Version 4 of the Companion for MS Analysis Server now supports Multi SSAS Instances on the same physical server and Multi SSAS Instances in Failover Clustering. The new management application AS Data Collection Services Manager helps with database deployment, installation, configuration and services management. It is Cluster aware and support Windows 2003 Clustering and Windows 2008 Failover Clustering.

The Companion for MS Analysis Server improvements in version 4 include:

1. AS Data Collection Services Manager (Manager) manages:
   • Database installation - The new Manager handles the database installation on new installations and database upgrades to version 4 on existing installations. The database now is deployed as script so no more need to attach mdf or ldf files on the remote centralized sql server.
   • Services Installations and Upgrades – The new Manager handles services installations and upgrades. It can handle Multiple SSAS instances on the same physical server or Multiple SSAS instances in a Failover Cluster environment.
   • Manager AutoUpdate - The new Manager is self updating. It can use our publicly available location for new versions, or an internal Web server URL for tighter version control.
   • Services AutoUpdate - There are new settings in the database that define if the services are to be self updating and from which location to download the new updates. If the services are configured to be self updating, it will trigger the Manager to download the new version, then the manager updates itself and then updates each installed service (notice you can now have multiple services on the same machine monitoring multiple SSAS instances). The manager will leave the service in the same state as it found it. The manager in clustered environments will check on the current service state and work through the cluster to manage the service update and service state. All of this happens behind the scenes without user interaction. Log files are available and can be reviewed to find out installation/update results.
   • Client Deployment can be initiated from the Manager. It can start the client from our web site as usual or can start the client MSI installation from our web site.
2. Multi SSAS Instances installation on the same physical server
3. Multi SSAS Instances installation in a Failover Cluster - The new manager integrates with the Failover Cluster to register each AS Data Collection Services in the same Cluster Group as the monitored SSAS instance. The AS Data Collection Service will be configured to be dependent on the SSAS instance, to self restart if necessary and to NOT cause the group to failover if the service fails.
4. Multi SSAS Instances and Failover Cluster reporting – The Companion for MS Analysis Server reports on each individual SSAS instance whether in single server mode or clustered installation.
5. Time Travel has been enhanced to report separately for "Queries", "Processing", and "Storage Engine". Three new nodes are now available under the Time Travel node. The user can do better analysis where the pressure points are on the server.
6. M2M Optimizer has been added as a new node. This feature allows the detection and optimization of Many-to-Many relationships.
7. MS SQL 2012 is now supported

 

The new version is based on the Silverlight 5.0 platform. It contains numerous enhancements and new features:

1. Performance Improvements have been done with the drawing engine. The rendering of the data has been improved up to 10 times.
2. Bing Maps support has been added. The user can now visualize the GIS Maps on top of the Bing maps background.
3. DirectQuery is a new feature available when the application runs with elevated privileges. The query engine will access directly the LocalCube or/and the SSAS server; this offers the best possible response times.
4. Multi-Currency support has been added to all Visualization components. The user can opt to work with different currency at the same time.
5. Excel Export has been enhanced to include all available SSAS object.
6. Various Features enhancements have been added to the SSAS cube browser: 1) User-defined Calculated Members and Name Sets persistence; 2) Columns and Rows sizes persistence; 3) Alternative Sorting for Time Members; 4) Additional options for complex Time Calculations; 5)Better Theming support; 6) Writeback enhancement; 7) Actions enhancements for in-line viewing of SSRS reports, SSAS dataset, and image viewing; 8) New Chart Features; 9) In-line Dashboards; 10) Dis/enable of Measures; 11) Dimension Label hiding in Grid/Chart; and more.
7. ESS HTML 5.0 Charts, Gauges and Maps have been released and added to the solution. They bring the reports and dashboards to be mobile devices and tables: iPad, iPod, Android, Win8.
8. SSAS-to-SSRS Report conversion has been enhanced so the user can do it with a single click. The newly generated SSRS report inherits the measure formatting, theming, rows and columns dimensions placements, pivot-table definition, totals, grouping, sorting, and sizing. Support for ReportBuilder has also been added. These gives a complete solution for the end user to generate, edit, publish and secure a complex report within minutes by only using the mouse. SQL, Oracle, and SSAS data sources are currently supported for on-line report creation. Instant Filters are used for report parameters.
9. SSRS Azure is now fully supported. The user can administer, create, edit, publish, and secure report using the Report Server Companion. ESS offers this tool for free since Microsoft does not currently offer a Report Manager for SSRS Azure.
10. LocalCube offline data browsing has been enhanced. The user can select the dimensions and measures for export, and create an offline version of the cube. Calculated Measures are also exported if all dependencies measures are present. Data Security is fully enforced so only data that the user can see is exported in the cube.
11. ESS now offers SSAS and SSRS Cloud hosting solutions. Custom/ASP.NET security is fully supported. The data can be secured at three different levels: a) for each individual user; b) for a group/role; or c) anonymous for all users.
12. Dashboards Designer enhancements have been added. Each object can be precisely sized and position. Grid snapping and layout options are added to the toolbar. Dashboards can be directly viewed on mobile devices.
13. ESS now offers consulting and development services for designing cube, GIS Mapping, custom features, integration into existing application, SharePoint and more.
14. SharePoint 2010 is fully supported. ESS offers a deployment package that installs the cube browser as a web part. All reports are saved inside SharePoint so no additional settings are needed.
15. Windows Phone 7 SSRS report rendering has been enhanced to include maps, gauges, chart drillthrus and more.
16. Data Mining Companion has been enhanced with new features for formatting Charts, Support-Case drillthrus, improved UI and more.
17. All components are compiled for Silverlight 5.0 Runtime.
18. MS SQL 2012 is fully supported. The application natively supports the SSAS Tabular Mode.
19. Tabular Mode is supported

