White Paper. Metadata Management for Enterprise Applications. Modeling Suite. Neil Buchwalter, Product Manager, AllFusion

Transcription

1 White Paper Metadata Management for Enterprise Applications Neil Buchwalter, Product Manager, AllFusion Modeling Suite May 2006

2 Table of Contents Executive Summary... 3 How EAP Data is Structured... 3 Multiple Language Support...3 RDBMS Independence...3 The Importance of Metadata Management...3 How AllFusion Saphir Option Aids Metadata Management...4 AllFusion Saphir Option Product Description...4 AllFusion Saphir Option Benefits...5 Obtaining More Information...6 About CA...6 2

3 Executive Summary Enterprise Application Product (EAP) packages like SAP, J.D. Edwards EnterpriseOne, PeopleSoft Enterprise and Siebel CRM have large databases at the core of their application functionality. Making sense of the true structure of these databases is difficult at best due to cryptic naming of tables and columns, and applicationbased referential integrity. This paper explains how EAP data is structured, the importance of metadata management and why AllFusion Saphir Option from CA is a key element in any EAP metadata management strategy. The paper also briefly describes the AllFusion Saphir Option technology and the benefits it offers. How EAP Data is Structured Enterprise application packages can provide a broad set of business functionality because they have broad data structures. For example, SAP R/3 has about 25,000 base tables. These products treat the underlying database almost as a flat file system. Two important factors influence the way the data is structured: Multiple language support Relational database management system (RDBMS) independence Multiple Language Support SAP, J.D. Edwards EnterpriseOne, PeopleSoft and Siebel CRM packages all support multiple languages. Users can see the screen dialogs and report texts in their language of choice (such as English, German or Spanish). To accommodate this multi-language capability, screen prompts, report headings and other similar data are stored as part of the product s data dictionary. This means that the physical table and column names usually bear little resemblance to the data they contain. For example, in SAP, the table called KNA1 holds data about customers, and in that table there is a column called ORT01, which contains the names of cities. As a result, it s very difficult to understand the structure of the data by looking at the table and column names, as you might do with any other database. The meaningful textual descriptions are in the data dictionary and do not relate easily to the table and column names. RDBMS Independence Another factor that influences the way EAP data is structured is that enterprise applications are designed to be implemented on a range of RDBMS types (such as DB2, Oracle or SQL Server). To help ensure RDBMS independence, enterprise applications use these databases at a very simple level. Many of the features normally associated with an RDBMS are implemented via the application s own data dictionary. For example, the relationship information defining how SAP tables are joined is held in the data dictionary, not in the underlying database. The Importance of Metadata Management The challenges presented by the structure of EAP data make metadata management all the more important. Metadata is data about data. It s a road map of the information resources available to an organization. For example, in a system designed to hold invoices, Invoice Number 7 is a piece of data. The properties Invoice Number, Invoice Date, Customer Number and so forth are metadata about the invoice. Metadata describes the characteristics of the data, rather than being the data itself. Typically, metadata provides information related to the structure and location of data. For example, an organization might have a Customer table with a set of fields, each of a particular data type, and the table might reside on a particular computer on the network. In addition, the metadata might describe how pieces of information in the organization relate to each other. For example, a Customer might have a series of associated Contacts, which can be located by accessing all the Contacts with the same Customer code. Metadata becomes important whenever there is a need to understand where and how data is stored, as in the following situations: Creating a data warehouse Developing custom reports Building interfaces between disparate systems In all these cases, one of the crucial questions is, Where can I find the information I m looking for? 3

