FIX: Error message when you deploy a SQL Server 2005 Analysis Service project that contains many cubes, and the cubes contain linked measure groups: "Unexpected internal error"

Consider the following scenario:

• In Microsoft SQL Server 2005, you create a SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services project by using SQL Server Business Intelligence Development Studio.
• The project contains multiple cubes.
• At least two of the cubes contain linked measure groups.
• A linked measure group in one cube references a linked measure group in another cube.
• Another cube that contains a linked measure group appears later in the project.
• These linked measure groups are referenced as a linked measure group chain. For example, you have three cubes that are named A, B, and C:
  • Cube A contains no linked measure groups.
  • Cube B contains a linked measure group that references cube C.
  • Cube C contains a linked measure group that references cube A.

When you try to deploy the project, you receive the following error message:

This issue occurs because SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services tries to create a cube that contains a reference to a linked measure group whose source cube has not been created.

When you try to deploy the project that is mentioned in the "Symptoms" section, SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services first creates the cubes that do not contain a linked measure group. Then, SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services creates the cubes that contain linked measure groups by the order of cubes in the project.

When SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services creates the cube, SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services validates the cube and maps the linked measure groups to the objects that they reference in the source cube. If a cube contains a reference to a linked measure group whose source cube has not yet been created, this issue occurs.

In the example that is mentioned in the "Symptoms" section, SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services first creates cube A. Then, SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services creates cube B and cube C in the order that they exist in the project. If SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services tries to create cube B before SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services creates cube C, this issue occurs. Cube C is the source cube of the linked measure group that is referenced by the linked measure group in cube B. However, cube C has not yet been created.

The fix for this issue was first released in Cumulative Update 3. For more information about how to obtain this cumulative update package for SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 2, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:Note Because the builds are cumulative, each new fix release contains all the hotfixes and all the security fixes that were included with the previous SQL Server 2005 fix release. Microsoft recommends that you consider applying the most recent fix release that contains this hotfix. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:Microsoft SQL Server 2005 hotfixes are created for specific SQL Server service packs. You must apply a SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 2 hotfix to an installation of SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 2. By default, any hotfix that is provided in a SQL Server service pack is included in the next SQL Server service pack.

To work around this issue, change the order of the cubes that contain linked measure groups before you deploy the project. You must make sure that the cubes that are referenced by other linked measure groups are created first.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.

For more information about what files are changed, and for information about any prerequisites to apply the cumulative update package that contains the hotfix that is described in this Microsoft Knowledge Base article, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

For more information about the list of builds that are available after SQL Server Service Pack 2, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: For more information about the Incremental Servicing Model for SQL Server, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:For more information about how to obtain SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 2, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: For more information about the new features and the improvements in SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 2, visit the following Microsoft Web site: For more information about the naming schema for SQL Server updates, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:For more information about software update terminology, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: