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1. Introducing ‘SAP BusinessObjects Explorer’ Technical Solution Overview
2. Agenda
3. ExplorerFunctionality Background
4. © SAP AG 2009. All rights reserved. / SAP BusinessObjects Explorer XI 3.2 / Page 4
Exploration interface layout
Facet interactions
Facet navigation
Values selection
Exploration path visualization
Measures interaction
Measure Facet
Measure Selection for exploration
Measure Selection for visualization
Visualization
Tag Cloud
Percentage view
User Experience
5. © SAP AG 2009. All rights reserved. / SAP BusinessObjects Explorer XI 3.2 / Page 5 MultiProviders and Restricted Key figures
MultiProvider InfoProviders Support in Explorer
Restricted Key Figures Support in Explorer
6. © SAP AG 2009. All rights reserved. / SAP BusinessObjects Explorer XI 3.2 / Page 6 Data Filtering A flexible solution for displaying a set of data per user
Another Information Space can be used for storing user’s association and will be called behind the scene
End-users will display (only) the data they were expecting
Limited side impact
query to the source (performance, end-user experience)
Task per user (sizing, time window)
7. © SAP AG 2009. All rights reserved. / SAP BusinessObjects Explorer XI 3.2 / Page 7 Exploring Excel File As spreadsheet files are widely used…
… end-users won’t need to build their own universe or infoprovider
… even space administrators will be able to build Information Space based on published file
8. © SAP AG 2009. All rights reserved. / SAP BusinessObjects Explorer XI 3.2 / Page 8 Calculated Measures
Create calculations in the Exploration interface
Explore data using calculations
Save calculations in Favorites
Include calculations in exported data
9. © SAP AG 2009. All rights reserved. / SAP BusinessObjects Explorer XI 3.2 / Page 9 Facet Groups “Moderate” faceted navigation
Help end-users to find the frequently-used facets (time…)
Group or link facets together
10. © SAP AG 2009. All rights reserved. / SAP BusinessObjects Explorer XI 3.2 / Page 10 NetWeaver BI Hierarchies Leveraging Hierarchies
Retrieve
Navigate
Select
11. ExplorerDeeper Dive
12. © SAP 2008 / Page 12 Power of Search
13. © SAP 2008 / Page 13 Power of BI
14. © SAP 2008 / Page 14 Even More Insights for Casual Users Improved smart visualization
Suggest the best charts for the data you’re working with
New chart types – including trend analysis
15. © SAP 2008 / Page 15 Even More Insights for Casual Users Chart up to three measures simultaneously
For example, view sales, margin and quantity sold
16. © SAP 2008 / Page 16 Even More Insights for Casual Users New interactions on charts and legend panel
Lasso and zoom on chart
Multi-sort by dimension or measure values in legend controlling the chart layout
Select and drill
17. © SAP 2008 / Page 17 From Casual Explorer to Analyst Guru
18. © SAP 2008 / Page 18 Export newly discovered data to CSV
Allows you to take information you find in Explorer to any 3rd party application that support data import from CSV From Casual Explorer to „Spreadhead“
19. © SAP 2008 / Page 19 Export newly created data visualization as an image
From Casual Explorer to Boardroom Superstar
20. © SAP 2008 / Page 20 Inherits Platform Capabilities… Built for SAP BusinessObjects XI 3.1
Leverages existing features of the SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise platform
Application in the CMC
User, group and application rights
Data source connectivity
Smart server support
Distributed servers
Authentication
Leverages new Universe features
Mandatory and optional prompts
Multiple contexts
Object level security
Interoperability with other BI tools
Drill from Xcelsius, Crystal Reports and Web Intelligence
Export to Web Intelligence
Search from Intelligent Search
Reduces (or does not increase) IT supportReduces (or does not increase) IT support
21. © SAP 2008 / Page 21 …And Adds Its Own
Independent UI
Control sort order at index time
Specify facet sort order for dates, text and measures
A to Z, 1 To N, or Explorer Best Guess
See all Information Spaces from root folder
Drop downs instead of control click to choose multiple measures
Multiple context sensitive, Flash driven help videos
Reduces (or does not increase) IT supportReduces (or does not increase) IT support
22. © SAP 2008 / Page 22 ExplorerDeployable in Minutes
23. Explorer AcceleratedDeeper Dive
24. New Features There are many new features that improve the experience of both Explorer and Explorer Accelerated in Wave 2. There are also BW specific features that greatly improve the experience of using Explorer Accelerated against BW. And finally, a giant leap forward in capability with Explorer Accelerated is the ability to accelerate, search, and explorer all data sources that can be provided by Data Services.There are many new features that improve the experience of both Explorer and Explorer Accelerated in Wave 2. There are also BW specific features that greatly improve the experience of using Explorer Accelerated against BW. And finally, a giant leap forward in capability with Explorer Accelerated is the ability to accelerate, search, and explorer all data sources that can be provided by Data Services.
25. Explore Almost Any Data Source Data Sources for SAP BusinessObjects Explorer
Non-accelerated version
Universe
Microsoft Excel
Accelerated Version
The non-accelerated sources, PLUS
SAP NetWeaver BW Integration (via BWA)
Indexing of InfoCubes
Indexing of snapshots
Other Sources via SAP BusinessObjects Data Services (via BWA)
26. Explorer AcceleratedArchitecture, Installation, Configuration
27. What was Explorer, accelerated version for SAP NetWeaver BW? “SBOP Explorer, accelerated version” is the combination of SAP BusinessObjects Explorer and SAP BusinessObjects Accelerator. SAP BusinessObjects Accelerator is the combination of Data Services and BWA.
