SAP BW4/HANA Migration Analysis
About
- This document is created to provide basic understanding of what is BW/4 HANA, how is it different from SAP BW.
- This document covers a case study what changes will be required in customers’ BW Global system where ECC, web-services and flat-file data sources are involved
- What are the important notes to be applied for beginning further technical analysis and to proceed with migration preparation phase
What is BW/4HANA
- SAP’s New Data warehouse
- SAP BW/4HANA is SAP’s next generation data warehouse solution
- It is a new product and not a successor of any SAP BW
- Continuing BW functionalities
- The core functionality of SAP BW is preserved and the transition to SAP BW/4HANA
- Can be compared with the transition of SAP Business Suite to SAP S/4HANA
- Reduce Data redundancy
- BW/4HANA provides a simple set of objects; suited for modelling an agile and flexible layered architecture of a modern data warehouse
- Reduced Number of Objects
- SAP BW/4HANA drastically reduces the number of data objects hence less maintenance and storage
- Future Roadmap
- All future innovations will take place in SAP BW/4HANA
SAP BW/4HANA vs SAP BW
SAP BW/4HANA only uses state of the art object types, processes, and object types designed for use on a SAP HANA database.
Converting from SAP BW, powered by SAP HANA brings the following functional changes:
- The SAP Business Explorer tools (SAP BEx tools) are not supported any more.
- BEx Analyzer will not be available anymore
- Queries are now defined in SAP BW/4HANA in the BW Modeling Tools
- Different SAP tools can be used for reporting (additional licensing to be checked)
- Modeling in the Data Warehousing Workbench (SAPGUI) is replaced by modeling in the BW Modeling Tools in Eclipse
- Certain object types are not supported any more
- These are replaced by objects types that are especially primed for use on the SAP HANA database (ex. PSAs are not available anymore)
Paths to SAP BW/4 HANA
- New implementation or fresh start
- New implementations are the best choice for customers converting from a legacy system or building a system from scratch with new data model only
- Landscape transformation
- Landscape transformation is for customers who want to consolidate and optimize their complex SAP BW landscape (multiple production systems) into a single SAP BW/4HANA system or who want to carve-out selected data models or flows into a global SAP BW/4HANA system
- System conversion (Relevant to Customer)
- A system conversion addresses customers who want to change their current SAP BW system into a SAP BW/4HANA system. Using the Transfer Toolbox provided by SAP, the SID of the system can be kept (in-place conversion) or a new SID can be used (remote conversion or shell conversion)
SAP BW/4HANA System Conversion
• In-Place Conversion
- Full system conversion of an existing SAP BW installation (keep same SID)
- Step-by-step in-place transfer of classic objects into their HANA-optimized counterparts
- Followed by a system conversion to SAP BW/4HANA
- Minimum start release: SAP BW 7.5 SP 5 powered by SAP HANA
• Remote Conversion
- Start with SAP BW/4HANA as green field installation (new SID)
- Support of carve-out and consolidation scenarios
- Transport data models and remote data transfer (including Unicode conversion)
- Risk mitigation due to parallel system
- Minimum start release: SAP BW 7.0 or higher on Any DB
• Shell Conversion
- Similar to Remote Conversion but without data transfer
- Accelerate greenfield approach by transferring and converting data models and flows
- Minimum start release: SAP BW 7.0 or higher on Any DB
In-place Conversion (Basic Sequence)
- Discover / Prepare Phase
- Check system for BW/4HANA compliance (gather information about objects and code that needs to be transferred or changed), estimate effort for the conversion project
- Explore / Realization Phase
- Transfer legacy objects into HANA-optimized counterparts, system conversion, post conversion tasks
• SAP BW/4HANA Transfer Cockpit
- The SAP BW/4HANA Transfer Cockpit is the single point of entry for tools required for transitioning SAP BW systems to SAP BW/4HANA
- Collection and Display Of Statistics Of Transfer Processes
- Tools for Preparation Phase
- Pre-Check Tool
- Sizing Report
- Code Scan Tool
- Clean-up Reports
- Standard Authorization Transfer –Initial Run
- Tools for Realization Phase
- Scope Transfer Tool
- Standard Authorization Transfer –Delta Run
- Deletion of Technical Content
- Switching Operation Mode
- Transfer Cockpit (transaction RSB4HCONV) for In-place Conversion
- System statistics showing number and size of remaining InfoCubes and classic DataStore objects.
- Top 10 shows, which have most records.
