WhitePaper Xtract PPV

Transcription

1 WhitePaper Xtract PPV March 2011 Khoder Elzein Senior Product Manager Mail: Fon: Theobald Software GmbH Kernerstraße 50 D Stuttgart Fon: Fax: Mail: info@theobald-software.com Web:

2 Theobald Software GmbH Contents 1 Introduction Architecture Requirements and Installation Security Extraction Types Xtract PPV Table Xtract PPV Query Xtract PPV BAPI Xtract PPV Report Xtract PPV DeltaQ Xtract PPV BW Cube Xtract PPV OHS (Open Hub Services) Xtract PPV Hierarchy Miscellaneous Licensing Maintenance Trial version

3 Xtract PPV White Paper 1 Introduction 1.1 Architecture Xtract PPV is a middleware component to extract data from SAP systems and load it into PowerPivot. It has two components: Xtract PPV Server and Xtract PPV Designer. The Server Component is responsible for the extraction. PowerPivot communicates with the Xtract Server, and this in turn with SAP. Since the Xtract Server has no GUI, you use the Xtract Designer for the design and configuration of the extractions. The Designer directly communicates also with SAP, not to transport data, but just to query metadata during the design process. The main advantage of this architecture is a centralized monitoring and design concept. There is no need of installing anything on the user s workstation because the data is delivered via Data Feeds. 3

4 Theobald Software GmbH The following screenshot shows a couple of extractions within the Xtract Designer and how they are used within PowerPivot: 4

5 Xtract PPV White Paper 1.2 Requirements and Installation Xtract PPV (both Server and Designer Component) runs on all Windows Operation Systems above Windows 2000 (32 or 64 Bit). The table below shows the supported SAP Releases and requirements on the SAP system for each Xtract Component. In case of installation or customizing, please refer to the respective chapters for details. Component SAP Release Requirements to the SAP system Table Rel. above 4.0B For most tasks, the installation of a Z-module is necessary, but not for all. Query Rel. above 4.0B None BAPI Rel. above 4.0B None Report Rel. above 4.0B Installation of a Z-module is necessary. BW Cube Rel. above BW 3.1 None Hierarchy Rel. above BW 3.1 None OHS Rel. above BW 3.5 Customizing DeltaQ Rel. above 4.6A Customizing 1.3 Security There are several options to secure both design and the data consumption of an extraction: - Based on a built-in security with user and groups - Based on Active Directory - Based on SAP security: The user s credentials are forwarded to SAP. So all security restrictions apply for the user regardless of he/she acts as a dialog user in SAP GUI or consumes the data in PowerPivot. 5

6 Theobald Software GmbH Extraction Types Xtract PPV supports different types of SAP extractions. The Xtract Designer provides a graphical interface for each extraction that can be used completely without programming knowledge. 2.1 Xtract PPV Table Using the Table Component you can extract data from SAP tables and views. It is also possible to process WHERE statements to restrict the data to the user s needs. Of course, dynamic SQL statements involving variables are also supported. Data extraction can be processed in packets to handle large amounts of data Asynchronous processing of data packets Variables for dynamic WHERE statements Type-safety and metadata support by 100% from SAP s data dictionary No significant effect on the production system The screenshot below shows the table dialog in the foreground. In the background you see the Designer Workbench with other extractions, which are created in the repository. 6

7 Xtract PPV White Paper 2.2 Xtract PPV Query SAP queries are so popular as data suppliers because tables can be joined on the SAP end without any developer authorization. With Xtract PPV Query, you can make your SAP queries directly available in PowerPivot. With a graphical user interface and full metadata support, the result is available for further processing within seconds. As with every SAP query, variants can also be applied here. Alternatively or in addition, it is also possible to fill the selection screen with your own selection values. The variant and all selection parameters can be dynamically entered via variables. The screenshot shows the query dialog in SAP and the Xtract Designer s Query Form. 7

8 Theobald Software GmbH Xtract PPV BAPI With the BAPI component you can access data from BAPIs and RFC function modules and directly use the output in PowerPivot. Scalar import and export parameters are read or stored from variables. You can link one or many outbound tables with a pipeline to access them. The screenshot shows the function module SD_RFC_CUSTOMER_GET that returns a list of customers by a specified search pattern. With the help of this technique it is easily possible to implement some kind of business logic with the help of ABAP routines before extracting the data to PowerPivot. 8

