Transition Your MCITP - Business Intelligence Developer 2008 to MCSE - Business Intelligence

Code: 70-460
Price:

Exam 70-460 - Transition Your MCITP - Business Intelligence Developer 2008 to MCSE - Business Intelligence

Skills measured

This exam measures your ability to accomplish the technical tasks listed below. The percentages indicate the relative weight of each major topic area on the exam. The higher the percentage, the more questions you are likely to see on that content area on the exam. View video tutorials about thevariety of question typeson Microsoft exams.

Please note that the questions may test on, but will not be limited to, the topics described in the bulleted text.

Do you have feedback about the relevance of the skills measured on this exam? Pleasesend Microsoft your comments. All feedback will be reviewed and incorporated as appropriate while still maintaining the validity and reliability of the certification process. Note that Microsoft will not respond directly to your feedback. We appreciate your input in ensuring the quality of the Microsoft Certification program.

If you have concerns about specific questions on this exam, please submit anexam challenge.

Starting May 15, 2014, the questions on this exam includecontent covering SQL Server 2014.

Build an Analysis Services database

  • Design dimensions and measures
    • Given a requirement, identify the dimension/measure group relationship that should be selected; design patterns for representing business facts and dimensions; design dimension relationships to support multiple related measure groups; handle degenerate dimensions in a cube; identify the attributes for dimensions; identify the measures and the aggregation behavior for the measures; build hierarchies; define granularity of dimension relationships
  • Create and configure measures
    • Logically group measures and configure Measure Group Properties, select appropriate aggregation functions, format measures, design the measure group for the correct granularity
  • Implement a cube
    • Use SQL Server Data Tools–Business Intelligence (SSDT-BI) to build the cube, use SSDT-BI to do non-additive or semi-additive measures in a cube, define measures, specify perspectives, define translations, define dimension usage, define cube-specific dimension properties, define measure groups, implement reference dimensions, implement many-to-many relationships, implement fact relationships, implement role-playing relationships, create and manage linked measure groups and linked dimensions, create actions
  • Create Multidimensional Expressions (MDX) queries
    • Identify the structures of MDX and the common functions, including tuples, sets, TopCount, SCOPE, and more; identify which MDX statement would return the required result; implement a custom MDX or logical solution for a pre-prepared case task
  • Implement storage design in a multidimensional model
    • Create aggregations, create partitions and storage modes, define proactive caching; manage write-back partitions; implement linked cubes; implement distributed cubes

Preparation resources

  • Measures and measure groups
  • Lesson 2: Defining and deploying a cube
  • Querying multidimensional data with MDX

Manage, maintain, and troubleshoot a SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) database

  • Process data models
    • Define processing of tables or partitions for tabular and multidimensional models; define processing of databases, cubes, and dimensions for multidimensional models; select full processing versus incremental processing; define remote processing; define lazy aggregations; automate with Analysis Management Objects (AMO) or XML for Analysis (XMLA); process and manage partitions by using PowerShell
  • Troubleshoot processing and query issues
    • Use SQL Profiler, troubleshoot duplicate key dimension processing errors, error logs and event viewer logs of SSAS, mismatch of data: incorrect relationships or aggregations, dynamic security issues, validate logic and calculations; incorrect calculations from SOLVE ORDER

Preparation resources

  • Multidimensional model databases (SSAS)
  • Processing options and settings (Analysis Services)
  • Monitor an Analysis Services instance

Build a tabular data model

  • Configure permissions and roles in a tabular model
    • Configure server roles, configure SSAS database roles, implement dynamic security (custom security approaches), role-based access, test security permissions, implement cell level permissions
  • Implement a tabular data model
    • Define tables, import data, define calculated columns, define relationships, define hierarchies and perspectives, manage visibility of columns and tables, embed links, optimize BISM for Power View, mark a date table, sort a column by another column

Preparation resources

  • Create a BI semantic model connection to a tabular model database
  • Tabular modeling (Adventure Works tutorial)
  • Tabular modeling (SSAS tabular)

Build a report with SQL Server Reporting Services

  • Design a report
    • Select report components (Matrix, Tablix, design chart, data visualization components), design report templates (Report Definition Language), identify the data source and parameters, design a grouping structure, design drilldown reports and drillthrough reports, determine whether any expressions are required to display data that is not coming directly from the data source
  • Implement a report layout
    • Implement formatting; apply conditional formatting; define page configuration; implement headers and footers; implement matrixes, tables, charts, images, lists, indicators, maps, and groupings in reports; use Report Builder to implement a report layout; create a range of reports using different data regions; define custom fields (implement different parts of the report); implement collections (global collections); define expressions; implement data visualization components; identify report parts; implement group variables and report variables; design for multiple delivery extension formats
  • Implement interactivity in a report
    • Implement drilldown and drillthrough; interactive sorting; implement parameters (databound, multi-value); create dynamic reports in SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) using parameters; implement show/hide property actions (including jump to report), filters, parameter list, fixed headers, document map, and embedded HTML in reports
  • Manage a report environment
    • Manage subscriptions and subscription settings, manage data sources, integrate SharePoint Server, define email delivery settings, manage the number of snapshots, manage schedules, running jobs, and report server logs; manage report server databases; manage the encryption keys; set up the execution log reporting, review the reports; configure site-level settings; design report life cycle; automate management of reporting services; create a report organization structure; install and configure reporting services; deploy custom assemblies

