Analysis Services storage utilization and .abf files

Products

• Information Centric Analytics

Issue/Introduction

The server hosting Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) quickly runs out of available disk storage space while the nightly RiskFabric Processing or the RiskFabric Intraday Processing job is running. On investigation, a significant number of files with the file extension .abf are found in the following folder:

%SystemDrive%\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSAS15.MSSQLSERVER\OLAP\Backup

Environment

Release : 6.5.4

Component : Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services

Cause

The file extension .abf refers to SSAS backup files, which can be generated manually or via a SQL Server Agent job.

Resolution

Deleting or otherwise moving the SSAS backup files will not have any effect (adverse or otherwise) on the operation of the RiskFabric database, cubes, or any other component of Information Centric Analytics (ICA). For assistance with scheduling and managing backups, consult with your database administrator.