ARCHIVED: In EBI, how do I create a data source connection from within Dashboard Designer (SharePoint PerformancePoint Tools)?

You can create a data source connection from within the SharePoint PerformancePoint tools using Dashboard Designer.

1. On the EBI site, navigate to the appropriate BI Center.
2. Click Run Dashboard Designer.
3. In the Workspace Browser (left-hand pane), click Data Connections.
4. Select the Create tab, and click Data Source.
5. Select the appropriate category and template; in most cases, if you intend to consume a cube, you will want to choose Analysis Services. Click OK.

   A pane will appear with a default name for your data source (e.g., "New Data Source").

6. Verify that the Editor tab is selected.
   1. Under "Connection Settings", keep the default Use Standard Connection. Enter a "Server:" (e.g., ebid.uits.iu.edu; for URLs of analysis servers, see ARCHIVED: In EBI, how are reports developed?), and then select the appropriate entries from the "Database:" and "Cube:" drop-down menus.

      Note: If no options appear in the database menu, you probably do not have the necessary permissions to access the server.

   2. Under "Data Source Settings", select the appropriate authentication:
      • Unattended Service Account: A single shared user account is used to access all data sources. This is a low-privileged domain account stored in the Secure Store Service. In establishing your unattended service account, first determine whether this account has the necessary access to the data sources that will be required in the dashboard.
      • Unattended Service Account and add authenticated user name in connection string: Combination of the Unattended Service Account and Per User Identity.
      • Per User Identity: Each user's own account is used to access all data sources. This method requires Kerberos delegation. A domain administrator must configure the Kerberos delegation between PerformancePoint Services and the data sources.

      In most cases, you will use Unattended Service Account.

   3. Click Test Data Source. A pop-up window should state "Connection successful!"
7. Select the Properties tab.
   1. Enter an appropriate name, description, and person responsible (owner) for the data source.

      It is recommended that you use a technical name following existing naming standards, and that the description specify the database and cube it is consuming.

      EDSS needs the name of the person responsible for the creation of the data source to troubleshoot any difficulties with the developer; without this information, support is not possible.

   2. Choose a display folder. Display folders in Dashboard Designer serve as tags for your dashboard items in SharePoint lists and document libraries. They are useful when your organization has a large number of dashboard items saved to SharePoint Server 2010. See Microsoft's What is new in PerformancePoint Dashboard Designer.
8. Select the data source name in the Workspace Browser, and either click the Save icon, or right-click the name and select Save.

   Optionally, you can select the workspace project name and save that as above; saving the project can be beneficial when creating large projects, allowing you to display all objects in the workspace rather than having to open these individually from SharePoint.