Connecting to SSAS

I installed a named instance of SSAS on a server (SQL2005), and when I tried to connect to it, I got the following error:

Cannot connect to ServerNameInstance. —————————— ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: A connection cannot be made to redirector. Ensure that ‘SQL Browser’ service is running. (Microsoft.AnalysisServices.AdomdClient) —————————— No connection could be made because the target machine actively refused it 127.0.0.1:2382 (System)

The error message is somewhat cryptic and in my case the problem had nothing to do with the message content. Here are a few things to check when you get this message:

1. Go to ‘Services.msc’ and verify that the SSAS service is running
2. Verify that the SQL Browser is running
3. Go to ‘Surface area configuration for features’ and check the ‘Enable anonymous connections’ to the SSAS instance
4.Then you should be able to connect to the SSAS instance and right-click on it and go to Properties. The go to Security and add the users which should be allowed to access the SSAS
5.Go back to ‘Surface area configuration for features’ and un-check the ‘Enable anonymous connections’ to the SSAS instance

Done.