FAQ

General

What is Casabase Cube?

Casabase Cube is an enterprise OLAP analytics engine delivered as a Snowflake Native Application. It provides multidimensional, dynamic-aggregation capabilities that overlay custom hierarchies directly on your existing Snowflake tables with zero data copying and no external infrastructure.

Does Casabase Cube copy or move my data?

No. Casabase Cube queries your data in place. All queries execute directly against your source tables using your virtual warehouse. The only data stored within the application is configuration metadata (cube definitions, hierarchies, formulas, saved queries, security rules, audit logs) and user-entered write-back values.

What Snowflake editions does Casabase Cube support?

Casabase Cube works on all Snowflake editions (Standard, Enterprise, Business Critical) across all cloud providers (AWS, Azure, GCP).

Does Casabase Cube make any external network calls?

No. The application runs entirely within your Snowflake account and makes zero outbound network calls. There is no data exfiltration risk.

How is Casabase Cube licensed?

Casabase Cube is distributed through the Snowflake Marketplace or via private listing. Contact support@casabasesoftware.com or your Casabase Software account representative for licensing details.

Installation & Setup

What role do I need to install Casabase Cube?

You need ACCOUNTADMIN or a role with the CREATE APPLICATION privilege.

What privileges does the application require?

Two privileges are requested during installation:

• READ SESSION — Required for row-level security and user identification in the Streamlit UI.
• EXECUTE MANAGED TASK — Required for automatic hierarchy rebuilds when dimension data changes.

How do I grant the application access to my data?

Grant USAGE on the database and schema, then SELECT on the individual tables:

GRANT USAGE ON DATABASE my_db TO APPLICATION CASABASE_CUBE;
GRANT USAGE ON SCHEMA my_db.my_schema TO APPLICATION CASABASE_CUBE;
GRANT SELECT ON TABLE my_db.my_schema.my_table TO APPLICATION CASABASE_CUBE;

Can I revoke access at any time?

Yes. Revoking USAGE or SELECT immediately removes the application’s ability to read your data.

How do I upgrade to a new version?

Marketplace installs may upgrade automatically depending on your account settings. You can also upgrade manually:

ALTER APPLICATION CASABASE_CUBE UPGRADE;

Your configuration data is preserved across upgrades.

Cubes & Hierarchies

How many cubes can I create?

There is no limit. You can create as many cubes as you need within a single installation.

How many dimensions can a cube have?

A cube supports up to 50 dimensions.

Can multiple cubes share the same fact table?

Yes. Multiple cubes can point to the same fact table with different hierarchies or formulas.

Can a cube use views instead of tables?

Yes. You can use Snowflake views for both fact tables and dimension tables. Views are especially useful when your source data needs transformation before use.

What hierarchy structures are supported?

Casabase Cube supports ragged hierarchies (unequal depth), unbalanced hierarchies (skipped generations), and shared members (a member rolling up under multiple parents).

Do I need to rebuild hierarchies when my dimension data changes?

Yes. Hierarchies must be rebuilt to reflect changes in the source dimension table. You can rebuild manually or enable Auto Rebuild to have hierarchies refresh automatically when source data changes.

What happens if my dimension table has errors?

Casabase Cube validates the dimension table before building a hierarchy. If validation fails (orphans, cycles, duplicates, invalid operators), the hierarchy is not created and the specific errors are returned so you can correct them.

Querying

Can I query Casabase Cube from tools other than the Streamlit UI?

Yes. All functionality is exposed as stored procedures callable from any tool that can execute Snowflake SQL — including Python, Power BI, Tableau, Excel, dbt, and custom applications.

What is a POV?

POV (Point of View) is a JSON structure that defines which members to include from each dimension in a query. It supports operators like children, descendants, bottom, ancestors, siblings, and more.

What is the difference between QUERY_CUBE and QUERY_CUBE_AUTO?

QUERY_CUBE requires you to specify the data table and amount column explicitly. QUERY_CUBE_AUTO reads these from the cube’s saved settings, so you only need to provide the cube name and POV.

Can I save queries for reuse?

Yes. Saved queries store a named POV definition that can be referenced in any query using the {"SAVED_QUERY": "name"} syntax.

Can I write query results to a table?

Yes. Pass an OUTPUT_TABLE parameter to QUERY_CUBE to materialize results into a Snowflake table. This is useful for feeding BI dashboards or creating scheduled refreshes.

