SAP NetWeaver BW
7.3: If, When, and
How to Upgrade
Dr. Bjarne Berg
COMERIT
© 2012 Wellesley Information Services. All rights reserved.
In This Session …
•
•
•
In this session, we’ll take a look at the major new features of SAP
NetWeaver® BW 7.3
We’ll also examine the new upgrade tools and take a step-by-step
look at what is required to upgrade an SAP NetWeaver BW system
to version 7.3
Finally, we’ll look at an example
of how to minimize upgrade
risks while also changing
the hardware during the
upgrade
Worth Pondering:
System complexity is
increasing, while attention
spans are decreasing
1
What We’ll Cover …
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
SAP NetWeaver BW 7.3 Overview
New Administrative Cockpit Capabilities
The New Semantic Partition (SPO) Options
The HybridProvider and Real-Time Data
Faster Data Load and New Design Options
Front-End and Security Benefits
New In-Memory Possibilities with SAP NetWeaver BW 7.3 and SAP
NetWeaver BW Accelerator 7.2
Planning and Executing the Upgrade
Wrap-up
2
The Reason for Upgrading
•
SAP NetWeaver BW 7.3 was released May 2011 and has been
tested extensively
BW Version
1.0E
1.2A
1.2B
2.0A
2.0B
2.1C
3.0A
3.0B
3.1C
3.2
3.3
3.5
2004S
7.0 (~"7.1")
7.3
Release Date
Dec-98
Feb-99
Jun-99
Feb-00
Aug-00
Dec-00
Nov-01
May-02
Nov-02
Mar-03
Aug-03
Mar-04
Jun-07
Dec-08
May 2011
End of mainstream maintenance
Jan-99
Jun-99
Jun-04
Feb-05
Dec-05
Dec-05
Dec-05
Dec-06
Dec-06
Dec-06
Dec-06
Mar/Dec-10
Dec-10
Dec-17
…
SAP NetWeaver BW has
now been around for over
12 years!!
SAP NetWeaver BW 7.3 Release History and Testing
•
Seven customers and nine service partners participated in the
beta testing. The beta testing ended in two years ago with the
following scores:
Very Good
Low Value
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
BW 7.3 Functional 1
Completeness
2
3
4
Assistance and Support
BW 7.3 Quality & Reliability
Very Satisfied
BW 7.3 Ease of Installation 1
and Configuration
Had Major Issues
2
3
4
SAP NetWeaver BW 7.3 was tested extensively in a
beta program and in ramp-up for almost one year!
4
Ease of Installation and Upgrade — Wizards and the
ASU Toolbox
•
A major new feature of SAP NetWeaver BW is the ability to use a
Wizard to install the system
This includes the following Wizard “templates”:
 ABAP Stack initial setup
 Connectivity initial setup
 Templates for automated configuration
 Business Suite-7 integration
 Technical content reports for Initial Setup
 Upgrade step-by-step (SAP Note 1000009)
You can choose to
use both a Java
and/or an ABAP stack
when installing 7.3
5
NEW: Specific Database Support — Teradata
•
SAP NetWeaver BW 7.3 can now run on top of the Teradata
database, including:
 The ability to use SAP NetWeaver BW Accelerator on top of
Teradata
 The use of SAP’s system to manage transports between
environments
6
NEW: Specific Database Support — IBM DB2
•
SAP NetWeaver BW 7.3 supports specific database features:
 DB2 v9.5 supports PSA, DSO, and fact table compressions for
reduced disk volume (integrates with DB2 storage
management)
 Support for MDC clustering in the DB Cockpit
 This is available in v9.5.2. or higher and default for all DSO
tables and PSA in version 9.7
 Much faster request deletion if MDC clustering is used
 DB2 v9.7 supports Index compressions for reduced disk
volume
 Support for IBM DB2’s Database Partitioning Feature (DPF)
In the past, SAP NetWeaver BW has been unable to take advantage
of vendor-specific database features. This has changed, and
workarounds are needed less frequently.
