FIX: Incorrect Aggregates After "Incremental Update" of Cube from DTS (271760)

SYMPTOMS

When new data is added to the fact table for a multi-partition cube and a partition in the cube is processed with the Incremental Update processing option in the Data Transformation Services (DTS) OLAP Processing task, the resulting aggregates may not reflect the newly added data at all levels in the dimensions.

CAUSE

This is a result of a problem with the DTS OLAP Processing task not correctly copying the data slice information from the existing partition to the temporary partition. As a result, the merge of the partitions does not accurately update all of the aggregations.

This problem does not apply to cubes with a single partition.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in SQL Server 7.0. This problem has been corrected in U.S. Service Pack 3 for Microsoft SQL Server 7.0. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

274799 INF: How to Obtain Service Pack 3 for Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 and Microsoft Data Engine (MSDE) 1.0

For more information, contact your primary support provider.

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in SQL Server OLAP Services version 7.0.

This is not an issue with SQL Server 2000 Analysis Services.

MORE INFORMATION

During incremental processing of an OLAP cube, a temporary partition is created with the exact same definition as the existing partition being processed. This temporary partition holds the new data and aggregates for this new data. Once the new fact data has been processed, the temporary partition and existing partition are merged to reflect the new aggregates and totals. If the temporary and existing partition definitions do not match exactly, the merge may result in incorrect results.