Using SAP BusinessObjects Cloud with SAP Hybris Marketing

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SAP BusinessObjects Cloud (BOC, formerly known as Cloud for Analytics) is a new generation of Software as a Service (SaaS) that provides all analytic capabilities in one product. You can now use its BI capabilities to explore and analyze SAP Hybris Marketing data. As you can see in the picture below, multiple data sources – not only from Marketing – can be combined into a single BOC storyboard to deliver new insights.

 

This blog will tell you which steps you need to carry out to connect BOC to SAP Hybris Marketing using BOC’s remote system connectivity via SAP Web Dispatcher.



The remote connectivity feature allows you to connect to on premise data sources without data replication. There are several on premise interfaces available. In this example, we will use the SAP HANA Information Access (InA) Service to directly access the SAP Hybris Marketing HANA views. Using the remote system connectivity feature, no direct connection from BOC to the data source will be made. Instead, the reporting data will be just embedded in the user’s browser when the BOC story is accessed. Due to the same-origin policy settings in web browsers, this setup requires a reverse proxy to connect to both systems simultaneously. The Web Dispatcher, which is already part of the Hybris Marketing installation, can be used for that purpose.

Configuration of SAP Web Dispatcher

In this example, a new Web Dispatcher port is created in the configuration. To avoid any conflicting dispatching rules, all dispatching rules are bound to the different server ports.

1. Create a new server port in the profile file of your Web Dispatcher:
   icm/server_port_6 = PROT=HTTPS,PORT=6001,PROCTIMEOUT=6000


2. Choose the server port ID (6) and the port (6001) number so that no conflicts occur. Add new dispatching entries for HANA XS and the BOC instance.
   wdisp/system_61 = SID=MKT, EXTSRV=https://my_hana_xs.company:4302/, SSL_ENCRYPT=1, SRCURL=/yMKT, SRCSRV=*:6001
   wdisp/system_62 = SID=BOC, EXTSRV=https://my_boc_tenant.hana.ondemand.com, SSL_ENCRYPT=1, SRCURL=/sap, SRCSRV=*:6001, PROXY=proxy.company:8080


3. Change the EXTSRV values to match your systems (also in all later occurrences – they will also be used as a sample in the rest of this blog). Both entries are bound to the newly created WD port. If the internet is accessed from your network via a proxy server, adopt the proxy settings to your needs. If no proxy is used, just remove the PROXY property. The SRCURL setting /yMKT will be used in BOC to route calls to the backend. 


4. Additionally, a modification rule entry in the profile is required:
   icm/HTTP/mod_0 = PREFIX=/,FILE=$(DIR_PROFILE)/boc_mod.mod


5. Create the new modification rule file boc_mod.mod with the following entries:
   if %{SID} = "BOC"
   begin
   SetHeader Host my_boc_tenant.hana.ondemand.com
   SetResponseHeader Host my_Web_Dispatcher_host.company:6001
   RegIRewriteResponseHeader LOCATION https://my_boc_tenant.hana.ondemand.com:443(.*) https://my_web_dispatcher_host.company:6001$1
   end
   
   if %{SID} = "MKT"
   begin
   RegRewriteUrl ^/yMKT(.*) /$1
   end


6. In the next step, import the BOC certificates into the client PSE on the Web Dispatcher. Open the URL of your BOC tenant in a web browser and click on the padlock icon:
   


7. Check the certificates along the certification path and export them to X.509 Base64 files.


8. Import the files to your Web Dispatcher Client PSE SAPSSLC.pse. The import can be done via the sapgenpse command line tool (for those who are familiar with it just use … maintain_pk –a … ) or the Web Dispatcher Web Administration Interface. In the web administration interface, select “PSE Management” in the menu, select the PSE SAPSSLC.pse and choose “Import certificate”.
   
   Paste the content of the root certificate (Baltimore CyberTrust Root) into the text box and select “Import”. Repeat this step for the other certificates along the certification chain. It is important that you import the root CA certificate first, because otherwise the import will fail because a signing certificate is missing.


9. After all settings have been made, restart the Web Dispatcher to apply the settings.

 

Settings in HANA

The deployment unit AHCO_INA_SERVICE containing the InA service components is installed automatically. You need to have a HANA database user to be able to access the Hybris Marketing HANA information views via the InA service. This user needs to have the session client of the Hybris Marketing system maintained and the role “sap.bc.ina.service.v2.userRole::INA_USER” assigned, as shown in the example below:



Additionally, Analytic Privileges are required to access the views. You can restrict authorization to specific views by defining and assigning custom analytic privileges. Full access to all data can be assigned by granting the analytic privilege _SYS_BI_CP_ALL. Check whether the connection to the InA service works with this user using the two URLs https://my_hana_xs.company:4302/sap/bc/ina/service/v2/GetServerInfo and https://my_web dispatcher_host.company:6001/yMKT/sap/bc/ina/service/v2/GetServerInfo.

• If the first URL does not work, please recheck the HANA configuration and the user authorization.


• If the second URL does not work, the Web Dispatcher configuration might be incorrect. The trace will most likely contain very helpful information to resolve the issue after switching to trace level 2 or 3.


• If neither URLs work, you can continue with the next step to start in Cloud for Analytics.

 

Getting Started in BusinessObjects Cloud

Now you can access BOC via the Web Dispatcher using the URL https://my_web_dispatcher_host.company:6001/sap/fpa/ui.

1. Logon with your BOC user and select “Connection” in the menu.


2. Click on the plus symbol and choose "Live Data Connection" --> "SAP HANA".
   


3. Choose a system name, the connection type path and the path prefix defined in the Web Dispatcher configuration.


4. Enter valid HANA credentials to test the connection from the browser to the InA service.


5. Now you can create a model for the remote source. In the menu, choose “Modeler” and click on the import icon.


6. Select “Create Model From Remote System”, choose the remote system and search for the HANA view you want to use for your BOC story.
   


7. Assign a name and a description to the model and confirm with OK. Based on this model you can start building a story on your Hybris Marketing Data!

The integration described here is available for On Premise and private cloud. The integration for the public cloud is described in a separate blog here: https://blogs.sap.com/2016/12/12/using-businessobjects-cloud-with-s4hana-cloud-marketing/

 

Enjoy using Cloud for Analytics with Hybris Marketing!

 

Further Information Sources

• In Hybris Marketing available HANA information views can be found in the Business Content Guide: https://websmp102.sap-ag.de/~sapidb/012002523100012510022016E/


• Connection Settings are described in the BusinessObjects Cloud Guide in Chapter 13.4.: https://cp.hana.ondemand.com/dps/d/preview/9fc6effeba964b68890d22ee2c4d70c6/release/en-US/SAPCloudfo...


• BusinessObjects Cloud SCN space: http://scn.sap.com/community/cloud-for-analytics