This is part 4 of an ASUG webcast covering what is new with the Semantic Layer BI4.1 and the Information Design Tool.
Pierpaolo Vezzosi provided this ASUG webcast earlier this month. Part 1 is here
Part 2 covering SAP ERP and BW is here
Part 3 covering SAP Hana the Semantic Layer is here
Please note the usual disclaimer applies that anything new and what is discussed below is subject to change and the usual disclaimer applies.
SDK:
Figure 1: Source: SAP
Figure 1 shows new SDK features in BI4.1 including creating a universe from scratch in BI4.1 SDK.
You can create new applications (targeting the OEM market)
New Usability
Figure 2: Source: SAP
Figure 2 shows a new welcome screen with the Information Design Tool in BI4.1
On the upper right includes the online tutorials
On the left there is a new universe wizard to help you create a universe from scratch
In the middle is the recent resources
Figure 3: Source: SAP
Figure 3 shows the universe wizard functionality
Figure 4: Source: SAP
Figure 4 shows the new find/search functionality within the project.
QUESTION & ANSWER
Q: Will you be releasing for BOBJ EDGE Customers at the same time or will there be a delay for EDGE customers as there has been in the past?
A: Yes, BOBJ Edge 4.1 and BI 4.1 will be released at the same time.
Q: For federation, is all the data pulled from both sources before the join is applied ? how is the performance ?
A: Actually, there is a specific algorithm to decide which data gets pulled from which source first, and gets applied as a filter on the other data source, so performance is optimized.
Q: When adding a federated table to the data foundation layer, do you take a performance hit on other non-federated tables in the data foundation layer?
A: The integration of federated tables in the data foundation layer is done by the data foundation user. It will not impact the non-federated tables.
Q: In BI 4.1 , can we build one universe against multidimensional sources like OLAP or Essbase 11.1.2.2 cubes? In BO R3.1 we had the limitation to build one universe against one dimension?
How the new version handles multidimensional sources like Essbase?
A: Yes, with BI 4.0 or BI 4.1, you can build a unx universe on top of an OLAP source such as Essbase 11. I am not aware of the limitation about BO 3.1.
A: The new version (BI 4.0 or 4.1) handles Essbase 11 natively. The access is through MDX and there is full support for Essbase hierarchies.
Q: what's the difference to federation between 4.0 & 4.1 release ?
A: The most notable difference has been presented by Pierpaolo. It is the federation layer.
Q: will we be able to connect to a unx universe in live office?
A: Connection to UNX universes (IDT ones) will not be supported by Live Office in BI 4.1.
A: As a FYI, we welcome two new BI clients consuming UNX universes as part of BI 4.1. SAP Visual Intelligence and SAP Predictive Analysis.
Q: In BI 4.1 , can we build one universe against multidimensional sources like OLAP or Essbase 11.1.2.2 cubes? In BO R3.1 we had the limitation to build one universe against one dimension?
How the new version handles multidimensional sources like Essbase?
A: Yes, with BI 4.0 or BI 4.1, you can build a unx universe on top of an OLAP source such as Essbase 11. I am not aware of the limitation about BO 3.1.
Q: Can we create unx universe on SAP BW cube or BEx query in 4.1?
A: You can create an UNX universe on BW InfoProviders today; PPaolo's slide shows in 4.1 you can create a relational connect to BW730 query
Q: so in BI4 all the dimensions of an OLAP cube shows in one universe? and there is no need to build one universe for each dimension?
A: Yes. In BI4, one universe covers all Essbase dimensions.
A: We have added an extra step when the user creates the Essbase Business Layer so that the user specifies which dimension of the Essbase cube does contain the measures (aka the accounts dimension)
Q: is it in Java SDK or COM Based SDK?
A: The BI 4.1 SL authoring SDK is a Java SDK.
Q: Does 4.1 UNX SDK support changing content of UNX objects - SELECT, Name, Hide/Show Flag? And is SDK in Java or VB?
A: The SDK is JAVA. For the other question stay tuned. We will complete the answer in minutes.
A: yes it does support changing content of UNX objects - SELECT, Name, Hide/Show Flag.
A: also the WHERE clause of course
Q: In the info design tool user guide 10.7.11, Inserting and editing hierarchy levels it says - Levels can be inserted into hierarchies in OLAP business layers only. Is it true that we cannot create hierarchy levels on a relational universe (other than LOV)
A: Yes, it is true.
Q: are there any plan to integrate BEx generation into the IDT?
A: No, this is not planned at this time.
Q: can we define user exits in the new sematic layer?
A: No. Not yet available.
If you have more questions regarding BI4.1 hopefully you will join ASUG on May 13th for BI4.1 Hands-on ASUG Pre-conference - register at
http://www.sapandasug.com/asug-preconference.html
Our thanks to Pierpaolo for another great ASUG webcast.
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