Abstract: This white paper delves into the technical aspects of SAP Datasphere, BW Bridge, and SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC), exploring their functionalities and how they work together to empower data-driven decision making. This white paper has equipped you with the foundational knowledge to get started. For a deeper dive into the configuration and implementation details, refer to the resources mentioned throughout the paper or explore the official SAP documentation.
Overview :
Datasphere :- SAP Datasphere provides a multi-cloud, multisource business semantic service for enterprise analytics and planning. SAP Datasphere is the latest innovation in the data warehousing portfolio of SAP. It is based on the SAP HANA Cloud and follows a clear data warehouse as a service (DWaaS) approach in the public cloud, with fast release cycles.
BW Bridge - This next-generation data warehousing solution is designed to seamlessly integrate with Datasphere, enabling organizations to leverage existing BW investments while embracing the scalability and agility of cloud-based analytics. With BW Bridge, organizations can unlock the full potential of their data assets, accelerating time-to-insight and driving business innovation.
SAC (SAP Analytics Cloud):- By integrating seamlessly with Datasphere and BW Bridge, SAC enables organizations to leverage advanced analytics techniques to uncover hidden patterns, trends, and opportunities within their data. With SAC, businesses can empower decision-makers at all levels with actionable insights, driving informed decision-making and driving business growth.
The figure, SAP Datasphere Architecture, shows a high-level architecture of SAP Datasphere.
Technical Configuration and Connectivity
We will now proceed with the technical step-by-step procedure for configuring and establishing connectivity between the Datasphere tenant, BW Bridge, and SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC).
A prerequisite for this process is having SAP BTP administration authorization on the subaccount entitled to SAP Datasphere. It's important to note that Datasphere currently offers only a cloud-based deployment option, running on SAP's infrastructure (BTP). However, it excels at connecting to and working with data from various sources, including on-premise systems such as SAP and non-SAP applications, databases, and file systems within your data center.
Here are some key points to remember:
- Connectors: Datasphere provides pre-built connectors for various on-premise data sources such as SAP S/4HANA, ABAP CDS views, and generic SFTP servers.
- Data Access Methods: You can choose between methods like federation (live access) or replication (copying data into Datasphere) for on-premise data.
- SAP Cloud Connector: For secure communication between your on-premise systems and the cloud-based Datasphere, setting up the SAP Cloud Connector may be necessary as an intermediary.
1. Creating a Datasphere Instance on SAP BTP:
To navigate through the BTP Cockpit, follow these steps:
- Access your BTP Cockpit and navigate to the "Services" tab.
- From the left navigation menu, select "Service Marketplace."
- In the search bar, type in "Datasphere" and select the corresponding service.
- Click on the "Create" button located in the top right corner.
- Follow the prompts provided by the wizard to configure the instance details, including the system owner, resource plan, and data center location.
- Review your selections and click "Create" to initiate the Datasphere instance creation process."
2. Linking Datasphere and SAC Tenancy:
Before proceeding, ensure you have administrative access to both your SAP Datasphere and SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC) tenants.
- Log in to your SAP Datasphere tenant.
- Navigate to the System Configuration section.
- Locate an option named 'Tenant Links' or a similar term related to tenant connections.
- Within the Tenant Links section, you'll find a field designated for the URL of your SAP Analytics Cloud tenant.
- Paste the URL of your SAP Analytics Cloud tenant into the provided field.
- Save the configuration changes.
It's important to note that while this link establishes a connection between the Datasphere and SAC tenants, an SAP Analytics Cloud user will still need to create a separate live connection to access and utilize data residing within your Datasphere tenant.
3. Space Management & Storage Allocation:
To facilitate effective data management, two types of spaces must be configured within the Datasphere platform: Datasphere Space and BW Bridge Space. Follow the steps below to create these spaces and allocate storage:
Configure Datasphere Space:
- Navigate to Space Management within the Datasphere platform.
- Create a new space specifically designated for Datasphere usage.
- Allocate appropriate storage resources to this space to accommodate data processing and storage requirements.