Is there a limit on the number of rows returned?

There is no hard limit. You can optionally set a row limit in the cube settings to guard against accidentally large result sets.

Formulas

What types of formulas are supported?

Casabase Cube supports simple member references, cross-dimensional references (with chaining), hierarchy-aware IS* functions, row placeholders ({ROW}, {TOTAL}), CASE expressions, and inline (ad-hoc) formulas.

Can a formula reference another formula?

Yes. Use solve order to control evaluation sequence. A formula that depends on another formula must have a higher solve order.

What are inline formulas?

Inline formulas are ad-hoc calculations passed as objects in the FORMULA_LIST parameter. They are not saved and exist only for the duration of the query. Useful for one-off analysis and prototyping.

How do I avoid divide-by-zero errors in formulas?

Wrap divisors in NULLIF(x, 0) or use NULLIFZERO(x). The formula editor warns you if it detects division without this protection.

What are IS* functions?

Hierarchy-aware functions that adapt calculations based on a member’s position. For example, ISLEAF(PERIOD) returns TRUE for bottom-level time members, enabling formulas that annualize monthly data differently than quarterly data.

Write-Back & Data Forms

Does write-back modify my source data?

No. User-entered values are stored in a separate input table within the application. Your source tables are never modified. At query time, user inputs are merged with source data, with user inputs taking priority.

What spread methods are available?

Six methods: REPLACE, ADD, SUBTRACT, SPREAD_EVEN, SPREAD_PROPORTIONAL, and SPREAD_FILL. Spreading distributes a value written to a parent member across its bottom-level members.

Can I undo a write?

Yes. Use UNDO_LAST_WRITE to revert the most recent write operation.

What are locks?

Locks prevent writes to specific dimension members (e.g., a closed period or finalized version). Locked cells cannot be modified unless the lock is removed or explicitly overridden.

Can I preview a write before committing?

Yes. Use the dry_run option in WRITE_CUBE to see exactly what would be written without executing the write.

What are composite forms?

Composite forms combine multiple individual data forms into a single tabbed view. They are useful for multi-step data entry workflows.

Security

What application roles are available?

Three roles:

• CUBE_ADMIN — Full access including configuration, write-back, and security management.
• CUBE_WRITER — Data entry access through forms and write-back.
• CUBE_PUBLIC — Read-only query access.

Each role inherits the capabilities of the roles below it (ADMIN includes WRITER and PUBLIC).

How does row-level security work?

An administrator creates rules that map users to specific members within a dimension. When security is enabled for a hierarchy, query results are automatically filtered to include only authorized members.

Can a user have different access in different cubes?

Yes. Security rules are per-cube. A user may have full access in one cube and restricted access in another.

What happens if no security rules exist for a user?

If row-level security is enabled for a dimension but no rules exist for a specific user, that user will see no data for that dimension.

Essbase & Cloud EPM Migration

Can I migrate from Oracle Essbase to Casabase Cube?

Yes. Casabase Cube can import hierarchy metadata from Essbase outline exports (XML) and data from Essbase export files.

Can I migrate from Cloud EPM?

Yes. Casabase Cube can import dimension metadata from Cloud EPM metadata export files (CSV). The parser auto-detects standard Cloud EPM column names.

Will importing affect my existing Essbase or Cloud EPM environment?

No. The import process creates new configuration within Casabase Cube. Your source environment is not modified in any way.

Performance & Scalability

What determines query performance?

Query performance is primarily driven by your Snowflake virtual warehouse size, the volume of data in your fact table, the number of dimensions and members included in the query, and the complexity of formulas.

How do I improve query performance?

Start with a larger warehouse size. Reduce the number of members selected. Use the bottom operator for detail queries. Materialize frequently run queries to output tables. Simplify deeply nested formulas.

Are there limits on data volume?

There is no inherent limit. Casabase Cube works with fact tables of any size. Performance scales with your Snowflake warehouse.

Support

How do I get help?

Resource	Details
In-App Help Center	AI-powered assistance available from the Help page in the sidebar.
Website	cube.casabasesoftware.com
Email	support@casabasesoftware.com

How do I check which version I am running?

DESC APPLICATION CASABASE_CUBE;

Where can I see the release notes?

Release notes are maintained in the application’s changelog. Contact Casabase Software or check the website for the latest version details.