Sizing SAP BW

Question

Hi,
We are running SAP.  We have SAP BW 3.50, and we are planning to implement it next year.
How do you size SAP BW.  If we have X amount of input data.  How many X amount of data will be in BW.  In other words what is the database explosion factor.
What are the things we need to consider when sizing BW?
For example we have a six dimensional sales analysis cube, pulling data from SAP SD.  We want subsecond reporting performance, so is it possible to aggregate all the data?  I would expect a database explosion factor of about 70 with full aggregation.  What do you think?
Thanks,
Al Lal
Manager - IT
P.S. I come from the OLAP world, and my experience is primarily with Hyperion Essbase, although I have spent a little time with TM1 and also MS Anlalysis Services.  So if anyone has any questions in my area of expertize, feel free to email me.

Answer 1

Hi,
for startup:
Bi sizing means before buying the server, you should have knowledge how much data will be loaded into the server.
There is a document called "quick sizer". This document is used by basis people. This document contains several questions regarding the amount of data that will be loaded. The role of Bi consultant is that he should take that document and ask the client the question that is given in document.
EX: 1. Number of cube,
2. No of dimensions
3. Amount of master data per month
4, Amount of transaction data per month
5, No of users.
https://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/sdn/go/portal/prtroot/docs/webcontent/uuid/43008b6a-0901-0010-90af-c848d878bac3?rid=/library/uuid/c9f5fb91-0c01-0010-67a8-fd35946e9403#q-7 [original link is broken]
Are there any rough sizing guidelines for BI in SAP NetWeaver 2004s?
Note that any possible sizing is done by the hardware vendor. The SAP QuickSizer assists you with this task. The QuickSizer currently contains ABAP and Java Sizing information (for Java, see SAP Note 927530), and we are working on an extension for the BI Accelerator.
If you want to use the BI Accelerator on an existing implementation, see SAP Note 917803. If you plan to install a Unicode system, the additional requirements for Unicode are described in this document (SMP login required).
For more information, see the Performance homepage in SAP Service Marketplace (http://service.sap.com/bi --> Performance). You can find a comparison of resource consumption for BW3.5 versus SAP NetWeaver 2004s BI. This presentation shows that there is no increased demand on resources when upgrading to SAP NetWeaver 2004s (given the same functionality).
For factors to be considered :
As far as Hardware sizing, the following factors are relevant:
The data volume (initial and recurring loads)
The number of users in the system
The number of (concurrent) queries and workbooks you are going to run
The frequency of data loading activities, and maintenance activities
As far as performance, factors that will improve your perfromance are:
Design your cubes wisely (balancing dimensions, dimension tables size, line item dimensions etc')
Deploy and mantain aggregates
Restricting the usage of Virtual Key Figures
Regularily fill the OLAP cache with query results
Regular Administration of data targets - Indexes, Statistics, Compression etc'
At the end of the day, the important thing is to make sure you and your users agree on the required performance.
For sizing use the tool provided by SAP at http://service.sap.com/quicksizer.
TPls chk this  blog :
/people/susanne.janssen/blog/2005/07/01/quick-sizer--getting-started
http://help.sap.com/bp_biv235/BI_EN/documentation/sizing30_newasap.pdf
https://websmp206.sap-ag.de/sizing
*pls assign points,if info is useful*
Regards
CSM Reddy