Essbase is a multidimensional database engine that provides support for ad hoc analysis. Such analysis is driven by the intuition of the analyst and can be time-consuming as data volume increases. Large cubes tend to contain more dimensions and sometimes more levels, making hierarchical navigation very cumbersome.
By drilling down to a sample of members you can quickly analyze a large multidimensional database with a focus on data trends or approximate information in the initial stages. This type of drilling down to a sample of members is also referred to as "metadata sampling."
Metadata sampling enables you to drill down on all members that you specify, whether they reside in Essbase or, if you are using Hybrid Analysis, in an underlying relational database.
Metadata sampling does not support drill down on level 0 attribute members
When sampling is enabled, a combination of the algorithms used by Essbase and the sampling percentage you set sometimes enable these scenarios:
During a Zoom In operation, if a dimension is small, no members are retrieved.
During a Zoom In operation, if the sampling percentage is very small, all members are retrieved.
When drilling down on Hybrid Analysis, these limitations apply:
Sampling with the All Levels option is not supported with Hybrid Analysis members.
Sampling with Same Level and Same Generation options is not supported.