SAP BW Questions - Some Real Question

1. Differences b/w 3.0 and 3.5

2. Differences b/w 3.5 and BI 7.0
3. Can you explain a life cycle in brief
4. Difference b/w table & structure
5. Steps of LO
6. Steps of LIS
7. Steps of generic
8. What is index and how do you increase performance using them
9. How do you load deltas into ODS and cube
10. Example of errors while loading data and how do u resolve them
11. How do you maintain work history until a ticket is closed
12. What is reconciliation
13. What is the methodology u use before implementation
14. What are the role & responsibilities when you are in implementation and while in
support also

Major Differences between Sap Bw 3.5 & sapBI 7.0 version

1. In Infosets now you can include Infocubes as well.

2. The Remodeling transaction helps you add new key figure and characteristics and handles
historical data as well without much hassle. This is only for info cube.

3. The BI accelerator (for now only for infocubes) helps in reducing query run time by almost a
factor of 10 - 100. This BI accl is a separate box and would cost more. Vendors for these would
be HP or IBM.

4. The monitoring has been imprvoed with a new portal based cockpit. Which means you would
need to have an EP guy in ur project for implementing the portal ! :)

5. Search functionality hass improved!! You can search any object. Not like 3.5

6. Transformations are in and routines are passe! Yess, you can always revert to the old
transactions too.

7. The Data Warehousing Workbench replaces the Administrator Workbench.

8. Functional enhancements have been made for the DataStore object:

New type of DataStore object
Enhanced settings for performance optimization of DataStore objects.

9. The transformation replaces the transfer and update rules.

10. New authorization objects have been added

11. Remodeling of InfoProviders supports you in Information
Lifecycle Management.

12 The Data Source:

There is a new object concept for the Data Source.
Options for direct access to data have been enhanced.
From BI, remote activation of Data Sources is possible in SAP source systems.

13.There are functional changes to the Persistent Staging Area (PSA).

14.BI supports real-time data acquisition.

15 SAP BW is now known formally as BI (part of NetWeaver 2004s). It implements the

Enterprise Data Warehousing (EDW). The new features/ Major differences include:
a) Renamed ODS as DataStore.
b) Inclusion of Write-optmized DataStore which does not have any change log and the requests
do need any activation
c) Unification of Transfer and Update rules
d) Introduction of "end routine" and "Expert Routine"
e) Push of XML data into BI system (into PSA) without Service API or Delta Queue
f) Intoduction of BI accelerator that significantly improves the performance.
g) Load through PSA has become a must. I am not too sure about this. It looks like we would not
have the option to bypass the PSA Yes,

16. Load through PSA has become a mandatory. You can't skip this, and also there is no IDoc
transfer method in BI 7.0. DTP (Data Transfer Process) replaced the Transfer and Update rules.
Also in the Transformation now we can do "Start Routine, Expert Routine and End Routine".
during data load.

New features in BI 7 compared to earlier versions:

i. New data flow capabilities such as Data Transfer Process (DTP), Real time data Acquisition
(RDA).

ii. Enhanced and Graphical transformation capabilities such as Drag and Relate options.

iii. One level of Transformation. This replaces the Transfer Rules and Update Rules

iv. Performance optimization includes new BI Accelerator feature.

v. User management (includes new concept for analysis authorizations) for more flexible BI end
user authorizations.

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2. Complete life-cycle implementation of SAP BW, which includes data modeling, data
extraction, data loading, reporting and support.
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3A. When they refer to the full life cycle its the ASAP methodology which SAP recommends to
follow for all its projects.

1.Project peparation.
2.Business Blueprint.
3.Realization.
4.Fit-Gap Analysis
5.Go-Live Phase.

Normally in the first phase all the management guys will sit with in a discussion . In the second
phase u will get a functional spec n basing on that u will have a technical spec. In the third phase
u will actually inplement the project and finally u after testing u will deploy it for production i.e.
Go-live .

You might fall under and get involved in the realization phase . If its a supporting project u will
come into picture only after successful deployment.

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5A. LO extraction is one stop shop for all the logistics extarctions .
LO dataosuurces come as a part of the business content in BW .

We need to transfer them from the BCT and then activate them from D version to the active
Verion A .

Go to the tcode -- RSA5 ---- Transfer the desired datasource . and then LBWE to maintain the
extract structure LBWG -- to delete the setup tables ---- why ... ? OLI*bw -- Statistcal
initialization . LBWQ --- To delete the extractor queue SM13 -- to delete the update queue .
LBWf -- to get the log .

Its always recommended to have the Queued delta as an update method , since it uses the
collective run to schedule all the changed records .

Once the intial run is over set the delta method Queued to periodic for further delta load

Why ..?

We need to delete the setup tables since we need to delete the data that is already in them and
also because we will change the ES by adding the required fields from the R/3 communuication
structrure .

we can also select and hide the fields here .. all the filds in blue are mandatory ..