SBOP Accelerator is a technology-driven innovation that drastically improves query performance. In fact, lab results and customer experience have proven that query performance (data read time) can be improved by a factor of between 10 and 100.
Without Accelerator queries are sent to the database where the results are retrieved and aggregated and then pushed up to the frontend. With Accelerator these same queries (against the same data model) almost never hit the database itself, but rather go against Accelerator instead.
Accelerator is delivered as a hardware appliance. For BW as a data source it requires SAP NetWeaver 7.0 with Enhancement Package 1 (EHP1) – support package 5. For agnostic data sources it requires Data Services XI 3.2 SP1.“SBOP Explorer, accelerated version” is the combination of SAP BusinessObjects Explorer and SAP BusinessObjects Accelerator. SAP BusinessObjects Accelerator is the combination of Data Services and BWA.
SBOP Accelerator is a technology-driven innovation that drastically improves query performance. In fact, lab results and customer experience have proven that query performance (data read time) can be improved by a factor of between 10 and 100.
Without Accelerator queries are sent to the database where the results are retrieved and aggregated and then pushed up to the frontend. With Accelerator these same queries (against the same data model) almost never hit the database itself, but rather go against Accelerator instead.
Accelerator is delivered as a hardware appliance. For BW as a data source it requires SAP NetWeaver 7.0 with Enhancement Package 1 (EHP1) – support package 5. For agnostic data sources it requires Data Services XI 3.2 SP1.
28. What is Explorer, accelerated version? “SBOP Explorer, accelerated version” is the combination of SAP BusinessObjects Explorer and SAP BusinessObjects Accelerator. SAP BusinessObjects Accelerator is the combination of Data Services and BWA.
SBOP Accelerator is a technology-driven innovation that drastically improves query performance. In fact, lab results and customer experience have proven that query performance (data read time) can be improved by a factor of between 10 and 100.
Without Accelerator queries are sent to the database where the results are retrieved and aggregated and then pushed up to the frontend. With Accelerator these same queries (against the same data model) almost never hit the database itself, but rather go against Accelerator instead.
Accelerator is delivered as a hardware appliance. For BW as a data source it requires SAP NetWeaver 7.0 with Enhancement Package 1 (EHP1) – support package 5. For agnostic data sources it requires Data Services XI 3.2 SP1.“SBOP Explorer, accelerated version” is the combination of SAP BusinessObjects Explorer and SAP BusinessObjects Accelerator. SAP BusinessObjects Accelerator is the combination of Data Services and BWA.
SBOP Accelerator is a technology-driven innovation that drastically improves query performance. In fact, lab results and customer experience have proven that query performance (data read time) can be improved by a factor of between 10 and 100.
Without Accelerator queries are sent to the database where the results are retrieved and aggregated and then pushed up to the frontend. With Accelerator these same queries (against the same data model) almost never hit the database itself, but rather go against Accelerator instead.
Accelerator is delivered as a hardware appliance. For BW as a data source it requires SAP NetWeaver 7.0 with Enhancement Package 1 (EHP1) – support package 5. For agnostic data sources it requires Data Services XI 3.2 SP1.
29. Explorer, Accelerated Version on Blades
30. Acceleration of SAP NetWeaver BWHigh-level Architecture
31. Acceleration of Agnostic DataHigh-level Architecture
32. Acceleration of All DataHigh-level Architecture
33. SBOP Accelerator and & SBOP Explorer Integration
34. Software Requirements
35. Hardware Requirements
36. Deployment: New Installation Explorer Blade Initial Deployment sequence overview
Install SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise XI 3.1
Install SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise XI 3.1 SP2
Install SAP BusinessObjects Explorer XI 3.2
Install SAP BusinessObjects Integration Solutions for SAP XI 3.1
Install SAP BusinessObjects Integration Solutions for SAP XI 3.1 SP2
The key points to take away from this presentation are <summary of key points>.
Now, the following <demonstration or practice session> gives you the opportunity to see how this feature works. The key points to take away from this presentation are <summary of key points>.
Now, the following <demonstration or practice session> gives you the opportunity to see how this feature works.
37. Deployment: Upgrade Installation Explorer Blade Upgrade sequence overview
Uninstall SAP BusinessObjects Explorer XI 3.1 SP1
Install SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise XI 3.1 SP2
Install SAP BusinessObjects Integration Solution for SAP XI 3.1 SP2
Install SAP BusinessObjects Explorer XI 3.2
The key points to take away from this presentation are <summary of key points>.
Now, the following <demonstration or practice session> gives you the opportunity to see how this feature works. The key points to take away from this presentation are <summary of key points>.
Now, the following <demonstration or practice session> gives you the opportunity to see how this feature works.
