Informatica ILM Nearline for use with SAP NetWeaver BW (Version 6.1)

User Guide

Informatica ILM Nearline User Guide Version 6.1 February 2013

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Table of Contents

1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 1

2 PREREQUISITES .................................................................................................................... 1

3 AREA MENUS ......................................................................................................................... 1

3.1 AREA MENU /SAND/0_MAINP ............................................................................................ 2

3.2 AREA MENU /SAND/0_MAIN .............................................................................................. 2

4 INFOPROVIDER ANALYSIS REPORT ................................................................................... 3

4.1 REPORT RESULTS ............................................................................................................... 3

4.2 DETAILED SIZING RESULTS .................................................................................................. 5

4.2.1 InfoCube Results ....................................................................................................... 5

4.2.2 DataStore Object Results .......................................................................................... 6

4.3 RULES AND GUIDELINES TO ANALYZE THE REPORT RESULTS ................................................ 6

4.4 RUNNING THE INFOPROVIDER ANALYSIS REPORT ................................................................. 7

5 DATA ARCHIVING PROCESS SETTINGS ............................................................................ 8

5.1 DAP CREATION GUIDELINES ................................................................................................ 9

5.2 DAP TIPS ......................................................................................................................... 10

5.2.1 Using a Non-Key Field Primary Characteristic in a DSO DAP ................................ 10

5.2.2 Difference Between the "Time-correlated Key Field" and "Additional Partitioning Characteristic" in DSO DAP Definition ................................................................................... 11

5.2.3 Using Additional Characteristics in a DAP ............................................................... 12

5.2.4 Archive Request Size............................................................................................... 13

5.2.5 Archive Request Deletion Phase ............................................................................. 13

5.2.6 SCT File Validation and Registration ....................................................................... 13

5.3 WRITE-OPTIMIZED DSOS .................................................................................................. 13

5.4 CHANGING THE DAP PRIMARY PARTITIONING CHARACTERISTIC .......................................... 14

6 SAVING DATA IN ILM NEARLINE ....................................................................................... 14

6.1 USING THE DATA WAREHOUSING WORKBENCH ................................................................... 15

6.2 EXECUTING THE DATA ARCHIVING PROCESS USING PROCESS CHAINS ................................. 15

6.3 MODIFYING NEARLINED DATA ............................................................................................ 15

6.4 MASTER DATA CLEANSING ................................................................................................. 16

6.5 DIMENSION CLEANSING ..................................................................................................... 16

7 STATUS OF ARCHIVING REQUESTS ................................................................................. 16

8 DELETING ARCHIVE REQUESTS AT THE NEARLINE LEVEL ......................................... 17

8.1 REQUIRED AUTHORIZATION ................................................................................................ 17

8.2 AUDIT TRAIL ...................................................................................................................... 17

8.3 UNREGISTERING ARCHIVE REQUESTS ................................................................................ 19

8.4 VIEWING AND RE-REGISTERING DELETED REQUESTS .......................................................... 21

8.5 REPEATING FAILED ACTIVITIES ........................................................................................... 23

8.6 REMOVING ORPHAN ENTRIES FROM THE /SAND/0_REQ_STAT TABLE .............................. 25

8.7 RESETTING SKIPPED REQUESTS ........................................................................................ 27

8.8 MEMORY LIMITATIONS ....................................................................................................... 29

9 RELOADING DATA ............................................................................................................... 31

9.1 SPACE CONSIDERATIONS ................................................................................................... 31

10 LOADING NEARLINE DATA USING A DATA TRANSFER PROCESS .......................... 32

11 USING AN API TO READ NEARLINE DATA ................................................................... 32

12 CREATING A VIRTUAL INFOPROVIDER TO ENABLE QUERYING OF NEARLINE DATA 32

12.1 AUTOMATIC VIRTUAL INFOPROVIDER CREATION .............................................................. 32

12.1.1 Virtual Provider Structures ....................................................................................... 33

12.1.2 Updating a Virtual InfoProvider ................................................................................ 34

12.1.3 Deleting a Virtual InfoProvider ................................................................................. 34

12.1.4 DSO with Attribute Only InfoObjects ........................................................................ 34

12.1.5 Virtual Nearline Access ............................................................................................ 34

13 MAINTAINING VIRTUAL INFOPROVIDER METADATA ................................................. 34

13.1 TRANSPORTING TABLE ENTRIES ..................................................................................... 35

13.2 CHECKING THE TABLES .................................................................................................. 36

13.3 DELETING ORPHAN TABLE ENTRIES ................................................................................ 36

13.4 INITIALIZING NEW FIELDS................................................................................................ 37

14 TRANSPORTING TABLE CONTENTS ............................................................................. 38

14.1 PREREQUISITES ............................................................................................................. 39

14.2 MANUAL CREATION OF A TRANSPORT ORDER ................................................................. 39

14.3 CREATING A TRANSPORT ORDER .................................................................................... 39

14.4 ADDING THE TABLE ENTRIES TO THE TRANSPORT ORDER ................................................ 40

14.5 FINALIZING THE TRANSPORT ORDER ............................................................................... 43

14.6 IMPORTING THE TRANSPORT ORDER INTO THE TARGET SAP SYSTEM .............................. 43

15 THE QUERY GENERATOR ............................................................................................... 43

15.1 STARTING THE QUERY GENERATOR ................................................................................ 43

15.2 CONSTRUCTING A NEARLINE QUERY ............................................................................... 44

15.2.1 DSO Object .............................................................................................................. 44

15.2.2 Fields To Be Selected .............................................................................................. 44

15.2.3 Fields ‘FOR ALL ENTRIES’ ..................................................................................... 46

15.2.4 Table ‘FOR ALL ENTRIES’ ...................................................................................... 46

15.2.5 SQL WHERE Statement .......................................................................................... 47

15.3 STARTING THE QUERY ................................................................................................... 48

15.4 VIEWING THE PROGRAM ................................................................................................. 49

15.4.1 The Save Generated Source Code Option .............................................................. 49

Preface

Informatica Resources

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China: 400 810 0900

1

1 Introduction

This guide describes the use of the nearline interface of SAP BW 7 in conjunction with ILM Nearline. Where the relevant information is supplied in the SAP BW online help, hyperlinks to the appropriate topics are included. It is intended for SAP BW administrators, or anyone who needs to manage the process of moving SAP BW data to nearline storage and restoring nearline data into SAP BW.

This guide assumes familiarity with the SAP BW concept of Information Lifecycle Management. Information about Information Lifecycle Management can be found on the SAP online help portal, under Data Warehousing> Data Warehouse Management> Information Lifecycle Management.

http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw04s/helpdata/en/e3/e60138fede083de10000009b38f8cf/frameset.htm

2 Prerequisites

The following prerequisites must be in place before ILM Nearline can be used:

1. The ILM Nearline Services must be installed and configured on the server. Note that this includes installation of the File Archive Service.

2. A connection must be established between SAP BW and the Nearline Service.

3. Data in the form of InfoCubes or DataStore objects must be present in the SAP BW system.

4. A Data Archiving Process (DAP) must be available in the active state in order for an InfoProvider to save data nearline. For information about creating a DAP, consult the SAP online help, under Data Warehousing> Data Warehouse Management> Information Lifecycle Management> Data Archiving Process> Creating Data Archiving Processes.

http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw04s/helpdata/en/43/f0efbf81917063e10000000a1553f6/content.htm

3 Area Menus

The SAP Nearline Add-On includes area menus for user navigation. The area menus include all transactions related to ILM Nearline.

The add-on includes the following area menus:

• /SAND/0_MAINP. Area menu for administrators or power users.

• /SAND/0_MAIN. Area menu for users.

