Cubes Property Sheet: Summarize To tab

Use this tab to identify the method to use for deciding which values are pre-calculated and stored in the analytic workspace, and which values are calculated on demand.

Level-Based Presummarization

For each dimension, select the levels that you want to precalculate. The base level should always be selected.

Dimension

Select each dimension to display its levels.

Levels

Select the levels you wish to calculate and store as part of the build process.

The best method for identifying levels for stored data is to determine the ratio of dimension members at each level, and to keep the ratio of members to be calculated on the fly at less than 10:1. This method assures that all answer sets can be returned quickly. Either the data is stored in the analytic workspace, or it can be calculated by rolling up 10 or fewer values into a single number. The time needed to roll up 10 values is trivial, and a well designed application will limit return sets to an amount of data that an analyst can scrutinize easily. You can modify this ratio using your judgment on how frequently a level is accessed.

Slower varying dimensions take longer to aggregate because the data is scattered throughout its storage space. If you are optimizing for data maintenance, then fully aggregate the faster varying dimensions and use skip-level aggregation on the slower varying dimensions.