7
What We’ll Cover …
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
SAP NetWeaver BW 7.3 Overview
New Administrative Cockpit Capabilities
The New Semantic Partition (SPO) Options
The HybridProvider and Real-Time Data
Faster Data Load and New Design Options
Front-End and Security Benefits
New In-Memory Possibilities with SAP NetWeaver BW 7.3 and SAP
NetWeaver BW Accelerator 7.2
Planning and Executing the Upgrade
Wrap-up
8
New 7.3 Performance and Admin Monitoring Capabilities
•
New monitors include:
 Monitoring of database usage and object sizes (i.e., InfoCubes, DSOs)
 Query usage statistics are more visible (similar to RSRT, RSRV, RSTT)
 We can see more of the use of SAP NetWeaver BW Accelerator and
sizes
 Monitor for the actual use of OLAP/MDX Cache and hit ratios
 You can now selectively delete internal statistics in RSDDSTATWHM by
date through the updated RSDDSTAT_DATA_DELETE ABAP program
 There is also a new MDX Editor for coding and syntax assistance
Solution Manager has
been updated to take
advantage of these
new monitors
9
New 7.3 Performance and Admin Monitoring Capabilities
(cont.)
•
Other new monitors include:
 DEAMON update information (i.e., RDA capacity status, usage)
 A performance monitoring workbench for performance trends
 Process chain monitoring (new transaction: RSPCM) with error
and active chain monitoring, user-specific displays, and
performance threshold monitoring (i.e., for SLAs)
NLS: In SAP NetWeaver
BW 7.3, the Near Line
Storage has been
enhanced to include
archiving, support for
write optimized DSOs,
and database support for
tools such as DB2 Viper
(v9.5) and more
10
What We’ll Cover …
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
SAP NetWeaver BW 7.3 Overview
New Administrative Cockpit Capabilities
The New Semantic Partition (SPO) Options
The HybridProvider and Real-Time Data
Faster Data Load and New Design Options
Front-End and Security Benefits
New In-Memory Possibilities with SAP NetWeaver BW 7.3 and SAP
NetWeaver BW Accelerator 7.2
Planning and Executing the Upgrade
Wrap-up
11
Semantic Partitioned Objects (SPO)
•
•
•
When data stores and InfoCubes are allowed to grow over time, the data load
and query performance suffers
Normally objects should be physically partitioned when the numbers of records
exceed 100 million
 However, this may be different depending on the size of your hardware and
the type of database you use
In SAP NetWeaver BW 7.3 we get an option to create a Semantic Partitioned
Object (SPO) through wizards
 You can partition based on fields such as calendar year, region, country, etc.
12
Semantic Partitioned Objects (SPO) (cont.)
•
When an SPO is created, a reference structure keeps track of the
partitions. The structure is placed in the MultiProvider for querying.
Source: SAP AG, 2011
SPO Wizards create all Data Transfer Processes (DTP), transformations,
filters for each data store, and a process chain automatically.
What We’ll Cover …
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
SAP NetWeaver BW 7.3 Overview
New Administrative Cockpit Capabilities
The New Semantic Partition (SPO) Options
The HybridProvider and Real-Time Data
Faster Data Load and New Design Options
Front-End and Security Benefits
New In-Memory Possibilities with SAP NetWeaver BW 7.3 and SAP
NetWeaver BW Accelerator 7.2
Planning and Executing the Upgrade
Wrap-up
14
The New HybridProvider and Real-Time Data
•
•
The “HybridProvider” (HP) is new in SAP NetWeaver BW 7.3. The
core idea is to link the historical data inside BW with real-time
data.
There are two ways of implementing an HP:
 HP based on a DSO
 HP based on a Virtual InfoCube
Real-Time Data
Acquisition
HybridProvider
Transaction
Data
Indexing
ECC
and
External
Systems
BWA based
InfoCube
Direct
reads
Virtual
InfoCube
RDA
Real-Time
Data
Acquisition
Query
(real time)
Direct
Access
15
Option 1: The DSO-Based HybridProvider
•
Core features:
 Real-time data is in the DSO and historical data in the SAP NetWeaver BW
Accelerator-based InfoCube
 The DSO use real-time data acquisition (RDA) to load data
 SAP NetWeaver BW automatically creates a process chain for the
HybridProvder’s data flow
 The process chain is executed for every closed request
Real-Time Data
Acquisition
HybridProvider
Transaction
Data
Indexing
ECC
and
External
Systems
BWA based
InfoCube
Direct
reads
RDA
Real-Time
Data
Acquisition
Query
(real time)
Direct
Access
Virtual
InfoCube
This solution provides for really fast queries, but delta logic has to be custom designed
Option 1: The DSO-Based HybridProvider (cont.)