 

It contains the following new features and enhancements:

1. The Clusters Explorer is a new chart addition to the BI Companion visualization aids. It allows the user to discover clustering of data by charting Measures on both Axis X and Axis Y. The size of the chart data point is also based on a measure. For example, the user can place the four measures: “Sales Amount” on “Axis X”, “Discount Amount” on primary Axis Y, “Profit Margin %” on secondary Axis Y, and use “Order Count” for the shape size (see snapshot below), and figure out if giving discounts will increase the revenue, and if the results will be consistent over the years, the different product categories and promotion types. The charting of this data will allow easy visualization of where the data clusters and how the chart can be split into different quadrants. Each series can be displayed in user-selected color and shape. Theming and multiple customization options are fully supported. The formatting of the display data is based on the cube definition. The used data is based on the current user selection so there is no need for additional steps to start using this visualization. Measure and Member filtering is automatically applied to the displayed data. See snapshot:
2. The Multi-Chart is a new feature that allows the user to display each Series in a separate chart. The Tooltips and Markers in the multiple charts are synchronized so when the user moves the mouse in one chart, the rest of the charts will display synchronized information. If the user decides to zoom in and scroll the data in one chart, the rest of the start will follow the current selection and stay in sync. Each chart can display a different Chart type. Please see snapshot:

 

It contains the following new features and enhancements:

1. The Dashboard Designer is a new module that allows the user to create free-form dashboards with various items such as: Chart, Maps, Gauges, Text, UI Elements, SSRS Reports, SSAS Reports, Data Mining Reports, MP3, WMV, GIF, PNG, JPG, BMP, TIFF, and more. Some of the dashboard elements (Charts, Maps, Gauges) use saved reports to extract the MDX and the Filters and display the data.  The user can make the dashboard interactive via the use of Instant Filters, which allows a drill down, drill up and multi-selection of members, which are used to filter the displayed data. The designer has a toolbar with various options that allow the user to easily create and format UI elements. For example: Sizing handlers, Snap to Grid, Auto Size, Property Panel, Data binding, De/Increase vertical/horizontal spacing, send back/front, preview, and more. Creating an interactive reports is a task that can be accomplished easily with the use of the mouse. See snapshot.
2. Theming is now supported. The administrator can configure the default theme for the site.  The user can also change dynamically the theme at runtime.  Themes can be easily extended with new ones. See snapshot.
3. The Data Mining Companion is a new addition to the BI Portal component collection. It allows the exploration of Data Mining algorithms published by SSAS.  The user can change the input parameter and explore the results. Several visualization aids are available: Multi-level pie chart, Cluster nodes relations, Tree viewer, etc.  Predictions can be made with just using the mouse.  Lift Charts are also available for comparing the accuracy of the different algorithms.  The software also allows the export of the data mining algorithms so it can used offline or/and in other applications. See snapshots.
4. Unary and Custom Rollup enhancement have been added to the data grid.  Each member will show additional information such as: % contribution to parent, unary operator, custom rollup functions, etc.  See snapshot.
5. Native Help support has been added to the application.  The contents are kept external so they can be easily modified and/or translated.  The Help viewer provides table of content and context sensitive topic selection.  See snapshot.
6. The "Administrative' module allows the administrator to configure application settings via the UI.  This module only shows for users who has this privilege.
    