Configure BW Bridge Space:
- Similar to the Datasphere Space configuration, create a separate space dedicated to BW Bridge functionalities.
- Allocate storage resources tailored to the needs of BW Bridge operations within this space.
Once the spaces have been created and storage has been allocated, it is essential to grant access to authorized users. This ensures that individuals have the necessary permissions to access the spaces and establish connections within them.
After creating the spaces, proceed to add users to each space, granting them appropriate access privileges. This enables users to utilize the allocated storage and establish connections as required for their respective roles and responsibilities within the Datasphere environment.
4. Installing the Data Provisioning Agent (DP Agent):
To install the DP Agent (Data Provisioning) for enabling on-premises connections within SAP Datasphere, follow these steps:
Navigate to System >> Configuration >> Data Integration >> On-Premise Agents within the Datasphere platform.
Click on the "+" icon to initiate the creation of a new agent.
SAP Datasphere supports the utilization of SAP HANA smart data integration (SDI) along with its Data Provisioning Agent to establish on-premises connections seamlessly.
In scenarios such as SAP Rise, it is advisable to raise a Service Request (SR) to SAP and provide the necessary agent details. SAP will then undertake the configuration of the connection to Datasphere.
Upon adding the DP agent, essential details such as the HANA server, port, username, etc., are automatically generated. These details streamline the configuration process, ensuring smooth and efficient establishment of on-premises connections.
5. Adding Source System's Public IP to Datasphere's IP Allow list:
- Go to System -> Configuration -> IP Allow list -> Trusted IPs.
- Add the source SAP system's public IP address.
6. Connecting Datasphere to Cloud Connector:
To establish connectivity between Datasphere and the Cloud Connector, follow these steps:
Create a sub-account under the Cloud Connector specifically for SAP Datasphere.
Navigate to Datasphere >> System >> Administration >> Data Source Configuration.
Obtain the necessary account information from the Data Source Configuration section, including Sub account ID, Region Host, Sub account, Location ID, and User.
Utilize this information to configure the connection between Datasphere and the Cloud Connector. This ensures seamless communication and data transfer between the two platforms.
Additionally, enable Live Data Sources within Datasphere. This feature is essential for certain advanced functionalities that require live on-premises data to traverse your network and pass through SAP's network without storage or processing.
7. SAP BW Bridge Tenant:
The SAP BW Bridge Tenant serves as a connector between traditional SAP BW systems and cloud-based analytics platforms like Datasphere and SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC). It enables seamless integration, data warehousing, user access control, and connectivity with SAC for deriving insights from SAP BW data and other sources.
To ensure smooth operation, it's imperative to define SAP BW Bridge storage before creating the SAP BW Bridge Tenant. Prior to creating the SAP BW Bridge Tenant, specify the storage requirements for the BW Bridge.
Access the Tenant Configuration section by navigating to System >> Configuration >> Tenant Configuration. Configure the size of your SAP BW Bridge Tenant according to your storage needs. After configuring the tenant size, click on the Save button to apply the changes and finalize the setup.
After configuring the SAP BW Bridge storage, the next steps involve creating a new SAP BW Bridge system and activating the BW Bridge Tenant.
- Navigate to the SAP BW Bridge tab.
- Create a new SAP BW Bridge system by specifying details such as Instance Name, Description, Storage Unit, and optionally enable the system for development. Upon creating the BW Bridge system, a corresponding space is automatically generated in Datasphere's Space Management. Only we need to add the users in newly created Bridge Space.
The activation of the BW Bridge Tenant is initiated by the system owner.
When a new SAP BW bridge tenant is provisioned together with a new SAP Datasphere tenant, the system owner receives a welcome email. Click the activate account button to connect to the server and set your password. You are then logged into SAP datasphere.
When a new SAP BW bridge tenant is provisioned to an already existing SAP Datasphere tenant, the first login to the SAP BW bridge tenant must be done by the user who was system owner of the SAP Datasphere tenant when the SAP BW bridge tenant was provisioned. The reason for this is that the initial administrator of the new SAP BW bridge tenant is identical to the system owner of your SAP Datasphere tenant at the time of provisioning.