•
This solution provides for really fast queries, but delta logic has to
be custom designed and may be complex. However, the solution
allows for high-frequency updates and very rapid query response.
This is a good option if
you have a low volume of
new records and a high
number of queries or
operational dashboards
Option 2: The Virtual Cube-Based HybridProvider
•
Core features:
 Data is read in real-time from SAP ECC, while historical data is read from
SAP NetWeaver BW Accelerator
 The difference depends on how often SAP NetWeaver BW Accelerator is
loaded
 Non-complex data logic can be applied
 DTP is permitted if you do not filter the data set
Virtual cubes with many users may place high stress on the ERP system
18
What We’ll Cover …
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
SAP NetWeaver BW 7.3 Overview
New Administrative Cockpit Capabilities
The New Semantic Partition (SPO) Options
The HybridProvider and Real-Time Data
Faster Data Load and New Design Options
Front-End and Security Benefits
New In-Memory Possibilities with SAP NetWeaver BW 7.3 and SAP
NetWeaver BW Accelerator 7.2
Planning and Executing the Upgrade
Wrap-up
Hint for Experts: The search feature in the SAP
NetWeaver BW 7.3 Admin Workbench has been
improved so that it is easier to search more items
such as process chains.
19
Faster Data Load and New Design Options — Activation
•
•
•
During activation, SAP NetWeaver BW 7.0 has to lookup in the
NIRV table to see if the object already exists
 This can be a slow process
In SAP NetWeaver BW 7.0 we may buffer the number ranges to
compare the data load with records in-memory
 This speeds up data activation
However, in SAP NetWeaver BW 7.3, the data activation is
changed from single lookups to package fetch of the active table,
resulting in faster activation and less locks on the lookup tables
 The new method may result in 15-30% faster data activation (2040% in lab tests)
20
Faster Data Load and New Design Options — Activation
(cont.)
•
•
For data transformations, the option “Read from DataStore” for a
faster data lookup is also available
Additionally, the use of navigational attributes as sources in
Masterdata transformations reduce overhead for lookups
 Combined, this may lead to an additional 10-20% improvement
The 7.3 initial load runtime option “Insert only” and the “Unique
data records only” prevents all lookups during activation
21
New Data Design Options — Delta, Init, and Web Services
•
•
•
In SAP NetWeaver BW 7.3 you can
create generic delta extraction for
the Universal Data (UD) and
Database Connect (DB) options,
as well as for flat files
Additionally, you can use the
new DataSource adapter “Web
Service Pull” to load data from
external Web services
 You can even create generic Web services delta loads and load the new data
straight into the staging area of SAP NetWeaver BW 7.3
While Web services does not support hierarchies yet, there is now integration
of hierarchies into the standard process flow such as transformation and DTPs,
as well as being able to load hierarchies from flat files using a new DataSource
When you use delta loads, the first time SAP NetWeaver BW 7.3
automatically defines it as an “init load.” After that, it
automatically switches to “delta” as the InfoPackage mode (no
need to define it anymore!).
22
New Options — ETL Interface and Shutdowns
•
SAP NetWeaver BW 7.3 has a
new interface to create and
manage data flows graphically in
a “drag-and-drop” manner,
including:
 Data Flow Copy to copy data
flows and process chains
 Data Flow Migration to
migrate, or reverse migrate,
data flows with automatic
adoption of InfoPackages and
process chains
 Data Flow Wizard to
automatically create complete
data flows from a DataSource
Source: SAP AG, 2011
Use “RS_SYSTEM_SHUTDOWN” to restart an application server and
suspend RDA and process chains and restart them in a controlled manner.
Data loads are not in “flux” and you do not have to clean up partial loads.
The New DataFlow Generation Wizard
•
•
In SAP NetWeaver BW 7.3, we have a new step-bystep wizard that allows you to generate data flows
from flat files or existing data sources
A great benefit is that
the wizard also works
against any
InfoProvider; i.e., you
can use the wizard to
create loads from
DSOs to DSOs or
InfoCubes
This wizard reduces the number of manual steps needed to load data. It also
simplifies the development process and makes ETL work much easier.
