis. One potential 'problem', which is not mentioned, is that if you get used to the MDX syntax, going back to writing code for a strict SQL application might now seem so constricting. Of course, this is scarcely MDX's fault.

The book's chapters are often quite short ("bite-sized") and are easy to follow.

The authors unveiled the secrets of Analysis Services internals. The book helps to understand why and how Analysis Services is designed, made, and how it runs. It helps immensely every designer and developer to get all of SSAS power. It describes not only the best practices, but also gives warnings about possible mistakes during cube design, processing and querying.
Despite of its 900 pages, the book is filled with useful information that you don't find anywhere else, neither in MSDN and BOL, nor in other books and blogs.
This book is absolutely not "yet another book about Analysis Services" and dramatically distinguishes itself over Wrox's publications.
By the depth of the material presented, this book can be put in the same category as such wonderful books as Inside Microsoft SQL Server 2005 by Itzik Ben-Gan and Kalen Delaney.
Analysis Services 2005 is a serious book for serious people, but in no way dry or boring. I swallowed it in few days as a breathtaking adventure.

I've been architecting BI solutions for large enterprise customers for past 7 years and one of the biggest challenges is trying to optimize the processing performance without enough knowledge about how the OLAP engine works under the hood.
This is the 1st book which not only covers all the spectrums of Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services but also reveals how the core OLAP engine handles various tasks such as creating execution plan for cube processing; coordinating thread pools; handling dependencies;... It also describes each processing job's features (like whether it's a single- or multi- threaded task; how resource intensive it is;...) in great details.
If you are interested in the OLAP physical storage (for example, how different types of data are stored and compressed; how the bitmap index is created and optimized; how the hash table is constructed to enable fast access; what the file extension .ahstore\.kstore\.map\... stands for;...), then this is the book for you because the authors are OLAP engine gurus who know the physical structure inside out.
Once equipped with the deep engine knowledge, you would be empowered for a high scalable and performing OLAP solution architecture, design and implementation. It will also help you with the capacity planning to better match the hardware selection with your processing window.
That's why I think this book is "The Key for Deep Divers".

I have been developing OLAP AS/MSAS solutions for companies for more then 7 years. I would give 5 stars for book not because it is the ONLY BOOK for MSAS 2005 and it coveres every aspect of THE TOOL (MSAS) in a very simple and understandable language but also because it's content is very well cataloged to understand MSAS Engine. However, if you are looking for a book on MDX(es) you might consider to go to MOsha Pasumansky's website http://www.mosha.com/msolap/ and his book for MDX developers.I also found this book as unique on examples how to code with XMLA scripts in MSAS. I would like to see more examples for coding with AMO objects but think that might be overkill for the book as it could of be a separate book itself. I would Recommend this book as a 'MUST' to read for Database Analysts and Developers who are Designing and Developing Reports/DW with MSAS cubes. The book has started to serving me as a 'wizard' to understand the best practices to design and develop OLAP cubes with MSAS 2005.