Intermediate2 days
Azure Analysis Services
Enterprise semantic modelling and cloud BI analytics
Overview
Azure Analysis Services is a fully managed PaaS offering for enterprise-grade tabular semantic modelling in the cloud. It enables organisations to build centralised, governed data models that can be queried by hundreds of simultaneous users through Power BI, Excel, and custom applications via MDX and DAX. This training covers tabular model design in Visual Studio, advanced DAX measure writing, row-level security, incremental refresh, and cloud deployment — including migration strategies towards Microsoft Fabric and Power BI Premium semantic models.
What you'll learn
- Design and build tabular data models using Visual Studio and the SSDT Tabular Model Designer
- Connect to on-premises and cloud data sources via the on-premises data gateway
- Write DAX measures for business KPIs, time intelligence, and complex analytical calculations
- Implement role-based security: server administrator roles, database roles, and row-level security
- Configure scheduled refresh, model partitioning, and incremental refresh for large datasets
- Deploy models to Azure Analysis Services and connect Power BI and Excel in Live Connection mode
Programme
Day 1 — Tabular model design & DAX authoring
- Azure Analysis Services architecture: service tiers, query replicas, and processing nodes
- Creating a tabular model in Visual Studio using the SSDT Tabular Model Designer
- Data source connectivity: Azure SQL, SQL Server, ADLS Gen2, and Power Query partitions
- Relationships, hierarchies, calculated columns, and KPI indicators
- DAX from the ground up: filter context, row context, CALCULATE, iterators, and time intelligence
- Hands-on: build a multi-table star schema model with complete business DAX measures
Day 2 — Security, refresh, deployment & migration path
- Server and database roles: managing model access with granular permissions
- Row-level security: static and dynamic RLS patterns using DAX
- Partitioning and incremental refresh: keeping large models up-to-date efficiently
- Deploying to Azure Analysis Services: SSDT deployment wizard, XMLA endpoints, and ALM Toolkit
- Connecting Power BI in Live Connection mode and Excel via ODBC/OLEDB
- Migration path to Power BI Premium semantic models and Microsoft Fabric
Who is this for?
- BI developers building centralised semantic models for enterprise reporting
- SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) professionals migrating to the cloud
- Power BI developers managing complex datasets that require a semantic layer
- Data architects designing the BI layer of an Azure analytics platform
Prerequisites
- Solid understanding of relational data modelling (star schema, snowflake schema)
- DAX experience helpful but not required — it is covered in depth
- Familiarity with Power BI Desktop or SQL Server Analysis Services is a plus
Tools & technologies covered
Azure Analysis ServicesVisual Studio (SSDT)DAXPower BI DesktopALM ToolkitXMLA EndpointsOn-premises Data Gateway
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