Choosing the correct project

Now that the IDE has started, you can start getting accustomed to it. Just as in Visual Studio, SQL Server Data Tools works with solutions and projects. A project is a group of source code files that are deployed together to the target. A solution is a group of projects that you want to handle together.

Depending on what you are developing you are working with different kinds of projects. In the tool you have several project templates with different targets, there are Reporting Services and Integration Services project templates used when developing ETL packages and reports. Then there is an Analysis Services section containing the different project templates that you can use.

There are two different project types for the multidimensional model: one where you create a model from scratch, and one that imports a cube and dimensions from an existing Analysis Services server. The Import from Server (Multidimensional and Data Mining) project type can be used if you have lost your source files to your project, but you have deployed it to the server.