SAP NetWeaver BW 7.3 - Practical Guide - Amazon S3

96 Pages·2012·6.72 MB·English

Amol Palekar, Bharat Patel, and Shreekant Shiralkar
SAP NetWeaver® BW 7.3—Practical Guide
Bonn (cid:2) Boston
Contents at a Glance
1 The Business Scenario: ABCD Corp. .......................................... 23
2 Overview of SAP NetWeaver BW ............................................. 31
3 InfoObjects and Master Data ................................................... 69
4 DataStore Objects ..................................................................... 121
5 InfoCubes .................................................................................. 149
6 InfoProviders ............................................................................. 185
7 Extraction, Transformation, and Loading ................................. 257
8 Data Extraction from Source Systems ...................................... 357
9 Creating Queries Using BEx Query Designer ............................ 381
10 Reporting and Analysis Tools .................................................... 463
11 Creating Applications Using BEx Web Application Designer ... 529
12 Creating Planning Applications ................................................. 573
13 Reporting with the SAP BusinessObjects BI Suite ................... 653
14 Administration and Monitoring ................................................ 675
15 Advanced Features .................................................................... 723
A An Introduction to SAP HANA and SAP NetWeaver BW ......... 745
B ABCD Corp. Case Study Data .................................................... 753
C Definitions of Additional InfoObjects for ABCD Corp. ............. 765
D Important Transaction Codes .................................................... 769
E Important SAP Notes ................................................................ 773
F The Authors ............................................................................... 775
Contents
Acknowledgments ............................................................................................ 17
Introduction ..................................................................................................... 19
1 The Business Scenario: ABCD Corp. ........................................... 23
1.1 Marketing Network ........................................................................ 24
1.2 The Sales and Billing Process .......................................................... 25
1.3 Business Intelligence Requirements ................................................ 28
1.4 The Business Planning Scenario ...................................................... 29
1.5 Summary ........................................................................................ 30
2 Overview of SAP NetWeaver BW .............................................. 31
2.1 Evolution of SAP NetWeaver BW .................................................... 31
2.2 Layers of SAP NetWeaver BW ......................................................... 35
2.2.1 Extraction Layer ................................................................. 36
2.2.2 Staging Layer ..................................................................... 37
2.2.3 Transformation Layer ......................................................... 37
2.2.4 Loading Layer .................................................................... 38
2.2.5 Reporting and Analysis Layer ............................................. 38
2.2.6 Planning and Advanced Analytics Layer .............................. 38
2.2.7 SAP NetWeaver BW Accelerator (BWA) ............................. 40
2.3 Basic Navigation in SAP NetWeaver BW ......................................... 41
2.3.1 Logging On to SAP NetWeaver BW .................................... 41
2.3.2 Screen Elements ................................................................. 43
2.3.3 The Modeling View in the DWW ....................................... 44
2.4 The DWW Functions ...................................................................... 53
2.5 Activation of SAP Business Content ................................................ 55
2.5.1 Grouping ........................................................................... 59
2.5.2 Collection Mode ................................................................ 60
2.5.3 Display ............................................................................... 61
2.5.4 Activating the InfoObject ................................................... 61
2.6 Implementation and Architecture Options for
SAP NetWeaver BW ....................................................................... 64
2.6.1 Core Landscape .................................................................. 64
2.6.2 Peripheral Landscape ......................................................... 65
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2.7 Additional Resources for SAP NetWeaver BW ................................. 66
2.8 Summary ........................................................................................ 67
3 InfoObjects and Master Data .................................................... 69
3.1 Types of InfoObjects ....................................................................... 70
3.2 Creating an InfoArea ....................................................................... 72
3.3 Creating an InfoObject Catalog ....................................................... 74
3.4 Creating a Custom Characteristic InfoObject ................................... 77
3.4.1 Reference Characteristic Field ............................................ 78
3.4.2 Template Field ................................................................... 79
3.5 Configuring a Characteristic InfoObject ........................................... 79
3.5.1 General Tab ....................................................................... 80
3.5.2 Business Explorer Tab ......................................................... 82
3.5.3 Master Data/Texts Tab ....................................................... 84
3.5.4 Hierarchy Tab ..................................................................... 89
3.5.5 Attribute Tab ..................................................................... 95
3.5.6 Compounding Tab ............................................................. 100
3.6 Creating a Key Figure InfoObject .................................................... 101
3.6.1 Template Field ................................................................... 102
3.6.2 Reference Key Figure Field ................................................. 103
3.7 Configuring a Key Figure InfoObject ............................................... 103
3.7.1 Type/Unit Tab .................................................................... 104
