Download pdf - BW on HANA Webinar

An Overview of SAP BW Powered by HANA

Al Weedman

Insight. Innovation. Results.

• The BICP is a focused SAP Business Intelligence consulting services organization focused specifically in SAP HANA, Business Objects, and BW.

• We are a certified SAP Services Partner with strong relationships with SAP’s HANA/BI organization and Product Development groups, and we are frequent sponsors, volunteers, and contributors to ASUG and SAP Insider.

• We deploy Business Intelligence solutions for SAP centric enterprises worldwide.

• We have a team of approximately 70 SAP HANA, BOBJ, and BW consultants and full time staff across North America.

• We are currently involved in some of the largest and most complex and global SAP BI/HANA/Business Objects implementations out of North America.

• Our flexible, low overhead business model leverages focused teams of highly experienced consultants that enable

– World Class SAP HANA, BOBJ, and BW solutions

– Reduced risk to our customers

– Experienced SAP HANA/BI Specific Project and Program Management

– Strong communication skills coupled with relevant business experience

– Onsite, Platinum level SAP HANA, BOBJ, and BW consultants with hands on experience relevant to scope.

About BICP | SAP HANA, BOBJ, and BW Implementations

Slide 1


Competencies & Service Offerings

Slide 2

BI & EIM Strategy BI & Performance Management

Advanced Analytics & Optimization

EIM Foundation

Business & IT

Transformation

Business

Enablement

BI Strategy and

Roadmap

Enterprise

Information

Management

(EIM)

BI Governance

Dashboards &

Scorecards

Planning,

Budgeting, &

Forecasting

Business

Analytics &

Reporting for

various business

domains or

process areas

Advanced

Analytics (Data

Mining & Web

Analytics)

Analytic

Applications

(Risk

Management,

Finance)

Business

Optimization

Visualization

Data Integration

Data Quality

Data

Architecture

Master Data

Management

Innovation Prediction Performance

Predictive

Modeling

Analytical

Applications

Business

Process data &

Unstructured

data analytics

“Big” data

integration

Predictive Analysis


Agenda

Overview

Why to Use SAP HANA and BW Powered by HANA

What Does a BW Powered by HANA Architecture Look Like

Utilizing HANA DB Exclusive BW Capabilities


Overview

• We will discuss:

– A quick overview of SAP HANA

– Thoughts on why SAP BW should be used with SAP HANA in an Enterprise Data Warehouse scenario

– Illustrate what an EDW architecture looks like with SAP BW Powered by HANA

– Show what the new development components are in SAP BW when it is used in conjunction with SAP HANA


Agenda

Overview





Database Technology - Then and Now

Yesterday Today

Database systems were designed to perform well on systems with limited RAM

Modern servers can have 2TB of system memory, allowing complete databases to be held in RAM

Since slow disk I/O was the main bottleneck in data throughput, architecture was designed to focus on optimizing disk access

Multi-core server architecture allows CPUs to process increased data per time interval

0

2,000,000,000

4,000,000,000

6,000,000,000

8,000,000,000

10,000,000,000

12,000,000,000

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015

Number of Transistors Over Time

Conclusion: It’s now quickly becoming cost effective to move away from disk-based data storage to in-memory solutions


SAP’s In-Memory Solution – SAP HANA

• SAP HANA takes advantage of modern advances in Multicore CPUs and inexpensive RAM.

• SAP HANA’s technology is based on storing data in-memory.

• For Analytics, tables are typically based on a Column format (optimized for reads).

• SAP HANA is a database technology – it does not do anything without other Extraction, Transformation, Loading, and Reporting tools integrated with it.

• SAP HANA consists of new modeling tools or can be integrated with other existing and understood SAP BW or ETL assets.


Why? - SAP HANA is the Technological Future

• New SAP BusinessObjects technologies require SAP HANA (i.e. SAP Predictive Analysis, SAP Lumira™) to achieve full capabilities. Additionally, SAP HANA as a database appears to generally be the direction that SAP is taking for its products.

• BW Accelerator only increases speed for reporting requiring special report design considerations. A SAP HANA based system is accelerated by default.

• Complex reporting requirements can be difficult to architect on a BW system as a true, performance optimized run-time coding engine does not exist. SAP HANA Calculation Views allow for much more flexibility.


HANA Modeling Options

Custom ETL &

Modeling BW Powered

by HANA

HANA Live

Sidecar

• In collaboration with IT

Business Partners translate

business strategies into IT

investment, architecture,

and migration plans.

• Since views are delivered by

SAP, the joins can be expected

to be correct.

• Can be extended with

customer specific tables.

• Real-time Pro

s

Co

ns

SAP delivered Calculation

Views that run directly in the

HANA layer. Tables loaded

by SLT

BW using HANA as it’s

database

Custom tables and views

developed with HANA Studio

and ETL with BODS (or other

certified ETL tool)

• SLT does not provide a

method for performing robust

transformations during loading.

