Sql server Multidimensional model vs tabular model

  • Hi Friends,

    As we know we have analysis services dimensional model and tabular model. I am confused, which one is more popular and which is most used and useful in the future.

  • As with all reporting tools it all depends on what you want to do. There are scenarios where Tabular is far better than OLAP, but just as many where the reverse is true.

    The one thing with Tabular is that its an IN MEMORY model so if you have a lot of data you need a server that can hold all the data in the model in memory, twice over, as you also have to consider that if you have a processed tabular model then reprocess the same model the memory requirements are doubled, so a 64GB model requires around 128GB of memory on the server.

    There are also considerations of the structure of the data source, if its a data warehouse with multiple fact tables it can be more difficult to do cross fact table calculations in Tabular compared to OLAP.

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  • I have an overview here:

    Choosing between Tabular and Multidimensional Analysis Services[/url]

    Keep in mind that SSAS MD is a very mature product and can easily handle scenarios like role playing dimensions, parent-child hierarchies and many-2-many dimensions. Tabular is fast (in most circumstances, especially distinct counts) but relatively new. DAX isn't that easy and you need it for more complex scenarious. Also, if your data goes into the terabytes, you're better off with multidimensional (unless you have a lot of RAM).

    For new, easy projects, I'd probably choose Tabular. It's especially useful for prototyping.

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