3.7.2 Aggregation Tab ................................................................ 110
3.7.3 Additional Properties Tab .................................................. 116
3.8 Creating a Unit InfoObject .............................................................. 118
3.9 Summary ........................................................................................ 120
4 DataStore Objects ...................................................................... 121
4.1 Introduction to DSOs ..................................................................... 121
4.1.1 Definition and Purpose ...................................................... 121
4.1.2 Types of DSOs ................................................................... 124
4.2 Architecture of the Standard DSO ................................................... 126
4.2.1 Types of Tables .................................................................. 127
4.2.2 Activation Process for a Standard DSO ............................... 128
4.2.3 0RECORDMODE ............................................................... 132
4.3 Designing a DSO ............................................................................ 133
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4.4 Configuration of the Standard DSO ................................................. 135
4.4.1 Key Settings in a Standard DSO .......................................... 135
4.4.2 Including InfoObjects in the DSO ....................................... 137
4.4.3 Entering Data Fields ........................................................... 140
4.5 Configuration of Write-Optimized DSOs ......................................... 143
4.6 Configuration of Direct-Update DSOs ............................................. 145
4.7 Usage Scenarios for DSOs ............................................................... 146
4.7.1 Data Staging ...................................................................... 146
4.7.2 Temporary Storage Area ..................................................... 147
4.7.3 APD ................................................................................... 147
4.7.4 Pseudo-Delta ..................................................................... 147
4.8 Summary ........................................................................................ 148
5 InfoCubes ...................................................................................149
5.1 Modeling InfoCubes ....................................................................... 149
5.1.1 Key Terms .......................................................................... 150
5.1.2 Drawing Assignment Tables for Characteristics and
Key Figures ........................................................................ 151
5.1.3 Creating Bubble Models ..................................................... 152
5.1.4 Identifying Dimensions ...................................................... 153
5.1.5 Converting a Bubble Model to a Classic Star Schema .......... 154
5.1.6 Designing an Extended Star Schema ................................... 156
5.1.7 Additional InfoCube Considerations ................................... 159
5.2 Types of InfoCubes ......................................................................... 160
5.2.1 Standard InfoCube ............................................................. 160
5.2.2 Real-Time InfoCube ........................................................... 160
5.2.3 VirtualProvider InfoCube .................................................... 160
5.3 Creating an InfoCube ...................................................................... 161
5.3.1 Initial Setup ....................................................................... 161
5.3.2 Using Templates for InfoObject Selection ........................... 165
5.3.3 Editing Dimensions ............................................................ 167
5.3.4 Adding New Dimensions .................................................... 170
5.3.5 Adding Characteristics to Dimensions ................................ 173
5.3.6 Adding Key Figures to an InfoCube .................................... 176
5.3.7 Selecting Navigation Attributes .......................................... 178
5.3.8 Activating the InfoCube ..................................................... 179
5.4 Provider-Specific Properties ............................................................ 180
5.4.1 Setting Provider-Specific Properties for a Single InfoObject 180
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5.4.2 Setting Provider-Specific Properties for
Multiple InfoObjects .......................................................... 182
5.5 Summary ........................................................................................ 183
6 InfoProviders .............................................................................. 185
6.1 MultiProviders ................................................................................ 186
6.1.1 Introduction to MultiProviders ........................................... 186
6.1.2 Designing MultiProviders ................................................... 188
6.2 InfoSets .......................................................................................... 202
6.2.1 Type of Joins ...................................................................... 203
6.2.2 Transitive Attribute Reporting ............................................ 209
6.2.3 Designing InfoSets ............................................................. 210
6.2.4 Additional Navigation Capabilities ..................................... 219
6.2.5 Global Properties ............................................................... 224
6.3 VirtualProviders .............................................................................. 227
6.4 Semantically Partitioned Objects (SPOs) ......................................... 228
6.4.1 Creating SPOs .................................................................... 229
6.4.2 Defining SPOs .................................................................... 231
6.5 Hybrid Provider .............................................................................. 244
6.5.1 Real-Time Data Acquisition (RDA) ..................................... 246
6.5.2 Creating a Hybrid Provider ................................................. 248
6.6 Transient Providers ......................................................................... 252
6.7 Analytical Index .............................................................................. 254
6.8 Composite Provider ........................................................................ 254
6.9 Summary ........................................................................................ 255
7 Extraction, Transformation, and Loading .................................. 257