38. Explorer AcceleratedPrerequisites/Setup of Systems
39. Typical Project Plan
40. Acceleration of NetWeaver BW
41. Acceleration of SAP NetWeaver BWOverview Multi-provider indexing and exploration:
Natively index common MultiProviders
Index once for Explorer and BW use cases
Delta-loading capability
Snapshot indexing of complex MultiProviders
Such as those that refer to DataStore Objects and InfoObjects
Support for MultiProviders with compounded characteristics across InfoCubes (compound father in one InfoCube, child in another)
Query indexing and exploration
Explorer can now be used to explore existing (or new) Queries
Quickly index your existing Queries for Explorer and have your users exploring them almost immediately
Snapshot indexing of Queries
Ability to leverage query features such as complex unit conversions Query snapshot: no hierarchy support, cannot be taken if temporal join is part of queryQuery snapshot: no hierarchy support, cannot be taken if temporal join is part of query
42. © SAP 2009 / Page 42 Acceleration of NetWeaver BW (1)
43. © SAP 2009 / Page 43 Acceleration of NetWeaver BW (2)
44. © SAP 2009 / Page 44 Acceleration of NetWeaver BW (3)
45. Acceleration of All Data
46. Acceleration of All DataOverview SAP BusinessObjects Data Services XI
Access all types of structured and unstructured data from virtually any source, from databases to Web forums
Integrate and deliver data in real-time or batch using flexible approaches through extraction, transformation, and loading (ETL)
Improve data quality with the ability to profile, cleanse, and match data during the ETL process
Positioned as leader in Data Integration and Data Quality Magic Quadrants from Gartner
SAP BusinessObjects Rapid Marts
Add-on content to SAP BusinessObjects Data Services
Ready to use packaged data integration for ERP with support of SAP, PeopleSoft, Oracle, and Siebel will accelerate your datawarehouse / datamart projects
Combine application knowledge with data integration best practice to deliver prebuilt data models, transformation logic, and data extraction
47. Acceleration of All Data (1)Broad Source and Target Support Broad connectivity to databases, applications, legacy, file formats, and unstructured data
Import of “live” metadata from ERP system, including custom tables and other objects
Support for ERP-specific data structures
Metadata shown in business process-related way
48. Acceleration of All Data (2)Data Services + index designer
49. Acceleration of All Data (3)Workflow © SAP AG 2009. All rights reserved. / Page 49
50. Acceleration of All Data (4)index designer Requirements
51. Acceleration of All Data (5)index designer Requirements
52. Acceleration of All Data (6)Example
53. Acceleration of All Data (7)Example
54. Explorer andExplorer AcceleratedSizing Considerations
55. © SAP 2009 / Page 55 ExplorerSizing Heavily dependent on data volumes
1 million rows per Information Space: 5 active users/core
Note: possibility of significant performance degradation over 2M records
100K rows: 15 active users/core
10K rows: 25 active users/core
Scenario
1000 named users: 1 active user = roughly 10 named users
10% access regularly access 1M row spaces
60% of users regularly access 100K row spaces
30% regularly access 10K row spaces
Formula = [(100*.1)/5]+[(100*.6)/15]+[(100*.3)/25] = 2+4+1 = 7 cores
Servers customer is deploying contain 8 cores each so one 8-core server would be needed for this scenario
See SAP Note 1339507: Sizing Explorer and Explorer Accelerated for more detail
56. © SAP 2009 / Page 56 Explorer AcceleratedSizing Overview Explorer Blades
30 active users/core regardless of the number of records being explored
At an even higher level, assuming various levels of concurrency and active usage, you can safely assume that an 8 core blade will support 500 named users
BWA Blades (aka “Data Blades”)
Compression ratio for BW data to BWA indexes is roughly 10:1
In general, 100 GBs of data in BW equals 10GBs RAM in BWA
You should make sure to have enough RAM such that the amount of data in RAM only uses half of what is available.
See the following SAP Notes for more detail
SAP Note 1339507: Sizing Explorer and Explorer Accelerated
SAP Note 1338863: Sizing BWA for Explorer Accelerated
SAP Note 1323934: Central Note for SAP BO Explorer, accelerated version for SAP NW BW
Master Guide
Consolidated guide on sizing resources for partners available on request
57. © SAP 2009 / Page 57 Explorer AcceleratedBWA Sizing Detail (1) – QuickSizer BWA Sizing integrated in SAP QuickSizer
QuickSizer access: http://service.sap.com/quicksizer
Create Project and select SAP NetWeaver BI
Create a new QuickSizer project, otherwise the BWA options will not appear.
Most of the data captured is the same as for SAP NetWeaver BI sizing. If you have already performed a BI sizing, you can Copy & Paste the values for the BWA sizing.
If you already have a BI system (loaded with data), then the program and method described in SAP note 917803 is recommended
Report computes memory requirements and disk space (also runs on SAP BW 3.x)
Using the BWA will take load off of the SAP NetWeaver BI system. As this load reduction depends on several detailed factors (such as share of query time spent in analytic engine, size of result set, number of users etc.), this reduction has not been captured in the SAP NetWeaver BI sizing.
Refer to Thread on SDN for additional info
https://forums.sdn.sap.com/thread.jspa?threadID=776332&tstart=0
58. © SAP 2009 / Page 58
Hardware sizing
Hardware partner translates the results of SAP QuickSizer into optimal configuration of hardware
High availability setup:Extra blade(s) required as backup for automatic failover
Valid for production and test system
Possibly less rigid performance requirements for test systems ? optional sharing of resources (see ‘BWA in non-production environments’) Explorer AcceleratedBWA Sizing Detail (2) – QuickSizer Cont. For the sizing of the BWA, SAP note 917803 provides a report that computes memory requirements and disk space for existing InfoCubes. The result of this report will be translated by the HW vendor into concrete numbers of blades, memory, storage etc.
In order to avoid swapping, it is recommended to size the memory in a way that all data is fitting in main memory. Note that under-sizing cannot only lead to performance drawbacks but also to heavy swapping and to system downtime. There may be less requirements for test systems (see FAQ on test systems) – some resources (e.g. blades in some cases) may be shared.For the sizing of the BWA, SAP note 917803 provides a report that computes memory requirements and disk space for existing InfoCubes. The result of this report will be translated by the HW vendor into concrete numbers of blades, memory, storage etc.
In order to avoid swapping, it is recommended to size the memory in a way that all data is fitting in main memory. Note that under-sizing cannot only lead to performance drawbacks but also to heavy swapping and to system downtime. There may be less requirements for test systems (see FAQ on test systems) – some resources (e.g. blades in some cases) may be shared.
59. © SAP 2009 / Page 59 Which memory setup is supported for BWA blades?
See matrix for release status of blade generation and memory.
