Basics of Expert Analytics

Important concepts that are relevant when using Expert Analytics.

Component
A component is the basic processing unit of Expert Analytics. Each component has one input and/or multiple output connection points. These connection points are used to connect components through connectors. After connecting components together, data is transmitted from predecessor components to their successor components.
Expert Analytics consists of the following components:
  • Preprocessors
  • Algorithms
  • Data writers

You can access components from the Designer view of the Predict room. After you have added components to the analysis editor, the status icon of a component allows you to identify its state.

The following are the states of a component:
  • No status icon: This state is displayed when you drag a component onto the analysis editor. It indicates that the component needs to be configured before running the analysis.
  • (Configured): This state is displayed once all the necessary properties are configured for the component.
  • (Success): This state is displayed after the successful execution of the analysis.
  • (Failure): This state is displayed if this component causes the execution of the analysis to fail.
Analysis

An analysis is a series of different components connected together in a particular sequence with connectors, which define the direction of the data flow.

Model

A model is a reusable component created by training an algorithm using historical data.

In-Database (In-DB) working mode

In-Database (In-DB) is an analysis execution mode in which data processing is performed in the SAP HANA database with the use of data mining capabilities. In this mode, the Predictive Analytics desktop orchestrates execution on the SAP HANA side, and minimal data for reporting is downloaded to the client. This mode can be used to process large data sets. SAP HANA supports data mining through R integration, SAP Predictive Analysis Library (PAL) and SAP Automated Predictive Library (APL). This type of analysis is also referred to as online analysis.

Note For information about sizing the SAP HANA database to perform In-DB analysis, see SAP Note 1514966.
In-Process (In-Proc) working mode

In-Process (In-Proc) is an analysis execution mode in which the data processing is performed by taking data out of the database into the predictive process space. In this mode, you cannot use SAP HANA PAL algorithms for analysis. However, you can work with R and SAP algorithms. This type of analysis is also referred to as Out-DB or offline analysis.

Note For information about hardware requirements needed to perform In-Proc analysis, see the Product Availability Matrix at SAP Product Availability MatrixInformation published on SAP site