SQL Server 2008 R2 Standard/SSAS doesn't support semi additive facts

We just discovered this. Even the consultant we have building a cube for us didn't know it, until he got a deployment error which told him this was the case. We ended up having to upgrade from the Standard version to the Enterprise version, since this was a showstopper for us. I work at a large company, so they can eat the additional expense and barely even notice, but I was surprised by this. Does anyone know if there is some technical reason for this to be true, or is it just marketing? I was always under the impression that Enterprise was mostly about additional scalability, not things like SSAS features. Does anyone know of any other SSAS features which are only available in the Enterprise edition?

Hi Evan,

This area is obscure - here's the current list:
http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/product-info/compare.aspx
... but it's quite obscure (the "Partitioned cubes" entry isn't under "Analysis Services"?!?) and non-specific.

It's been a while (SQL 2005) since I worked on a non-Enterprise site, but I think there is still a further Enterprise+ feature which is parallel processing. Enterprise launches queries and processing for all dimensions and facts in parallel (respecting dependancies), which optimises processing time. Furthermore you can split large Facts into Partitions and process those in parallel as well. Standard runs everything in series, and doesn't allow Partitions. This has a massive impact on processing times. I haven't seen and couldn't find anything saying this has changed in SQL 2008 or R2.

IMO the next most useful Enterprise+ feature is Perspectives, especially considering you can't hide a dimension using security.

Speaking generally, for some of the missing features you can google around and try various workarounds. I've tried many and IMO they are typically more trouble than they are worth, especially considering ongoing maintenance.

Good luck!
Mike

I assume it was a marketing decision. It makes sense to me that partitions, perspectives, and translations are Enterprise-only features, but I don't like them leaving what I consider basic aggregations out of Standard Edition.

I have a small low-budget DW running on Standard Edition. I am particularly frustrated that I can't use 'AverageOfChildren' which I really think should be in Standard Edition. I've told my users the best we can do with Standard Edition is 'LastChild' and if they really want the average-over-time behavior they need to pony up for Enterprise Edition!

Is anyone aware of a workaround to provide average-over-time functionality in Standard Edition SSAS?