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Enterprise System Support Using Seagate Crystal Info. Technical Case Study: SBC Corporation Chris Christian -- CRC Business Solutions, Inc. Karen Gildea -- SBC Corporation. About SBC Communications, Inc. Southwestern Bell Local telephone for Texas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas
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Enterprise System Support Using Seagate Crystal Info Technical Case Study: SBC Corporation Chris Christian -- CRC Business Solutions, Inc. Karen Gildea -- SBC Corporation
About SBC Communications, Inc. Southwestern Bell Local telephone for Texas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas Ameritech Local telephone for Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin Pacific Bell Local telephone for California Nevada Bell Local telephone for Nevada SNET Local telephone for Connecticut Sterling Commerce e-Business software Prodigy Internet Service Provider Cingular Wireless Wireless telephone for all SBC local telephone states and BellSouth SBC has over 140,000 employees located across the United States served by a single human resources system. K
SBC has integrated Seagate Info with its SAP HR application in order to: • Securely publish any standard or custom R/3 ABAP report to the Seagate Info Desktop • Securely publish SAP Business Explorer (BW) query results to the Seagate Info Desktop • Automate reporting on outbound ERP interface files • Automatically export Seagate Info reports to an external enterprise report archive system for long term retention • Automate replication of SAP R/3 users and security groups to the Seagate Info reporting environment • Administer Seagate Info for a large web accessed implementation with remote administration, usage measures, and group security verification K
Enterprise System Support Using Seagate Crystal Info Attendees will learn: • How Seagate Info fits into a distributed enterprise computing architecture • How Seagate Info can be automated from external systems or applications • How to “publish” standard reports to Seagate Info from other systems • How security can be replicated from other systems to Seagate Info K
Seagate Info Enterprise IntegrationContext Diagram SAP R/3 Other Enterprise Systems Interface Data Files Interface Data Files Report Interface Files (CI Data Gateway) Replicate SAP Security (CI Security) SAP R/3 ABAP Reports Interface File Reports SAP Security Group Data Seagate Crystal Info Publish SAP Reports (CI Spooler) SAP Reports Long Term Reports for Archive Archive Reports (CI Archive Gateway) SAP BW Query Reports Security Group Desktop Views SAP BW Archived Reports Monitor SAP Security Impact (CI GroupDesktop) Enterprise Report Archive
CI Spooler The CI Spooler securely publishes any standard or custom R/3 ABAP report or BW Query to the Seagate Info Desktop SAP R/3 SAP R/3 ABAP Reports Seagate Crystal Info Publish SAP Reports (CI Spooler) Archive Reports (CI Archive Gateway) SAP BW Query Reports SAP BW Archived Reports Enterprise Report Archive
CI Spooler CI Spooler - Business Problem • Report output from the SAP R/3 and BW systems needs to be available for users through the web and users do not require SAP client software to be installed. CI Spooler - Solution Using Seagate Info • An interface utility identifies report output and “publishes” the report to the Crystal Info Desktop through its SDK interface. CI Spooler - Benefits • Output from any report run on the SAP systems can be viewed within 15 minutes of execution. • “Published” reports provide all the benefits of standard Crystal Reports such as report versions, folder and report security by group, exports, and printing. K
CI Spooler Solution • View eLink reports via the web as the method of choice for viewing HR reports. • Eliminate viewing batch scheduled reports on the SAP R/3 spool • SAP spooled reports are available for only a limited time • The R/3 Spool is not secured • Deliver batch scheduled reports from R/3 to eLink Reports (Crystal Info) for viewing • Multiple instances of a report can be retained for an indefinite period of time • Provides secured access using SAP user and group security • The Web interface provides a familiar “Outlook” desktop
Report Recognition by Program ID The CI Spooler recognizes reports by Program ID. When the spooler locates the text “Program:” within the beginning of the report file, the Program ID is located. The identified report is looked up in the Control Table to determine processing. The example shows report “RPT#2011”.
Report Recognition by Report Title The CI Spooler recognizes reports by Report Title. The spooler scans the beginning of the report file and attempts to locate configured report titles. Once a title is located, the identified report is looked up in the Control Table to determine processing. The example shows report “RPT#3006”, recognized by the title “25% Transfer Fee”.
Report Recognition by Variant The CI Spooler recognizes report variants. Once a report is identified by Program ID or Report Title, the spooler looks up the report’s variants in its configuration tables. The spooler re-scans the beginning of the report file and attempts to locate configured report variants. Once a variant is located, the identified report variant is looked up in the Control Table to determine processing.