2

3.1 Area Menu /SAND/0_MAINP

Area menu /SAND/0_MAINP includes transactions for all post-installation tasks, such as setup, configuration, and administration tasks. After you install or upgrade the SAP Nearline Add-On, run each transaction in sequential order.

The following figure displays the area menu /SAND/0_MAINP:

3.2 Area Menu /SAND/0_MAIN

Area menu /SAND/0_MAIN includes transactions for verification and administration tasks.

The following figure displays the area menu /SAND/0_MAIN:

3

4 InfoProvider Analysis Report

The InfoProvider Analysis Report provides real-time sizing information for InfoProviders. The report shows the InfoCubes and DataStore Objects that contain the largest volume of data within the report search criteria. The report results include total and individual sizes for the InfoProviders. You can also access detailed sizing results for items in the report results to help further analyze InfoProvider sizes.

Use the report results to help you determine the InfoProviders that you want to nearline. For example, you may want to run the report to identify the largest twenty InfoCubes and DataStore Objects. Then, use the report results to determine from which of the largest twenty objects you want to nearline data. Use a combination of the report results and the detailed sizing results to analyze the data.

The report uses a standard SAP function module to retrieve the size of the objects. The system retrieves the size of the objects at the time in which you run the report.

4.1 Report Results

The InfoProvider Analysis report includes a summary of the total size of all InfoCubes and DataStore Objects that meet the selection criteria. The report also includes the individual sizes of the DataStore Objects and InfoCubes within the selection criteria.

The following figure shows a sample of the report results:

4

The report results include the following key information:

Size in Database (KB)

In the summary area, the report includes the total size of all InfoCubes, the total size of all DataStore Objects, and the total size of both InfoProviders. The size is in kilobytes. To calculate the size, the system summarizes the InfoProviders that meet the selection criteria.

In the results list, the report includes the size of each individual InfoProvider that meets the selection criteria. The size is in kilobytes.

% of Total Size

In the summary area, the percentage of total size is the summary of all InfoCubes, or the summary of all DataStore Objects, divided by the summary of all InfoProviders. To calculate the percentage of total size, the system calculates values only for InfoProviders that meet the selection criteria.

In the results list, the report includes the percentage of size that each individual InfoProvider contains relative to all InfoProviders in the report. To calculate the percentage of total size for each individual InfoProvider, the system divides the size of the individual InfoProvider by the total size of all InfoProviders.

Nearlined

Indicates if the InfoProvider is nearlined or not. The system considers an InfoProvider nearlined if a Data Archiving Process exists for the InfoProvider.

Type, Name, and Technical Names

The values for the type, name, and technical names columns are from the SAP system for objects that meet the selection criteria.

5

4.2 Detailed Sizing Results

The detailed sizing results includes information specific to InfoCubes and DataStore Objects. Use the detailed sizing results to help determine which InfoProviders you want to include in your nearline strategy.

To view the detailed sizing results, double-click any object from the report results list. The detailed sizing results appear. There is a tab for each InfoProvider. The active tab corresponds to the InfoProvider that you double-clicked.

You can use the standard SAP functions of the ABAP list viewer (ALV) to manipulate the report results. For example, you can sort, filter, print, and export the report results.

4.2.1 InfoCube Results

The InfoCube results tab includes sizing information for all of the fact and dimension tables in the InfoCube. The results list shows the size of compressed and uncompressed fact tables, the size of the dimension tables, and the percentage of the data that is within both tables. Use the fact and dimension table statistics to determine which InfoCubes you want to nearline.

The following figure shows a sample of the detailed sizing results for InfoCubes:

The InfoCubes tab of the detailed sizing results includes the following information:

Name, Technical Name

The values for the type, name, and technical names columns are from the SAP system for objects that meet the selection criteria.

Size in Database (KB)

The size of each InfoCube that meets the selection criteria. The size is in kilobytes.

% of Total

The percentage of size that the InfoCube contains relative to all InfoProviders in the report, including DataStore Objects. To calculate the percentage of total size for each InfoCube, the system divides the InfoCube size by the total size of all InfoProviders.

Size of Compressed Fact Tables in Database

The size of all compressed fact tables in the InfoCube. The size is in kilobytes.

6

Size of Uncompressed Fact Tables in Database

The size of all compressed fact tables in the InfoCube. The size is in kilobytes.

Size of Dimension Tables (KB)

The size of all dimension tables in the InfoCube. The size is in kilobytes.

% of Data in Compressed Fact Tables

The percentage of size that the compressed fact tables contain relative to the size of the InfoCube. To calculate the percentage, the system divides the size of the compressed fact table by the size of the InfoCube.

% of Data in Uncompressed Fact Tables

The percentage of size that the uncompressed fact tables contain relative to the size of the InfoCube. To calculate the percentage, the system divides the size of the uncompressed fact table by the size of the InfoCube.

Nearlined

Indicates if the InfoProvider type is nearlined or not. The system considers an InfoProvider nearlined if a Data Archiving Process exists for the InfoProvider.

4.2.2 DataStore Object Results

The DataStore Objects tab shows the same information that is in the report results.

The following figure shows a sample of the detailed sizing results for DataStore Objects:

4.3 Rules and Guidelines to Analyze the Report Results

The InfoProvider Analysis Report provides summary and detailed report results. Analyze the report results to help determine your nearline strategy.

7

There are many factors to review as a whole to determine your nearline strategy. The report shows technical details from the system. When you review the report reports, you must also consider general business guidelines.

Use the following rules and guidelines to analyze the InfoProvider Analysis report results:

• Review the InfoProvider database size first. There may be significant sizing differences between the top largest InfoProviders. For example, you ran the report to review the top 20 largest InfoProviders. However, out of the largest 20, only 4 or 5 may be large enough to consider nearlining.

• When you analyze InfoCube sizes, evaluate the fact and dimension table sizes. Even if the InfoCube size is large, you may not want to nearline the InfoCube if the fact table and dimension tables are similar in size. The benefits of nearlining InfoCubes increases as the difference of the fact and dimension tables sizes increases.

• When you analyze InfoCube sizes, consider the SAP NetWeaver BW version. If you have SAP NetWeaver BW version 7.3, you can nearline data in compressed and uncompressed fact tables. If you have an earlier version, you can only nearline data in compressed fact tables.

• Nearline InfoProviders that will not have future changes. You cannot change or update nearlined data.

• If you have queries that read from InfoProviders that you nearlined, you must change the queries to read the nearlined data.

• Consider remodelling requirements. When you nearline data, there are limitations on remodelling the InfoProviders. For more information, see SAP Notes 1005040, 1037040, 1131954 and 1134688.

• Consider MultiProvider access requirements. If you have SAP NetWeaver BW version 7.0, you cannot access nearlined InfoProviders through MultiProviders. Instead, you must create virtual InfoCubes and assign them to MultiProviders.

4.4 Running the InfoProvider Analysis Report

Run the InfoProvider Analysis Report to analyze InfoProvider sizes. Use transaction /SAND/0_SIZING_REPT to access and run program /SAND/0_SIZINGREPORT. The transaction is included in the /SAND/0_MAINP and /SAND/0_MAIN area menus in the Administration folder.

1. From the area menu, select Administration > Display InfoProvider Analysis Report or start transaction /SAND/0_SIZING_REPT.

The selection screen for program /SAND/0_SIZINGREPORT appears.

The following figure shows the InfoProvider Analysis Report selection screen:

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2. Optionally, enter the report selection criteria.

You can enter a range of InfoCubes or DataStore objects if you want to narrow the report results to specific objects. By default, the report shows the top largest 20 InfoProviders.

3. Click Execute or Execute in Background to run the report.

Run the report in the background to increase performance if you did not enter any selection criteria or if the report times out when you run the report in the foreground.

The report results appear.