If the required fields are not avilable we will go for the DS enhancments .
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6A. LIS uses information structures to extract the data .it comes under the application specific
customer generated extractions.

The range is 000 to 999.

0-499 is for SAP structures n 500 to 999 are for customer defined .

We need to consider the two cases if its the SAP defined r the customer defined .

Lets see the SAP defined first :

Tcode -- LBW0
give the information structure and selct the option display settings to know the status .if u seelct
the generate datasource option it will throw an error saying that u cannot create in the SAp name
range .

You select the option the setup environment settings it will create the two tables n one structure
with the naming convention .. 2LIS_application no _BIW1 ,2LIS_appl No _BIW2 and 2LIS
_appl no_BIWS

These two structures are used to enable the delta records interchangebaly --- we will come to
know this in the table TMCBIW .

Then go to LBW1 to change the version ..

LBW2 to setup the no update update method .. now you do the full load and after that go LBW1
change the version and then go to LBW2 to setup the delta update n the periodic job .

Now you can load the delta updates .

If its in the case of the user defined :

You need to create the IS

MC18 --- create the IS

MC19-- change
MC20 -- dispaly
MC21--MC22,,MC23,MC24,MC25,MC26 folwing to craete the update rules .

Then Tcode LBW0 give the IS name and

sel setup lis environment it will craete the the two tables n the structure ..

You can use OMO1 to fill the tables n u do the full upload then u need to setup the delta by sel
the steup delta ..
You can set whether the delta is enabled are not using the option activate /deactivate deelta

Both in cases you need while migrating the data you need to lock the setup tables to prevent
users from entreing the transactions SE14 ... and after completion u need to unlock .

But LO is preffered to LIS in all aspects .. LO provdes the IS upto the level of detail .

Enhanced performance and also deletion of setup tables after updation which we never do in
LIS .

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7A. We opt for generic extraction whenever the desired datasource is not available in business
content or if it is already used and we need to regenerate it . when u want to extract the data from
table, view, infoset, function module we use generic extraction. In generic we create our own
datasource and activate it .

Steps :
1.Tcode is RSO2
2.Give the datasource name and designate it to a particular application component.
3. Give the short medium and long desc mandatory.
4. Give the table / Fm /view /infoset.
5. and continue which leads to a detail screen in which you can always hide, select ,inversion ,
field only options are available.

HIDE is used to hide the fields .. it will not transfer the data from r/3 to BW SELECT -- the
fields are available in the selection screen of the info package while u schedule it . INVERSION
is for key figs which will operate with '-1' and nullify the value .

Once the datasource is generated you can extract the data using it .

And now to speak abt the delta ... we have .. 0calday , Numeric pointer , time stamp.

0calday -- is to be run only once a day that to at the end of the day and with a range of 5 min.
Numeric Pointer -- is to be used for the tables where it allows only appending of records ana no
change .. eg: CATSDB HRtime managent table .
Timestamp: using this you can always delta as many times as possible with a upeprlimit .

Whenever there 1:1 relation you use the view and 1:m you use FM.

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8A. INDEX: They are used to improve the performance of data retrival while executing the
queries or work books the moment when we execute and once we place the valiues in Selection
criteria at that time the indexes will act as retrival point of data .. and it will fetch the data in a
faster mannner ..
Just common example if you can obeserve any book which has indexes .. This indexes will give
a exact location of each topic based on this v can easily go to that particulur page and we will
continue our thingz. Similar mannner in the data level the indexes are act in BW side...

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9A. Time stamp error.
sol: activate the data source and replicate the data source and load.

2. Data error in PSA.

sol: Modify the in PSA error data and load.

3. RFC connection failed.

sol: raise the ticket to BASIS team to provide the connection.

4. Short dump error.

sol: delete the request and load once again.

a) Loads can be failed due to the invalid characters

b) Can be because of the deadlock in the system
c) Can be becuase of previuos load failure , if the load is dependant on other loads
d) Can be because of erreneous records
e) Can be because of RFC connections.....(sol: raise the ticket to BASIS team to provide the
connection)
f) Can be because of missing master data.
g) Can be because of no data found in the source system
h) Invalid characters while loading. When you are loading data then you may get some special
characters like @#$%...e.t.c..then BW will throw an error like Invalid characters..then you need
to go through this RSKC transaction and enter all the Invalid chars and execute..it will store this
data in RSALLOWEDCHAR table..Then reload the data..You won't get any error because now
these are eligible chars..done by RSKC.
i) ALEREMOTE user is locked Normally, ALEREMOTE gets locked due to a sm59 RFC
destination entry having the incorrect password. You should be about to get a list of all sm59
RFC destinations using ALEREMOTE by using transaction se16 to search field RFCOPTIONS
for a value of "*U=ALEREMOTE". You will need to look for this information in any external
R/3 instances that call the instance in which ALEREMOTE is getting locked as well.
j) Lower case letters not allowed. look at your infoobject description: Lowercase Letters allowed
k)extraction job aborted in r3 It might have got cancelled due to running for more than the
expected time, or may be cancelled by R/3 users if it is hampering the performance. l)datasource
not replicated If the new DataSource is created in the source system, you should replicate this
DataSource in 'dialog' mode. During the replication, you can decide whether this DataSource
should be replicated as the 3.x DataSource or as the new DataSource. If you do not run the
replication in 'dialog' mode, the DataSource is not replicated. m)ODS Activation Error ODS
activation errors can occur mainly due to following reasons
1. Invalid characters (# like characters)
2. Invalid data values for units/currencies etc
3. Invalid values for data types of char & key figures.
4. Error in generating SID values for some data
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10A Ticket is nothing but an issue or a process error which need to be addressed.