Layered Scalable Architecture (LSA) – New Templates
•
The LSA consists logically of:
 Acquisition layer
 Harmonization/quality layer
 Propagation layer
 Business transformation
layer
 Reporting layer
 Virtualization layer
•
Source: sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/weblogs?blog=/pub/wlg/24800
SAP NetWeaver BW 7.3 SP-3
has a set of 10 templates to
help build a layered data
architecture for large-scale
data warehousing
What We’ll Cover …
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
SAP NetWeaver BW 7.3 Overview
New Administrative Cockpit Capabilities
The New Semantic Partition (SPO) Options
The HybridProvider and Real-Time Data
Faster Data Load and New Design Options
Front-End and Security Benefits
New In-Memory Possibilities with SAP NetWeaver BW 7.3 and SAP
NetWeaver BW Accelerator 7.2
Planning and Executing the Upgrade
Wrap-up
26
Security Changes and New Mass Change Feature
•
When companies upgraded from SAP
NetWeaver BW version 3.5 to 7.0, security
migration was optional and many did only a
technical upgrade and kept the “obsolete
authorization” concept. A security
migration is now required.
Great BW 7.3 Security Admin
Feature: You can make mass
changes to authorizations
instead of one-by-one. This can
be done by cut-and-paste in a
worklist, hierarchy nodes, and
you can also add users to
multiple analysis authorizations.
SAP recommends you migrate to the new concept before
upgrading a 7.0 system. (Notes: 931898; 938871; 946724, 958665; 1001652)
27
Security Features in SAP NetWeaver BW 7.0 and 7.3
•
•
Some companies did not do a security conversion in SAP NetWeaver BW 7.0
since items such as 0TCTAUTHH did not migrate (manually reassigned for the
hierarchies) and passwords became case sensitive
SAP NetWeaver BW 7.0 still has the ABAP migration tool. It can be used in
SA38 (RSEC_MIGRATION), and migration can occur before the upgrade.
Authorizations are building
blocks of the 7.0/7.3
reporting concept and
security contains both the
data value and hierarchy
restrictions.
Security can be built using
the “RSECADMIN” transaction
SAP BW 3.5 and BW
7.0 without security
conversion
BW 7.0 and 7.3 with
security conversion
Technical
Foundation
Maintenance
Number of
InfoObjects
Navigational
attributes
Hierarchy
authorization
Authorization Objects
Composition of
Authorizations
Only intersection of
authorization objects are
permitted
Per InfoCube and
Per InfoObject only
InfoObject
Authorization
Relevance
Analysis authorizations
Not changeable
Changeable
10 fields at 10 characters Unlimited
On global basis
Individually
Via GUID 0TCTAUTHH
Equivalent to value
authorizations
Union ('as expected')
28
28
BW 7.0 and 7.3 Authorization Objects
Authorization objects for the Data Warehousing Workbench:
After the required
S_RS_DS: For the DataSource or its sub objects (BI 7.x)
S_RS_ISNEW: For new InfoSources or their sub objects (NW BI 7.x) security conversion you
S_RS_DTP: For the data transfer process and its sub objects
have access to lower
S_RS_TR: For transformation rules and their sub objects
security granularity for
S_RS_CTT: For currency translation types
developers and users.
S_RS_UOM: For quantity conversion types
S_RS_THJT: For key date derivation types
S_RS_PLENQ: Authorizations for maintaining or displaying the lock settings
S_RS_RST: Authorization object for the RS trace tool
S_RS_PC: For process chains
S_RS_OHDEST: Open Hub Destination
Authorization objects for the Business Explorer:
S_RS_DAS: For Data Access Services
S_RS_BTMP: For BEx Web templates
S_RS_BEXTX: Authorizations for the maintenance of BEx texts
Authorization objects for the Admin of analysis authorizations
S_RSEC: Authorization for assignment and administration of analysis authorizations
S_RS_AUTH: Authorization object to include analysis authorizations in roles
Changed Authorization Objects:
S_RS_ADMWB (Data Warehousing Workbench: Objects):
New sub objects:
CONT_ACT – Installing Business Content; USE_DND - Drag & Drop to InfoAreas and
application components; CNG_RUN - Attribute change run
29
What We’ll Cover …
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
SAP NetWeaver BW 7.3 Overview
New Administrative Cockpit Capabilities
The New Semantic Partition (SPO) Options
The HybridProvider and Real-Time Data
Faster Data Load and New Design Options
Front-End and Security Benefits
New In-Memory Possibilities with SAP NetWeaver BW 7.3 and SAP
NetWeaver BW Accelerator 7.2
Planning and Executing the Upgrade
Wrap-up
30
CompositeProviders: Unions of Indexes in BWA
•
•
With SAP NetWeaver BW 7.3, you get a tool to create a new
“CompositeProvider” to join indices inside SAP NetWeaver BW Accelerator
This works similar to MultiProviders, but can be modeled ad hoc and the joins
are executed inside SAP NetWeaver BW Accelerator and not inside the SAP
NetWeaver BW Analytical Engine
 This is much faster!