9 Xtract PPV White Paper 2.4 Xtract PPV Report The Report component allows you to use existing ABAP reports or ABAP programs as data sources for PowerPivot. This technique is often used in the area of FI/CO reporting. In a lot of cases, a comprehensive pool of such reports has accumulated over the years and simply cannot be replaced or reengineered. With the Xtract PPV Report component you can protect your investments because existing logic does not have to be reengineered - it can simply be reused. The screenshot below shows the component in the layout preview. The input values (select options) are filled with values (variables if necessary). With the help of a graphical tool, the report output is split up into columns that then generate the query output for further processing. Use of variants is possible (even dynamic per variable) Even complex reports based on an ALV grid can be generated Extremely long running reports are supported by asynchronous techniques (no RFC timeout) 9

10 Theobald Software GmbH Xtract PPV DeltaQ The DeltaQ component forms the top class of the BI components for SAP access by Power- Pivot. With its help, the Extractor API in SAP ERP can be addressed and in such, the functionality with which BW systems also secure their data supply from the production system can be used. Real transaction-secure delta transfer of data Support of all master and transaction data including own generic extractors No installation in SAP required All business contents are available immediately even though no application-specific knowledge (e.g. about the tables structure) is required The following screenshot shows the editor for the data source 2LIS_12_VCITM. It provides the delivery items. Three extraction modes are available: Full for a complete extraction (without delta) Delta Init for a delta initialization Delta for the real delta update that is done via the ERP delta queue (transaction RSA7). 10

11 Xtract PPV White Paper 2.6 Xtract PPV BW Cube Xtract PPV BW Cube is a component to access the MDX engine of SAP BW. It is so easily possible to load BEx queries in PowerPivot. The dimensions, key figures and attributes to be transferred can simply be dragged and dropped into the query output. This turns complex, multidimensional data structures into relational data that are easy to handle. The image below shows the data source editor for a demo cube. Support of BW variables (even complex selection criteria) Dynamic restrictions through variables Value output can be adjusted as formatted or non-formatted (e.g. for scaling factors) Packaging function for large amounts of data 11

12 Theobald Software GmbH Xtract PPV OHS (Open Hub Services) Compared to traditional BW extraction via the OLAP API, the Open Hub Services (OHS) were developed by SAP to make the extraction of BW data available for further electronic processing instead of just pure reporting. The OHS component supports all of the possibilities inherent to OHS extraction: Extremely large data volumes through packaging and asynchronous background processes Delta extracts Not just cubes, but also InfoObjects, ODS objects, texts etc. Extraction definition with the help of InfoSpokes (BW 3.5) or data transfer processes (BI 7.0) The following screenshot shows the editor at design time. Different modes are supported (e.g. triggering of a process chain for extraction). In the background you see the Open Hub Monitor in SAP BW. 12

13 Xtract PPV White Paper 2.8 Xtract PPV Hierarchy Unfortunately, Open Hub Services do not support extraction from BW hierarchies. Due to this, the Hierarchy component was developed. It makes it possible to extract all hierarchy types from the BW. The screenshots below show the hierarchy in SAP and the Xtract component at the design time. If necessary, hierarchy texts can also be read in. 13

14 Theobald Software GmbH Miscellaneous 3.1 Licensing Basically Xtract PPV is licensed per extraction server. For each production license a test license is also included. It does not matter how many users view the data and how many developers are involved or how many different SAP systems Xtract PPV accesses. 3.2 Maintenance As part of the maintenance, it is guaranteed that Xtract PPV correctly runs according to the User s Guide and with the newest SAP and Windows versions. If you have any technical questions or difficulties you can contact our support by phone or by mail. Maintenance for six months is included in the license. After that you can buy a yearly maintenance for 20% of the currently valid license price. There is no right for updates after expiration of maintenance. 3.3 Trial version We are happy to assist you during your evaluation. You can download a trial version from our website and try it out at your leisure. The trial versions are fully functional and offer every feature of the product for you to test-drive. We are available for your questions via mail and telephone: info@theobald-software.com Phone:

15 Xtract PPV White Paper Copyright 2012 Theobald Software GmbH. All rights reserved. No part of this description of functions may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or for any purpose without the express permission of Theobald Software GmbH. The information contained herein may be changed without prior notice. Some software products marketed by Theobald Software GmbH and its distributors contain proprietary software components of other software vendors. SAP, SAP ERP and all other SAP products and services as well as the corresponding logos mentioned in the text are brands or registered trademarks of SAP AG in Germany and other countries worldwide. All other company names, products and services used herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. 15