You can also assign an external system to an InfoSource. Data is then loaded from this system into the BI system using staging BAPIs. There are a number of extraction tools from third-party providers that you can use to load data from an external system, or you can use the DB connect tool provided by BI. You maintain a destination for an extraction tool; this destination is accessed when you load data from the BI system. The extraction tool loads the data from the external system and transforms it into the relevant BI format.
When you load transaction data from an external system, you must make sure that the transfer structure corresponds exactly to the data structure of the extraction tool.
When you load master data from an external system, you must make sure that the data structure of the extraction tool corresponds exactly to the transfer structure suggested by the BI system.
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1. Defining the Source System from Which You Want to Load Data
In the source system tree, choose External System → Create.
Enter a name and a description and maintain the RFC destination for your extraction tool.
2. Defining the InfoSource for Which You Want to Load Data
The InfoSource maintenance and subsequent processes are identical to when you load data from a flat file. Choose a procedure according to data type:
Uploading Transaction Data from Flat Files
○ Uploading Master Data from Flat Files
■ Updating Data from a Flat File
■ Updating Data Flexibly from a Flat File
Uploading Hierarchies from Flat Files