This article discusses some considerations and limitations that apply when you build Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) cubes in Microsoft Project Server.

Versions of Microsoft Project Server earlier than 2010 use one OLAP cube at a time and does not support the simultaneous use of multiple OLAP cubes.

By default, when you create a Portfolio Analyzer view in Microsoft Project Web Access, the Portfolio Analyzer view binds to the "current" OLAP cube as specified in the MSP_WEB_ADMIN_CUBE page. This view always binds to this OLAP cube, even if you generate new OLAP cubes with different names. In this way, you can use multiple OLAP cubes with Microsoft Project Server.

Also, when you create a new Portfolio Analyzer view, you can edit the connection string to bind to a different OLAP cube in the Commands and Options dialog box of the PivotTable.

Microsoft Project Server overwrites any cube information that you enter in the Update resource tables and OLAP cube page in Microsoft Project Web Access. Therefore, Microsoft Project Server does not allow for the use of more than one OLAP cube at a time. However, if you want, you can manually change the name of the OLAP cube each time before you build a new cube. By doing so, you can update the OLAP cube that you want. For example, if you use different Portfolio Analyzer views, and these views are bound to different OLAP cubes, the views receive new data each time you manually update the OLAP cube.

To build an OLAP cube, follow these steps:

For Project Server 2002:

1. Connect to the Microsoft Project Web Access Web site, and then log on to Microsoft Project Server by using the administrator account.
2. Click Admin, and then click Manage enterprise features in the side pane.
3. In the side pane under Enterprise options, click Update resource tables and OLAP cube.
4. Under Build the OLAP cube in the Update resource tables and OLAP cube page, click Yes, I want to update resource availability information and build an OLAP cube.
5. Under OLAP cube name and description, type the name of the Analysis or OLAP server, the cube name, and the description in the appropriate boxes.
6. Under Date range, specify the date range that you want to use to build the cube.
7. Under Date range for resource availability, specify the date range that you want to use to look for resource availability.
8. Under Update frequency, specify how frequently that you want to run OLAP cube updates.
9. Under Done, click Save Changes.

For Project Server 2003:

1. Connect to the Microsoft Project Web Access Web site, and then log on to Microsoft Project Server by using the administrator account.
2. Click Admin, and then click Managae enterprise features in the side pane.
3. Under Build the OLAP cube in the Update Resource tables and OLAP cube page, click Yes, I want to update resource availability information and build an OLAP cube.
4. Under OLAP cube name and description, type the name of the Analysis or OLAP server, the cube name, and the description in the appropriate boxes.
5. Under Date range, specify the date range that you want tho use to build the cube.
6. Under Date range for resource availability, specify the data range that you want to use to look for resource availability.
7. Under Update frequency, specify how frequently that you want to run OLAP cube updates.
8. Under Done, click Save Changes.

For Project Server 2007:

1. Connect to the Microsoft Project Web Access Web site, and then log on to the Microsoft Project Server by using the administrator account.
2. Click Server Settings, and then click Build Settings in the Cube section of the page.
3. Under the Analysis Services Settings section, type the name of the Analysis server, the cube name, and a description in the corresponding boxes.
4. Under the Database Date Range section, specify the date range that you want to use to build the cube.
5. Under the Cube Update Frequency seciton, specify how frequently you want to run OLAP cube updates.
6. Click Save, or Save and Build Now to build the cube immediately.