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At some point in the life of a server it will need to be upgraded. When upgrading a server it is only possible to have one FQDN DNS entry per named object in Active Directory and thus you will need to name the updated server to something other than what applications connected to. This can be a daunting process to rework applications and data objects such a as reports that use this server's name. A great way to get around this scenario is to create an Alias for the server so that this can be redirected to the new name and appear transparent to these types of objects connecting to the server.

To do this you will need to request or add a CNAME entry to your DNS zone file pointing to the registered server (object) In this case we are using an Analysis Services server.

• You do this by using the Active Directory Tools DNS snap-in
  • Open Run and type mmc
  • Once Open Select from the File menu Add/Remove Snap-in…
    • Add the DNS snap-in
      • Click OK
  • Locate the DNS in the DNS list
    • Choose the Domain (example Networks.net)
      • Right click the domain name and select New Alias (CNAME)…
      • NOTE* It was later discovered that (CNAME) is not supported in this scenerio, instead create an (A Record) and point it to the IP of the server.  You can have as may A Records as long as you register the SPN's and delgate access appropriatly.
      • 
    • Provide the Alias name and FQDN for the target host
    • 
• This will now map for example <physical server name>\instance to <alias name>\instance
  • DB01BI.NETWORKS.NET\BI to BIDB.NET\BI
• Once applied, confirm this by opening command prompt and typing
  • Nslookup BIDB

When users connect using SQL Server Management Studio or Visual Studio in this case they would use BIDB.NET\BI

In addition you may need to make the following registry changes on the SSAS server if you are not able to connect via the SSMS and other tools if your firewall settings are defined correctly - http://www.retherfords.com/blogs/CoryRetherford/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?ID=161

• Open Start > Run > Type regedit > OK
• Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\lanmanserver\parameters
  • Select the parameters key and select the Edit menu
    • Select New and then DWORD (32-bit) Value
      • Name this DisableStrictNameChecking and then press Enter
      • On the Edit menu select Modify and type 1 and click OK
    • Quit Registry Editor and restart the server