Product versions:
BusinessObjects Enterprise XI3.1
Data Federator 3.0 SP1
SAP NetWeaver BI 7.01 SP3
Data Federator SAP BW Connector
SP1 of Data Federator 3.0 adds support to SAP BW, allowing the creation of relational universes which provides an alternative to MDX reporting.
Architecture
Without the SAP BW Connector, tools like Web Intelligence connect to SAP BW trough Olap Universes where the business objects are defined using MDX (Olap query language).
The SAP BW Connector is a SQL connector; with it, tools like Web Intelligence now have the option to connect to SAP BW trough Relational Universes where business objects are defined using SQL language.
The SAP BW connector is providing access to the SAP BW enterprise data warehouse, exposing an easy to use well known query language (SQL), allowing the combination of SAP BW sources with other sources (SAP or non SAP) and supporting large data transfers.
The SAP BW Connector is bypassing the OLAP Engine and can connect to InfoCubes, DSO and MultiProviders
Limitations
BW Feature | MDX (olap) | SQL (relational) |
|---|---|---|
BW Hierarchies |
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Restricted and Calculated Key Figures |
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BEx Queries |
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BW Variables |
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Currency and Unit Conversion |
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Exceptions, Conditions |
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Security |
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AVG, COUNT SUM, MIN, MAX Aggregations |
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Navigational Attributes |
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Mass Data Enabled |
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Federation (i.e. BW - RDBMS, BW - BW) |
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Olap Universes or Relational Universes?
Olap Universes should be selected when:
*There has been a large investement in cube design
*A lot of BEX Queries are defined already
*Advanced analytics are required
*Single-Sign On (SSO) is required
*Deployment is to a small audience
*Large data volumes are not a requirement
Relational Universes should be selected as the solution when:
*SAP BW is used an Enterprise Data Warehouse
*Users are not familiar with OLAP (cube design, MDX query and object definition)
*Combining SAP BW with other sources (SAP or non SAP) is a requirement.
*There is the need of customizing Universes (data foundation, derived table...)
*When using Webi Intelligence there is the need to access DSOs.
* A large volume of data is managed
*It is posible to wait for Single-Sign On (SSO).
With the SAP BW connector you can connect BusinessObjects tools like Web Intellligence, Xcelsius, Polestar to SAP BW to accelerate access to relational data and combine SAP BW and non SAP information in real time (you can create multi-source relational Universes combining SAP BW and other sources supported by Data Federator).
Implementing SAP BW Connector
- Note: At this moment the SAP Integration Kit is not needed, when Single-Sign On is supported then the SAP Integration kit will be required.
- More details on how to implement this solution can be found here: Implementing Data Federator 3.0 With SAP Netweaver BW Connector for Webi Reporting
References and links
Implementing Data Federator 3.0 With SAP Netweaver BW Connector for Webi Reporting
Callback registration in Netweaver and Data Federator for NW BW Connector
Configuring Data Federator users for NW BW Deployments
Connectivity configuration between BOE and Data Federator
Creating a SAP NetWeaver BW datasource in Data Federator Designer
SAP BW Relational Universe Connection With Universe Designer
Implementing Data Federator 3.0 With SAP Netweaver BW Connector for Webi Reporting
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2 Comments
Unknown User (t9ee7c1)
HI
I have followed your article and i successfully did everything you mentioned here.
But i have one problem, i'm no able to view the data in webi.
i did try with select query in query administration but no luck,
could you please throw some light on why i am not able to view the data.
Regards,
Anil
Unknown User (dfncjce)
Hi,
I am looking at this area for my client, does anyone know what the definition of 'a large volume of data is managed' is ? Is this based on the number of rows in the fact table of the Infocube/Star Schema ? How many rows is considered large ?