7.1 Introduction to ETL ........................................................................ 257
7.1.1 Elements in the ETL Process ............................................... 258
7.1.2 Data Acquisition Interfaces ................................................ 260
7.1.3 Transformation .................................................................. 262
7.1.4 Loading .............................................................................. 263
7.2 Loading Master Data from a Flat File to an InfoObject .................... 264
7.2.1 Creating a Flat File Source System ...................................... 264
7.2.2 Creating a DataSource ........................................................ 266
7.2.3 Creating and Activating a Transformation ........................... 280
7.2.4 Creating a DTP for Loading Master Data ............................ 286
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7.2.5 Creating an InfoPackage and Starting Data Extraction ........ 292
7.2.6 Monitoring Data Extraction to the PSA .............................. 297
7.2.7 Monitoring the DTP ........................................................... 303
7.2.8 Maintaining Master Data ................................................... 306
7.3 Loading Transaction Data from a Flat File to a DSO ........................ 309
7.3.1 Creating a Transaction DataSource ..................................... 310
7.3.2 Creating a Transformation Between a DataSource
and a DSO ......................................................................... 315
7.4 Loading Data from a DSO to an InfoCube ....................................... 329
7.4.1 Time Conversion Transformation ........................................ 331
7.4.2 Routine .............................................................................. 332
7.5 Temporary Storage Areas and Error Stacks ...................................... 336
7.5.1 Temporary Storage ............................................................. 337
7.5.2 Configuring Integrity Checks and Viewing Errors
in Temporary Storage ......................................................... 338
7.5.3 Creating and Monitoring the Error DTP .............................. 342
7.6 Graphical Modeling ........................................................................ 344
7.6.1 Creating a Data Flow Template .......................................... 345
7.6.2 Creating a Data Flow .......................................................... 349
7.7 Summary ........................................................................................ 355
8 Data Extraction from Source Systems .......................................357
8.1 Configuring an SAP Source System for Extraction ............................ 357
8.2 Using SAP Business Content for Extraction: Logistics DataSources ... 359
8.2.1 Initialization ....................................................................... 360
8.2.2 Delta Loads ........................................................................ 362
8.2.3 Data Extraction .................................................................. 363
8.3 Using Generic DataSources for Extraction ....................................... 364
8.3.1 Settings for Generic DataSources ........................................ 366
8.3.2 Creating Generic DataSources ............................................ 368
8.3.3 Making Generic DataSources Delta-Capable ...................... 372
8.3.4 Testing DataSources Using the Extractor Checker ............... 375
8.4 Data Extraction from Non-SAP Systems .......................................... 377
8.4.1 DB Connect ....................................................................... 377
8.4.2 UD Connect ....................................................................... 379
8.5 Summary ........................................................................................ 379
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9 Creating Queries Using BEx Query Designer ............................. 381
9.1 BEx Tools Landscape ....................................................................... 382
9.2 Introduction to BEx Query Designer ............................................... 384
9.2.1 BEx Query Designer Screen Layout ..................................... 385
9.2.2 BEx Query Designer Menu Bar ........................................... 387
9.3 Creating a Simple BEx Query .......................................................... 389
9.3.1 Defining Filters .................................................................. 391
9.3.2 Defining Rows and Columns .............................................. 393
9.3.3 Executing Queries and Analyzing Data ............................... 395
9.4 Introduction to OLAP Variables ...................................................... 398
9.4.1 Types of Variables .............................................................. 399
9.4.2 Processing Types of Variables ............................................. 400
9.5 Creating OLAP Variables Using the Variable Editor ......................... 404
9.5.1 Characteristic Variables (Manual Entry/Default Value) ........ 404
9.5.2 Characteristic Variables (Replacement Path) ....................... 410
9.5.3 Characteristic Variables (Customer Exit) ............................. 410
9.5.4 Formula Variables .............................................................. 413
9.5.5 Text Variables .................................................................... 415
9.6 Creating Filters ............................................................................... 416
9.7 Creating Structures ......................................................................... 421
9.7.1 Key Figure Structures ......................................................... 421
9.7.2 Characteristic Structures ..................................................... 422
9.7.3 Reusing Structures ............................................................. 423
9.8 Creating Selections and Formulas ................................................... 425
9.8.1 Selections .......................................................................... 425
9.8.2 Formula ............................................................................. 429
9.9 Creating Key Figures ....................................................................... 433
9.9.1 Restricted Key Figures ........................................................ 433
9.9.2 Calculated Key Figures ....................................................... 435
9.10 Properties of Query Elements ......................................................... 437
9.10.1 Set Properties of Characteristic Query Elements ................. 437
9.10.2 Set Properties of Key Figure Query Elements ...................... 441