• Most appropriate for

operational reporting vs.

analytical which typically

requires transformations

• Complex reporting

requirements may require new

views vs. extending content.

• BW Extractors can be used

using DXC or ODP API

through BODS.

• Flexible ETL (or ELT) process.

• Since this method uses more

generic Relational DB

modeling, the skill set of

existing staff may need to be

enhanced.

• Tools to model, create security,

job scheduling, metadata, etc.

are not as robust as BW. Time

to create standards and

governances needed.

• BW app server(s) required.

• Well known technology with

plenty of employees on staff or

in the marketplace that

understand.

• Very robust, structured

functionality for an enterprise

data warehouse.

• SAP has made a commitment

to continue to innovate

capabilities.


BICP’s Viewpoint

• HANA Live is very appropriate for real time operational reporting and for a relatively simple way to bring ECC data to HANA for data marts.

• Custom development with HANA Studio and Data Services is a workable

solution, but it does not provide the framework for a robust enterprise data warehouse.

• SAP BW Powered by HANA gives the best of all worlds. If you are an existing

BW customer, the next question will be whether to migrate your existing system to HANA or build green-field (we’ll leave this for another discussion).

• If the BW solution is chosen, this does not prevent you from building in HANA

Studio when appropriate. This is called Mixed Use Scenarios.


SAP NetWeaver BW Accelerator evolution to SAP HANA

BW Accelerator (BWA) BW on HANA

• Data is loaded from BW to the BWA for in-memory acceleration

• If indexed in BWA queries see large performance improvements

• BW architecture remains unchanged

SAP BW Server

BWA Appliance

• Data exists directly in-memory

• All queries see large performance improvements

• Data loading sees large performance improvements

• BW architecture is simplified

• Enterprise Edition Includes HANA Analytics Foundation with HANA Studio for next generation analytics

Leveraging existing technology and SAP BI evolution B

OB

J Rep

ortin

g Too

ls

HANA’s technology has its foundation in the SAP NetWeaver BW Accelerator – Some BWA investments may be able to be redeployed as HANA.


Modeling - BW 7.4 SP4 and HANA Studio 1.0 SP6

HANA Database

BW Modeler HANA Studio Modeler


Modeling - BW 7.4 SP5+ and HANA Studio 1.0 SP7+

The separate GUI’s are beginning convergence to minimize the distinction between BW and HANA Studio modeling


Agenda

Overview





SAP HANA Landscape D

ata

Flo

w


How SAP NetWeaver BW on SAP HANA works

• SAP NetWeaver BW operates with SAP HANA as its database.

• BW does not exist directly on SAP HANA, it sits on an app server(s) in a multi-tier landscape.

• BW then appears very similarly as it did pre-SAP HANA except:

– New InfoProviders are available, such as CompositeProviders and TransientProviders, to be able to consume data that was loaded directly into the HANA appliance.

– DSOs are now column-store by default. Prior to BW 7.40 SP4 there was an option called HANA Optimized DSO to convert/create DSOs as column store.

– InfoCubes are not really needed except in unique cases such as for Non-Cumulative Key Figures. A HANA Optimized InfoCube de-normalizes the InfoCubes so dimension tables are integrated into the Fact Table.


BW Power by SAP HANA


Row Vs. Column Storage

Column Based: • Similar data in a column kept together

in memory allowing for high compression.

• Identical values not repeated. • Columns can be accessed in one read. • Massive parallel processing per

column. • To describe simply – Fast and

Efficient


SAP HANA Key Technology Components


BW Modeling Tips – Moving Towards Simplicity

In the “old” days, say to join Sales Orders to Billing Documents a simplified data flow might look like:

5 layers of data movement


BW Modeling Tips – Moving Towards Simplicity

Because of new HANA capabilities, we’ve reduced the complexity down to two layers of data movement


SAP’s Conceptual LSA++

What’s New: • HANA feeds in Data

Acquisition Layer • HANA reporting in Virtual

Data Mart Layer


SAP BusinessObjects Tight Integration with SAP HANA

• If you’re running BW on SAP HANA, you consume BEx query based Universes using the same BI Consumer Services (BICS) connection as you do for non-HANA systems.

• If you’re running native SAP HANA or want to consume BW on SAP HANA InfoProviders from the SAP HANA layer, you can connect through a Relational Universe, OLAP, JDBC, or ODBC connection depending on the tool.


Agenda

Overview





• Data extraction continues using the same tools as with standard BW.

• The Transformation and Load process in BW is the same as before except: – DSO activations are much faster.

– InfoCubes not required in most cases so reduced layers of redundant data.

– CompositeProviders join or union data at the SAP HANA layer. Joins now work efficiently vs. with InfoSet technology, possibly allowing for less ABAP code performing lookups in additional layers.

• BW on SAP HANA and native SAP HANA can consume each other's data models easily (Mixed Use Scenarios).