4. To view the detailed summary report, double-click any object in the results list.

The detailed sizing results appear. The tab is defaulted to the same object that you double-clicked. For example, if you double-clicked an InfoCube, the InfoCube tab appears.

5 Data Archiving Process Settings

When creating the Data Archiving Process, go to the General Settings tab and make the following settings:

• For the Nearline Connection, select the appropriate nearline connection defined in the SAP system.

• Enable or disable ADK-Based Archiving, depending on whether SAP's ADK-based archiving will be used in conjunction with Informatica’s nearline solution.

Note: The nearline connection must be defined. For more information, consult the ILM Nearline Configuration Guide.

In the example below, the nearline connection is "SAND_NLS".

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Figure 1: General Settings

On the Nearline Storage tab, select SAND_NLS as the Nearline Connection.

Figure 2: Nearline Storage Settings

5.1 DAP Creation Guidelines

• One time characteristic must be selected as a primary partition characteristic for the DAP. This time characteristic can either be any field from the InfoProvider with the DATS data type, or a field based on a standard date characteristic.

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• Additional partition characteristics can be used to reduce the size of the archive slice. For an InfoCube, any characteristic can be used as an additional partition characteristic. For a DSO, only a key field can be used as an additional partition characteristic.

• The Semantic Group tab must be left blank, except for the default values of write-optimized DSOs.

• The field used as partitioning characteristic should have indexes at the database level to increase the performance of the archiving process.

• The Maximum Size in MB field should be set to 1024. From the Nearline Service side, an SCT file is created at every 1024 MB (1 GB) of data received by default. Setting the value higher in the DAP will not have an impact on the Nearline Service performance. However, setting it to non-multiples of 1024 (or whatever the data input size for SCT files is set to) could create partial data segments. For example, setting this value to 1536 will result in one SCT file being created with 1024 MB of data, and the next with 512 MB. The recommendation is therefore to set this value to a multiple of 1024 (that is, either 1024 or 2048, the highest setting).

• If you are experiencing poor performance during the deletion phase, the Maximum Size in MB field can be reduced from the recommended 1024 MB size (but must be at least 200 MB). The smaller the maximum size of the file, the more likely it is that several delete jobs can be active in parallel to the write program. However, be aware that a small value can dramatically increase the number of generated SCT files, which can:

o slow down the Nearline Service

o burden the backup system in terms of file management

o affect the overall performance of the SAP system for non-nearline tasks.

• The Maximum Number of Data Objects field should be set to blank (unlimited).

5.2 DAP Tips

5.2.1 Using a Non-Key Field Primary Characteristic in a DSO DAP

There are three choices when selecting a primary partitioning characteristic when creating a DAP for a DSO:

• Use a date characteristic that is part of key fields of the DSO

• Use a date characteristic within a record that is known not to change once the record has been nearlined.

• Associate the date field with a time-correlated field from the key field.

It is essential to make a good analysis before selecting the primary partitioning characteristic to avoid issues with data consistency.

Key Field Date Characteristic

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When using a date field that is part of the key fields, the record cannot be re-inserted, as this date cannot change. This guarantees that a date key field used for partition locking will not allow a record to be inserted twice in two different time slices.

Non-modifiable Date Field

This option is usually what is used. However, the partition will be locked according to the archive request selection criteria, but it cannot guarantee that a record cannot be re-inserted with a different date for the same key once the record has been nearlined. If the date does change for a nearlined record, since the partition is locked by this criterion and not the record’s key, there is no way SAP can detect that a document is now part of a different time slice.

The easiest way to avoid records being re-inserted in different time slices is to take a date field that will not change after you decide to nearline the data. For example:

• Use a “creation date” field as a primary partition characteristic. Even though this field is not part of the key fields, it would theoretically not be changed if the record is modified (there should be an “update date” field for this purpose). If data is archived with “creation date” fields older than a certain amount of time, there should not be any issues with these records, as the “creation date” nearlined data segment will be locked and a record's creation date should not change over time. Therefore, the same record could not be inserted in a different archive time slice.

• Use a “closed date” field that cannot be modified once the record has been tagged as completed. In this case, it must be guaranteed that this date will not change even if the record is modified after it is closed.

The selection of a non-key field date field for a DSO must be done in accordance to the established processes. These processes must be analyzed to determine if the date field is safe to use as a primary partitioning filed in the DAP. In most cases, a suitable date field can be found to serve the purpose of partition locking.

Time-Correlated Key Field

The principal of the time-correlated key field is to use a field like a document number that always increments over time in the InfoProvider and is never reused. A time characteristic that follows this key field can then be associated with this key field during the DAP creation. This key field will then be used in the select criteria of the associated key field. The process of determining the time slice for a time-correlated key field is explained in the next section.

In any case, whether the date field is a key field or not, the selection of the primary partitioning characteristic must be done carefully to ensure that it reflects properly aging data, that it can be used to lock the partition effectively, and that it can efficiently control the size of the archive requests that are sent to nearline (the size of the archive data slice can affect the ability to restore data rapidly from nearline to online if it is required).

5.2.2 Difference Between the "Time-correlated Key Field" and "Additional Partitioning Characteristic" in DSO DAP Definition

The time-correlated key field can be used when defining a DAP where the primary time characteristic is not a key field. In that situation, radio buttons will appear directly beneath the

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time characteristic selection box (these radio buttons appear only if the time characteristic is not a key field; otherwise, the time characteristic will be used as is).

The “It is still to be used in archive as primary partitioning characteristic” radio button will define the non-key field time characteristic. The non-key field time characteristic will then be used to select and lock data partitions in the DSO. However, it will not protect against a nearlined record that is re-inserted in the online object with a different value for this time characteristic.

The “A time-correlated key characteristic is to be used instead for portioning” radio button will allow a key field of the DSO to be used as a replacement for the primary time characteristic when selecting and locking a data partition in the DSO. It is very important that this is noticed when a DAP is defined, as its activation will take the first key alphabetically in the list as the time-correlated key (this is not an obvious behavior and it may not be what is wanted).

The time-correlated key field is not the same as selecting a field in “Additional Partitioning Characteristics”. The “Additional Partition Characteristics” will be added with an “and” to the selection criteria that will send data to nearline. For example:

Select * from "/BIC/0RSTT_O10" where 0CALDAY < 31.12.1991 and 0RSTT_TAREA < 10

In the case of the “time-correlated key” radio button, the value selected will replace the time characteristic in the selection query with the max value of this field in the data slice defined by the time selection criteria. For example, for the same criteria above, SAP would run a query first to extract the maximum value for 0RSRTT_TAREA in the DSO object according to the time selected:

Select max(0RSTT_TAREA) from "/BIC/0RSTT_O10" where 0CALDAY < 31.12.1991

It will then apply the result of the previous query (say 999) to the actual query that will be used to select and lock data in the DSO object:

Select * from "/BIC/0RSTT_O10" where 0RSTT_TAREA < 999

The distinction between the different elements of the DAP select criteria must be clearly understood before defining the DAP for a given object.

5.2.3 Using Additional Characteristics in a DAP

One time characteristic can be used as the primary partitioning characteristic and additional fields can then be used to reduce the size of an archive slice.

When fields are used to lock an archived data partition, data within these field restrictions will not be modifiable anymore. For example, if a DATE column and a FLAG column are used to nearline data, and data is sent to nearline with DATE < ‘20100101’ and FLAG = ‘Y’, the partition corresponding to this selection will not be modifiable anymore. This means that a row that has a DATE set to ‘20090101’ with FLAG set to ‘N’ will not be able to modify its FLAG to ‘Y’ (because all rows with DATE < ‘20100101’ are locked for FLAG = ‘Y’).