SAP ReportSpooler ProcessLogs Control Table CI Spooler Crystal Info Report ReportText Table SAP SpooledFiles SBC ArchiveSystem ProcessedFiles /toarchive Files Not Processed CI SecurityProcess /cisecurity Files Unknown files Interface FileProcessing InterfaceFile CI Spooler Components NT Event Log • Start • Process • Stop • Reschedule • Database Compact
Sample NT Event Log The CI Spooler reports Start, Process, Stop, Schedule, Database, and Error events to the NT Application Event Log. The Event Source is “CI Spooler”, and Categories describe the event class. Event Details contain specific information about each reported event. NT Events allow a remote administrator to easily monitor system activities using the Event Viewer application integral to all NT systems. No special client software is required. Events can be filtered, and events on remote systems can be easily viewed.
NT Event: Processing Results After processing spooled files, the CI Spooler reports a processing summary within the Process event. The summary includes file counts by processing type.Time details include the start time, stop time, and elapsed time.
Report Date Size Processing Time . ZPRE3070 7/30/99 9 pages 17 seconds ZPRE3056 7/23/99 20 pages 18 seconds ZPRE3051 7/16/99 512 pages 52 seconds ZPRE3132 8/31/99 1,276 pages 3 minutes and 22 seconds ZPRE3051 1/4/00 2,317 pages 2 minutes and 33 seconds ZPRE3055 2/17/00 6,211 pages 10 minutes and 45 seconds CI Spooler Performance The CI Spooler has processed over 9,500 report files since deployed on 5/28/99. The largest report was ZPRE3051 on 3/8/00 with 13,711 pages (562,111 report lines). Processing time: 14 minutes and 43 seconds. Typical processing times:
The SAP Business Warehouse (BW) Open Query DialogShows a Catalog of Queries The Query catalog shows an outline of BW queries.
Select an SAP BW Query Name to Open the Query The outline of BW queries shows individual queries.
BW Reports on Info Desktop When processed by the CI Spooler, the BW query appears as a report instance.
The Benefits of Publishing SAP BW Queries to Crystal Info are Substantial • Extends current developed reports to access by non-BW users • Users can view reports through web browsers • Users do not require BW client software, software licenses, or BW training • Provides R/3 group security for report viewing • Generations of reports are retained in the Info Desktop repository • Potential to integrate with EOS for long term report retention K
CI Data Gateway SAP R/3 Other Enterprise Systems Interface Data Files Interface Data Files Report Interface Files (CI Data Gateway) Interface File Reports Seagate Crystal Info The CI Data Gateway reformats an interface file as a query result table, then it schedules Crystal Reports using the table in the Seagate Info Desktop. Data and report processing occur when the file is received.
CI Data Gateway CI Data Gateway - Business Problem • Reporting on outbound interface files from the SAP R/3 and other systems requires data reformatting for use. Reports on the interface files need to be run as each interface file becomes available. CI Data Gateway - Solution Using Seagate Info • An interface utility reformats the interface data and “publishes” the report to the Crystal Info Desktop through its SDK interface. CI Data Gateway - Benefits • Reports on the interface files are automatically produced when the file is received. • Interface file reports provide all the benefits of standard Crystal Reports such as report versions, folder and report security by group, exports, and printing. K
Data Source • Interface File (UNIX text) • ABAP Output List (DOS text) • Crystal Report Text Output Info Server Run Reports Crystal InfoAPS MS Access Lookup Tables NT Event Log • Start • Process • Stop • Reschedule • Database Compact Report Results for Viewing CI Data Gateway Components CI Data Gateway Report Data Files • Find files to process • Administer files • Run processes • Schedule self • Report NT Events Command Line with File Name Interface Directory File Names Oracle CI Data Reporter Report Data • Load data set • Transform data set • Run APS reports • Load Oracle • Report status • Employee-Current Tables • Reporting Tables • Long Term HR Data Retention Report Data Report Schedule Request Crystal Report Scheduled Report
CI Data Gateway / CI Data Reporter • CI Data Reporter CI Data Reporter • CI Data Gateway Data Set Instance Code Library • Auto schedule repeated runs Autorun when started Shared by all Data Sets • Test each configured gateway Check library presence Common modules • Detect files by path / pattern Run load module Single code source • Run Data Reporter for file Run transform module Dynamic Oracle links • Manage files Run reports module • Processed Run Oracle load module • NotProcessed Data Set table definition • OnHold Data Set transform module • Report NT Events Dynamic ref table union • Monitor Data Reporter runs Configuration forms • Test Data Reporter results Set status during run • Reschedule Exit when done
Seagate Info Enterprise IntegrationContext Diagram The CI Archive Gateway exports Crystal Reports to a text format and transmits the files to the enterprise report archive for long term retention. Seagate Crystal Info Publish SAP Reports (CI Spooler) Long Term Reports for Archive Archive Reports (CI Archive Gateway) Archived Reports Enterprise Report Archive
CI Archive Gateway CI Archive Gateway - Business Problem • The enterprise report archiving policy requires specific reports to be retained for more than one year in a central enterprise report repository. CI Archive Gateway - Solution Using Seagate Info • An interface utility extracts Crystal Report output from the Crystal Info Desktop through its SDK interface. CI Archive Gateway - Benefits • Any Crystal Report output can be transmitted to the enterpris report archive for long term retention and no special report format is required. • Reports can be identified for archiving after they have been produced. K
SBC Archiving Solution • Report archiving is the on-line retention of electronic reports for more than one year. • SBC archives reports using the EOS (Enterprise Output System) implemented on MVS mainframe computers in St. Louis. • The Report Archiving process transfers reports to the EOS system from NT environments, using plain text format. • Report archiving supports legal, regulatory, and administrative requirements consistent with SBC’s Archiving Policy.