Source: SAP AG, 2011
All SAP NetWeaver BW 7.3 CompositeProviders, DSOs, MultiProviders,
and InfoCubes are available as InfoProviders for querying. Even queries
can be defined as InfoProviders.
31
In-Memory Processing — SAP NetWeaver BW Accelerator
7.2 and SAP NetWeaver BW 7.3
•
•
BIG DEAL! - In SAP NetWeaver BW
7.3, you can also build analytical
indexes
 These are simply “data
containers” from APD that is
stored in SAP NetWeaver BW
Accelerator
 You can build queries on them
Using the Index Designer in
SAP BusinessObjects Data
Services, you can also index data
from external data files and data
bases and query it in SAP
NetWeaver BW 7.3
It is important to note that
currently, the SAP
BusinessObjects indexes are
on dedicated hardware
blades.
3. Queries are routed to BWA
by the Analytical engine
SAP BW
BI Analytical Engine
2. Indexes copied in
to RAM on blades
InfoCubes
1. Indexing and
compression
stored on a file
system
DSOs
Business Object
Data Services
External data
Data
Integrator
Index Designer
Files
Databases
32
The New SAP NetWeaver BW 7.3 Features — Modeling in
SAP NetWeaver BW Accelerator 7.2
With SAP NetWeaver
BW 7.3 and SAP
NetWeaver BW
Accelerator 7.2, you can
complete many of the
joins and the aggregation
that previously were
conducted in the BI
Analytical engine, and
was therefore hard to
performance tune
It also reduces the data
being transferred to the
app server and therefore
is much faster as well
33
The New SAP NetWeaver BW Accelerator 7.2/SAP
NetWeaver BW 7.3 — Faster Performance
•
•
The major benefit of SAP NetWeaver BW Accelerator 7.2 on SAP NetWeaver
BW 7.3 is that you can move more of the calculation over to the accelerator
and materialize the result in-memory
This improves the reads, and calculations in the OLAP/BI analytical engine on
the SAP NetWeaver BW side are substantially reduced
Source: SAP AG, 2011
The following calculations is included in BW 7.3/BWA 7.2
SUM
MIN
MAX
CNT (count all detailed values)
CN0 (Count all values not zero or null) AVG (average)
AV0 (Average for all values not zero or null)
34
The SAP NetWeaver BW 7.3/SAP NetWeaver BW Accelerator
7.2 Limitations and Query Settings
•
There are still some limitations. For example, you cannot use the
exception aggregation for single key figures in SAP NetWeaver
BW Accelerator if it uses:
 Virtual key figures
 Conversion before aggregation
 Formula calculation before aggregation
 Non-cumulative key figures
 Key figures with elimination of internal business volume
You also get more detailed control on
each query as to how it reads SAP
NetWeaver BW Accelerator. Think of it
as similar to Query read modes.