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In the example above, the FLAG column becomes useless in the nearline process. It would be preferable to have a process that sets a DATE field to a given date when the FLAG column is switched to ‘Y’. Otherwise, if the flag column is not set to 'Y', the date would be set to a very high value by the process (for example, January 1st, 3212). It would then be possible to nearline data according to this date column. As this column would be adjusted to the current date only when FLAG is set to ‘Y’, there would be no cases where the date is set in the past and causes conflicts with the partitions of data that have already been nearlined.

5.2.4 Archive Request Size

In the nearline strategy that Informatica proposes, it is recommended that nearline data segments be small (2 to 10 GB of data per archive request). This way, if an old record is modified in the online system, only the nearline segment in question that contains the original record must be reloaded from nearline. For example, instead of nearlining a whole year in one archive request, it is recommended that the archive segment be split into either archive requests per month (12 archive requests), per weeks (52 archive requests), or even smaller if it is possible (depending on the operational processes). In this case, if only one record must be modified, it will be far more efficient to reload a week than to reload a year of data to correct the data. This has to be taken under consideration when planning the nearline strategy.

5.2.5 Archive Request Deletion Phase In the execution of an archive request, the deletion phase size must take into consideration the size of the transaction log of the underlying database.

5.2.6 SCT File Validation and Registration

By default, all SCT files created during the archive request execution are registered and validated at the end of the request. However, there is a sand_nlic.properties setting that causes SCT files to be validated and registered after the data transfer to each nearline table is complete:

sand.optimization.create_sct_at_close_request=FALSE

The default option will usually result in a faster archive request job overall. On the other hand, performing registration /validation at the completion of data transfer to each nearline table means that errors (if they occur at all) can be caught much earlier in a job.

Note: If ADK-Based Archiving is enabled for the archive request, SCT files will always be registered and validated at the close of each nearline object (the FALSE setting above), regardless of how the sand.optimization.create_sct_at_close_request parameter is configured.

5.3 Write-Optimized DSOs

ILM Nearline also supports the nearlining of Write-Optimized DataStore Objects (WO-DSOs), which are DSOs consisting of a single table of active data. However, because of the special structure of the WO-DSO, certain characteristics must be taken into consideration for the DAP.

Refer to the following SAP online help topic for more information:

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http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw70ehp1/helpdata/en/48/1f0cec04184269e10000000a421937/content.htm

Additionally, the following points about WO-DSO archive requests should be noted:

• Partial requests cannot be archived from a WO-DSO. For instance, if the selection date covers only half of a request, the request will not be archived. Archiving will only be up to the previous complete request.

• All requests up to a specified date will be archived. The next archive will take the following request up to a more recent date and so on. To reload a request, all requests that are more recent than the request in question (in reverse order that they were archived) will need to be reloaded.

• A second archive request cannot be run on the same WO-DSO if the first archive request is not completed entirely.

• Only Creation Date of Request (0REQUEST__0REQ_CDATE) or Load Date of Request (0REQUEST__0REQ_LDATE) should be selected as the characteristic for time slices, as they are the most reliable criteria. If any other field is selected, the results could be unpredictable: all load requests might get archived or no data might get archived, even if some of the records correspond to the selection. (This behavior comes from SAP, not the ILM Nearline software.)

Note that ADK-based archiving must not be enabled for WO-DSO DAPs.

5.4 Changing the DAP Primary Partitioning Characteristic

If the primary partitioning characteristic for a DAP needs to be changed subsequently, the DAP will have to be deleted and then recreated with the different primary partitioning characteristic.

The steps involved with this process are as follows:

1. Reload the data from nearline to online (InfoProvider).

2. Delete the DAP.

3. Recreate the DAP with the new primary partitioning characteristic.

4. Activate the DAP.

Important: If the DAP is deleted in this manner, the delete must be transported to the other systems in the landscape. Before this is done, however, it is crucial that all data be reloaded, otherwise there will be data loss. The newly created DAP can then be transported.

6 Saving Data in ILM Nearline

When a Data Archiving Process has been created for an InfoProvider, that data can be nearlined either from the Data Warehousing Workbench or via Process chains. Both processes are described in SAP's online help.

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6.1 Using the Data Warehousing Workbench

Refer to the following SAP online help topic:

http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw04s/helpdata/en/45/256aba6a78752ae10000000a114a6b/content.htm

6.2 Executing the Data Archiving Process using Process Chains

Refer to the following SAP online help topic:

http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw04s/helpdata/en/43/f151ee97517064e10000000a1553f6/content.htm

Note: The size of the archive request should be limited to a size that can be easily reloaded if required and takes a reasonable time to archive. Informatica recommends a size of 2 to 10 GB for each archive slice that is sent to nearline.

Also, if an InfoProvider is used to load a subsequent object, the request must be propagated to the subsequent object before the data can be nearlined.

6.3 Modifying Nearlined Data

If a row in the File Archive repository must be modified, it must first be reloaded to the online system.

Note that if one row in an archived data segment must be corrected, the whole archive request must be reloaded to the online system to correct the row. It is not possible to do a partial reload of an archive request. Because of this, it is important not to exceed the recommended size of an archive request so that the reload can be done efficiently.

Once the row is modified, the data segment can be nearlined once again.

During a data load process, if a proper date characteristic has been chosen for partition locking, any rows that try to apply a change to nearline data should be rejected and cause an error during the load. If a load does cause an error because of partition locking, the appropriate archive slice must be reloaded into the system, and the erroneous records can then be applied to the object. Once the load is completed, the data slice can be archived again.

As the reload can take some time in this case, it is important that the archive process takes the size of its data segments into consideration. This has to be taken under consideration when planning the nearline strategy.

This load situation should be an exception and not a rule. If this issue occurs multiple times, the data retention policy for the object should be reviewed.

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6.4 Master Data Cleansing

In earlier versions of BW, SAP does not recommend removing master data for characteristic values that exist in nearline only. Navigational attributes for characteristic values that are referenced by nearline and which have been removed from the master data table will not work anymore.

SAP has provided a tool to perform referential checks on nearline data prior to master data deletion as of the following versions:

• BW 7.0 SP26

• BW 7.0 EHP1 SP9

• BW 7.0 EHP2 SP7

• BW 7.3 SP3

Note 1533515 can be installed for BW 7.0 and BW 7.3 prior to the specified support package. Note 1536550 is a prerequisite to note 1533515 and must be installed beforehand. Note 1533515 will also be adapted to other versions, but was not ready at the time that this document was written.

6.5 Dimension Cleansing

Dimensions are not cleansed automatically of references that are not in the online system when this data is sent to nearline. Transaction RSRV can be used to cleanse the dimensions with the "Entries Not Used in the Dimension of an InfoCube" check (which can be found in Tests in Transaction RSRV> All Elementary Tests> Transaction Data).

For more details see:

http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw70/helpdata/en/92/1d733b73a8f706e10000000a11402f/frameset.htm

Dimensions can be cleansed of data that has been nearlined with the following side effects:

• Data sensitive value help (F4) may no longer work for the InfoCube as expected.

• Data that is reloaded from nearline to the online system will not have the same dimension ID.

It is recommended to only cleanse a dimension if it is absolutely necessary.

7 Status of Archiving Requests

Nearline tasks are executed in several phases, for example Lock status, Copying, Verification, Deletion and Overall status. For information, see the following SAP online help topic:

http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw04s/helpdata/en/45/2502de55c56d7be10000000a114a6b/content.htm

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8 Deleting Archive Requests at the Nearline Level

If no longer required, nearlined data can be removed without first having to reload the data back into SAP, using the program /SAND/0_DELETE_NLS_REQUESTS. To start the program, select area menu Administration > Delete nearline requests or start transaction /SAND/0_DELETE_REQ. This functionality allows nearlined data to be unregistered from the File Archive repository.

