Modeling Guide

Transfer Data from SAP BW to SAP Vora or Cloud Storage

SAP Data Hub provides capabilities that enable you to transfer data from an SAP BW system to an SAP Vora system or cloud storage.

Prerequisites

  • You have created a connection to an SAP BW system using the SAP Data Hub Connection Management application
  • You have created a connection to an SAP Vora system or cloud storage area such as Amazon S3, Google Cloud Platfrom, Hadoop Distributed File System, and so on using the SAP Data Hub Connection Management application.

Context

You can use the Data Transfer operator in the SAP Data Hub Modeler to execute a data transfer from SAP BW to SAP Vora. This operator enables you to select the source data from a selected SAP BW system and the target SAP Vora table in an SAP Vora system to which you want to transfer the data.

Procedure

  1. Start the SAP Data Hub Modeler.
  2. In the navigation pane, select the Graphs tab.
  3. In the navigation pane toolbar, choose + (Create Graph).
    The tool opens an empty graph editor in the same window, where you can define your graph.
  4. Select the operator.
    A graph can contain a single operator or a network of operators based on the business requirement.
    1. In the navigation pane, choose the Operators tab.
    2. In the search bar, search for the Data Transfer operator.
    3. In the search results, double-click the Data Transfer operator (or drag and drop it to the graph editor) to add it as a process in the graph execution.
  5. Select the source.
    In the Source tab, select the required SAP BW system and a BW Query or BW InfoProvider within this system. The BW Query or BW InfoProvider is the source data for the data transfer activity.
    1. In the Connection ID dropdown list, enter the required connection ID.
      You can also browse and select the required connection.
    2. In the Source Type dropdown list, select the required source.

      Source Type

      Description

      Query

      Queries are combination of characteristics and key figures (InfoObjects) that allow you to analyze the data in an InfoProvider. A query corresponds to one InfoProvider, although you can define any number of queries for each InfoProvider.

      InfoProvider

      InfoProviders are typically made up of InfoObjects. InfoObjects are the smallest (metadata) units in SAP BW. You can create logical views on the physical data stores in the form of InfoProviders in order to provide data from different data stores for a common evaluation.

      Based on the source type, the tool displays all queries or InfoProviders from the selected connection.
    3. Select the required query or an InfoProvider that you want to use as the source data for the data transfer.
  6. (Optional) Import source from the Metadata Catalog.
    You can browse the folders in the Metadata Catalog and select the required data set (Query or InfoProvider).
    1. In the editor, choose Import from Catalog.
    2. Browse and select the required data set.
    3. Choose OK.
      The tool automatically populates the connection details based on the selected data set. For more information on Metadata Catalog, see Manage Metadata in the related information section.
  7. Provide values for variables.
    If the selected query is defined with variables, then the tool prompts you to provide values to those variables. The tool also displays the default values, if any, defined for the variables.
    1. In the Variable Values dialog box, select the variable, operator type and provide the required values.
    2. If you want to view only the mandatory variables, select Show Mandatory Only.
    3. Choose OK.
  8. Select dimensions.
    You can select the required dimensions from the source that you want to project to the SAP Vora table.
    1. Choose Select Dimensions.
    2. In the Select Dimensions dialog box, select the required dimensions and choose OK.
    3. If you want to filter a dimension and project only the filtered values, select the dimension and choose (Click to filter values).
    4. In the Provide Filter Values dialog box, provide the filter condition and choose OK.
    You can also sort the order of the selected measures and dimensions when projecting it to the SAP Vora table. In the Selected Measures or Selected Dimensions pane, use Move Up, Move Down, Move to Top, or Move to Bottom icons to sort the selected measures and dimensions.
  9. Select measures.
    You can select the required measures from the source that you want to project to the SAP Vora table.
    1. Choose Select Measures.
    2. In the Select Measures dialog box, select the required measures and choose OK.
  10. (Optional) If the engine is using the INA protocol to retrieve data from the source, in the Timeout text field, enter a value in milliseconds
    The modeler waits for the time that you specify before executing a timeout on the data retrieval. This means that, after the timeout period, the graph execution fails. The default timeout value is 60 seconds.
  11. (Optional) Define partitions.
    The modeler provides capabilities to define a maximum of two partition conditions on the source columns to optimize the data transfer operation. It supports the partition types List and Range to define the partition conditions.
    1. In the Partition Conditions section, choose Add Condition.
    2. Select the required partition column and its data type.
    3. In the Type dropdown list, select the required partition type.
    4. In the Partition Values text field, define one or more partition values.
      For range partition type, define only the low boundary value.
  12. When connecting to an SAP Vora table, complete this step. When connecting to cloud storage, skip this step and perform the next step. Select the target SAP Vora table.
    In the Target pane, select the required SAP Vora system and browse to the required SAP Vora table within the selected system. The SAP Vora table is the target destination for the data transfer task.
    1. In the Connection ID dropdown list, enter the required connection ID.
      You can also browse and select the required connection.
    2. In the HANA Wire Port text field, enter the SAP HANA Wire port of the SAP Vora Transaction Coordinator, which is determined as 3<XX>15, where <XX> is the instance number of the SAP Vora cluster as configured in the SAP Vora Manager.
      SAP HANA Wire protocol allows a direct connection to be established from SAP HANA to SAP Vora using SAP HANA smart data access (SDA).
    3. In the Schema Name text field, enter the required SAP Vora schema.
      You can also browse and select the required SAP Vora schema and the table.
  13. When connecting to an SAP Vora table, complete the previous step. When connecting to cloud storage, perform this step. Select the target file location.
    In the Target pane, select the required cloud storage and browse to the required folder location within the storage.
    1. In the Connection ID dropdown list, enter the required connection ID.
      You can also browse and select the required connection.
    2. In the Path text field, enter the required path.

