Manually Connecting a BW System

You can manually connect a BW system (for example, SAP Datasphere, SAP BW bridge or SAP BW∕4HANA) to the catalog through an SAP Datasphere in a formation. Once connected, you add the InfoAreas containing existing objects to the catalog and then run a manual synchronization to populate it.

Prerequisites

To connect a source system to the catalog, you must have a global role that grants you the following privileges:

  • Data Warehouse General (-R------) - To access SAP Datasphere.

  • Catalog System (CRUDE--) - To create, view, edit, and delete source system connections and manually synchronize source system.

The Catalog Administrator global role and the DW Viewer role template (used directly as a global role) applied together, for example, grant these privileges. For more information, see Privileges and Permissions and Standard Roles Delivered with SAP Datasphere.

Procedure

  1. Go to the SAP Datasphere system where you want to add the connection.
  2. In the side navigation area, choose (Catalog & Marketplace)Start of the navigation path Next navigation step End of the navigation path (Metadata Extractions).
  3. In the Remote Systems table, choose Create.
  4. In the System Type field, choose type of BW system you want to connect to the catalog.
    All information for the system is automatically entered and cannot be edited. The user currently logged on to SAP Datasphere is used to authenticate the system.
  5. Optional: To automatically publish objects from the source system to the catalog every time the catalog synchronizes with the source system, select the Enable Auto Publishing to the Catalog checkbox.
  6. Choose Create.

Results

Once added, the BW system appears in the Remote Systems table.

To finish the setup, find the source system in the table and choose Configure to select the InfoAreas that have objects you want to include in the catalog. After you have selected the InfoAreas, you can set up a synchronization schedule for metadata extraction by choosing Schedule.

Selecting InfoAreas to Synchronize with the Catalog

Context

After you create a connection to a BW system, you must select at least one InfoArea to synchronize with the catalog. The metadata from the objects in the selected InfoAreas are extracted, and the objects are included as assets in the catalog. Use the Configure action to open the Extract Objects dialog, and then select the InfoAreas.

When selecting which InfoAreas, the current user logged on to SAP Datasphere must be the same user as the authorized user for the selected BW system. If you're not the authorized user, you can become it by choosing Edit.

Extract Objects dialog displaying a list of selectable InfoAreas and supported objects.

Panel

Description

InfoAreas and Source Systems
The panel on the left has two tabs:

  • Select the InfoAreas tab to navigate the list or use the search to find the InfoAreas that have objects that you want to add to the catalog. The number beside each line shows the total number of objects. When you select the checkbox for a line, the Selected Objects value updates to show the total of selected objects to include in the catalog. When you choose an InfoArea, you can see its contents.

  • Choose the Source Systems tab to see all source systems that are included in the catalog. The contents of this tab are read-only, and all objects are automatically selected.

Contents

Review the contents of the selected InfoArea or source system. This panel is divided into two sections, supported and unsupported objects. The preview shows the first 100 objects in the selected location.

Procedure

  1. On the Remote Systems table, select a BW system and choose Configure.

    The Extract Objects dialog appears.

  2. In the panel, choose InfoAreas tab to find the InfoAreas you want to monitor and select their checkboxes.

    The Selected count at the top of the panel updates to show the total number of objects that will be included in the catalog.

  3. Choose Save.

Results

The metadata for the following BW objects is extracted to the catalog. You can search for these objects in the Assets collection:

  • ADSO (Advanced DataStore Object)

  • ALVL (Aggregation Level) (SAP BW∕4HANA and SAP BW 7.5)

  • DEST (Open Hub Destination) (SAP BW∕4HANA and SAP BW 7.5)

  • DSUB (Data Subscription) (SAP BW∕4HANA, and SAP BW 7.5)

  • DTPA (Data Transfer Process)

  • ELEM (BW Query) (SAP BW∕4HANA and SAP BW 7.5)

  • FBPA (Open ODS View) (SAP BW∕4HANA and SAP BW 7.5)

  • HCPR (HANA CompositeProvider)

  • IOBJ (InfoObject)

  • RSDS (DataSource)

  • TRCS (InfoSource)

  • TRFN (Transformation)

Metadata is extracted for AREA (InfoArea) and LSYS (Source System) objects. Currently, you can't search for them in the catalog.

For information on BW object types, see the help documentation for the different systems:

Next Steps

If the system already contains existing objects before you connect it to the catalog, and you want to add those objects as assets to the catalog, you'll need to manually synchronize the system. To do this, choose Synchronize from the toolbar (see Manually Synchronizing a System).

The catalog does not monitor or automatically extract new or updated metadata from BW source systems. To ensure that the catalog has the most current metadata, create a synchronization schedule (see the next section).

Creating a Synchronization Schedule

Context

Use the Schedule action to open the Edit Schedule dialog, where you can create a synchronization schedule for the BW system.

When creating or editing a synchronization schedule, the current user logged on to SAP Datasphere must be the same user as the authorized user for the selected BW source system. If you're not the authorized user, you can become it by choosing Edit.

Create Schedule dialog showing options for frequency, date range, and next scheduled runs.

Area

Description

Frequency
Set the frequency for how often you want the synchronization schedule to run.

