Software Needed to Use Local Cubes Created with Analysis Services 2005 SP2

CubeSlice files using local cubes created from Analysis Services in SQL Server 2000 can be used on any computer that has Microsoft Office XP or Microsoft Office 2003 installed. If you are using CubeSlice files created from Analysis Services in SQL Server 2005 or 2008, however, you may need to install some additional software on your computer.

Besides the change between SQL Server 2000 and SQL Server 2005, local cube files also changed between SQL Server 2005 SP1 and SQL Server 2005 SP2. If you want to view a local cube file created on a computer with SP2 or 2008 you must have the SP2 version of the client software installed.

You can obtain this software free from Microsoft. In order to find out whether or not you need it, try opening a CubeSlice Share file containing AS2005 SP2 local cubes. If your computer has the required software, you will see the local cube data displayed. If your computer does not have the required software, you will receive a message explaining the problem.

There are two things you need to install:

1. If you don't already have it, install Version 6.0 of the Microsoft XML library. This must be done before the second step. You can get a free copy of MSXML, Version 6.0, from Microsoft's web site.

2. After that, install the SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services 9.0 OLE DB Provider, also available free from Microsoft: This is the only thing you have to install if you already have the SQL Server 2005 support and you are upgrading to SQL Server SP2.

Make sure you use the February 2007 (or later) version of this software. You can download many software packages from this page. Look for the one called Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services 9.0 OLE DB Provider.

After installing these two pieces of software, you will be able to use AS2005 or 2008 local cube files with CubeSlice. This same software is also needed to use AS2005 or 2008 local cube files with Excel 2003.