- Prepare Phase includes pre-check tool, sizing report, code scan tool, clean-up reports, and initial run of authorization transfer
- Realization Phase includes scope transfer tool, delta run of authorization transfer, and change of operation mode
• Pre-check Tool
- Check your SAP BW system using the pre-check tool (program RS_B4HANA_CONVERSION_CONTROL)
- Check complete system
- Check individual transport requests
- Display logs of previous checks
General Findings after analysis
- Navigational Attributes are not generated when DSO/Cube are converted to Advanced DSO
- These are permitted in Composite Providers for Reporting
- Individual Transformations where used will require adjustments
- x Objects are not supported any more
- Extraction from PSA is not supported
- PSA and Infopackages can be skipped or converted to ADSO and DTP
- Only HANA, Flat File source and ODP systems are supported
- Web Service Source System are not supported
- BEx analyzer, Web Templates are not supported
- Info Object Catalogs are not supported and to be converted to Info Area
- Integrated Planning (BW-IP) not supported and to be converted to BPC embedded
Findings on Customer BW System
- BEx reporting:
- BW Queries will continue to work where BEx analyzer and Web template will not be supported
- Adoption of Analysis Office is preferred before BW4/HANA migration
- BW-IP
- BW-IP has to migrate to BPC Embedded
- Source systems
- ECC source system connections needs to be replaced with Operational Data Provisioning (ODP) Source System
- Alternate for Web services to be analyzed. Web Service source system not supported (2441826 – BW4SL – Web Service Source Systems)
- No support for Hierarchy DataSources / Extractors (2480284 – BW4SL – Hierarchy DataSources). Further investigation required Need to find out alternative
- PSA & info packages are eliminated from BW/4 objects – POC required to confirm flat file data sources are supported through DTP
- Authorization
- No impact on authorization as such – but all the roles and profiles have to be checked and replace the existing cube names with newly created ADSOs name if applicable
Recommendation (Customer also thinking S/4 HANA migration for ECC system)
- SAP BW/4HANA is completely independent of S/4HANA. BW/4 HANA is not a prerequisite for S/4HANA, and vice versa.
- All the pre-requisite activities can already start as current version of BW 7.5 sps 007 supports it for future readiness.
- In-general SAP’s initial understanding while designing SAP S/4 HANA (2015 earlier) was that BW not required any more but this ended as not true. S/4 HANA is mainly taking out and replacing Operational Reporting from BW but need of Data Warehouse will continue to be in place
- BW4/HANA is designed to support Big Data innovations and any future enhancement will be in BW4/HANA. Hence BW4/HANA migration should be considered
- As S/4HANA provides operational reporting. Scope of BW would revise after S/4HANA migration hence actual BW/4 HANA conversion should be planned after S/4. Preparation can / should be started ahead and in parallel.
Technical Next Steps
- Reduce the data volumes as much as possible on current system for shorter conversion duration (Regular Housekeeping)
- Housekeeping to reduce overall system space by deleting system logs
- Simplify Process chain – indexes, rollup, dbstate, Aggregates
- Delete unused / test queries, cubes, dsos etc..
- Following notes to be reviewed and applied for pre-check analysis
- SAP Note 2591784 to prepare the SAP BW system for the readiness check
- SAP Note 2296290 to collect the HANA sizing data (/SDF/HANA_BW_SIZING)
- SAP Note 2399707 to collect the simplification item relevance information
- SAP Note 2567324 to collect information about object compatibility
- SAP Note 2575059 for SAP Readiness Check for SAP BW/4HANA
- SAP Note 1909597 for latest version of BW HANA Migration Cockpit ZBW_HANA_MIGRATION_COCKPIT
- SAP Note 2577045 for ABAP Code Scan
- SAP Note 2383530 Conversion from SAP BW to SAP BW/4HANA
- Important t-code RSB4HCONV & program RS_B4HANA_CONVERSION_CONTROL
- POC should be done to understand complete impact on system
Reference
thanks for this blog ! - it is really a good help to the many sap-notes (e.g. technical next steps)
(are sap developers really paid for every new created sap note ? 😉 - or why are there so many to one topic ? )
but this chaos of sap-notes, hints, todos and so on is a clear sign that it (HANA and BW4HANA) is still a big construction site at sap and a big ambiguity for the customers
SAP Note 2577045 + 2585743 could not be installed because of missing package RS_B4HANA (in BW-7.31)
For in place conversion - Minimum start release is SAP BW 7.5 SP 5 powered by SAP HANA. So all above mentioned notes are possible to not have relevant for 7.31 🙂
hi this is all about process and pre checks. Great post. Can you share the exact steps to be followed if we want to convert a multiprovider to a composite provider and impact on underlying navigational attributes?