Production Implementation Procedure

[cwsstins]

When implementing changes to an OLAP system from test environment into prod, is it better/more efficient to:

copy the entire test system (db, cubes, DTS, etc) onto the existing prod system

OR

to copy over from test into prod only those components that have changed (specific DTS packages, cubes, views, tbls, etc)?

 

[SQLDenis]

I would say only the changes, unless you are talking about very little data

Denis The SQL Menace
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http://sqlservercode.blogspot.com/

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[johnherman]

I think it depends on your philosophy on software version control and release. If the installation you want to promote to production fails, how will you recover to the previous version? Once you answer that question, you will have the answer(s) to your question about what to release from test into production.

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The trouble with doing something right the first time is that nobody appreciates how difficult it was - Steven Wright

 

[cwsstins]

Well, I'm a bigtime newbie to MSAS and OLAP in general. But it seems to me that most of the changes I've been working on don't fit the mold for typical version control in a configuration management system like MKS.

My changes so far have involved making changes to DTS packages, calculated members, and things along those lines. Not really code, per se. So when I make changes, I typically just make a backup of whatever component I'm changing prior to making the change. If anything goes wrong, I revert back to the original.

Not very elegant, I know...but what better ways are there to manage these elements?