32 GB Harpertown (quad-core) blades are currently in certification process. See SAP note 1161765 for release status per hardware partner.
For mid-size customers, the HW partners offer one XS configuration consisting of 8GB blades. This offering provides best value at reasonable hardware and license costs.
Any combination of blade generations can be used in the same BWA system. See SAP note 1163149 for more details. Explorer AcceleratedBWA Sizing Detail (3) - Memory
60. Explorer andExplorer AcceleratedCustomer Scenarios
61. Scenario AData Mart for an ME, greenfield customer © SAP 2009 / Page 61 Customer is in the mid-market and/or only interested in a standalone data mart implementation. There is no existing enterprise data warehouse.
Data needs to be extracted from several source systems (e.g. SAP ERP (without BW) and Oracle RDBMS).
SAP BusinessObjects Data Services is utilized to implement the data mart scenario.
Recommended option: SAP BusinessObjects Rapid Mart for SAP and other data sources. Rapid Marts offer pre-built data models, reporting and analysis content.
Analytic IM package is required to license Rapid Mart.
Index Designer is a plug-in for Data Services which is provided within SAP BusinessObjects Explorer Accelerated. No additional license is required for Index Designer.
Customer is in the mid-market and/or only interested in a standalone data mart implementation. There is no existing enterprise data warehouse.
Data needs to be extracted from several source systems (e.g. SAP ERP (without BW) and Oracle RDBMS).
SAP BusinessObjects Data Services is utilized to implement the data mart scenario.
Recommended option: SAP BusinessObjects Rapid Mart for SAP and other data sources. Rapid Marts offer pre-built data models, reporting and analysis content.
Analytic IM package is required to license Rapid Mart.
Index Designer is a plug-in for Data Services which is provided within SAP BusinessObjects Explorer Accelerated. No additional license is required for Index Designer.
62. © SAP 2009 / Page 62 Scenario BSAP Business Warehouse-centric customer Instead of utilizing Data Services (ETL), the customer loads data from multiple source systems into BW where the data transformation and consolidation take place (ELT).
SAP BusinessObjects Data Services not required
All skills (BW dev) available in-house
Data can be staged in SAP NW Business Warehouse or passed through BW via remote cube and MultiProvider.
Index Designer is a plug-in for Data Services which is provided within SAP BusinessObjects Explorer Accelerated. No additional license is required for Index Designer.
Instead of utilizing Data Services (ETL), the customer loads data from multiple source systems into BW where the data transformation and consolidation take place (ELT).
SAP BusinessObjects Data Services not required
All skills (BW dev) available in-house
Data can be staged in SAP NW Business Warehouse or passed through BW via remote cube and MultiProvider.
Index Designer is a plug-in for Data Services which is provided within SAP BusinessObjects Explorer Accelerated. No additional license is required for Index Designer.
63. © SAP 2009 / Page 63 Scenario CLE customer with Enterprise Data Warehouses Large enterprise customer with both Teradata and SAP NW Business Warehouse as (Enterprise) Data Warehouses.
SAP BusinessObjects Data Services is required to harmonize the Data Warehouses. Operational IM package is required to license Data Services.
Note that SAP BusinessObjects Explorer Index Designer cannot reuse meta data from the EDWs.
Therefore, a large scale, redundant staging (and consolidation) environment is required.
This may not meet customer’s expected ROI or ease of deployment.
Index Designer is a plug-in for Data Services which is provided within SAP BusinessObjects Explorer Accelerated. No additional license is required for Index Designer.
Large enterprise customer with both Teradata and SAP NW Business Warehouse as (Enterprise) Data Warehouses.
SAP BusinessObjects Data Services is required to harmonize the Data Warehouses. Operational IM package is required to license Data Services.
Note that SAP BusinessObjects Explorer Index Designer cannot reuse meta data from the EDWs.
Therefore, a large scale, redundant staging (and consolidation) environment is required.
This may not meet customer’s expected ROI or ease of deployment.
Index Designer is a plug-in for Data Services which is provided within SAP BusinessObjects Explorer Accelerated. No additional license is required for Index Designer.
64. © SAP 2009 / Page 64 Scenario DLE Customer with heterogeneous data sources and corporate governance
The customer is typical of LE customers with multiple source systems and an effective data governance framework in place (i.e. master data and KPIs are consistent in all data sources).
Data Federator is used to virtually join data source tables. Index Designer is then used to map the data source tables to the star schema in Business Warehouse Accelerator.
Analytic IM Package is required to license Data Federator.
No manual transformations are required within Data Services.
Index Designer is a plug-in for Data Services which is provided within SAP BusinessObjects Explorer Accelerated. No additional license is required for Index Designer.
The customer is typical of LE customers with multiple source systems and an effective data governance framework in place (i.e. master data and KPIs are consistent in all data sources).
Data Federator is used to virtually join data source tables. Index Designer is then used to map the data source tables to the star schema in Business Warehouse Accelerator.
Analytic IM Package is required to license Data Federator.
No manual transformations are required within Data Services.
Index Designer is a plug-in for Data Services which is provided within SAP BusinessObjects Explorer Accelerated. No additional license is required for Index Designer.
65. © SAP 2009 / Page 65 Scenario ELE Customer with heterogeneous data sources and no corporate governance Customer is typical of large enterprises with multiple data sources. There is no effective governance model in place.
Use Data Services to support creation of EDW, governance framework.
In this scenario the Teradata data model is selected.
SAP BusinessObjects Explorer is then deployed as data mart-like solution
Operational IM Package is required to license Data Services.
Index Designer is a plug-in for Data Services which is provided within SAP BusinessObjects Explorer Accelerated. No additional license is required for Index Designer.Customer is typical of large enterprises with multiple data sources. There is no effective governance model in place.
