Connect the ASP.NET Core Dashboard to an OLAP data source

• Aug 01, 2019
• 2 minutes to read

The example below shows how to create an OLAP data source in code to make it available for end users.

1. In the Startup.cs file, create a public method that returns a configured in-memory dashboard data source storage (DataSourceInMemoryStorage) and define the OLAP data source. OLAP mode supports only XML for Analysis (XMLA) with MSMDPUMP. Use the DashboardOlapDataSource.OlapDataProvider static property to specify the XMLA data provider.

   C#

   using DevExpress.DashboardCommon;
   using DevExpress.DashboardWeb;
   
   public DataSourceInMemoryStorage CreateDataSourceStorage() {
       DataSourceInMemoryStorage dataSourceStorage = new DataSourceInMemoryStorage();
   
       DashboardOlapDataSource olapDataSource = new DashboardOlapDataSource("OLAP Data Source", "olapConnection");
       DashboardOlapDataSource.OlapDataProvider = OlapDataProviderType.Xmla;
       dataSourceStorage.RegisterDataSource("olapDataSource", olapDataSource.SaveToXml());    
   
       return dataSourceStorage;
   }
   

2. Use the DashboardConfigurator.SetDataSourceStorage method to set the data source storage and pass the created CreateDataSourceStorage method to use the returned value as a parameter. Then subscribe to the DashboardConfigurator.ConfigureDataConnection event to pass the connection parameters the OLAP data source requires.

   Global.asax.cs

   using DevExpress.AspNetCore;
   using DevExpress.DashboardAspNetCore;
   using DevExpress.DashboardWeb;
   
   public void ConfigureServices(IServiceCollection services) {            
       services
           .AddMvc()
           .AddDefaultDashboardController(configurator => {
               // ...
               configurator.SetDataSourceStorage(CreateDataSourceStorage());
           });
   }
   

3. Provide the required connection parameters at runtime in the DashboardConfigurator.ConfigureDataConnection event handler.

   C#

   using DevExpress.DataAccess.ConnectionParameters;
   
   private void Configurator_ConfigureDataConnection(object sender, ConfigureDataConnectionWebEventArgs e) {
       if (e.ConnectionName == "olapConnection") {
           OlapConnectionParameters olapParams = new OlapConnectionParameters();
           olapParams.ConnectionString = "Provider=MSOLAP;Data Source=http://demos.devexpress.com/Services/OLAP/msmdpump.dll;"
               + "Initial catalog=Adventure Works DW Standard Edition;Cube name=Adventure Works;Query Timeout=100;";
           e.ConnectionParameters = olapParams;
       }
   }
   

4. As a result, the OLAP Data Source is displayed as a Web Dashboard’s predefined data source.

   

   End users can now bind the dashboard items to data in the Web Dashboard’s UI. To learn more, see Binding Dashboard Items to Data in the Web Dashboard’s UI.