Currently, archive requests for InfoCubes and standard DSOs can be removed at the nearline level. Write-optimized DSOs are not yet supported.

8.1 Required Authorization

If authorization checking is enabled for the nearline system, the YSAND_NLS002 or ZSAND_NLS002 authorization profile must be added to the account of each user who should have the ability to run the /SAND/0_DELETE_NLS_REQUESTS program in write mode (otherwise it will run in read-only mode).

For more information, refer to the "Setting Up Authorization Checking" chapter in ILM Nearline Configuration Guide.

8.2 Audit Trail

Information about all unregistered and re-registered archive requests is stored in the table /SAND/0_REQ_STAT. In addition to linking each archive request back to SAP, this table also records the user who performed the request activity and the date when it occurred, thereby maintaining an audit trail of such activities.

The /SAND/0_REQ_STAT table contains the following columns:

Column Name Description

NLREQSID The ID of the nearline request (same as the one stored in table RSDAARCHREQ)

REQSID The ID of the archive/restore request. Note that not all requests will have a nearline request ID (NLREQSID).

TIMESTMP_CREATED The UTC timestamp for when the request was created

REQUEST_STATE The current state of the request. The value is one of the following:

• ACTIVE

• UNREG

• ACT_CHA

• UNREG_CHA

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Column Name Description

ACTIVITY The current activity of the request. The value is one of the following:

• UNREGISTER

• REREGISTER

ACTIVITY_STATE The current state of the request activity. The value is one of the following:

• STARTED

• SUCCESS

• FAILED

• SKIPPED

• REFUSED

TOTAL_SIZE The size of the request in bytes

NLCONNAME The nearline connection name

INFOPROV The InfoProvider name

INFOAREA The InfoArea of the InfoProvider

TSTPNM The user account associated with the request activity

TIMESTMP The timestamp for the request activity (in the form YYYYMMDDhhmmss)

The records in the /SAND/0_REQ_STAT table can be searched from the Data Browser screen via transaction SE16 (Figure 3).

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Figure 3: The /SAND/0_REQ_STAT Data Browser Screen

8.3 Unregistering Archive Requests

The act of removing an archive request from ILM Nearline is more precisely a disabling of the archive request rather than the complete deletion of it. The metadata for the archive request is retained and links back to the corresponding archive request in SAP, but a flag in the ILM Nearline repository request table marks the request as deleted.

All SCT files associated with the request are also unregistered from the system, but are not physically deleted. While unregistered, the SCT files are not included in ILM Nearline license calculations and are not available for querying. Note that any long-running query started before an archive request is unregistered can still access all associated SCT files, even if the archive request goes offline before the query has completed.

If an attempt is made to reload an unregistered archive request to SAP, the action will fail with a message in the logs that the request was deleted from ILM Nearline.

An unregistered archive request can be subsequently re-registered to put the associated data back "online". Refer to section 7.4 Viewing and Re-registering Deleted Requests for details.

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To unregister an archive request:

1. From the area menu, select Administration > Delete nearline requests or start transaction /SAND/0_DELETE_REQ.

Figure 4: The /SAND/0_DELETE_NLS_REQUESTS Program

2. Enter a specific InfoProvider whose archive request will be removed, or set the selection criteria to retrieve a list of InfoProviders from which to choose, and then click the Unregister Requests button (F8) to continue.

3. Select one or more archive requests to remove, and then click the Unregister Requests button (F8).

Figure 5: Select Requests to Unregister

4. On the Unregistering Requests confirmation screen, click the Continue button to confirm the removal of the selected request(s). This will start the process of unregistering the request(s).

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Figure 6: The Unregistering Requests Confirmation Screen

When the unregister request process ends, a popup window will display status messages relating to the activity. If there were no errors, then the specified archive request(s) were successfully removed.

Figure 7: Unregister Request Activity Messages

8.4 Viewing and Re-registering Deleted Requests

If one or more archive requests were previously deleted (unregistered),you can view the list of unregistered requests. Optionally, one or more unregistered archive requests can be re-registered, to make the associated data available for querying again.

To view deleted archive requests, complete the following steps:

1. From the area menu, select Administration > Delete nearline requests or start transaction /SAND/0_DELETE_REQ.

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Figure 8: List or Re-Register Deleted Requests

2. Click the List or Re-Register Deleted Requests button (Ctrl+F1). (Note that this button will not appear if no requests have been deleted previously.) The list of deleted archive requests will appear.

Figure 9: List of Deleted Archive Requests

To re-register deleted archive requests, complete the following steps:

1. Follow the procedure above for viewing the list of deleted archive requests.

2. From the displayed list, select one or more deleted archive requests and click the Re-Register Requests button (F8).

Figure 10: Re-Register Requests

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3. On the Re-Registering Requests confirmation screen, click the Continue button or press ENTER to confirm the re-registration of the selected request(s). This will start the re-registration process.

Figure 11: The Re-Registering Requests Confirmation Screen

When the re-registration process ends, a popup window will display status messages relating to the activity. If there were no errors, then the specified archive request(s) were successfully re-registered. The SCT files associated with the re-registered request(s) are now available for querying and count towards the ILM Nearline license again.

8.5 Repeating Failed Activities An archive request that was not successfully unregistered or re-registered will be left in one of the following states (column ACTIVITY_STATE in the /SAND/0_REQ_STAT table):

• FAILED (an error condition prevented the request from being unregistered or re-registered)

• SKIPPED (the Nearline Service was not reachable when the request activity occurred)

• STARTED (the request activity was initiated, but enough time has elapsed that it is considered to have failed)

The amount of time required before a STARTED archive request is considered a failed activity is calculated as:

<Wait response sec.> * 1.1 + 10

Since the default "Wait response sec." value is 7200 seconds, the default timeout for a STARTED activity is 7930 seconds (just over 132 minutes).

In all of the failed activity cases above, an activity can be re-executed after the conditions that caused the failure have been addressed.

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To repeat request activities that failed, complete the following steps:

1. From the area menu, select Administration > Delete nearline requests or start transaction /SAND/0_DELETE_REQ.

Figure 12: Fix Errors in /SAND/0_REQ_STAT

2. Click the Fix Errors in /SAND/0_REQ_STAT button (Ctrl+F2). (Note that this button will not appear if there are no "fixable" requests in the /SAND/0_REQ_STAT table.) The list of requests with FAILED, SKIPPED, and timed-out STARTED activity states will appear.

Figure 13: List of Requests with STARTED or FAILED Activity State

3. From the displayed list, select one or more archive requests and click the Fix Requests button (F8).

4. On the Fixing Errors in Table /SAND/0_REQ_STAT confirmation screen, click the Continue button or press ENTER to confirm that the started/failed activities for the selected request(s) will be repeated.

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Figure 14: The Fixing Request Errors Confirmation Screen

When the re-execution of the failed request(s) is finished, a popup window will display status messages relating to the activity. If there were no errors, then the specified request(s) should now be unregistered or re-registered, depending on the original request activities.

Figure 15: Repeat Failed Request Activity Messages

8.6 Removing Orphan Entries from the /SAND/0_REQ_STAT Table

Orphan entries can appear in the /SAND/0_REQ_STAT table as a result of any of the following actions:

• Restoring requests that were re-registered

• Deleting DAPs

• Deleting the data of a DAP (via the technical setting Delete All Data).

Since these orphan entries no longer have any practical use, they can be safely deleted.

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To remove orphan entries from the /SAND/0_REQ_STAT table:

1. From the area menu, select Administration > Delete nearline requests or start transaction /SAND/0_DELETE_REQ.

Figure 16: Delete Orphan Table Entries

2. Click the Delete Orphan Table Entries button (Ctrl+F3). (Note that this button will not appear if there are no orphan table entries.) The list of orphan entries in the /SAND/0_REQ_STAT table will appear.

