Exchanging Data Between BW Systems.

The data mart interface makes it possible to post data from one InfoProvider to another.

You have the following options:

• Exchanging data between multiple BW systems: The sending system is referred to as the source BW, while the receiving system is referred to as the target BW. The individual BW systems arranged in such a way are called data marts. The InfoProviders of the source BW are used as the data source.

• Data exchange between BW systems and other SAP systems

  For more information see Data Mart Interface Between Several Systems.

Data marts can be used in different ways:

• They save a subset of the data for a Data Warehouse in another database, possibly even at a different location.

• They are smaller units of a Data Warehouse.

• They are stored as intentionally redundant segments of the (logical, global) overall system (Data Warehouse).

A BW system makes itself available to another BW system as the source system by

• providing metadata

• providing transaction and master data.

An export DataSources is needed to transfer data from a source BW into a target BW. Export DataSources for InfoCubes and DataStore objects contain all the characteristics and key figures of the InfoProvider. Export DataSources for master data contain the metadata for all attributes, texts, and hierarchies for an InfoObject.

• Changes to the metadata of the source system can only transferred to the export DataSources by regenerating these DataSoures.

• The Delete function is not supported at present.

• You can only generate an export DataSource from an InfoCube if:

  • the InfoCube is activated

  • the name of the InfoCube is at least one character shorter than the maximum length of a name, since the DataSource name is made up of the InfoCube name and a prefix.

Note the special features of the assignment of a source system to a source system ID in data mart scenarios.

More information: Assigning a Source System to a Source System ID