More details at SDN:
www.sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/go/portal/prtroot/docs/library/uuid/70950003-f7ef2d10-b1bc-ee483800b25c?QuickLink=index&overridelayout=true
35
What We’ll Cover …
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
SAP NetWeaver BW 7.3 Overview
New Administrative Cockpit Capabilities
The New Semantic Partition (SPO) Options
The HybridProvider and Real-Time Data
Faster Data Load and New Design Options
Front-End and Security Benefits
New In-Memory Possibilities with SAP NetWeaver BW 7.3 and SAP
NetWeaver BW Accelerator 7.2
Planning and Executing the Upgrade
Wrap-up
36
Some Upgrade Options and Java Stack Recommendations
•
•
•
SAP NetWeaver 7.3 Java is now
included, and it is suggested that
ABAP and Java Stack is split
 A tool to split the stack is
available in EHP2 (in SAPInst)
and in SAPInst in ABAP 7.30
This gives better scalability
(multiple hardware servers)
 Double stack upgrade is still
possible
The Java server is not used for IP
after SAP NetWeaver BW 7.30 (redeveloped in ABAP HTTP)
Option 1
Recommended
Option 2
Recommended
Option 3
You can automatically create
connections between Java-ABAP
for EP/IP or front-end Java using
CTC (Notes: 983156, 1178800)
37
Upgrade Decision: Low, Standard, and High Resources
•
•
•
A major decision is: Are you going
to minimize the system downtime,
or doing a low resource upgrade
 The trade-off is between using more system resources, or downtime
In the “standard” upgrade, we create a shadow system, while the SAP
NetWeaver BW system is still operating
 We turn off any archiving to make sure we do not miss any data, and do our
system backup right before the downtime starts
 Therefore we can do much of the upgrade before the downtime (shorten the
outage)
In a very high system resource upgrade, we also use a shadow system, but
imports are much faster and we can keep archiving on (may create large logs),
and downtime starts earlier
Most companies should use the standard upgrade method, unless
their system is very small or have limited resources. For those, the
shadow system is created during the downtime.
38
System Switch Upgrade and Shadow Systems
•
•
You can use a shadow
system to reduce the
system outage
Also, by doing a
hardware switch/
upgrade, we can
minimize any impact to
the production system
(reduced upgrade risk)
Application Data
Target Release
SAP BW
7.3
XPRA
Import &
Data Conversion
Target Release
System
Application Data
Shadow
System
Source
Release
Target
Release
Source Release
System
- High system resource - locks
system in the REPACHK2 phase
- Standard system resource - locks
system in the REPACHK2 phase
- Low system resource - locks
system in the LOCKEU_PRE phase
(Note: 851449)
Target Release
System
SPDD
Shadow System Installation
Application
Data
BW 7.0
EhP1
Target
Release
BW 7.0
39
Upgrade Resources
•
•
•
A dedicated team with a technical team lead (100%), a Basis
resource (100%), and a technical reviewer/tester (100% is
required)
In addition, a dedicated “go-to” resource for technical issues is
recommended
 This should be an individual that has solid knowledge about the
upgrade and has done this before
Regression testing is required on behalf of the user community
 This should be coordinated with the Power Users or existing
developers
Team Lead
Basis
resource
Technical reviewer
BW Developer
Upgrade Support
External
Regression Testers
40
The Upgrade Execution and Clean-Up
•
•
To reduce the overall size, clean the PSA, delete log-files and objects not
needed (i.e., DSOs and InfoCubes), empty aggregates, etc.
You are now ready to launch the upgrade front end that will take you through all
the steps of the SAP NetWeaver BW 7.3 upgrade
Remember to also select the new BI
content package as part of your upgrade
41
The Upgrade Interface
•
•
While the upgrade interface is simplified, there is still a need to
thoroughly understand how to set up connectivity, hardware, and
shadow systems
This is not a
place to
“experiment”
and “explore”
options …
SAP has a great
step-by-step
“wizard” tool to help
with the 7.3
upgrade
42
Step 1: Planning the Upgrade and Getting Started
1.
Stop all Deamon Processes – RSRDA
2.
Remove all temporary database objects – SAP_DROP_TMPTABLES
3.
Run the upgrade check – RSUPGRCHECK
4.
If you copied your system from Prod, check the storage –
SECSTORE
5.
Make sure all objects and programs have a library entry – TLIBG
6.
Create an XML file for the new stack in Solution Manager
Planning the upgrade is a significant task, and it is important to start
in an organized manner. Always read the SAP Notes for your
database, OS, and SAP NetWeaver release prior to starting these
activities.
ASU Provides a List of Pre- and Post-Upgrade Tasks
Some of the manual preparation steps
Some of the manual follow-up steps
There is also support for documentation of each task. Team
members can consolidate their comments, test results and
outcomes. This reduces the number of emails and everyone can
see what has been done and see results in one place.
44
Step 2: Getting the Files Key You Need
1.
Select the update option for your system
2.