• Reporting still uses BEx and the BICS connection to the BOBJ tools.

What Does it Mean to Develop With BW on SAP HANA?


• Attribute Views: In the language of BW, attribute views are like an InfoObject’s master data tables associated with a DSO. These are views on one or more tables that can be reused for different purpose. They are usually master data, but it’s not a requirement.

• Analytical Views: Again, in the language on SAP BW analytical views can be roughly compared with DSOs. It joins together one central fact table (DSO) with contains transaction data to report on, with a number of tables or attribute views (InfoObjects). You can create variables in an analytical view.

• Calculation views: Calculation views can be referred to as a combination of tables, attributes views and analytical views to deliver a complex business requirement. Think of it as an InfoSet, MultiProvider, and ABAP logic all in one.

Overview of HANA View Types


Export DSO Model to HANA

• Option in DSO modeling is new as of 7.40 SP5. Prior to this you imported the DSO model in HANA Studio.


Export DSO Model to HANA – Why?

• Explorer Information Spaces can only be built off of HANA views

• Lumira capabilities are more robust with HANA views vs. BEx queries

• To then be able to use a DSO built in the BW modeler, in a Calculation View in HANA Studio. While CompositeProviders in BW are useful for simple joins or unions, the capabilities in HANA Calculation Views are more advanced


TransientProvider

• Expose HANA Views in BW • T Code RSSDD_HM_PUBLISH

to create Analytic Index • T Code RSSDD_LTIP to assign

reference InfoObjects (not required) and InfoArea


TransientProvider– Why?

• It’s a relatively easy way to expose HANA Analytical and Calculation Views in BW so that BEx queries can be built on top

• You can not utilize Navigational Attributes of the assigned InfoObjects

• When the source view changes, the TransientProvider’s metadata automatically reflects it

• TransientProviders are not transportable, so the usefulness of this is somewhat low in comparison to other options that have similar capabilities. Most suited for ad-hoc analysis


VirtualProvider

• VirtualProvider has been enhanced to be based on HANA model


VirtualProvider– Why?

• You can utilize Navigational Attributes of the assigned InfoObjects

• Can not expose HANA database tables or Attribute Views (yet)

• Less overhead to develop with than Open ODS View


Open ODS View

• New Eclipse gui as of 7.40 SP5.


Open ODS View – Why?

• Can expose any HANA table, view, Smart Data Access Virtual View (ODBC connections to Hadoop, IQ, Teradata, etc) in BW.

• You can utilize Navigational Attributes of the assigned InfoObjects

• As of 7.40 SP8, can use BW Transformations whose logic is applied at query run-time.

• Can be used as a data source to bring data into a BW data flow.

• Can be switched to a persistent DSO (currently in Pilot phase)


Virtual Master Data


Virtual Master Data – Why?

• Exposes HANA Attribute views in BW as InfoObjects.

• Primarily, this functionality would be used when a HANA based VirtualProvider is created, but not all master data tables in the HANA layer have already been incorporated into that view.

• However, keep the functionality in mind for other use cases.


CompositeProvider

• New Eclipse based gui used for CompositeProviders as of 7.40 SP5.


CompositeProvider – Why?

• Perform Union or Joins of BW DSOs, InfoCubes, InfoObjects, Semantic Partitioned Objects, Open ODS Views, and HANA Analytical and Calculation Views.

• Even when only containing BW modeled InfoProviders, this is a much more efficient solution for joins compared to InfoSets. The joins occur down at the HANA db level, allowing BW to now perform very efficiently without multi-layered data flows to pre-stage data.

• HANA view fields can be associated with BW InfoObjects to allow for the use of their Navigational Attributes.


Calculation View

Graphical Script


Calculation View – Why?

• The CompositeProvider gives good functionality to perform joins and unions of objects built both in BW and HANA Studio down in the db layer. However, there may be requirements where a CompositeProvider does not give enough functionality.

• Graphical Calculation Views are more robust in comparison allowing the flow of multiple levels of joins and/or unions.

• SQLScript Calculation Views provide the capability to have a full programming language that is executed at query run time.

• You can then put a VirtualProvider or Open ODS View on top of the HANA Calculation View to have the results available in Bex.

• Be aware, the more that is built into the Calculation View, the more that performance could suffer.


Stored Procedures and Views from ABAP


Stored Procedures and Views from ABAP – Why?

• Moving calculations to the database layer eliminates the need to transfer large amounts of data from the database to the application

• Calculations need to be executed in the database layer to get the maximum benefit from SAP HANA features such as fast column operations, query optimization and parallel execution.

• Use in Transformations where the tables/views be used do not existing in the ABAP layer or where high performance is required

• Use in stand alone ABAP programs.


Disclaimer

SAP, R/3, mySAP, mySAP.com, SAP NetWeaver®, Duet®, PartnerEdge, and other SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP AG in Germany and in several other countries all over the world. All other product and service names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective companies.