Once activated, the BW Bridge Tenant is ready for use.
To access the SAP BW Bridge Cockpit, navigate to SAP Datasphere and select More >> Data Integration Monitor >> BW Bridge Space. From here, users can open the SAP BW Bridge Cockpit to manage and monitor BW Bridge activities.
8. Connectivity for ODP Source Systems in SAP BW Bridge:
To establish connectivity for ODP (Operational Data Provisioning) source systems in SAP BW Bridge. Navigate to the SAP BW Bridge Cockpit within the SAP Datasphere environment. Within the BW Bridge Cockpit, locate the Administration section and navigate to Communication Management. Under Communication Management, select the option to maintain the details of ODP source systems. Enter the relevant details of the ODP source systems, such as system name, connection parameters, and user credentials. After providing the necessary details, save the configuration to establish connectivity between SAP BW Bridge and the ODP source systems.
9. Connectivity to SAP S/4HANA :
To prepare connectivity to SAP S/4HANA within the SAP Datasphere environment.
Navigate to Datasphere >> System >> Configuration >> Data Integration >> DP Agent.
Register the DP Agent to the backend ABAP system using TCP/IP RFC (Remote Function Call).
Create a TCP/IP RFC in the SAP S/4HANA system and register a server program for communication.
Obtain the program ID generated during the creation of the TCP/IP RFC in the SAP S/4HANA system. This program ID will be used later in the DP Agent connection setup.
Register the program ID to the gateway using a command. This ensures proper communication between the DP Agent and the SAP S/4HANA system. After completing the registration process, perform a test of the RFC connection to validate that the communication between the DP Agent and SAP S/4HANA system is functioning correctly.
10. Live data connection with S4HANA system:
To establish a live data connection with an SAP S/4HANA system in SAP Datasphere, follow these steps:
Navigate to SAP Datasphere >> System >> Configuration >> Integration >> Live Data Connection. Select the option to manage live data connections and choose the SAP S/4HANA system from the list. Update the live data connection details including Tunnel Name, Description, Connection Type, Location ID, Host, HTTPS Port, Client, Username, and Password. Once updated, save the connection settings.
Go to Datasphere >> Space Management and select the space designated for SAP S/4HANA. Navigate to Connections and click on "Go to Connections" followed by "Create" to initiate the creation of a new connection.
Provide the following details for the connection:
- S4Application Details: SAP Logon Connection Type, Application Server Host, System Number, Client, System ID, and Language.
- Cloud Connector Details: Specify whether to use the Cloud Connector, Location, Virtual Destination, Virtual Host, and Virtual Port.
- Credentials: Enter the Username and Password for authentication.
- Features: Enable or disable features such as Remote Tables, DP Agent, Streaming Option, Gateway Host, Gateway Port, RFC Destination, Data Flows, Replication Flows, Model Import, and Live Data Connection (Tunnel) Name.
Once all details are entered, save the connection settings to finalize the configuration.
Summary :
This white paper has explored the technical intricacies of SAP Datasphere, BW Bridge, and SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC), shedding light on how these innovative solutions synergize to drive data-driven decision-making. Datasphere, with its multi-cloud, multisource semantic service, serves as a robust foundation for enterprise analytics and planning, while BW Bridge seamlessly integrates with existing BW investments, fostering scalability and agility in cloud-based analytics. SAC complements these platforms by leveraging advanced analytics techniques to uncover insights within data, empowering decision-makers at all levels.
Through detailed technical configurations and connectivity procedures outlined in this white paper, organizations can harness the full potential of these SAP solutions. From setting up Datasphere instances to establishing live data connections with S/4HANA systems, each step is meticulously laid out to facilitate a smooth implementation process. Furthermore, the paper delves into the creation of spaces, installation of DP Agents, and connectivity to ODP source systems and SAP S/4HANA, providing comprehensive guidance for users.
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