Figure 17: List of Orphan Table Entries

3. From the displayed list, select one or more orphan entries and click the Delete Orphan Table Entries button (F8).

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Figure 18: The Delete Orphan Table Entries Confirmation Screen

4. On the Deleting Orphan Table Entries from Table /SAND/0_REQ_STAT confirmation screen, click the Continue button or press ENTER to confirm the deletion of the selected orphan entries. After the orphan entries are deleted, a popup window will display status messages relating to the activity (or the status bar will display a related message if only one table entry was deleted).

Figure 19: Orphan Deletion Activity Messages

8.7 Resetting Skipped Requests

If an archive request is selected to be unregistered or re-registered, but a connection to the Nearline Service cannot be established, the archive request activity state will be set to SKIPPED. In this case, users have the option to reset SKIPPED requests back to their previous state.

To reset skipped requests:

1. From the area menu, select Administration > Delete nearline requests or start transaction /SAND/0_DELETE_REQ.

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Figure 20: Reset Skipped Requests

2. Click the Reset Skipped Requests button (Ctrl+F4). (Note that this button will not appear if there are no SKIPPED requests.) The list of SKIPPED requests will appear.

Figure 21: List of Skipped Requests

3. From the displayed list, select one or more requests and click the Reset Skipped Requests button (F8).

Figure 22: The Reset Skipped Requests Confirmation Screen

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4. On the Resetting Table Entries for SKIPPED Requests confirmation screen, click the Continue button or press ENTER to confirm the reset of the selected entries. After the SKIPPED requests are reset to their previous state, a popup window will display status messages relating to the activity, or the status bar will display a related message if only one SKIPPED request was reset.

Figure 23: Reset Skipped Requests Status Bar Message

8.8 Memory Limitations

The /SAND/0_DELETE_NLS_REQUESTS program could return a very large number of requests, depending on the filtering conditions specified on the initial screen. If the total size of these records is sufficiently large, it can exceed the amount of memory allocated for this function, generating a runtime error and an ABAP "short dump". The short dump listing consists of the error name, various details about the error, and information about the section of the ABAP source code where the error originated. For example, see Figure 24.

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Figure 24: ABAP Short Dump Example

Clicking the Long Text button will display a lot more information about the error, including troubleshooting suggestions. However, in this particular out-of-memory situation, the only solution is to make the filtering conditions on the /SAND/0_DELETE_NLS_REQUESTS initial screen more restrictive, so as to reduce the number of requests returned.

Note that an ABAP short dump can also be analyzed via transaction ST22.

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9 Reloading Data

Refer to the “Reload Request” topic in the SAP online help:

http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw04s/helpdata/en/45/256aba6a78752ae10000000a114a6b/content.htm

9.1 Space Considerations It is important to consider the space required by a reload when planning out an archive request size. As the Nearline Service must materialize the result set before sending an answer to SAP, it can take up to two times the original size of the archive request to reload the data back to SAP. The disk space will be occupied by the following:

• GR files, which are used to materialize the result set on the File Archive Service side and that are created when a query or a reload is executed. GR files are automatically cleaned up when the task is successful, but can be left behind in the case of failures. These files are created in the tmp directory of the Nearline Service directory structure, and multiple parallel nearline tasks may fill up the tmp directory if left unchecked.

• The result set can be buffered to disk a second time, as SAP does not retrieve the rows returned by the File Archive Service very rapidly.

It is recommended that the size of an archive request be limited to 2 to 10 GB. This can avoid disk space and performance issues during a reload.

The size of the archive request can be calculated by multiplying the number of rows to be archived by the size of the archive structure associated with the InfoProvider. The archive structure size can be determined in the following way:

1. In transaction SE11 (ABAP Dictionary), select the Data type option and click the associated Input Help button (or press F4).

2. On the Selection of Input Help popup, click the Search for Structures button.

3. In the Repository Info System: Find Structures window, enter /BIC/ON* in the Structure

name field and click the Execute button (or press ENTER). The list of structures that match the pattern will appear in a popup.

4. Select the desired structure and click the Accept button (or press ENTER). The structure name will appear on the main ABAP Dictionary screen in the Data type field.

5. Click DISPLAY to view the structure component details.

6. Select menu item Extras> Structure Width to get the total structure size. The archive structure size is the one reported by the ABAP length structure width.

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10 Loading Nearline Data Using a Data Transfer Process

Data that has been stored nearline can be loaded to other InfoProviders by means of Data Transfer Processes. For information, refer to the following SAP online help topic:

http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw04s/helpdata/en/45/2c120abdd52b31e10000000a1553f7/content.htm

11 Using an API to Read Nearline Data

Frequently, the active table of a DataStore Object (DSO) is used as the basis for look-up operations. When this is done (for example, within transfer rules or update rules), direct SELECT statements are used to change or enrich the data within a SAP BW data flow.

When nearline storage is implemented, the DSO used in a look-up operation will very likely be at least partially resident in nearline storage. In this case, the SELECT statements would normally target only the online portion of the data. Therefore, an API is required that will combine active DSO data from online and nearline components in a transparent way. The API delivered by SAP, outlined in Note 985609, meets these requirements by implementing transparent access to the totality of the active data of a DSO object.

12 Creating a Virtual InfoProvider to Enable Querying of Nearline Data

After data from InfoCubes or DSO objects has been saved to nearline storage, it can be accessed directly using SAP BEx or any certified BI tool, by means of a Virtual InfoProvider. A Virtual InfoProvider can be created automatically. In addition to direct access to nearline data, these Virtual InfoProviders can be used in MultiProviders to provide nearline access. This use of Virtual InfoProviders in MultiProviders is required in versions before BW 7.3, as nearline cannot be achieved on MultiProviders in those versions. Transparent access to nearline data via a MultiProvider will only be supported by SAP in BW 7.3.

12.1 Automatic Virtual InfoProvider Creation

To automatically create a Virtual InfoProvider that allows data in nearline storage to be queried, start program /SAND/0_VIRTUAL_MAINTAIN. You can start the program from area menu Administration > ILM Nearline virtual InfoProviders > Maintain virtual InfoProviders or start transaction /SAND/0_VIRT_MAINT.

Note: If authorization checking is enabled, the YSAND_NLS006 or ZSAND_NLS006 authorization profile must be added to the account of each user who will run the /SAND/0_VIRTUAL_MAINTAIN program in write mode; otherwise it will run in read-only mode. For more information, refer to the "Setting Up Authorization Checking" chapter in the ILM Nearline Configuration Guide.

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Figure 25: Program /SAND/0_VIRTUAL_MAINTAIN

First, select a nearline connection and an existing InfoProvider which has a DAP using the connection. Next, fill in the name of the virtual InfoCube you want to create in the “Virtual InfoProvider” field. If you want the new virtual InfoCube assigned to an InfoArea other than that which is configured in the /SAND/0CONFIG table, enter the InfoArea in the “InfoArea” field.

When the required information is entered and ENTER is pressed, the “Create virtual InfoProvider” button is enabled. Pressing this button will create the virtual InfoCube. During the creation of the virtual InfoCube, an entry in the /SAND/0VIRTCUBES table (key: the name of the virtual InfoCube) is created. This entry must be transported into a locked SAP system together with the virtual InfoCube.

After the virtual InfoCube is created, you need to assign the virtual InfoCube to the original InfoProvider by pressing “Assign virtual InfoProvider”. While the virtual InfoCube is assigned to an InfoProvider, an entry in the table /SAND/0TABLES is created. This step needs to be done in a locked SAP system as well.

