Yesterday in New Zealand Business Intelligence users group, attendees asked some questions that encouraged me to provide some links to Microsoft Articles written on SSAS Tabular.
Here you can read more about these articles;
Using DirectQuery in the Tabular BI Semantic Model
Choosing a Tabular or Multidimensional Modeling Experience in SQL Server 2012 Analysis Services
Hardware Sizing a Tabular Solution
Security the Tabular BI Semantic Model
Using DirectQuery in the Tabular BI Semantic Model
DirectQuery is a method of connecting to SQL Server database directly from SSAS Tabular model, in this method no processing will be required and data will be available real time. This method can be also more useful when you use it as Hybrid mode which comes with two types : DirectQuery with In-Memory , and In-Memory with DirectQuery. article below explains what are benefits of DirectQuery mechanism rather than xVelocity In-Memory and also explains what are limitations of using this method. it also explains how to use DirectQuery, enable it and deploy solution based on that.
Choosing a Tabular or Multidimensional Modeling Experience in SQL Server 2012 Analysis Services
After working with SSAS Tabular, one of the first questions that appears in your mind will be: Which one is better Multidimensional or Tabular?
This is an important question, and you need to think about it before starting implementation because when you start a project in one of these methods there is not a conversion wizard to convert project to another method in an easy way. There are some benefits in working with SSAS Tabular like Performace and Simplicity, but there also many benefits in Multidimensional like it is a mature technology and supports extra features. Article below published by Microsoft do a comparison between Multidimensional and Tabular, and provide a comparison matrix for you to help you make a better decision about using which modeling method within SSAS 2012.
Hardware Sizing a Tabular Solution
SSAS Tabular performance is mainly based on system resources like Memory and CPU. so hardware sizing will be one of the most important decision on your tabular solution in production environment. This article explained how to estimate size of hardware required for good performance with your tabular solution.
Security the Tabular BI Semantic Model
Tabular provides a powerful security models based on rules and row-level security with help of DAX functions and expressions. this article explains how to create rules, configure security, implementing dynamic security and using impersonation settings.