CI Archive Gateway The CI Archive Gateway provides an unattended, mechanized application service that transfers report files to EOS. The service provides: • Assured file transfer • Multiple report source compatibility • Configuration for operating environment • Control tables for report processing • Complete audit trail and summary statistics • Remote visibility for monitoring
CI Archive Gateway Assured file transfer • Long distance large file transfers are assured through the use of CONNECT:Direct as the file transfer communications mechanism. • CONNECT:Direct provides status, work queues, and activity logs using bi-directional communications with data transfer acknowledgement. • File transfers automatically use data compression to minimize network traffic.
CI Archive Gateway Multiple report source compatibility • The CI Archive Gateway can transmit any text file regardless of source. • Files from E-Link (SAP HR), E-Link Reports (Seagate Info) and Disbursements (Seagate Info) are currently supported. • The Gateway is integrated with Seagate Info for mechanized report extracts. • Non-text files such as Excel worksheets can be transferred as data (non-text) files.
CI Archive Gateway Configuration for operating environment • Server configuration adapts the CI Archive Gateway to its operational environment for directory paths, application locations, interfaces with other applications, and rescheduling. • Automatic rescheduling uses the NT Schedule service for processing at time intervals or to a time of day schedule.
CI Archive Gateway Control tables for report processing • Each file to be archived is identified by file name. • The file identification links the file to a control table that describes how the file is to be processed. • Control table entries for unrecognized files can be created after receipt, and files can be reprocessed.
CI Archive Gateway Complete audit trail and summary statistics • All processing is recorded in a process log table for administrative review and trouble diagnosis. • CONNECT:Direct file transfer processing is summarized in a perpetual log. • File processing counts and processing times are recorded for activity monitoring and capacity planning.
CI Archive Gateway Remote visibility for monitoring • Processing is reported to the NT Event Log and stored in the system’s Application Event database. • Reported events include: Start, Processing Files Received, Processing Seagate Info Extracts, File Transfers, and Scheduling. • The NT Event Log can be viewed by system administrators from any location in the enterprise. The Event Viewer application is an integral part of Windows NT, so no additional client software is required.
CI Archive Gateway Processing Processing is achieved through a sequence of report file receipt and transfer steps. • Receive files to archive in the NT file system • Extract files to archive from Seagate Info • Recognize report files for processing • Transfer report files to EOS • Maintain a system audit trail, processing statistics, and reported events • Self schedule repeating runs
Seagate InfoReport Portal SAP ReportSpooler ExportFiles /ToArchive Files SpoolFiles EOS.MDB CDWINNT .MDB CI Spooler EOS_Exp EOS_Tran ControlFile Process Logs Process Logs Summary CONNECT:Direct Startup EOS_Load EOS_Exp EOS_Tran CD_Summary Reschedule NT Schedule Service CI Archive Gateway Components St. Louis MVS EOS CONNECT:Direct RIMS CI Archive Gateway NT Event Log • Start • Process (EOS_Load) • Process (EOS_Exp) • Process (EOS_Tran) • Reschedule • Error
Sample NT Event Log The CI Archive Gateway reports Start, Process, and Schedule events to the NT Application Event Log. The Event Source is “SBC Archive”, and Categories include Start, Process, Schedule, and Error. Event Details contain specific information about each reported event. Events can be filtered, and events on remote systems can be easily viewed.
EOS / RIMS Control Tables Files transferred via CONNECT:Direct are retained in EOS according to configuration information maintained using the RIMS utility. The MVS CONNECT:Direct Node and User must be configured to receive file transfers from the NT CONNECT:Direct node. K
EOS / RIMS Control Tables Files transferred via CONNECT:Direct are retained in EOS according to configuration information maintained using the RIMS utility. K