Microsoft® SQL Server® 2008 Analysis Services Step by Step

Creating a Time Dimension

There’s practically no such thing as an OLAP database without a Time dimension. Often, a Time dimension contains months as the lowest level of detail—aggregated into quarters and years. Sometimes, a Time dimension contains days as the lowest level of detail. On occasion—particularly if you’re monitoring a manufacturing operation or Internet activity—you might create a dimension with minutes or even seconds as the lowest level of detail. Whatever the level of detail, a Time dimension has certain unique qualities.

For example, time typically occurs in regular intervals. Each hour contains 60 minutes, each day contains 24 hours, each quarter contains three months, and each year contains four quarters. This repetitive nature ...