Preparation resources

  • Reporting Services (SSRS)
  • Reporting Services tutorials (SSRS)
  • SQL Server Reporting Services "How do I?" videos

Plan business intelligence (BI) infrastructure

  • Plan for performance
    • Optimize batch procedures: extract, transform, load (ETL) in SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS)/SQL and processing phase in Analysis Services; configure proactive caching within SQL Server Analysis Services for different scenarios; understand performance consequences of named queries in a data source view; analyze and optimize query performance, including Multidimensional Expression (MDX) and Data Analysis Expression (DAX) queries; understand the difference between partitioning for load performance versus query performance in SSAS; appropriately index a fact table; optimize Analysis Services cubes in SQL Server Data Tools; create aggregations
  • Plan for scalability
    • Multidimensional OLAP (MOLAP); relational OLAP (ROLAP); hybrid OLAP (HOLAP)

Design BI infrastructure

  • Design a security strategy
    • Configure security and impersonation between SQL Server service, Analysis Services, and a front-end system; implement Dynamic Dimension Security within a cube; configure security for an extranet environment; configure Kerberos security; design authentication mechanisms; design security tests; build secure solutions end to end; design security roles for calculated measures; understand the tradeoffs between regular SSAS security and dynamic security
  • Design a high-availability and disaster recovery strategy
    • Design a recovery strategy, back up and restore SSAS databases, back up and restore SSRS databases, move and restore the SSIS catalog, design an AlwaysOn solution

Preparation resources

  • SQL Server 2012: Better business intelligence
  • Install SQL Server 2012 business intelligence features
  • Deployment topologies for SQL Server BI features

Design a reporting solution

  • Design a Reporting Services dataset
    • Design appropriate data query parameters; create appropriate SQL queries; create appropriate DAX queries for an application; manage data rights and security, extract data from Analysis Services by using MDX queries, balance query-based processing versus filter-based processing; manage data sets through the use of stored procedures
  • Design a data acquisition strategy
    • Identify the data sources that need to be used to pull in the data, determine the changes (incremental data) in the data source (time window), identify the relationship and dependencies between the data sources, determine who can access which data, determine what data can be retained for how long (regulatory compliance, data archiving, aging), design a data movement strategy, profile source data, customize data acquisition using DAX with reporting services data sources
  • Design BI reporting solution architecture
    • Design appropriate reports, such as linked reports, drilldown reports, drillthrough reports, and sub reports; design report migration strategies, access report services API; design code-behind strategies; identify when to use Reporting Services, Report Builder, or Power View; design and implement context transfer when interlinking all types of reports (Reporting Services, Report Builder, Power View, Excel); implement BI tools for reporting in SharePoint (Excel Services versus Power View versus Reporting Services); select a subscription strategy; enable Data Alerts; design map visualization

Preparation resources

  • Microsoft Contoso BI demo dataset for retail industry
  • Report embedded datasets and shared datasets (Report Builder and SSRS)
  • Drillthrough, drilldown, subreports, and nested data regions (Report Builder and SSRS)

Design BI data models

  • Design a schema
    • Design a data model, including multidimensional modeling, starting from a star or snowflake schema; design relational modeling for a Data Mart; choose or create a topology
  • Design cube architecture
    • Partition cubes and build aggregation strategies for the separate partitions; design a data model; choose a partitioning strategy for the data warehouse and cube; design the data file layout; identify the aggregation method for a measure in a MOLAP cube; performance tune a MOLAP cube using aggregations; design a data source view; design for cube drillthrough and write-back actions; choose the correct grain of data to store in a measure group; design analysis services processing by using indexes, indexed views, and order by statements
  • Design fact tables
    • Design a data warehouse that supports many-to-many dimensions with factless fact tables
  • Design and create MDX calculations
    • Design MDX queries, identify the structures of MDX and the common functions (including tuples, sets, TopCount, SCOPE, and VisualTotals), identify which MDX statement would return the required result, implement a custom MDX or logical solution for a pre-prepared case task

Preparation resources

  • Dimension objects (Analysis Services - multidimensional data)
  • Cube objects (Analysis Services - multidimensional data)
  • Calculations

Design an ETL solution

  • Plan to deploy SSIS solutions
    • Deploy the package to another server with different security requirements, secure Integration Services packages that are deployed at the file system, understand how SSIS packages/projects interact with environments (including recoverability), choose between performing aggregation operations in the SSIS pipeline or the relational engine, plan to automate SSIS deployment, plan the administration of the SSIS Catalog database

Preparation resources

  • SQL Server Integration Services
  • Integration Services backward compatibility
  • Integration Services tutorials

Course Reviews

No reviews found for this course.

Be the first to write a review