7. Various reported issues have been fixed.

 

It contains the following enhancements:

1. User-Defined Named Sets can be created, edited and deleted. The sets are created under the Tree Node: "Named Sets".   Context menu options have been adjusted to handle the new tree node type.
2. User-Defined Named Sets can be dropped on Filters. The newly-created Filter will be pre-populated with the selected members.
3. User-Defined Calculated Members can be created via the "New Calculation" toolbar option; the dialog contains a new button for adding them to the meta tree.  The user is asked to which Measure Group the new member will be added.  Once added to the tree, the members can be edited and deleted via a right-click context menu.  The members are stored as a part of the report.  This is similar to User-Defined Named Sets.
4. There is a new functionality that allows direct access to SSAS using the server NETBIOS name (i.e. not the HTTP endpoint).  The feature uses COM interfaces (i.e. "ADODB and Cellset") and Javascript so there may be a need to adjust the security setting of the brower. Internet Explorer supports ActiveX objects (unlike Firefox) so its required when the applciation runs inside the browser (note: for Out-Of-Browser installation, no changes are required).    Inside IE->Internet Options->Security Settings->"Initialize and script ActiveX controls not marked as safe for scripting" option needs to be enabled. With this new feature the software can connect directly to any SSAS servers, without the need for an HTTP endpoint. Not all features are supported since the COM interface does not expose all the metadata (i.e. Actions, KPIs, Named Sets, etc).
5. e)Enhancements have been made to the "Local Cube" functionality.  The LocalCube allows the end user to take a piece of the cube and store it locally on the machine, then connect and browse it with BIC or Excel while disconnected from the network/SSAS.    The new version of this feature is more precise in exporting object so it detects what members are expanded and exports them.  Filters are also included in the export.   For this functinality to work, the same requirements are needed as explained in d) above.
6. g) Cell Formatter is a new feature in the BI Companion that allows the user to create custom formatting rules. For example: all the cells above a certain amount should be displayed in Red. The formatting rules are defined at the Measure level. Multiple rules can be defined for a single rule. This allows for a very flexible formatting model. For example: Rule1 may states that all the cells above 1000 should be in Green; Rule2 - all above 100 should be in Yellow and all below 100 should be in Red. The engine starts evaluating the rules in order and the first rule that matches the criteria is used. The rules are stored as a part of the report definition. The Foreground and the background colors are currently supported. The cell formatting feature can be access from the Toolbar or by clicking on the Measure property icon inside the grid. Here is a snapshot of the cell formatter dialog:

 

On May 1st, 2011, ESS has released the first in the World Silverlight Report Viewer for Windows Phone 7.0+. The software uses SSRS Web Services calls to set parameters and retrieve the report.  The WP Silverlight runtime natively renders and displays the report.  All the major features are supported such as: Multi-select Parameters, Pagination, Zooming, Find, Report Drilltru, Hyperlinks, Toggle/Expand, Sorting, Chart interaction, "Go Back", and more.  The report viewer utilizes the ESS SSRS Rendering Extension.  If the extension is configured, there is no need for additional software.  The extension works both for the ESS Report Companion, ESS BI Portal and the WP7 rendering.  Both portrait and landscaping modes are supported, which are triggered by simply rotating the phone. For a demo of the software: http://demoserver.entsoftsol.com/biportal/wp7/rsviewer.mp4

Here is snapshot of natively rendered SSRS report with expanded column: 

1. Details Viewing of Event Log messages has been added.
2. New Service Config option "Cache Warmer Seconds Between Queries" - this is throttling option that forces the Cache Warmer to slow down with time between requests. This allows the server to service other requests while warming the cache; this should be used when the Cache Warmer pushes the CPU to 100% with a lot of heavy requests. The default value is "0" - i.e. no waiting between requests.
3. New Service Config option "Event Log Collection Enabled" - this disables the event log parsing and processing, which can cause a spike in the CPU. Disabling this feature will only impact viewing historical/archived events; the "Analysis Server Log" Grid under "Log Viewer" will not display any data.
4. The "Help File" is synchronized with the application. Each node has a Help chapter; Pressing F1 while on a node (or Right-click->Help) will open the correct Help topic. Currently, we are writing the Help topics; the final version of the Help file can be distributed independently from the app.
5. MDX Analyzer has been enhanced with some features. For example: Non-default attribute member display for a given query.
6. Best Practices Checker has been enhanced to include additional checks: For example: Missing User-Defined Hierarchy Relationship checks that are a common reason for slow performance.
7. Minor bug fixes/error handling/ in the UI for cases when invalid data comes from SSAS.

