Known Upgrade Issues for SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services

The following table lists the issues that you may encounter when upgrading a SQL Server 2000 Analysis Services database to SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services (SSAS). The list below presents the upgrade issues and a brief description of each exactly as they appear in the report generated by the SQL Server 2005 Upgrade Advisor.

Issue Type Issue Description

An object depending on a linked object is not migrated

Linked cubes and linked dimensions are not migrated by Upgrade Advisor in Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services. Therefore, objects that refer to a linked cube or a linked dimension cannot be migrated because the linked object on which the object is based cannot be migrated.

Autoexist can produce different query results when multiple hierarchies are migrated into the same dimension

When multiple hierarchies or virtual dimensions are migrated into the same Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services dimension, querying the migrated hierarchies contained in the dimension may produce different results than querying the same hierarchies when they were in SQL Server 2000 Analysis Services.

Browsing experience is different when disabled levels are used

Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services no longer supports hidden or disabled levels in hierarchies. Hidden or disabled levels are migrated as visible and enabled levels. Calculations that involve hierarchies containing such levels might return unexpected results.

Bucketing may be different for grouping levels

Automatic grouping in Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services might return a different set of member groups. Calculations that rely on these member groups might return unexpected results.

Conversion from neutral language to specific language may produce unexpected results

Neutral language identifiers used in previous versions of Analysis Services are migrated to specific language identifiers in Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services. Migrating from neutral to specific language identifiers can change the expected translation and collation behavior, producing unexpected results.

Cube role commands are not supported

Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services does not support command objects on cube roles and will not migrate commands from previous versions.

Custom level formulas aggregate differently

If a cube contains a dimension with custom level formulas, and also contains dimensions both before and after it with custom member formulas and/or unary operators, then the cube may return different results than previous versions of Analysis Services. This occurs because calculation precedence rules have changed.

Custom member formulas and custom rollup formulas are migrated into MDX script

Custom rollup formulas, custom member formulas, All member formulas, and custom level formulas are no longer supported as properties on dimensions or levels in Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services.

Custom aggregations are not migrated

Aggregations that were manually generated in previous versions of Analysis Services are not migrated in Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services. Only aggregations generated by the Storage Design Wizard are migrated.

Data members always exist in parent-child dimensions

Previous versions of Analysis Services gave you the option of not including data members in parent-child dimensions. Data members can no longer be excluded from parent-child dimensions.

Database role commands are not supported

Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services does not support command objects on database roles and will not migrate commands from previous versions of Analysis Services.

DefaultMember is migrated into MDX script

In previous versions of Analysis Services, the default member of a dimension is specified by a Multidimensional Expressions (MDX) expression, contained in the DefaultMember property of the dimension. In Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services, this property is replaced by functionality supported in MDX scripts, and the property is upgraded to a MDX script during migration.

Dimension and hierarchy renaming by migration may cause different query results

Dimension hierarchies in previous versions of Analysis Services are internally represented as separate dimensions, and a naming convention is used to identify them. Migration to Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services might create a separate dimension, with a new name, for each dimension hierarchy instead of combining the dimension hierarchies together under the parent dimension because auto-exist results in different security rules than would apply in previous versions of Analysis Services.

Drillthrough settings are not migrated

While drillthrough exists in Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services, drillthrough settings are not migrated from previous versions of Analysis Services.

Hidden levels are visible after migration

Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services no longer supports hidden or disabled levels in hierarchies. Hidden or disabled levels are migrated as visible and enabled levels. Calculations that involve hierarchies containing such levels might return unexpected results.

Invalid objects cause migration to fail

The database contains invalid objects. Migration can not be completed when the database contains invalid objects.

Linked cubes are not migrated

Previous versions of Analysis Services supported linked cubes. In Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services, this feature has been replaced by linked dimensions and linked measure groups.

Member unique names may change during migration

Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services attempts to preserve the unique names of members during migration, but there are certain circumstances in which the unique name for a member is changed. If member unique names change, client applications, Multidimensional Expressions (MDX) expressions, and other properties that depend on member unique names may produce unexpected results.

ODBC data sources are not supported

While previous versions of Analysis Services allowed you to use ODBC data sources, this functionality is no longer supported in Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services.

Remote partitions are not migrated

Remote partitions are supported in Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services, but they can not be migrated automatically until the remote server has been upgraded to SQL Server 2005.

Some mining model algorithm parameters are not supported

Some mining model algorithm parameters that are available in previous versions of Analysis Services are no longer supported in Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services.

The behavior of some MDX functions is changed

Due to enhancements and changes in the Multidimensional Expressions (MDX) language for Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services, certain MDX functions are either no longer supported, or behave differently than in previous versions of Analysis Services.

Top Level for dimension security is not supported

In previous versions of Analysis Services, you could specify dimension security so that a user saw a top level different than the top level of the hierarchy. Members that are secured using the Top Level setting will be visible after migration.

UDF source .dlls are not migrated and registered

User Defined Functions (UDFs) registered on previous versions of Analysis Services are not migrated.

Unary operators on non-parent-child hierarchies have limited support

Unary operators on hierarchies other than parent-child hierarchies are not supported in Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services unless there is an attribute relationship between the attributes sourcing the levels in the hierarchy.

Virtual cubes are not supported

Previous versions of Analysis Services supported virtual cubes, a combined view of a subset of measures and dimensions from one or more regular or linked cubes. In Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services, this feature has been replaced by linked measure groups. During upgrading, virtual cubes are migrated as linked measure groups.

Writeback table content is not migrated

The structure for writeback tables constructed by previous versions of Analysis Services has been updated in Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services. Data from writeback tables constructed by previous versions of Analysis Services cannot be migrated into the new writeback table structure.

See Also

Other Resources

SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services Backward Compatibility

Help and Information

Getting SQL Server 2005 Assistance