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Prerequisites:



  • You are an existing customer of BI Platform with version prior to BI 4.2 SP04, also have Add-ons in your landscape, looking forward to update the platform version to BI 4.2 SP04

  • You have already performed a fresh BI Platform 4.2 SP04 version installation and now are trying to perform a fresh installation of BI Platform Add-ons on top of BI Platform BI 4.2 SP04


Expected Behavior:



  • You update your current BI landscape with BI 4.2 SP04 and cannot wait until the corresponding BI platform add-ons are released. Alternatively, you perform a fresh installation of BI 4.2 SP04 on a new machine.

  • You then try to install any of the currently available add-on versions of Lumira Server for BI Platform, Design Studio BI Platform Add On and Analysis for Office BI Platform Add On after the BI 4.2 SP04 platform update.

  • You expect the add-ons to be installed successfully.


Actual Behavior:



  • When you try installing any of the currently available add-on versions of Lumira Server for BI Platform, Design Studio BI Platform Add On and Analysis for Office BI Platform Add On after the BI 4.2 SP04 platform update/fresh installation, the installation of the add-ons does NOT proceed ahead.


Let us explore more on this topic in the subsequent sections and provide you guidelines for successful BI 4.2 SP04 installations with add-ons.

About SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.2 SP04 Release


The SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.2 Support Package 04 (SP04) release comes with several key advancements for all, including designers and analysts using Web Intelligence, Crystal Reports and SAP Lumira 2.0, IT administrators responsible for managing and optimizing the platform, ecosystem and development partners looking to extend the value and capabilities of the integrated BI Platform. Some key enhancements include Fiori styled BI Launchpad, CMS database driver for better administration, exclusive server group at runtime and WEBI Unified Viewer.
These innovations are designed to increase responsiveness, reduce costs and workload,

and drive better decision making across the organization.

SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.2 SP04 - Compiler version upgrade and Impact on Add-ons


In SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.2 SP04, the BI platform compiler version has been upgraded from Visual Studio 2005 version to Visual Studio 2015. This upgrade necessitates the add-ons tightly coupled and dependent on BI platform to be upgraded to the compiler version same as the platform.


The BI platform add-ons, such as Lumira Server for BI Platform, Design Studio BI Platform Add On and Analysis for Office BI Platform Add On are tightly coupled with the BI Platform and they would have to be upgraded to the same compiler version. Based on past history, these add-ons are released within 4-8 weeks after the new BI platform release post successful validation and checks for compatibility.


Add-ons such as Explorer, IOMS are always released along with the corresponding platform versions and are certified as a part of the release process of the platform. These add-ons are always compatible with the corresponding new release of the BI platform.


EPM Add-ons also undergo a certification cycle after the BI Platform release cycle for any dependencies on the platform before releasing a compatible add-on version.


Guidelines for installing BI platform add-ons with BI 4.2 SP04 version


This section describes the guidelines for successful add-on installations with the newly released SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.2 Support Pack 04 (SP04) platform version. This is in conjunction to our SAP Note 2467541.

Some general points for consideration irrespective of the release:

  1. It is always recommended to install/update the BI platform version to start with/FIRST and then proceed with the add-on installations.

  2. It is always recommend to use the compatible versions of the add-ons for the corresponding BI platform version especially for the tightly coupled add-ons - Lumira Server for BI Platform, Design Studio BI Platform Add On and Analysis for Office BI Platform Add On.


The guidelines to keep in mind when considering update of your BI platform to v4.2 SP04 and installation of BI platform add-ons on top of v4.2 SP04 are as follows:

You have Existing Installations of BI 4.x with add-ons



  • The already installed versions of BI Platform Add-ons (AO 2.x, DS 1,x, Lumira 1.x) in BI Landscape will continue to work even after the BI Platform is updated to BI 4.2 SP04.

  • If you upgrade your BI Platform version to SP04 and try to install any of the currently available add-on versions in the market, installation will not proceed ahead. (refers to the versions lower than the ones indicated in Table: Timelines for Availability of Compatible Add-ons for BI 4.2 SP04) However, the base SP04 system will NOT be impacted and will be usable including the already installed add-ons.

  • All upcoming add-on releases will be compatible with SP04. The release of these compatible add-ons is planned in next 4- 8 weeks. (please refer the release schedule in Table: Timelines for Availability of Compatible Add-ons for BI 4.2 SP04)

  • The compatible versions of add-ons are installable on lower versions of the BI platform as well and possess backward compatibillity.


Fresh Installation of BI 4.2 SP04 with add-ons



  • If you perform a fresh installation of the BI Platform 4.2 SP04 and try to install any of the currently available add-on versions in the market on top of BI 4.2 SP04, the installation will not proceed ahead.

  • All upcoming add-on releases will be compatible with SP04. The release of these compatible add-ons is planned in next 4- 8 weeks. (please refer the release schedule in Table: Timelines for Availability of Compatible Add-ons for BI 4.2 SP04)


Table: Timelines for Availability of Compatible Add-ons for BI 4.2 SP04

































Add-Ons  Release Version  Planned Release Date
 Analysis Office 2.4    2.4 SP03 Patch1 Refer SAP Note 1518359
 Analysis Office 2.5***  2.5 SP01 Planned for CW 30- 2017
 Design Studio 1.6**  1.6 SP05 Patch1 Patch1 planned for CW 26- 2017 see release note 1760372
 Lumira 1.x  1.31.6 RTC  2nd June 2017
 Lumira 2.0**  2.0 SP02 Refer SAP Note 2465894

Note: The above mentioned dates are as per currently planned release timelines. They may be subjected to updates owing to changing market conditions and internal constraints.

The above timelines have a reference to the SAP Note 2467541 and hence would go hand in hand with the timelines, dates and versions mentioned in the note.

** - Compatibility with BI 4.2 SP04 for both Design Studio 1.6 and Lumira 2.0 Add-ons starts from Patch 01 of BI 4.2 SP04.

***  - Analysis Office 2.5 is currently in Ramp-up

Illustration of some Scenarios of Fresh Installation/Update of BI Platform


Note: The add-ons that are referred to in the following scenarios are Lumira Server for BI Platform, Design Studio BI Platform Add On and Analysis for Office BI Platform Add On. Explorer and IOMS add-ons are not impacted.

Scenario 1: Add-ons are already installed and YOU are updating the platform with BI 4.2 SP04.


Expected Behavior – The add-ons work as expected without surprises.

Note: If the add-ons have to be updated after BI 4.2 SP04 update, their respective versions must be compatible with BI 4.2 SP04

Scenario 2: YOU are updating the platform with BI 4.2 SP04 and install the compatible versions of the add-ons (with BI 4.2 SP04)


Expected Behavior – The add-ons work as expected without surprises.

Scenario 3: YOU are updating the platform with BI 4.2 SP04 and install the add-on versions compatible with previous version of the platform (below BI 4.2 SP04)


Expected Behavior – The installation of the add-ons will not work due to incompatibility.

Scenario 4: YOU are trying to perform a fresh install of BI 4.2 SP04 + Add-ons 


Expected Behavior – YOU can install Explorer and IOMS add-ons without any impact/waiting period however YOU need to wait till the add-on version compatible with BI 4.2 SP04 is released for DesignStudio, Lumira and Analysis for Office.

 

Additional Resources:

SAP Note 2467541 - Supported BI Platform Add-On versions information for the SAP BusinessObjects BI ...

A Simple Guide to Updating/Upgrading Your SAP BusinessObjects BI platform
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