Use Data Services to support creation of EDW, governance framework.
In this scenario the Teradata data model is selected.
SAP BusinessObjects Explorer is then deployed as data mart-like solution
Operational IM Package is required to license Data Services.
Index Designer is a plug-in for Data Services which is provided within SAP BusinessObjects Explorer Accelerated. No additional license is required for Index Designer.
66. © SAP 2009 / Page 66 Scenario FTeradata and SAP BusinessObjects Explorer Accelerated Customer is typical of a Large Enterprise with Teradata as the Enterprise Data Warehouse. The transaction systems in this example are SAP and Oracle.
There is an ETL infrastructure in place. (e.g. Informatica, Ascential Datastage or SAP BusinessObjects Data Integrator).
Teradata is used to create a harmonized view of data which joins all relevant tables.
This table view is then used by the Index Designer.
No manual transformations are required within Data Services.
Index Designer is a plug-in for Data Services which is provided within SAP BusinessObjects Explorer Accelerated. No additional license is required for Index Designer.Customer is typical of a Large Enterprise with Teradata as the Enterprise Data Warehouse. The transaction systems in this example are SAP and Oracle.
There is an ETL infrastructure in place. (e.g. Informatica, Ascential Datastage or SAP BusinessObjects Data Integrator).
Teradata is used to create a harmonized view of data which joins all relevant tables.
This table view is then used by the Index Designer.
No manual transformations are required within Data Services.
Index Designer is a plug-in for Data Services which is provided within SAP BusinessObjects Explorer Accelerated. No additional license is required for Index Designer.
67. Explorer andExplorer AcceleratedDownloads and Documentation
68. Where To Download Explorer „Standalone“ from SMPhttp://service.sap.com/patches ? SBO Explorer
69. Where To Download Explorer Accelerated from SMPhttp://service.sap.com/swdc ? SBO Explorer Blade Edition
70. Where to Download Explorer Accelerated from SMP http://service.sap.com/patches ? BWA
71. Where To Find Documentation on SMPhttp://service.sap.com/instguides
72. Where To Find Documentation on SDNhttp://cw.sdn.sap.com/community/docupedia
73. Explorer andExplorer AcceleratedExtended Roadmap
74. What Did We Announce at SAPPHIRE? SAP BusinessObjects Explorer XI 3.1 SP1
Simple, easy information access and analysis for Business Objects customers (that have Universes and BOE)
SAP BusinessObjects Explorer, accelerated version for SAP NetWeaver Business Warehouse
As the name implies, this is Explorer for NetWeaver customers providing all the benefits of Explorer PLUS:
Massive data volume and concurrent user handling through integration with Business Warehouse Accelerator
Blade Center deployment for optimized performance
Support for SAP BW Authorizations and specific SAP BW metadata concepts (characteristics, key figures, multiproviders*, and more coming…)
75. Explorer Accelerated Roadmap
76. SAP BusinessObjects Explorer Roadmap Evolution of Explorer
Leverage existing infrastructure investments
Interoperability with other BusinessObjects tools
REST API for feeding 3rd party data: useful for integration with 3rd party apps
Low TCO
Appliance Lifecycle Management
Your corporate data, in your pocket
Explorer Mobile
Blackberry support
SAP NetWeaver BW Accelerator technology will finally merge into a stand-alone analytic engine for any source data. It encompasses three important differentiators:
The mature in-memory technology provides a highly scalable platform for effective user response times
State-of the art analytic capabilities
Tightly integrated best-of-breed frontend UX tools for the complete range of user types from casual users (Explorer) up to the sophisticated business analyst (Pioneer)
Given this self-contained analytic engine, it is possible to centrally host the server (by IT) and to provide an additional option to the lines of business/departments to create their own innovation spaces. These models can be sourced from any data and using the meta data integration into SAP NetWeaver BW, they can be re-applied to the central data warehouse. SAP NetWeaver BW Accelerator technology will finally merge into a stand-alone analytic engine for any source data. It encompasses three important differentiators:
The mature in-memory technology provides a highly scalable platform for effective user response times
State-of the art analytic capabilities
Tightly integrated best-of-breed frontend UX tools for the complete range of user types from casual users (Explorer) up to the sophisticated business analyst (Pioneer)
Given this self-contained analytic engine, it is possible to centrally host the server (by IT) and to provide an additional option to the lines of business/departments to create their own innovation spaces. These models can be sourced from any data and using the meta data integration into SAP NetWeaver BW, they can be re-applied to the central data warehouse.
77. From Explorer Accelerated to Enterprise Acceleratet SAP NetWeaver BW Accelerator technology will finally merge into a stand-alone analytic engine for any source data. It encompasses three important differentiators:
The mature in-memory technology provides a highly scalable platform for effective user response times
State-of the art analytic capabilities
Tightly integrated best-of-breed frontend UX tools for the complete range of user types from casual users (Explorer) up to the sophisticated business analyst (Pioneer)
Given this self-contained analytic engine, it is possible to centrally host the server (by IT) and to provide an additional option to the lines of business/departments to create their own innovation spaces. These models can be sourced from any data and using the meta data integration into SAP NetWeaver BW, they can be re-applied to the central data warehouse. SAP NetWeaver BW Accelerator technology will finally merge into a stand-alone analytic engine for any source data. It encompasses three important differentiators:
The mature in-memory technology provides a highly scalable platform for effective user response times
State-of the art analytic capabilities
Tightly integrated best-of-breed frontend UX tools for the complete range of user types from casual users (Explorer) up to the sophisticated business analyst (Pioneer)
Given this self-contained analytic engine, it is possible to centrally host the server (by IT) and to provide an additional option to the lines of business/departments to create their own innovation spaces. These models can be sourced from any data and using the meta data integration into SAP NetWeaver BW, they can be re-applied to the central data warehouse.