There are two types of tickets.

* ito tickets - which are usually generated by the system automatically when a process fails.for
example, when a process chain fails toi run it wil generate an ito ticket which we need to address
and find the fault.

* non-ito tickets - which are the issues which the client face and which are forwarded for
correction or alternative action.

If you're using Remedy for tickets, Unfortunately it's not possible. But this depends on the
software you are using, ask your admin.

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11A Reconciliation is nothing but the comaprision of the values between BW target data with
the Source system data like R/3, JD edwards,Oracle,ECC or SCM or SRM.

In general this process is taken @ 3 places one is comparing the info provider data with R/3
data,Compare the Query display data with R/3 or ODS data and

Checking the data available in info provider kefigure with PSA key figure values
====================
12A ASAP Methodology
1. Project Preparation, in which the project team is identified and mobilized, the project
standards are defined, and the project work environment is set up;

2. Blueprint, in which the business processes are defined and the business blueprint document is
designed;

3. Realization, in which the system is configured, knowledge transfer occurs, extensive unit
testing is completed, and data mappings and data requirements for migration are defined;

4. Final Preparation, in which final integration testing, stress testing, and conversion testing are
conducted, and all end users are trained; and

5. Go-Live and Support, in which the data is migrated from the legacy systems, the new system
is activated, and post-implementation support is provided
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13A Responsibilities of an implementation project... For ex, Lets say If its a fresh
implementation of BI or for that matter you are implementing SAP...
First and foremost will be your requirements gathering from the client. Depending upon the
requirements you will creat a business blueprint of the project which is the entire process from
the start to the end of an implementation...

After the blue print phase sign off we start off with the realization phase where the actual
development happens... In our example after installing the necessary softwares, patches for BI
we need to discuss with the end users who are going to use the system for inputs like how they
want a report to look like and what are the Key Performance Indicators(KPI) for the reports etc.,
basically its a question and answer session with the business users... After collecting those
informations the development happens in the development servers...

After the development comes to an end the same objects are tested in quality servers for any
bugs, errors etc., When all the tests are done we move all the objects to the production
environment and test it again whether everything works fine...

The Go-Live of the project happens where the actually postings happen from the users and
reports are generated based on those inputs which will be available as an analytical report for the
management to take decisions...

The responsibilites vary depending on the requirement... Initially the business analyst will
interact with the end users/managers etc., then on the requirements the software consultants do
the development, testers do the testing and finally the go-live happens...

What are the objects that we peform in a production Support project?

In production Suport Generally most of the project they will work on monitoring area for their
loads(R3/ NON SAP to Data Taggets (BW)) and depending up the project to project it varies
because some of them using the PC's and Some of them using Event Chains. So its Depends up
on the Project to project varies.

What are the different transactions that we use frequently in Production support project? Plz
explain them in detial.. Generally In Production Support Project , we will use the check the loads
by using RSMO for Monitoring the loads and we will rectify the errors in that by using step by
step analysis.

The consultant is required to have access to the following transactions in R3.

1. ST22
2. SM37
3. SM58
4. SM51
5. RSA7
6. SM13

Authorizations for the following transactions are required in BW

1. RSA1
2. SM37
3. ST22
4. ST04
5. SE38
6. SE37
7. SM12
8. RSKC
9. SM51
10. RSRV

The Process Chain Maintenance (transaction RSPC) is used to define, change and view process
chains.

Upload Monitor (transaction RSMO or RSRQ (if the request is known)

The Workload Monitor (transaction ST03) shows important overall key performance indicators
(KPIs) for the system performance

The OS Monitor (transaction ST06) gives you an overview on the current CPU, memory, I/O and
network load on an application server instance.

The database monitor (transaction ST04) checks important performance indicators in the
database, such as database size, database buffer quality and database indices.

The SQL trace (transaction ST05) records all activities on the database and enables you to check
long runtimes on a DB table or several similar accesses to the same data.

The ABAP runtime analysis (transaction SE30)

The Cache Monitor (accessible with transaction RSRCACHE or from RSRT) shows among
other things the cache size and the currently cached queries. The Export/Import Shared buffer
determines the cache size; it should be at least 40MB.