MS Paper: Precision Considerations for Analysis Services Users
This white paper covers accuracy and precision considerations in SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services. For example, it is possible to query Analysis Services with similar queries and obtain two different answers. While this appears to be a bug, it actually is due to the fact that Analysis Services caches query results and the imprecision that is associated with approximate data types. This white paper discusses how these issues manifest themselves, why they occur, and best practices to minimize their effect.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Scenario
Scenario Preparation
Test Scenario
Scenario Results
Inconsistency
Inaccuracy
Imprecision
Recreating the Test Scenario in SQL
Illustrating the Problem
Discussion
Potential Solutions
Solving the Problem at the Data Source
Solving the Problem with MDX
Conclusion
Appendix A
Conversion of a Number
Conversion in SQL Server
Number Comparison Sample Code
Appendix B