Cubes and dimensions disappear random

Hi,

Since today cubes and dimensions disappear random at our customers site. Without any pointable reason the cubes and dimensions will be deleted from the cubes and dimensions folder within the analysis services database. We have double checked no one removes the cubes or dimensions. After restoring the backup file the database will run for several minutes/hours and then for some reason the cubes and dimensions disappear. We are running sql 2005 standard with SP 1. Anyone knows how we can trace the events or track what happened? We have restored the as database multiple times (untill now 5 times) and the problem still keeps returning. No settings have changed and we are running the AS database for about one week from now. I have checked available diskspace etc. but all seems to be ok.

[edit] Is it possible that the cause of this could be that we restore an AS database to two different AS databases. For example, we want to restore an AS database to a new database called PROD_AS_DB and a new database called TEST_AS_DB. For both restores we use the same backup file.

[edit] After some testing it appears that the cube and dimension in the TEST_AS_DB disappear when we process the dimensions and cubes in the PROD_AS_DB also vice versa. So we think that restoring a single backup file to multiple AS databases doensn't result in the desired situation.

Anyone familliar with this and knows what to do?

Marc

Hi,

This could not be the reason in your case, but anyway it is possible,

let us say you restored the database from a backup file,

and before that you had the BI studio displaying the older database contents before restoration,

Now after the restore, if you save the BI studio project , it overwrites the restored database. so possibly some others are having a older copy of the db as a ssas project , which they are saving on back to the database after the restore?

Regards

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Thanks for the reply. But the scenario is as followed:

- Empty SSAS server
- Restore from file cube.abf to database PROD_AS_DB
- Restore from file cube.abf to database TEST_AS_DB

Process database PROD_AS_DB. Then process TEST_AS_DB. In our case dimensions and cubes disappeared in the PROD or TEST database depend on which database was beying processed. You say this is not possible but if that's true, what the hell is happens?

Thanks for your response.

Marc

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Hi,

How are you processing the databases?

is it an xmla query?

Regards

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We process the database through the GUI. First we select all the dimensions and process them. When finished we select all the cubes and process them.

Thanks for the reply.

Marc

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Hi.

If the strange behaviour of your SSAS is repeatable, turn on Profiler. All things that happen on the server will be logged. Then You can explore that log.

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Well vladimir,

I took your answer for granted but today it happenned again.

At our customers site SSAS is running with two databases, one database called DB_PROD other database called DB_TEST. I was restoring the DB_TEST database from the same backup file which I used for the database DB_PROD. This is what happenned:

By restoring the backup file to the DB_TEST database the cubes and dimensions in the DB_PROD disappeared. Also all the roles lost their settings.

I am only able to restore securily too two different databases if I deploy the cube on our development machine to two different databases, then I have to make two backups from the cube deployed. Then I transfer the files too the machine of our customer and there I can restore the backup files too the DB_PROD en DB_TEST SSAS database.

I really think this is a bug in SSAS. Atleast in SP1, I didn't test it with SP2.

Marc

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That is good idea. I remember similar situation fixed in SP2.

Edward.
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