9.10.3 Query Properties ................................................................ 446
9.11 Creating Conditions ........................................................................ 449
9.12 Creating Exceptions ........................................................................ 453
9.13 Configuring Report-to-Report Interfaces ......................................... 457
9.14 Summary ........................................................................................ 462
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10 Reporting and Analysis Tools .....................................................463
10.1 Running Queries in BEx Analyzer .................................................... 464
10.1.1 Executing a Query in BEx Analyzer ..................................... 466
10.1.2 BEx Analyzer Analysis Functions ......................................... 469
10.2 Performing Information Analysis in BEx Analyzer ............................ 471
10.2.1 Applying Filters .................................................................. 471
10.2.2 Navigation Options ............................................................ 472
10.3 Local Properties and Formulas in BEx Analyzer ............................... 476
10.3.1 Local Properties of a Characteristic ..................................... 476
10.3.2 Local Properties of a Key Figure ......................................... 477
10.3.3 Local Query Properties ....................................................... 479
10.3.4 Local Formula .................................................................... 480
10.4 Saving and Reusing Workbooks in BEx Analyzer ............................. 482
10.5 Building an Analysis Application in BEx Analyzer ............................ 484
10.5.1 BEx Analyzer Design Functions ........................................... 484
10.5.2 Building a Simple Analysis Application ............................... 487
10.6 Running Queries in BEx Web Analyzer ............................................ 495
10.6.1 Creating a New Analysis with BEx Web Analyzer ................ 496
10.6.2 BEx Web Analyzer Functions .............................................. 498
10.7 Performing Information Analysis in BEx Web Analyzer .................... 500
10.8 Analysis Filters and Settings in BEx Web Analyzer ........................... 505
10.9 Information Broadcasting Using BEx Web Analyzer ......................... 507
10.9.1 Information Broadcasting in BEx Web Analyzer .................. 508
10.9.2 Maintaining Broadcasting Settings on
Different BEx Objects ......................................................... 511
10.9.3 Creating a New Setting in BEx Broadcaster ......................... 512
10.10 BW Workspaces ............................................................................. 515
10.10.1 Defining BW Workspaces ................................................. 516
10.10.2 Creating a Composite Provider ......................................... 519
10.11 Summary ........................................................................................ 527
11 Creating Applications Using BEx Web Application Designer ...529
11.1 BEx Web Application Designer Overview ........................................ 529
11.1.1 Starting BEx Web Application Designer .............................. 530
11.1.2 Different Screen Areas of BEx Web Application Designer ... 531
11.2 Creating a Simple Web Application ................................................. 533
11.2.1 Creating a Data Provider .................................................... 534
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11.2.2 Using an Analysis Web Item ............................................... 535
11.2.3 Using a Dropdown Box ...................................................... 537
11.2.4 Creating Charts .................................................................. 539
11.2.5 Adding a Command Button ................................................ 541
11.2.6 Arranging Web Items ......................................................... 544
11.2.7 Validating and Saving the Web Template ........................... 546
11.2.8 Executing the Web Template ............................................. 548
11.3 Web Items ...................................................................................... 549
11.3.1 Standard Web Items .......................................................... 550
11.3.2 Advanced Web Items ......................................................... 558
11.3.3 Miscellaneous Web Items .................................................. 561
11.4 Working with Commands ............................................................... 563
11.4.1 Commands for Data Providers ............................................ 565
11.4.2 Commands for Planning Applications ................................. 569
11.4.3 Commands for Web Items .................................................. 569
11.4.4 Commands for Web Templates .......................................... 570
11.5 Web Template Properties ............................................................... 571
11.6 Summary ........................................................................................ 572
12 Creating Planning Applications ................................................. 573
12.1 Introduction to the Integrated Planning Component and
Planning Applications ..................................................................... 574
12.2 Elements of a Planning Application ................................................. 577
12.2.1 Creating a Real-Time InfoCube ........................................... 580
12.2.2 Defining Characteristic Relationships .................................. 583
12.2.3 Defining Data Slices ........................................................... 590
12.2.4 Defining Aggregation Levels ............................................... 594
12.2.5 Creating Planning Filters .................................................... 598
12.2.6 Creating Planning Functions ............................................... 602
12.2.7 Defining Planning Sequences ............................................. 621
12.2.8 Input-Ready Query ............................................................ 625
12.3 Building Planning Applications ....................................................... 629
12.3.1 Excel-Based Planning Applications ..................................... 630
12.3.2 Web-Based Planning Applications ...................................... 637
12.4 Planning Locks ................................................................................ 649
12.5 Changes to Data in Real-Time InfoCubes ........................................ 651
12.6 Summary ........................................................................................ 652
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