Solution Background
Note: This article is primarily in reference to resolving severe issues with the Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Server (SSAS) database file folder when used by the Altiris IT Analytics Solution (ITA) for the Symantec Management Platform (SMP).
When certain severe issues occur with the SSAS, occasionally it is recommended to reset the contents of its database file folder. This is suggested when it is considered that the issue is not with ITA but with the SSAS files themselves. It has been found that by deleting all SSAS files created in the IT Analytics database folder created in SSAS that this can resolve such severe issues.
Issues that this has been so far proved to resolve include the following related articles:
Error "Errors in the metadata manager" occurs when trying to access an IT Analytics report
ITA - all versions
Other Troubleshooting
Similar troubleshooting may already have occurred, but if not, should be tried first, if they appear relevant, as it then takes less effort to get back to an operational ITA product state. These are:
For #2 and #3, creating a new SSAS database should resolve issues with database file issues with the original ITA SSAS database, but under at least once circumstance (KB TECH184011), it did not, and therefore the following process should not be disregarded out of hand. Also, even if SSAS is uninstalled in SQL, it may still leave database files present on the hard drive. Neither of these are necessarily guaranteed to remove the database files.
Solution Instructions
The following instructions describe how to reset the SSAS database file folder. WARNING: Please ensure that it is understood what the following will do, which will alter the SSAS database. If the files are not backed up correctly, this may result in permanent data loss. But as ITA uses derived data from the Symantec_CMDB database, in theory this should all be able to be recovered once ITA is able to process its cubes successfully again.