How to create OLAP database?
Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 5:18 am
Im going crazy I think. Every single book and tutorial I read on OLAP and Cubes seems to assume that I have an OLAP database. I have a regular old OLTP SQL Server database with about 30 tables or so. Now I believe I want to transform this into a star-schema OLAP database but I do not really know how or if that is even necessary. I went thru the Analysis Services tutorial and got to the part where it wanted me to select the Datasource and then create a DataSourceView. It said to select the Fact table and the Dimensions table. Clearly they are dealing with an OLAP database. But what if I do not have one yet? I do not know where to go from here. Do I just blindly start making a star schema DB? Are there tools that transform OLTP db to OLAP? OR, should I use the OLTP db as the datasource, create a cube and the cube itself is the OLAP DB? That doesnt make sense to me. Any help or explanations would be greatly appreciate as I have scoured the web and bookstores and cannot find a single written document that deals with creating cubes from scratch. That is, starting with an OLTP db. Thanks