  • Repeat: Choose the unit of time for how often you want the synchronization to run. For example, you can schedule it to repeat daily, weekly, or monthly.

  • Reset Cycle: Turn this option ON if you want the cycle of the synchronization schedule to reset. For schedules that repeat daily, you can turn this option on or off. For schedules that repeat weekly or monthly, the option is automatically set to ON and cannot be changed.

    The time unit for when the synchronization schedule resets depends on how often it repeats. For example, a schedule that repeats weekly will reset on Sunday.

  • Every: Choose how many units of time must pass before a synchronization schedule repeats. This option is available for schedules that repeat daily or monthly

    For example, you set Repeat to Daily and Every to 3, the synchronization schedule will repeat every 3 days.

  • On: Select the days of the week or the date in the month you want the synchronization schedule to run. This option is available for schedules that repeat weekly or monthly.

  • At (UTC): Choose the time of day in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) that you want the synchronization schedule to run.

Date Range
Set the date range for when you want the synchronization schedule to run.

  • Change the start date if needed. The default start date is the current date.

  • Set the end date if you want the synchronization schedule to end on a specific date. Otherwise, you can leave the end date empty and the schedule will never end.

Open ID Connect (OIDC)

If the OpenID Connect (OIDC) configuration is missing or hasn't been set, this section appears. Use the displayed the token issuer and client ID to set up the OIDC (see SAP Note 3536298 Information published on SAP site).

Affects SAP Datasphere, SAP BW bridge systems only.

Preview

Review the description of the synchronization schedule based on the selected frequency and date range settings. This description is updated as you make changes. The preview also provides the dates and times for when the next few scheduled cycles are planned, which you can choose view in UTC or local time.

To help you understand how the options work when you create a synchronization schedule, review the following examples. For all examples, the start date is January 22, 2024.

 

Daily Schedule

Weekly Schedule

Monthly Schedule

Settings

In the Frequency area, use the following settings:

  • Repeat = Daily

  • Every = 4

  • At (UTC) = 00:00

Leave all other settings with the default values.

In the Frequency area, use the following settings:

  • Repeat = Weekly

  • On = Mon

  • At (UTC) = 00:00

Leave all other settings with the default values. The Reset Cycle option is automatically turned ON and can't be changed.

In the Frequency area, use the following settings:

  • Repeat = Monthly

  • Every = 2 Months

  • On = 3 Day of Month

  • At (UTC) = 00:00

Leave all other settings with the default values. The Reset Cycle option is automatically turned ON and can't be changed.

Result

This schedule will run at 00:00 every 4 days.

If Reset Cycle is turned OFF, the next schedule runs are as follows:

  • January 26, 2024 0:00:00

  • January 30, 2024 0:00:00

  • February 03, 2024 0:00:00

  • February 07, 2024 0:00:00

  • February 11, 2024 0:00:00

If Reset Cycle is turned ON, the next schedule runs are as follows:

  • January 26, 2024 0:00:00

  • January 30, 2024 0:00:00

  • February 01, 2024 0:00:00

  • February 05, 2024 0:00:00

  • February 09, 2024 0:00:00
This schedule will run at 00:00 on Monday and reset every Sunday. The next schedule runs are as follows:

  • January 29, 2024 0:00:00

  • February 05, 2024 0:00:00

  • February 12, 2024 0:00:00

  • February 19, 2024 0:00:00

  • February 26, 2024 0:00:00
This schedule will run at 00:00 on day 3 of the month every 2 months and reset every year on January 1. The next schedule runs are as follows:

  • March 03, 2024 0:00:00

  • May 03, 2024 0:00:00

  • July 03, 2024 0:00:00

  • September 03, 2024 0:00:00

  • November 03, 2024 0:00:00

Procedure

  1. On the Remote Systems table, find the system you want to create a synchronize schedule for and choose Schedule.

    The Create Schedule dialog lets you to create or edit the synchronization schedule for the selected system.

  2. In the Frequency area, set the following options:
    1. In the Repeat field, choose how often you want the schedule to repeat. For example, the schedule can repeat daily, weekly, or monthly.
    2. If the schedule repeats daily, turn the Reset Cycle option on or off.
    3. In the Every field, choose the number of how many units (days, weeks, or months) must pass before the schedule repeats.
    4. If the schedule repeats weekly, in the On field, select the days of the week you want the schedule to run. Or if the schedule repeats monthly, set the On field to the date in the month you want the schedule to run.
    5. In the At (UTC) field, choose the time of day to want the schedule to run.
  3. In the Date Range area, set the start date for the schedule.

    Set the end date only if you want the schedule to run during a certain time frame. Otherwise, you can leave it empty.

  4. Choose Create.

Results

The synchronization schedule is created and the next scheduled run date is updated in the Remote Systems table.

Next Steps

Now that your system is connected to the catalog, what's next?

  • If you're interested in monitoring the success or failure of individual extractions and troubleshooting common errors during the extraction process, see Monitoring Metadata Extractions to learn more.

  • If you're responsible for enriching, classifying, and publishing objects extracted from these systems, see Governing Catalog Assets.

Related Information