78. SAP TECHNOLOGY PORTFOLIO PLANNED RELEASESMAIN PRODUCT RELEASES
80. Appendix © SAP 2007 / Page 80
81. Explorer AcceleratedSetup of Systems (NetWeaver)
82. Checking the Prerequisites for SSO on ABAP See the SAP Help Portal http://help.sap.com for more details
http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw04/helpdata/en/e1/8e51341a06084de10000009b38f83b/frameset.htm ? Architecture of the SAP WAS
http://help.sap.com/saphelp_erp2005/helpdata/en/e3/e86878c8204acc856d8d5da4a54fa4/frameset.htm ? Administration When Using Logon Tickets
Set the parameter SECUDIR=/usr/sap/<SID>/<instance>/sec for the user <SID>adm
Download the SSO libraries from the SAP Marketplace http://service.sap.com/swdc or http://service.sap.com/tcs
Check the SSO configuration with transaction STRUSTSSO2
System PSE and Certification List
Go to Menu ? Environment ? Display SSF Version
Go to Menu ? Environment ? SAP Logon Ticket ? check with RFC destination NONE Here on this page you see the Steps to check the SSO configuration for the WAS web reporting for BI.By Default, only HTTP is active you will get a prompt from your web browser as soon you want to log on to your WAS Server with http://server.domain.ext:<port>. The Disadvantage is, that you only get two fields: Username and Passwords. If you want to have additional Functionality like Language field or changing Password you need to enable the SSO configuration on the system.
This configuration is also the necessary Pre Requisites to integrate the BI system into the EP 7.0 Portal.
Note 888687: BEx Web Java: Analysis of communication/logon problems
Note 817529: Checking the SSO configuration
Note 838097: Follow-up after installation/upgrade of ERECRUIT 600
Load Balancing with HTTP/HTTPS:
Note 857596 - Message server: Status code for redirect requests
Note 932640 - Load balancing using message server through HTTPS
Here on this page you see the Steps to check the SSO configuration for the WAS web reporting for BI.By Default, only HTTP is active you will get a prompt from your web browser as soon you want to log on to your WAS Server with http://server.domain.ext:<port>. The Disadvantage is, that you only get two fields: Username and Passwords. If you want to have additional Functionality like Language field or changing Password you need to enable the SSO configuration on the system.
This configuration is also the necessary Pre Requisites to integrate the BI system into the EP 7.0 Portal.
Note 888687: BEx Web Java: Analysis of communication/logon problems
Note 817529: Checking the SSO configuration
Note 838097: Follow-up after installation/upgrade of ERECRUIT 600
Load Balancing with HTTP/HTTPS:
Note 857596 - Message server: Status code for redirect requests
Note 932640 - Load balancing using message server through HTTPS
83. Creating/Checking the SSL Tickets with STRUSTSSO2 Some more Informations about SSL/SSO:
Check the library sapcrypto.<ext> (o, so, sl, dll) if you are using the latest version which you can download from http://service.sap.com/patches. You must use a s-user ID for the download. See notes 508307 and 354819 for details. The library must have 775 or on W2K read permission before restarting SAP.
Check for the right parameters in the SAP instance profile (Example: Windows):
sec/libsapsecu = g:\usr\sap\BI1\SYS\exe\run\sapcrypto.dll
ssl/ssl_lib = g:\usr\sap\BI1\SYS\exe\run\sapcrypto.dll
ssf/ssfapi_lib = g:\usr\sap\BI1\SYS\exe\run\sapcrypto.dll
ssf/name = SAPSECULIB
Check with the transactions:
STRUST - Trust Manager
STRUSTSSO2 - Trust Manager for Logon TicketSome more Informations about SSL/SSO:
Check the library sapcrypto.<ext> (o, so, sl, dll) if you are using the latest version which you can download from http://service.sap.com/patches. You must use a s-user ID for the download. See notes 508307 and 354819 for details. The library must have 775 or on W2K read permission before restarting SAP.
