Merging Partitions
You can merge partitions in an existing Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services (SSAS) database. The ability to merge partitions can be a powerful option, but care must be taken to fully understand both the process of merging and ways to make sure that the merge operation produces your intended results.
To make sure that partitions can be merged at a later time, when you create the partitions, you must consider certain restrictions on merging partitions. Partitions can be merged only if they meet all of the following criteria:
- They are in the same cube.
- They have the same structure.
- They have the same storage modes.
- They contain identical aggregation designs.
Remote partitions can be merged only with other remote partitions that are defined with the same remote instance of Analysis Services.
To create a partition that is a candidate for future merging, when you create the partition in the Partition Wizard, you can choose to copy the aggregation design from another of the cube's partitions. This ensures that these partitions have the same aggregation design. When they are merged, the aggregations of the source partition are combined with the aggregations in the target partition. For more information, see How to: Merge Partitions.
The following table lists links to topics that provide more detailed information.
| Topic | Description |
|---|---|
Fact tables can be kept accurate after a merger by learning the considerations discussed in this topic. |
|
Use of filters to keep partitions free of redundant data. |
|
Merging scenarios and how to keep them error free processes. |
See Also
Concepts
Managing Analysis Services Partitions
Merging Partitions that Have Different Data Slices