      In case the connection you choose has a root path specified the content of this field is relative to this path. You can also browse to select the required file location.

  14. Validate source and target.
    Choose Validate to validate the source and target definition.
  15. Save and execute the graph.
    Use the Workflow Trigger and Workflow Terminator operators in the graph to control the start and stop of the graph execution respectively.
Related Information

Transfer Modes

The transfer of data from SAP BW supports two different modes:
  • Retrieve data via the BW Online Analytical Processor (OLAP)
  • Retrieve data via generated HANA Views

Using the Online Analytical Processor

The default behavior uses the access via the OLAP processor. This ensures that the data you write matches the data the user knows from the common BW UIs (e.g. Transaction RSRT2). It supports a wide variety of BW functionality.You have created a connection to an SAP BW system using the SAP Data Hub Connection Management application.

Due to the "Online" nature of this access method, it is not recommended to use this method for large scale data transfer. This mode transfers the complete data in a single result set.

Using a generated HANA View

In BW on HANA and BW/4HANA it is possible to generate designated calculation views on the underlying HANA Database for each Query/InfoProvider. SAP Data hub will leverage these views in case the following conditions are met:
  • You specified a working connection to the SAP HANA Database, and referenced this connection in the BW Connection you are using.
  • The corresponding Query or InfoProvider has a generated calculation View.
  • The projection of Dimensions and Measures you choose does not contain a restricted attribute (for example, as specified in Note 2145502).
  • No further errors occur (for example, HANA Authorization errors).

The use of HANA Views is indicated in the UI. In case a View is used, it is possible to specify portions ("Partitions") of data which will be transfered separately, enabling large result sets.

Data Type Mapping and Miscellaneous

When using the OLAP based access the Vora Table is created based on the data types used for displaying the content. This creates a certain inexactness (especially for time-related values which are stored as VARCHAR).

When using the view based access the Vora Table is created based on the data types specified in the HANA View. This enables a very precise mapping of the data types. However, it is not possible to rename columns or change the order of columns in the target.

The internal key is used for the data transfer. The text is written into a separate column (as can be seen in the UI). It is currently not possible to change the type of the text or key.

Due to the table format in the target the result will be flattened. Meaning all structures and hierarchies are disabled.