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Master Data Services 2014 Add-in for Excel published

by Jeroen ter Heerdt 1 Comment

Just a bit over a week ago a new version of the Master Data Services Add-in for Excel was released. It is the 2014 release, which will also work for SQL Server 2012. Main benefit is up to 4x performance improvement without any server configuration changes. If you need extra performance you can get 2x extra by enabling Dynamic Content Compression in IIS on your MDS server.

Here is the download page: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=42298.

Installing Master Data Services add-in for Excel 2013

by Jeroen ter Heerdt 5 Comments

I recently picked up my new laptop, which of course runs Office 2013 and Windows 8.
When you try to install the Master Data Services add-in for SQL 2012 you may run into a warning that says you need Office 2010.

There is an easy fix: just install the Master Data Services add-in for SQL 2012 SP1 (get it here: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=35581 . Be sure to pick 32 / 64 bit to match your Office version.

Oh and of course you will have to get the other pre-req as well: Visual Studio 2010 Tools for Office runtime (find it here: http://www.microsoft.com/en-my/download/details.aspx?id=35594).

See http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2774422 for more information.

MDS / DQS integration on a domain controller

by Jeroen ter Heerdt 0 Comments

Normally I would never advice you installing anything on a domain controller, let alone SQL, MDS and DQS. However if you have BI demo machine you will probably have all this (and more) running on the same box. At least I do J

If you do you will probably get this error message when you try to enable the DQS integration from Master Data Services Configuration Manager after you successfully installed DQS and MDS.

When clicking the button ‘Enable integration with Data Quality Services’ an error will pop-up:

Here is where it gets a bit confusing. If you read the error message closely, it seems that MDS is looking for a local account on your machine instead of a domain account. However, with it being a domain controller, you cannot create local accounts…

To make this work you need to do the following:

  1. Add a Windows User Login into SQL Server for [YourDomain]\MDS_ServiceAccounts.

     

  2. Then run the following query against your DQS_MAIN database, which creates a user on the DQS_MAIN database which maps to the login you just created and adds the user to the DQS_Administrator role. Of course you can also do this using the UI. Make sure to enter your DOMAIN in the query below before executing.

    use [DQS_MAIN]
    GO
    IF NOT EXISTS (SELECT * FROM SYS.SYSUSERS WHERE NAME = ‘MDS_ServiceAccounts’)
    CREATE USER [MDS_ServiceAccounts] FOR LOGIN [YourDomain\MDS_ServiceAccounts]
    exec sp_addrolemember @rolename=N’dqs_administrator’,@membername=N’MDS_ServiceAccounts’
  3. When done go back to the Master Data Services configuration manager and hit the button again. Now it should come back with:

Victory ! J

 

SQL Server 2012 Unboxing

by Jeroen ter Heerdt 0 Comments

Just about every new consumer technology device will be greeted with “unboxing” videos on YouTube. A lot of the people I talk to really need to start unboxing SQL Server 2012 and start to understand what is in the box. Most of them already have access to SQL Server 2012 and still think it is just a database. There is so much more! This post is aimed to providing a quick overview of what exactly is in the box with pointers to where you can find documentation.

  1. Database Engine (SSDE)
    First off, let’s start with the product that gave SQL its name: the database. This is without doubt the best known product of the whole SQL suite and also the most used. More often than not this is also the only product people use and know. Find out more here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms187875.aspx
  2. Data Quality Services (DQS / SSDQS)
    Introduced with SQL Server 2012, DQS is a knowledge-driven data quality solution that works on the premise of specifying what defines data quality in a knowledge base and using to cleanse data automatically during ETL (see SSIS below), Master Data Management (see MDS below) processes or manually.
    See: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff877925.aspx
  3. Analyis Services (SSAS)
    Analysis Services is SQL Server’s analytical database or cube. It features both more traditional cubes and tabular models, provides self-service analysis capabilities and includes data mining. See http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb522607.aspx
  4. Integration Services (SSIS)
    Integration Services is a full-blown ETL tool and can be used for all sorts of data integration solution. SSIS features a drag and drop interface to build the solution and provides a lot of components out of the box with connectors to and from just about any database, file storage or file format. If need be, you can also use the power of .NET to build the exact behavior required. SSIS also integrates with DQS to use data quality knowledge bases during ETL processes. For more info visit: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms141026.aspx
  5. Master Data Services (MDS)
    Master Data Services enables users to build a Master Data Management solution on top of SQL Server. MDS integrates with DQS to make data quality aspects a part of the overall MDM solution. See http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee633763.aspx
  6. Reporting Services (SSRS)
    Reporting Services is the enterprise reporting solution that delivers web-enabled reports that can get information from a variety sources and be rendered in various formats (including Excel, Word and PDF). Also, reports can be retrieved on demand, on subscription bases or based on a alert. Find out more here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms159106.aspx
  7. StreamInsight
    StreamInsight is Microsoft’s Complex Event Processor (CEP). CEP technology enables high throughput and real-time (low latency) processing of streams of data (events). Examples include financial trading, Web analytics, sensor data, etc. StreamInsight is provides a familiar development platform based on .NET to quickly start using real-time information. See: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee391416.aspx

That concludes the quick unboxing of SQL Server 2012. Although there is a lot more to say (about features, but also around editions and capabilities) , this should give you a good idea of what is in the box. Bottom line: there is a lot more to SQL Server than just a database!

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