12.1.1 Virtual Provider Structures

The Virtual Provider for a DSO will appear in a "cube" format. where there are dimensions for "Data Package", "Time", "Units", "Keys", and "Data" (for all remaining characteristics). All of the key figures from the DSO will be put in the key figures of the Virtual InfoProvider.

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12.1.2 Updating a Virtual InfoProvider

In case the InfoProvider was changed and the virtual InfoCube needs to be updated as a result, click the "Update virtual InfoProvider" button on the Maintain Virtual InfoProviders screen.

12.1.3 Deleting a Virtual InfoProvider

If you would like to delete a virtual InfoProvider, you need to unassign it first by clicking the "Unassign virtual InfoProvider" button on the Maintain Virtual InfoProviders screen. After it is unassigned, click the "Delete virtual InfoProvider" button.

12.1.4 DSO with Attribute Only InfoObjects An InfoObject can be set to “Attribute Only” when SID generation is an issue in DSO objects. This type of InfoObject cannot be used in an InfoCube or a Virtual Provider.

Therefore a Virtual Provider that is based on such a DSO will be possible, but all Attribute Only InfoObjects will be excluded from the Virtual Provider structures.

12.1.5 Virtual Nearline Access

Unnecessary access to nearline by a Virtual Provider can happen when missing query filters are not transferred to the Virtual Provider by SAP at runtime. This can be caused by:

• The SVRESTRGLOBAL column in the RSDCUBE table for the given Virtual Provider is set to “on” and disables the possibility of sending non-global filters to the underlying Virtual Provider. This flag can be viewed with the following calls:

o “Transaction RSA1”> InfoProvider> “right-click virtual provider”> display> extras> “Information (logs/status)”> Type/Namespace> Details> “Only Global Sel.Con.”

o The “Only Global Sel.Con.” option should not be enabled (the checkbox should not have a check mark)

• The SVRESTRNO column in the RSDCUBE table for the given Virtual Provider is set to “on” and disables the possibility of sending any filters to the underlying Virtual Provider.

Technically, these flags are not set this way when a Virtual Provider is created by the /SAND/0_VIRTUAL_MAINTAIN program (the default settings are used). If any issues occur related to unnecessary access to nearline by a Virtual Provider, it can be worthwhile to check these Virtual Provider flags.

13 Maintaining Virtual InfoProvider Metadata

You can maintain virtual InfoProvider metadata. Note that, if authorization checking is enabled, you must have proper authorization profiles (YSAND_NLS003 or ZSAND_NLS003) in the user's

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account, otherwise the program will not start for the user. Refer to the "Setting Up Authorization Checking" chapter in ILM Nearline Configuration Guide for more information.

To maintain virtual InfoProvider metadata, select Administration > ILM Nearline virtual InfoProviders > Transport virtual InfoProviders or start transaction /SAND/0_VIRT_TRANSP.

With the select option for “virtual InfoProvider” you can restrict the amount of table entries fetched from SAP. In case you want to do a complete check, you should leave these fields empty (no restrictions are applied).

Figure 26: Program /SAND/0_VIRTUAL_MAINTAIN_META

13.1 Transporting Table Entries

To transport table entries, just press the "Execute" button. In case errors that will hinder transportation are detected, a list of the error messages will appear. All errors on this list must be fixed. If no errors are detected, you will see a list with all the table entries in the tables /SAND/0VIRTCUBES and /SAND/0TABLES:

Figure 27: /SAND/0_VIRTUAL_MAINTAIN_META Table Entries

After selecting the entries you want to transport, press the "Transport" button or choose “Table Entries” -> “Transport Entries” from the menu. A popup window will appear, prompting you to select or create a transport order.

The selected table entries will be assigned to the transport order. Use the standard SAP procedures to export the created transport order.

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13.2 Checking the Tables

Before transporting the table entries, some checks are executed. To execute all possible checks on the tables /SAND/0VIRTCUBES and /SAND/0TABLES and the associated InfoProviders, click the “Check” button. This will result in a list of all detected errors, such as:

Figure 28: /SAND/0VIRTCUBES and /SAND/0TABLES Detected Errors

For any message in the list with the yellow question mark icon, long (expanded) text is available.

13.3 Deleting Orphan Table Entries

Orphan table entries can be created by deleting a virtual InfoCube (by importing a transport order with the delete action from your development system). Although orphan table entries will not harm your system, you may prefer to remove them. To remove orphan table entries, click the “Delete orphan table entries” button. After pressing this button, you will get a list like the following:

Figure 29: Orphan Table Entries

Mark the table entries that you wish to delete, then press the “Delete” button (or choose “Table entries” -> “Delete” from the menu). You can mark multiple entries by holding the CTRL key while clicking or holding down the SHIFT key while dragging the mouse. The marked table entries will be removed from the list. To finalize the deletions, you will need to press the activated “Save” button:

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Figure 30: Activated Save Button

13.4 Initializing New Fields

In connection with the program /SAND/0_VIRTUAL_MAINTAIN_META, the tables /SAND/0VIRTCUBES and /SAND/0TABLES were enhanced (as of SAP Nearline Add-On version 00310_0000) with the new column SYSID_ORIGINAL, which holds the SID of the SAP system where the table entry was created. The table /SAND/0VIRTCUBES also has the new columns TSTPNM (Changed by) and TIMESTMP (Changed on) to save information about the last change. All of these new columns store information that is not actually required for any program function, but the information can be used to sort and filter the displayed rows. While these columns do not need to be initialized, some users might find it useful to do so. Note that only entries created with SAP Nearline Add-On versions prior to 00310_0000 will not have values defined in these fields; therefore it is only for these rows that the following steps need to be taken.

To initialize the new fields, press the “Init new fields” button (if the button is missing, you do not have any empty fields). After pressing this button, you will see a list like the following:

Figure 31: Initialize New Fields

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After selecting some table entries and pressing the “Initialize new fields” button (or choose “Table entries” -> “Initialize new fields” from the menu), the selected table entries will be saved and removed from the list. To update all saved table entries, press the “Save” button.

A popup window will appear, prompting you to set new values for the empty fields:

Figure 32: Set New Field Values

If the “OK” button is clicked, the new values will be applied to the tables. If the “Cancel” button is clicked, no new values are applied, but the already selected table entries are still saved.

14 Transporting Table Contents

This section describes the steps required to transport the contents of a table from one SAP system to a second SAP system. The same procedures described below can be used on other tables as well.

There are several options for transporting table contents:

• In case the maintenance view is generated (and standard recording routine is activated) for a table transaction, SM30 can be used to select individual entries of the table for transport. However, in some cases you cannot transport table contents using SM30.

• In case no table maintenance view is available to use SM30, you can try transaction SE16. Whether you are allowed to transport table contents or not depends on the delivery class of the table.

• In any case, you can create a transport order and enter entries for tables of delivery class A and C.

If you can transport the contents of a table using SM30 or SE16, this should be the preferred option.

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14.1 Prerequisites

The following description assumes that the transport management system is configured properly and that the transport routes are well-defined. Additionally, it is assumed that the contents of the table is created in the usual development system and should be transported along the usual transport routes.

14.2 Manual Creation of a Transport Order

Before starting to create a transport order, you should check the delivery class of the table whose contents are to be transported. To do this, call SE12, enter the name of the table into “Database table”, and press the display button. Then change to the “Delivery and Maintenance” tab:

Figure 33: Delivery and Maintenance Tab

If the table has “Delivery Class” A or C, everything is fine and you can continue.

14.3 Creating a Transport Order

In case you already have a modifiable transport order that should be used to transport the table contents, you can skip to the next section.