Select the stack you want to update (make sure you are connected)
3.
Select the target system you want to upgrade to (NW 7.3)
4.
Select all files for the operating system and database you have
5.
Select the files for the stack (all)
There are some different files required for each type of database,
operating system, and stacks. Make sure you collect the right versions.
45
Step 3: Downloading the Files
•
This may sound like a simple step, but some organizations may
experience slow networks, internal network timeouts, or long
waits depending on peak loads on their network
You may consider doing this in the evening
after everyone has gone home
46
Step 5: The Lock Down and Preprocessing
•
While technically you have not yet
locked the system, configuration
changes to process chains,
InfoPackages, and queries are no
longer possible after this step
•
The real lock-down of SAP
NetWeaver BW takes place when the
pre-processing step is complete.
After this, the system is unavailable
for users.
There are many steps between these options. The best timing may be
to complete all tasks from step 1 through 5 before Friday at 5 pm when
you may be able to bring the system down. Make sure you do a
system backup before you proceed to step 6!
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Step 1: Hardware Install, Dev Copy, and Sandbox Upgrade
•
•
•
•
BW 7.0
BW 7.0
BW 7.0
BW 7.0
In this example, we are installing new
Dev. Box
QA Box
Prod Box
Sandbox
hardware
 This creates a lot of flexibility and less
1
project risk!
First, we copy the SAP NetWeaver BW 7.0
development box to the new hardware
BW 7.3
Sandbox
Second, we upgrade the new sandbox
in a controlled manner and document all activities
We want to create a repeatable process, so no ad hoc activities are allowed
 Remember, extra time has to be set aside for notes research and unforeseen
issues
Benefits: this is also a test run for upgrading the development
box (!), thereby reducing the upgrade risk. After the upgrade
we also get a refreshed sandbox environment.
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Step 2: Development Box Copy and Upgrade
•
•
•
•
BW 7.0
BW 7.0
BW 7.0
BW 7.0
Now we have to freeze all development
Dev. Box
QA Box
Prod Box
Sandbox
activities
Normally the work in the 7.0 dev box
IDs transported to QA for testing and the 1
2
dev box is locked
Using the upgrade script and all steps
BW 7.3
BW 7.3
Sandbox
Dev. Box
collected and written during the
sandbox upgrade, we are upgrading the
new development box
 This is intended to be a structured approach that is repeatable
The developers participate in in-depth testing of the new SAP NetWeaver BW
7.3 Dev box
Benefits: the outage of the development box occurred after the sandbox upgrade
and the development outage is minimized. This is also the second time we have
upgraded the development box, so any issues should be well known.
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Step 3: Production Box Copy and QA Upgrade
•
•
•
BW 7.0
BW 7.0
BW 7.0
We copy production environment to the BW 7.0
Dev. Box
QA Box
Prod Box
Sandbox
development box after all testing in the
QA has been completed and all the
2
3
object has been transported to the
1
production system
Notice that no copies of sandbox,
BW 7.3
BW 7.3
BW 7.3
nor QA is made
Sandbox
Dev. Box
QA Box
 Instead we get to upgrade the
development box and the production box “twice”
This is a significant risk mitigation strategy, but it does require that transports
and client-dependent objects are switched back on the new sandbox and QA
systems
Benefits: This approach turns the QA upgrade into a real “dress rehearsal” for the
production box upgrade. Also, since we are switching the hardware, the risk to
the upgrade is minimal (BW 7.0 prod is not taken off-line until after the upgrade).
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Step 4: Production Box Copy and Prod Upgrade
•
•
•
•
You now are ready for the cutover
weekend
The best timing is to start the
production box on Thursday evening
after the SAP NetWeaver BW system
has completed data loads
 A full backup is taken
The system is unavailable on Friday
and is completely upgraded by
Saturday 6 am
A major consideration is the time it
takes for Unicode conversion, unless
already done
BW 7.0
Sandbox
1
BW 7.3
Sandbox
BW 7.0
Dev. Box
2
BW 7.3
Dev. Box
BW 7.0
QA Box
BW 7.0
Prod Box
3
4
BW 7.3
QA Box
BW 7.3
Prod Box
Plan on having Basis and technical people working the night from Thursday to
Friday and possibly to Saturday, depending how long the upgrade takes.