4 The process of creating a data warehouse illustrates the importance of metadata. Without a clear understanding of the sources of potential data for the warehouse, it s very difficult to determine the location of the data to be loaded into the warehouse. Given the strategic nature of enterprise application products like SAP, the data in the associated database would be a prime candidate for inclusion in a data warehouse, but the closed architecture of EAP packages makes the discovery of the metadata very difficult. How AllFusion Saphir Option Aids Metadata Management The data warehouse tools market is now crowded with products offering reporting, data movement, data cleaning and a number of other functions related to data warehousing. Many of these products are based on some kind of metadata architecture and recognize the importance of metadata for good warehouse implementation. However, in the enterprise application market, very specific metadata is required to make implementation practical. AllFusion Saphir Option makes it feasible for both technical and business users to quickly discover the location of the data in which they are interested. In addition, this solution s interface to CA s AllFusion ERwin Data Modeler (AllFusion ERwin DM) means that entity-relationship diagrams of chosen data structures can be easily created. AllFusion Saphir Option Product Description AllFusion Saphir Option is a simple but powerful, Windows-based tool that makes the exploration and use of enterprise application metadata practical. It includes the following features: Metadata extraction from SAP, J.D. Edwards EnterpriseOne, PeopleSoft and Siebel for storage in an AllFusion Saphir Option repository Metadata exploration Metadata export to AllFusion ERwin DM to produce visual data models System-to-system comparison features to help identify differences between releases and installations Figure 1. Browsing Metadata with AllFusion Saphir Option. Extracted metadata is managed in an AllFusion Saphir Option repository, which is a set of database tables implemented in Oracle, SQL Server or a range of other RDBMS types. AllFusion Saphir Option makes it easy to access the following metadata objects: Tables Fields Relationships Data elements Views Domains Indexes This solution includes powerful, generic search features that let you locate tables and fields quickly. Finding all tables that use a particular field or finding all tables with a particular string in their names becomes easy to achieve. Once you have found a table that interests you, you can easily access all the relationship information that shows how the table is joined to other tables. AllFusion Saphir Option allows navigation up and down relationship paths, making it practical to surf through the complexities of enterprise application metadata. 4

5 AllFusion Saphir Option also has easy-to-use data browsing capabilities valuable confirmation that the data items found really do hold the data required. Pushing metadata out from AllFusion Saphir Option into AllFusion ERwin DM makes the data structures understandable in graphical form. AllFusion Saphir Option Benefits Any project that involves accessing data from SAP, J.D. Edwards EnterpriseOne, PeopleSoft or Siebel requires an understanding of the data structures involved. Typically, the personnel involved in such projects do not have the necessary specialized knowledge of these applications, and rely on scarce and expensive resources outside the project team to give them that knowledge. AllFusion Saphir Option reduces this dependence on external resources by providing project teams with a means to explore enterprise applications on their own. To minimize impact on system performance, AllFusion Saphir Option stores a copy of the extracted metadata in its own application repository. Once this repository is populated, there is no need to access the source system for day-to-day access to these structures. As a result, you can analyze the data without adversely affecting the responsiveness of the enterprise application. Figure2. Viewing Parent and Child Tables for a Chosen SAP Table. Figure 3. Data Model in AllFusion ERwin DM Showing Physical Names. 5

6 Figure 4. Data Model in AllFusion ERwin DM Showing Logical Names. AllFusion Saphir Option also makes it possible to recognize and understand the differences between a standard or reference version of an EAP and a customized version that might be in use. This solution s Model Comparison feature further provides a simple, yet powerful means to identify changes between two different releases or two different implementations of the enterprise application. The interface between AllFusion Saphir Option and AllFusion ERwin Data Modeler allows project teams to easily create data models that provide unique views of the complexities of enterprise applications. In addition, those data models then serve as an integration point between an EAP and an organization s legacy databases and/or data warehouses and marts. Obtaining More Information To find out more about AllFusion Saphir Option or download a free evaluation copy, please visit ca.com/erwin. We d also like to receive your feedback. If you have any comments or questions about this technology or this document, please go to ca.com/products/info_request.htm and share your thoughts with us. About CA CA (NYSE: CA), one of the world's largest information technology (IT) management software companies, unifies and simplifies the management of enterprise-wide IT. Founded in 1976, CA is headquartered in Islandia, N.Y., and serves customers in more than 140 countries. For more information, please visit For more information, call or visit ca.com/erwin Copyright 2006 CA. All rights reserved. All trademarks, trade names, service marks and logos referenced herein belong to their respective companies. This document is for your informational purposes only. To the extent permitted by applicable law, CA provides this document AS IS without warranty of any kind, including, without limitation, any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. In no event will CA be liable for any loss or damage, direct or indirect, from the use of this document, including, without limitation, lost profits, business interruption, goodwill or lost data, even if CA is expressly advised of such damages. MP