Handling Data Records with Errors

On the Update tab page in the data transfer process (DTP), the error handling settings allow you to control how the system responds if errors occur in the data records when data is transferred from a DTP source to a DTP target.

Settings for Error Handling

For a data transfer process (DTP), you can specify how you want the system to respond when data records contain errors. If you activate error handling, all records with errors are written to a request-based database table (PSA table) known as the error stack. You can use a special data transfer process, the error DTP, to update the records to the target.

Temporary storage is available after each processing step of the DTP request. This allows you to find out which processing step the error occurred in.

Checks for Incorrect Data Records

The following table provides an overview of where checks for incorrect data records can be run:

"Repairing" with Error DTP

You create an error DTP for an active data transfer process on the Update tab page. You run it directly in the background or include it in a process chain so that you can schedule it regularly in the context of your process chain. The error DTP uses the full update mode to extract data from the error stack (in this case, the source of the DTP) and transfer it to the target that you have already defined in the data transfer process.

1. On the Extractiontab page under Semantic Groups, define the key fields for the error stack.

   This setting is only relevant if you are transferring data to DataStore objects with data fields that are overwritten. If errors occur, all subsequent data records with the same key are written to the error stack along with the incorrect data record; they are not updated to the target. This guarantees the serialization of the data records, and consistent data processing. The serialization of the data records and thus the explicit definition of key fields for the error stack is not relevant for targets that are not updated by overwriting.

   The default value and possible entries for the key fields of the error stack for DataStore objects that overwrite are shown below:

   Default Value/Possible Entries	Which Fields in the Source?
   Default value for the key fields of the error stack (fields selected by the system)	All fields in the source that are uniquely assigned to a key field of the target. This means all fields in the source that are directly assigned to a key field of the DataStore object in the transformation.
   Fields that can also be selected as key fields for the error stack	Fields in the source that are assigned to key fields of the DataStore object, but whose assignment is not unique. An assignment is not unique if it is not a direct assignment. If the assignment is direct, it is also considered to be not unique if there is a start or end routine.
   Fields that cannot be selected as key fields for the error stack	Fields in the source that are assigned to a non-key field of the target, to a data field in the DataStore object.

   Note

   The key should be as detailed as possible. A maximum of 16 key fields is permitted. The fewer the number of key fields defined, the more records are updated to the error stack.

   The system automatically defines the key fields of the target as key fields of the error stack for targets that are not updated by overwriting (for example for InfoCubes or DataStore objects that only have fields that are updated cumulatively). In this case you cannot change the key fields of the error stack.

2. On the Update tab page, specify how you want the system to respond to data records with errors if error handling is activated:
   1. No update, no reporting (default)

      If errors occur, the system terminates the update of the entire data package. The request is not released for reporting. The incorrect record is selected. This allows the error to be assigned to the data record. The incorrect records are not written to the error stack since the request is terminated and has to be updated again in its entirety.

      This is the default setting in the DTP - with one exception: If the source is a data store object (of a semantically partitioned object) and the target is an InfoCube, error handling is deactivated.

   2. Update valid records, no reporting (request red)

      This option allows you to update valid data. This data is only released for reporting after the administrator checks the incorrect records that have not been updated and manually releases the request by setting the overall status on the Status tab page in the monitor (QM action).

      The incorrect records are written to a separate error stack in which the records are edited and can be updated manually using an error DTP.

   3. Update valid records, reporting possible

      The valid records are available immediately for reporting and analysis purposes. Automatic follow-on activities are performed automatically (such as modifying aggregates).

      The incorrect records are written to a separate error stack in which the records are edited and can be updated manually using an error DTP.

3. Specify the acceptable number of invalid records for error handling. If more than this specified number of errors occur, the transfer is canceled.
   Note

   If you leave this blank, handling for incorrect data records is not activated, and the update is terminated as soon as the first error occurs.

4. Make the settings for the temporary storage by choosing Goto → Settings for DTP Temporary Storage. In these settings, you specify the processing steps after which you want the system to temporarily store the DTP request (such as extraction, filtering, removing new records with the same key and transformation). You also specify when the temporary storage should be deleted. This can be done either after the request has been updated successfully to the target, when the request is deleted or a specified amount of time after the request is processed. Under Level of Detail, you specify how you want to track the transformation.
5. Once the data transfer process has been activated, create an error DTP on the Update tab page and include it in a process chain. If errors occur, start it manually to update the corrected data to the target.

More information:

Error stack

Examples of Using the Error Stack

Temporary Storage