Check for the right parameters in the SAP instance profile (Example: Windows):
sec/libsapsecu = g:\usr\sap\BI1\SYS\exe\run\sapcrypto.dll
ssl/ssl_lib = g:\usr\sap\BI1\SYS\exe\run\sapcrypto.dll
ssf/ssfapi_lib = g:\usr\sap\BI1\SYS\exe\run\sapcrypto.dll
ssf/name = SAPSECULIB
Check with the transactions:
STRUST - Trust Manager
STRUSTSSO2 - Trust Manager for Logon Ticket
84. Import the transports from the SAP IK CD(for NetWeaver 7.0 use the UC transports)
85. The settings in table RSCR_URLPARAMS can be called via Transaction /CRYSTAL/RPTADMIN
86. The settings in table IRTEST_URL can be called via Report RSCR_CHECK_INSTALLATION_PARAMS
87. Explorer AcceleratedPrerequisites/Setup of Systems/Checklist (1)
88. Explorer AcceleratedPrerequisites/Setup of Systems/Checklist (2)
89. SAP NetWeaver BW Explorer WizardInitial Enablement on Abap Backend How to enable a BW System for the Explorer (Table RSDDTREXADMIN)
Execute program RSDDTREX_ADMIN_MAINTAIN in transaction SE38
Set the Parameter POLESTAR_SYSTEM to X via this program
General setting of language and conversion exits (date format etc.) for the Explorer has to be done during the first start of the wizard (Domain XUDATFM)
90. SAP NetWeaver BW Explorer WizardTransactions RSDDV or RSDDTPS
91. SAP NetWeaver BW Explorer Wizard Program RSDDTPS_MPRO_MAINTAIN
92. Explorer AcceleratedSetup of Systems (BOE)
93. SAP BusinessObjects CMC Creation of Users and Security – SAP Authentication Prerequisite: SAP BusinessObjects XI Integration for SAP Solutions
SAP Authentication enables SAP users to log on
using their SAP user names and passwords
without storing theses passwords in SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise
with the option to automatically import users or dynamically with first log on
For the setup a user with defined authorization is needed
Enter parameters in file default.settings.properties
D:\Program Files (x86)\BusinessObjects\Tomcat55\webapps\polestar\WEB-INF\classes\
Example
94. SAP BusinessObjects CMC Creation of Users and Security – SAP Authentication In order to make the role import for SAP authentication work, execute the following steps
Fetch the following files from the SAP service marketplace:
http://service.sap.com/connectors -> JCo 2.1.8 32-bit (Windows version as example only)
sapjcorfc.dll
librfc32.dll
Copy these files into directory C:\WINDOWS\system32 and C:\WINDOWS\SysWOW64
Copy the file sapjco.jar to the following directories:
D:\Business Objects\Tomcat55\common\lib
D:\Business Objects\Tomcat55\server\lib
95. SAP BusinessObjects CMCCheck of Configuration ? CMC ? Polestar ? Properties
96. SAP BusinessObjects CMCCheck of Configuration ? Index Server Host and Port
97. SAP BusinessObjects CMCCheck of Configuration ? Index Server Host and Port/Backup
98. SAP BusinessObjects CMCCheck of Configuration ? Restart of Explorer Servers
99. ExplorerCreation of an Information Space and Search
100. Additional Notes for SBO Explorer Accelerated MP Pilot after Support Stack 3 Note 1275853 - Explorer for BWA: composite note for Support Package 4
Note 1255625 - Explorer: Collective correction for wizard for SP4
Note 1322464 - Explorer for BWA: BW composite note for Support Package 5
Note 1325184 - BWA Revision with Explorer Compatibility with BI SP
Additional MultiProvider Support available with EhP1 Stack 5 (Q3/2009)
? These Notes require a lot a of manual steps, so clarify the Pilot Status first
Note 1332090 - MultiProvider Snapshot for Business Objects Explorer
Note 1332392 - Polestar/Explorer on a MultiProvider Snapshot
Beside that some additional Notes have to be considered
? Some of these Notes might selected automatically
1228465 - Method _PARALIZE_START; prerequisite for note 1332090
1338216 - Performance Optimization MultiProvider for BO Explorer
Note 1326576 - SAP NetWeaver Systems Containing SAP ERP Software Components
Note 1248905 - SP Equivalence for update/upgrade to EHP 1 for SAP NW 7.0
101. MultiProviders Description
The current implementation of BWA indexes InfoCubes. MultiProviders are a metadata concept added by the SAP BW OLAP engine, which is outside BWA. As a consequence, customers in wave 1 will not be able to use MultiProviders.
Affected customer scenarios
BW customers make extensive use of MultiProviders to a) partition large InfoCubes according to regions (semantic partioning), b) partition InfoCubes according to time (data agining), c) combine InfoCubes from different business areas (cross topic reporting), d) combine InfoCubes with other InfoProviders (e.g. with DSOs for eal time reporting), or e) simply to abstract the an InfoCube from a query in order to be able to replace/rebuild the cube without impacting reports (1 to 1).
Reason for limitation
The initial implementation focuses on delivering the Explorer user experience on top of BWA indexes. Today, BWA does not support the concept of MultiProvides, as it is handled by the SAP BW OLAP engine. Implementing support for MultiProviders in BWA requires significant investments into the TREX engine, which exceeded the volume of possible investments for the targeted release date.
Planned actions
In Wave 2 it is planned to transfer the MultiProvider metadata to BWA, enabling the TREX engine to provide calculations on part providers.
The support for MultiProviders continues to be a very large investment. It is planned to implement MPs in a phased approach:
Wave 2 will see support for „homogenous“ MultiProviders, where part providers are structurly identical InfoCubes. All other MPs will continue to require MP snapshots
Wave 3 is planned to provide support for „heterogenous“ MultiProviders, where part providers are any InfoCubes. For all other MPs, it is technically more feasable to continue with MP snapshots
102. Calculated Key Figures Description
Calculated key figures are calculated by the SAP BW OLAP engine which is not part of BWA and therefore not available to Explorer in wave 1.
Affected customer scenarios
Customers use calculated key figures in order to deal with a) complex business definitions for KPIs and b) mathematical requirements to calculate key figures on the fly (e.g. Salesprice per unit -> sum(salesprice)/sum(units) ).
Reason for limitation
BWA has no metadata about defined key figures and no capabilities to execute such calculations. There is a broad range of calculations supported by BW including exceptional aggregations that will require significant efforts when being transfered to BWA for execution in memory. The investment was not possible in wave 1.
Planned actions
In wave 2 it is planned to provide support for calculated key figures defined in BW InfoCubes, so that Explorer customers can leverage these key figures without any additional effort.
It is also planned for wave 2 to provide basic calculation capabilities inside Explorer (add, substract, multiply, divide, percentage) to define calculated key figures for execution in BWA.
Support for non-additive (stock) figures is under discussion.
Depending on customer feedback and Explorer product definition, further calculation capabilities may be added over time.
103. Restricted Key Figures Description
Restricted key figures are calculated by the SAP BW OLAP engine which is not part of BWA and therefore not available to Explorer in wave 1.
