How To Use the Analysis Services Execute DDL Task in SSIS 2005

Problem
We are looking to automate some tasks to be performed on our SQL Server Analysis Services Servers.  Can you give us the details on how the Analysis Services Execute DDL Task can be used in a SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) package?

Solution
The Analysis Services Execute DDL Task is a very useful one, allowing you to do just about anything with a SQL Server Analysis Services instance.  For example you could backup a database, process a cube, create a partition, merge partitions, etc.  You specify commands to be executed using XML for Analysis (XMLA) which is the native XML protocol for all interaction between a client application and a Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services instance.  You can find all of the details about XMLA in Books on Line; just search on XMLA.