To create a new transport order, call transaction SE01 and choose “Request” -> “Create” from the menu. In the popup window, select “Workbench request”. On the next screen you need to enter the “Short Description” and the “Target” (if Target is not set, the change requests will be local only):

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Figure 34: Create Request Screen

On the next screen you should delete an “Unclassified” task by choosing “Request/Task” -> “Delete” from the menu:

Figure 35: Unclassified Task

14.4 Adding the Table Entries to the Transport Order

Double-click the newly created transport order, or double-click the transport order to which the table contents should be appended. When transporting the contents of table RSDANLCON, it makes sense to append the contents of the table to the transport order you used for transporting the virtual InfoCube. Then enable editing by choosing “Request/Task” -> “Display <-> Change” from the menu and entering R3TR TABU RSDANLCON:

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Figure 36: Change Request Screen

After pressing ENTER, you will get an “Object with keys” button in the “Function” column:

Figure 37: "Object with keys" Button

After pressing this button, you will be placed in a screen where you can enter the keys of the entries you want to transport:

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Figure 38: Enter Table Keys of Transport Entries

Now you can enter the connection names. If you want to transport specific entries, you can either list them individually or use the asterisk (*) as a wildcard character (only simple patterns are allowed here, where * is the last character of the pattern). In order to delete entries from the table in the target system, you can just enter a key of an already-deleted entry of the table.

If the table in question has more than one key field, the values must be separated by spaces.

In case you need a look at the table or you want to check the values you entered, you can press the “Table Contents” button (marked red above) and select one of the following options:

Figure 39: Display Table Contents Options

After you have entered all the keys of table entries you want to transport, press the “Back” button. Finally, press the “Save” button to preserve your changes.

In some cases you will see warnings when saving the transport order:

Figure 40: Transport Order Errors/Warnings

The message above can be safely ignored if you are transporting entries from table /SAND/ RSDANLCON.

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14.5 Finalizing the Transport Order

After the transport order is finalized in your development system, you should export it and check the logs for any errors. When only entries of table /SAND/ RSDANLCON are stored in the transport order, neither an error nor warning should be mentioned in the logs.

14.6 Importing the Transport Order into the Target SAP System

After the transport order is exported from your development SAP system, you can import it into your target SAP system. During the import, no errors or warnings should occur when transporting only entries of table /SAND/ RSDANLCON.

15 The Query Generator

The Query Generator (the /SAND/Z3NEARLINE_API_QUERY_GEN program) generates sample query programs for execution against specified DSO objects using the ILM Nearline Lookup API for SAP BW 7. For detailed information about the ILM Nearline Lookup API, see the ILM Nearline ABAP Lookups Enhancements Guide.

Note: Because of a limit imposed by SAP's standard selection screen, the maximum length of any Query Generator input field is 255 characters. To create queries using strings that exceed this length, an initial version using shorter strings should be created with the Query Generator. Once this version is created and saved, the SE38 transaction can be used to edit the source code of the program to restore the longer strings.

15.1 Starting the Query Generator To start the Query Generator, call the SE38 transaction. Then, in the Program field, type /SAND/Z3NEARLINE_API_QUERY_GEN, and click . The Query Generator Selection screen appears as shown in Figure 41.

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Figure 41: Query Generator Selection Screen

15.2 Constructing a Nearline Query

The Query Generator screen features a number of fields allowing for specification of the parameters used to build a nearline lookup query against a DSO object. Parameters should be entered as described in the following sections.

15.2.1 DSO Object

In the DSO Object field, enter the name of the DSO object that is to be queried.

15.2.2 Fields To Be Selected

In this field, specify the table fields to be returned by the lookup. This enables a degree of control over the size of the lookup result set. If this field is left empty, all fields will be returned by the lookup.

Entries in this field can consist of the following parameters, in the following order, separated by semicolons:

FIELDNAME The name of a field in the active data table of the DSO object.

COMPONENT_INDEX The index of the corresponding target field in the C_T_DATA result table that will receive the contents of FIELDNAME from the source table.

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COMPONENT_NAME The name of the corresponding target field in the C_T_DATA result table that will receive the contents of FIELDNAME from the source table.

SORT_POSITION

Specify 0 to disable sorting on the specified column. Specify any positive integer to have the results sorted by the values (in ascending order) of the specified column.

AGGREGATION_FUNCTION One or more aggregate functions can be specified for application to a column. Supported aggregate functions can be found in the domain of the RSDAI_AGGREGATION_FUNCTION component type. Note that aggregation for nearline data and the active data of the DSO object is performed separately.

If an aggregate function is applied to a column, any other columns without aggregate functions are included in a GROUP BY statement.

To specify more than one field for selection, click . The Multiple Selection dialog box appears. Multiple fields for selection can be specified using the parameters described above, with each field specified on a different row. For example:

Figure 42: Fields To Be Selected

In the example shown in Figure 42, the columns CALDAY, D_MATERIAL, D_VERSION, D_COST and DOC_CURRCY will be returned by the lookup. The entry CALDAY;1;DAY;0; specifies the field to be selected as follows:

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FIELDNAME CALDAY

COMPONENT_INDEX 1

COMPONENT_NAME DAY

SORT_POSITION Sort by this field first

AGGREGATION_FUNCTION No aggregate function applied to this field

15.2.3 Fields ‘FOR ALL ENTRIES’ In this field, specify the columns to be compared in a “FOR ALL ENTRIES” statement. Each entry consists of a FIELDNAME specifying the name of the field in the active data table of the source DSO Object.

To specify multiple entries, click . The Multiple Selections dialog box appears. Define one field per row on the dialog box.

Figure 43: Fields 'FOR ALL ENTRIES'

In this example shown in Figure 43, the fields CALDAY, D_MATERIAL, and D_VERSION are specified as the fields to be compared in the FOR ALL ENTRIES statement.

15.2.4 Table ‘FOR ALL ENTRIES’

In this field, specify the values of the key fields that will identify the records to be looked up. This constructs the table used in the "FOR ALL ENTRIES" statement of a standard ABAP select.

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To specify multiple entries, click . The Multiple Selections dialog box appears. Define one set of values per row on the dialog box.

Figure 44: Table 'FOR ALL ENTRIES'

In the example shown in Figure 44, the first line, 20001228;MATERIAL9;001, defines a table with values for key fields defining records for lookup as follows:

First field 20001228

Second field MATERIAL9

Third field 001

The remaining rows specify other table rows in a similar fashion.

15.2.5 SQL WHERE Statement In this field, specify selection criteria in the form of a valid OpenSQL WHERE clause against the active data table (do not include the WHERE keyword). This may include standard AND, OR, and NOT Boolean operators, left and right parentheses, and literal comparison using the following comparison operators: =, <, >, <=, >=, <>, IN, BETWEEN, or LIKE.

To specify complex WHERE statements, click . The Multiple Selections dialog box appears. Use the rows to enter the different components of the WHERE clause:

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Figure 45: SQL WHERE Statement

In the example shown in Figure 45, the following WHERE clause is specified:

WHERE ( DOC_CURRCY = 'USD' ) AND ( D_COST > '2400' )

15.3 Starting the Query To execute the generated program and display the query results in the “Abap List Viewer” (ALV), click to enable the Start Query option. Query results are displayed as in Figure 46.

Figure 46: Query Results

The result data can be sorted and viewed in different ways using ALV. The rows can also be

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exported to Microsoft Excel. For further information about ALV functionality, consult the SAP documentation.

15.4 Viewing the Program

To see the generated program (after it has been started and all other steps have been performed), click to enable the View generated Program option.

An example of a generated program is shown in Figure 47.

Figure 47: View Generated Program

15.4.1 The Save Generated Source Code Option

To create and save the generated program, click to enable the Save generated Source Code option. A dialog box will appear, prompting for the name that must be specified for the new program: this cannot be the name of an existing program and must begin with the character Z, Y, or /. The generated program will be saved in the ABAP directory.

Once the program has been saved, it can be edited using the SE38 transaction.