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Cutover to Production — Testing and Verification
•
•
•
The system verification takes place by testers on Saturday
between 6 am and noon
A complete data load is executed by manually running the
process chains, and data is also validated
The restore decision:
 A restore decision is made at 3 pm on
Saturday:
 If the system does not pass the
validation, the system is restored from backup
and will be ready by Monday 8 am
 If the system passes validation, the
process chains are scheduled and run
at normal scheduled times and data is
validated once more before declaring success
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Some Useful Hints and Programs for Older Systems
•
If some of the InfoSets become inactive, you can still
use the program RSQ_ISET_MASS_OPERATIONS to
activate all InfoSets
•
If you are still on 3.5 queries, or older versions (i.e.,
3.1c, 3.0B), consider running the program
RSR_GEN_DIRECT_ALL_QUERIES to regenerate all
queries in the system into the 7.0 release
53
Some Useful Hints and Programs for Older Systems (cont.)
•
SAP NetWeaver BW 7.0 had a new transformation concept that
replaced transfer and update rules, but not all companies have
migrated
 To do so, convert the DataSources and the Persistent Staging
Area to the new DTP process (SAP Note 906789)
 To test the conversion of the DataSources you can also run:
 RSSM_CREATE_REQDONE_FROM_SEL
 RSSM_HASH_ENTRIES_CREATE for all requests
 RSSTATMAN_CHECK_CONVERT_DTA
 RSSTATMAN_CHECK_CONVERT_PSA
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Some Useful Hints and Programs for Older Systems (cont.)
•
If you are upgrading from an old SAP NetWeaver BW system and
are going through SAP NetWeaver BW 7.0 to upgrade to 7.3,
redefine the BI Statistics (Notes 934848 and 964418)
 Also, use SM37 in production to find any other jobs that are
scheduled, and make sure they are also tested
55
What We’ll Cover …
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
SAP NetWeaver BW 7.3 Overview
New Administrative Cockpit Capabilities
The New Semantic Partition (SPO) Options
The HybridProvider and Real-Time Data
Faster Data Load and New Design Options
Front-End and Security Benefits
New In-Memory Possibilities with SAP NetWeaver BW 7.3 and SAP
NetWeaver BW Accelerator 7.2
Planning and Executing the Upgrade
Wrap-up
56
Additional Resources
•
•
•
•
•
SAP NetWeaver 7.3 on SAP Developer Network
 www.sdn.sap.com/irj/sdn/nw-73
Lothar Henkes, “Unveiling SAP NetWeaver Business
Warehouse 7.3” (SAPinsider, October 2010).
SAP NetWeaver BW – What’s New with SAP NetWeaver BW 7.3
 www.sdn.sap.com/irj/sdn/edw?rid=/library/uuid/304444f7-e02d2d10-9c97-d5e3ecf09882
SAP NetWeaver 7.3 Business Content
 http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw73/helpdata/en/ca/6fbd35746db
d2de10000009b38f889/frameset.htm
Roadmap – SAP NetWeaver BW 7.3
 www.sdn.sap.com/irj/sdn/bw-73?rid=/library/uuid/300347b59bcf-2d10-efa9-8cc8d89ee72c
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7 Key Points to Take Home
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
SAP NetWeaver BW 7.3 is a good version to upgrade on
 It has been extensively tested and is “ready for prime time”
The upgrade is technical, and strong skills are required
Plan for how much of the new functionality you will deploy
You will need to spend time on security conversion if you have
not already done so
The upgrade is unique, so don’t rely on past experiences
Complete a technical review before you start the upgrade. Plan for
hardware upgrade, database upgrade, and server upgrades as
part of the SAP NetWeaver BW upgrade.
Make sure you have access to experts and decide early how much
risk you can live with
58
Your Turn!
How to contact me:
Dr. Bjarne Berg
Bberg@ComeritInc.com
Continue the conversation! Post your
questions in the BI-BW Forum on
Insider Learning Network*
*bit.ly/BI-BWForum
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Disclaimer
SAP, R/3, mySAP, mySAP.com, SAP NetWeaver®, Duet®, PartnerEdge, and other SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as their
respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP AG in Germany and in several other countries all over the world. All other product
and service names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective companies. Wellesley Information Services is neither owned nor controlled by
SAP.
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