Affected customer scenarios
Customers make frequent use of restricted key figures. The most prominent scenarios involve a) value type/value pairs where the value type indicates what KPI is stored in the value (very helpful if new key figures get added on a regular basis), b) actual versus plan reporting where multiple versions are available for each key figure (actuals, plan 1, plan 2, plan n), c) user rolebased restrictions on key figures, and d) time based restrictions (sales this year, YTD).
In advanced scenarios a combination of restricted and calculated key figures is very common (ratio between sales this year and last year).
Reason for limitation
BWA has no metadata about restricted key figures and no calculation capabilities to execute. There is a significant investment required to support restricted key figures in BWA. The investment was not possible in wave 1.
Planned actions
In wave 2 it is planned to provide support for the most prominent use-cases for restricted key figures. The implementation needs to be aligned between Explorer and BWA in order to ensure a sound product strategy for the customer facing front-end. The degree of support for restricted key figures is intended to be driven by what Explorer PM regards as viable for the business user.
Restricted key figures are a common concept in OLAP type analysis, but results may be hard to understand for casual users as they are targeted by Explorer.
Wave 3 is planned to provide support that is suitable for OLAP clients such as Pioneer.
104. External Hierarchies Description
The current implementation of BWA does not index hiearchy data. The SAP BW OLAP engines adds hierarchy information to results from BWA. Explorer has no concept for parent/child hierarchies.
Affected customer scenarios
BW supports different types of hierarchies. Hierarchies may be implemented as attributes for characteristics, or they may be stored as external hierarchies. The restriction is on external hierarchies. Typical scenarios involve a) hierarchies that frequently change over time, or b) hierarchies being defined by regional teams individually.
Reason for limitation
External hierarchies are stored in a seperate table by BW that is currently not being indexed in BWA. Enabling the indexing of hierarchy tables requires changes in the NetWeaver code. In addition there is no concept in Explorer for dealing with parent/child hierarchies (as they are typically used in external hiearchies, e.g. Cost center or material).
Planned actions
It is planned for wave 2 to include the hierarchy data in BWA indexes. There needs to be a change in the BW indexing process, and there need to be changes in the Explorer front-end to support these hierarchies.
The solution in wave 2 will address the most prominent cases but will leave more advanced scenarios untouched (inter company elimination) where metadata is not available to BWA. However, these scenarios are understood by solution management as being typical OLAP scenarios and not typical Explorer scenarios.
Wave 3 is planned toprovide support that is suitable for OLAP clients such as Pioneer.
105. Currency and Unit Conversion Description
Currency and unit conversions are handled by the SAP BW OLAP engine, which is not part of BWA and therefore not available to Explorer in wave 1.
Affected customer scenarios
Any scenario that involves key figures using currencies or units such as Coke delivering its products in bottles and cans (summaries need to be in HL).
Reason for limitation
Currency and unit conversion requires metadata and data (conversion rates) that is not indexed in BWA at this moment in time. During the load process, data is converted into one currency or unit chosen by the administrator. In wave 1 BWA also has no calculation capabilities to do the calculations.
Planned actions
In wave 2 BWA will get the calculation capabilities that would be needed to convert currencies and units. Due to resource constraints it is not planned to actually support conversions outside the initial load job.
106. Language Support Description
Handling translations of metadata and data is managed by SAP BW OLAP Engine, which is not part of BWA and therefore not available in wave 1.
Affected customer scenarios
The typical use case for multilanguage analyis can be found in bi-lingual countries such as Canada or Switzerland. In Canada any information needs to be available in English and French. Customers want to be able to easily switch between languages at any time.
Reason for limitation
BWA indexed only fact tables in the past. Texts for master data and lables were added by the BW OLAP engine as any query would pass through this processor anyhow. With Explorer accessing indexes directly, the texts for masterdata and metadata had to be written to BWA. In wave 1 an extension to indexes has been added that currently can only store one version of the text. In wave 1 the version / language of this text is defined at indexing time by the administrator .
Planned actions
It is under discussion to support multiple languages in one index in wave 2. Specifications have not yet been finalized.
107. Useful Resources on SDN and SMP TechEd 2008 Berlin - Upgrade to SAP NetWeaver BI 7.0 with new innovative Toolshttps://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/go/portal/prtroot/docs/library/uuid/80a866bf-d18b-2b10-3b89-a0509e7e7f62
Lower your TCO and Time Efforts by Managing your Upgrade with Innovative Tools https://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/sdn/nw-bi?rid=/webcontent/uuid/b039ebc5-304f-2b10-499e-97dabda45e48
SAP Enhancement Package 1 for SAP NetWeaver 7.0 https://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/sdn/nw-70ehp1
SAP Enhancement Package Installer (SAPehpi) for SAP NetWeaver 7.0 http://service.sap.com/irj/sdn/ehp-inst
Services for SAP NetWeaver BW Accelerator (? free of charge with enterprise support) https://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/sdn/bia#section12
"SAP Safeguarding Services" for Implementation and Upgradehttp://service.sap.com/SAFEGUARDING
108. © SAP 2008 / Page 108 Useful URLs for Explorer Systems Explorer Microfinance http://microfinance.sap.com/ivt/formula1.html
Explorer OnDemand http://explorer.ondemand.com (no registration – no data persistence)
Explorer OnDemand http://goexplore.ondemand.com (registration required – data persisted)
Bookmark (Example)http://idespolestar.wdf.sap.corp:8080/polestar/index.jsp?application=portal&documentId=09bfdbe1-db13-41dc-848c-8cdfb6fcfacf&bookmarkId=8e262137-83c4-45aa-89e7-c79cbd87e609http://microfinance.sap.com/polestar/index.jsp?application=explorer&documentId=3e9c3f5a-1a48-4f45-b48f-1a3622897e83&bookmarkId=ec5c7ca4-560e-4b37-b05a-bbd5bbaa3a10