 

The build includes the following improvement:

1. Functionality for a single SQL DB repository – multiple SSAS monitors can log into a single database for simplified enterprise-wide reporting
2. 3 Reports have been added for displaying changes to hourly baseline values
3. All reports have been reworked to display summary data for each SSAS Database and expand functionality for details.

 

The new release adds new feature: "Resources Governor", "Cache Warmer", Disk Partition Alignment Check, Peformance Tuning Reports.

1. Functionality for a single SQL DB repository – multiple SSAS monitors can log into a single database for simplified enterprise-wide reporting
2. 3 Reports have been added for displaying changes to hourly baseline values
3. All reports have been reworked to display summary data for each SSAS Database and expand functionality for details.

 

1. The "Resource Governor" is a new service option that monitors for expensive queries and terminates them if they exceed a preset threshold. This increases the scalability of the SSAS server since it does not allow individual queries to consume resources for extended periods of time. All the cancelled queries are logged into the database and can be viewed by the new "Cancelled Queries" Reports. The "Resource Governor" has a couple of options in the "ASDataCollectionService.exe.config" file: 1) "Resource Governor Enabled" turns this feature on and off; the default is 0(Off); 2) "Max Query Execution Time in Seconds" specifies the timeout threshold before the query is terminated; the default is 60seconds.
2. The "Cache Warmer" is a new service option that is triggered by either a server restart or/and cube reprocessing. It uses historical data to execute the most common to warm up the server memory cache by fetching the data from the disks. The future ONLY runs queries related the cube being reprocesse. When the server is restarted, all queries are being executed. The service runs first the queries with highest execution count. The feature also monitors the Memory usage and will stop if the physical memory is exhausted. The "Cache Warmer" has a couple of options in the "ASDataCollectionService.exe.config" file: 1) "Cache Warmer Enabled" turns this feature on and off; the default is 0(Off); 2) "Cache Warmer Memory Monitor Enabled" instructs the service to monitor the server physical memory usage and the SSAS "Memory\LowMemoryLimit" configuration option value before it continues submitting requests; the default is 1(On); 3) ""Cache Warm Top Queries in Percent" instructs the service to ONLY submit the top 30 percent of most-used queries.
3. The "Aggregation Manager" is a new client-side UI feature that allows the user to inspect existing aggregations, check for unused aggregations, create new aggregation designs based on user queries, manage Partition assignments to different Aggregation Designs, and delete unused aggregations based on captured trace data, live trace or user-provided table.
4. The "Hardware\Disk Drives" node has been enhanced to provide "Disk Partition Alignment" information. In pre-Windows 2008, the default partition alignment value is 31.5K, which creates a disk misalignment on the partitions, resulting in degraded disk IO performance (10%-30%). The end user can quickly check this common mis-configuration by inspecting the Logical Disks nodes in the Companion client tool.
5. The "Cube Browser" is a new UI feature that is available when a Cube is clicked in the Companion client tool. It allows the end user to browse and chart multi-dimensional data.
6. Several New Report have been added:
   1. The "Documentation" Report has been added under the "Report\Metadata" node. It collects the metadata data from all the cubes and databases on the server and makes it available for easy printing, archiving and emailing.
   2. The "Best Practices Check" Report is available under the "Reports\Performance Tuning" node. It checks all the cubes and databases on the server for compliance with "Best Practices" and lists discovered performance opportunities. The report also gives an in-line description of the individual items.
   3. The "Cancelled Queries" Report is available under the "Reports\Performance Tuning" node. It can be filtered by a date range and provides a list of NT Users and the MDX of the expensive queries that have been cancelled as well as the cancellation timestamp. The report can be used to spot common queries that may benefit from new Aggregations.
   4. The "Most Resource-Expensive Users" Report is available under the "Reports\Performance Tuning" node. It can be filtered by a date range and provides a list of NT Users and the MDX of expensive queries as well as the execution time. The report does include Cancelled queries. The report can be used to isolate users and queries that are common to the system.

* Please notice that version 2.2 requires MS SQL Server 2008 ReportViewer Redistributables. You can download them here.