SQL Server 2008 R2 Update for Developers Training Kit

Microsoft has released a training kit for SQL Server 2008 R2. Please install this on your computers and go through the content whenever you have time. It has lot of useful content with lots of presentations, demos and hands-on exercises.

Here are the highlights of the contents in this toolkit:

New Content: Build Your First Microsoft BI Solution with SQL Server 2008 R2

• Build Your First Microsoft BI Solution with SQL Server 2008 R2
• Introduction to BI Modeling Techniques
• Introduction to SQL Server 2008 R2 Integration Services
• Introduction to SQL Server 2008 R2 Reporting Services
• Publishing and Accessing SQL Server 2008 R2 Reporting Services Reports
• Introduction to SQL Server 2008 R2 Analysis Services
• Introduction to SQL Server 2008 R2 Analysis Services Query Syntax
• Accessing SQL Server 2008 R2 Analysis Services Data
• Introduction to SharePoint 2010 PerformancePoint Services
• Introduction to Data Mining with SQL Server 2008 R2 Analysis Services
• Introduction to Self-Service Reporting and Analysis with SQL Server 2008 R2 

Other Content

• Getting Started Building Web Applications With SQL Server
• SQL Server 2008 R2 Update for Developers
• SQL Server 2008 Update for Developers

Usability Improvements

• The master configuration wizard no longer auto-starts and can be launched manually from the Prerequisites page if needed. This makes it easier to use individual demos or hands-on labs without having to install the prerequisites for the entire training kit.
• Remote SQL Server instances are now supported for many demos and hands on labs. Unfortunately we were not able to add support for remote SharePoint 2010 installations. This still requires manual intervention.
• We reworked the menu structure and content pages to improve navigation and discovery of content.
• We added a desktop shortcut to the main training kit page (default.htm).

You can download this toolkit from Microsoft Download Center using the below URL:

Download SQL Server 2008 R2 Update for Developers Training Kit

Pupose of ampersand (&) character in MDX

In MDX Query, A member can be referenced by either its member name or by its member key


The ampersand (&) character is used in MDX to differentiate a member key from a member name, as shown in the following example:


Reference the member by its member Key:
[Time].[2nd half].&[Q4]


Reference the member by its member name:
[Time].[2nd half].[4th quarter]

Difference Between Star Schema and Snowflake Schema

Star Schema	Snowflake Schema
De-Normalized Data Structure	Normalized Data Structure
Category wise Single Dimension Table	Dimension table split into many pieces
More data dependency and redundancy	less data dependency and No redundancy
No need to use complicated join	Complicated Join
Query Results Faster	Some delay in Query Processing
No Parent Table	It May contain Parent Table
Simple DB Structure	Complicated DB Structure
View Star Schema Structure	View Snowflake Schema Structure

Business Intelligence

Business Intelligence is a combination of the following three components:


1. OLTP system,
2. Data mart and
3. Analysis Service cube (or OLAP)

BI: Dimensional Model - Snowflake schema architecture

Snowflake schema architecture is a more complex variation of a star schema design. The main difference is that dimensional tables in a snowflake schema are normalized, so they have a typical relational database design.

BI: Dimensional Model - Star Schema

The star schema is the simplest style of data warehouse schema. The star schema consists of a few fact tables (possibly only one) referencing any number of dimension tables.

Star Schema Format 1:

Star Schema Format 2:

Star Schema Format 3:

Star Schema Format 4:

Microsoft SQL Server Accelerator for BI

The Microsoft SQL Server™ Accelerator for Business Intelligence 1.2 has been removed to avoid customer confusion about support for this component. Microsoft does not provide any support for this solution accelerator and has no plans to release future versions. Most of the functionality of the accellerator is available in Microsoft SQL Server™ 2005 and later versions. For support information,

please refer to the Microsoft Product Lifecycle.