What is BI?

Question

Hi
What is BI? Give me some links on BI

Answer 1

Hi,
What is BI?
you mean compare to other data warehousing solutions... for this question we can say a lot of features..
BW provide End to End solutions.. that means.. The single bw system can only do the extractions... Modeling... Reporting... every thing we can do in bw system... but where as
remaining where housing software’s we need separate tools..
IN BW we can generate web reports and we can put into portal.. so, client can access reports directly in browser...
BW can support extracting the data from different source systems (by using DB connector, and UD connector) and loaded into BW system (in IFO CUBES and ODS' s)
so, in INFO CUBE you store ur data in Multiple dimensions (16 DIMENSIONS),
if you need any further information you can post a query.. plz dont forget to ASSIGN POINTS...
BI Content is delivered as an add-on to SAP BI. The naming is SAP NW 2004s BI Content Add-on 3 SP04. This is referred to as BI Content below.
BI Content is a preconfigured set of role and task-related information models that are based on consistent metadata in SAP Business Intelligence. BI Content provides selected roles within a company with the information they need to carry out their tasks.
This information model includes integral roles, workbooks, queries, InfoSources, InfoCubes, DataStore objects, key figures, characteristics, update rules, and extractors for SAP applications.
BI Content can:
Be used in particular industries without being modified
Be modified, meaning you can work with it to any degree of detail
Serve as a template or an example for customer-defined BI Content.
In addition, Demo Content, which includes example data and can be used as display material, is available with SAP Business Intelligence.
Implementation Considerations On one hand the comprehensive BI Content for SAP Business Intelligence enables a quick and cost-effective implementation. On the other hand, it provides a model that is based on experience gained from other implementations which can be used as a guideline during implementation.
SAP Business Intelligence delivers preconfigured objects under the collective term “BI Content”. These objects speed up the implementation of SAP Business Intelligence because they deliver complete solutions for business information needs.
BI Content includes:
Extractor programs for SAP systems
DataSources
Process chains
InfoObjects
InfoSources
InfoProviders (InfoCubes and DataStore objects)
Variables
Data mining models
Queries
Workbooks
Web templates
Roles
SAP DemoContent delivers example data alongside Business Content Metadata. It allows you to quickly display complete demonstration scenarios from different business areas, and to get to know your way around the Business Information Warehouse.
Because SAP DemoContent is designed specifically for demonstration purposes, it uses its own namespace. DemoContent objects all have technical names beginning with "0D_". This indicates that they are separate from the company’s Business Content and not designed for productive use. But you can still use the objects as templates for structuring Content at a later date.
SAP’s DemoCube offers you with a demonstration scenario that can be activated in a few steps. To transfer a specific object from SAP DemoContent, choose Administration ® Administrator Workbench ® Install Business Content from the main menu of the Business Information Warehouse. Under the object type "InfoCubes", choose ® SAP Demo and select the DemoContent objects you want to transfer. Follow the procedure for Installing Business Content to copy and activate DemoContent.
DemoContent covers objects from various areas:
SAP Purchasing DemoCube
Profitability Analysis (CO-PA) DemoCube
Sales DemoCube
SAP Sales DemoCube: Overview
Before you can work with BI Content objects, you have to convert them from the SAP delivery version (D version) into the active version (A version). For more information, see BI Content (Versions).
We recommend that you install BI Content objects in the following cases:
After a BI Content release upgrade
An upgrade to a new BI Content release usually contains a large number of new and modified BI Content objects. If you want to use the new and modified BI Content, you have to reinstall the BI Content objects. Refer to the Release Notes published with the upgrade. In some cases, we recommend explicitly that you install the A versions of certain objects.
After installing a BI Content support package
Refer to the SAP Notes that are delivered with each Content Support Package. These SAP Notes contain information on why certain BI Content objects are being redelivered.
The following is an overview of the individual steps in the procedure: These steps are subsequently explained in more detail.
1. Navigate to the Data Warehousing Workbench to install BI Content (object selection, installation settings, starting installation).
2. Assign relevant source systems.
3. Group objects to be included, determine mode of collection for the objects.
4. Determine the view of the objects.
5. Transfer the objects to Collected Objects.
6. Check the settings for the Collected Objects with reference to the Install,Match or Copy and Active Version Available functions.
7. Make settings in the selection list and Transfer.
8. Correct errors.
1. Navigate to the Data Warehousing Workbench to Install BI Content
From the main Business Intelligence menu, choose Modeling ® Data Warehousing Workbench: BI Content. If you are already in the Data Warehousing Workbench, select the BI Content functional area by clicking on the corresponding pushbutton in the left-hand navigation window, or by choosing the path Goto ® Install BI Content.
The Data Warehousing Workbench for installing BI Content has three navigation windows:
In the left-hand window you determine the view of the objects in the middle area of the screen.
In the middle window, you select the objects that you want to activate.
In the right-hand window, you make the settings for installing the BI Content. The right-hand window also contains an overview of the objects you have selected, and it is here that you start installation of BI Content.
In the Data Warehousing Workbench, you use the Navigation Window On/Off pushbutton in the toolbar to display or hide the left-hand navigation window. The rest of this section assumes that the left-hand navigation window is displayed.
2. Assign Relevant Source Systems
If you want to assign a source system, select the Source System Assignment function. The Choose Source System by Default? dialog box appears.
Select one or more source systems by setting the corresponding indicators in the Default Assignment column.
Only ever select the source systems that you really need, otherwise you may have to wait unnecessarily when objects are collected.
The assignment of the source system is only relevant for source-system dependent objects (such as transfer rules, file DataSources, and InfoPackages). If more than one source system is available, only those objects assigned to the specified source system are collected ready for the transfer. Objects that have not been assigned to the specified source systems are ignored.
For more information about the special features inherent in activating process chains that can reference source-system dependent objects, see the Customer Content documentation, under Process Chains and Process Variants.
If you do not select a source system, all the source systems are assigned automatically. You can change your selection later using the Source System Assignment function.
3. Group Objects To Be Included, Determine Mode of Collection for Objects
Make the settings you require from the following selection lists on the right-hand side of the screen:
Grouping
Choose the objects that you want the system to include. The groupings combine the objects from a particular area. You have the following options:
Only Necessary Objects (default setting)
Data Flow Before
Data Flow Afterwards
Data Flow Before and Afterwards
If you change the default setting (Only Necessary Objects), the new setting becomes the default setting for your user.
The grouping selection has an impact on system performance during BI Content installation. For more information, see View of Objects and Object-Specific Recommendations.
Collection Mode
Select how you want to collect the objects:
Collect Automatically (default setting): The data is collected when the objects are selected.
Start Manual Collection: The data is only collected when you choose Collect Dependent Objects.
Set the collection mode to Start Manual Collection. You can select all the objects without having to wait.
4. Determine View of Objects
In the left-hand navigation window, specify how you want the objects to be displayed. For more information, see View of Objects and Object-Specific Recommendations.
5. Transfer the Objects to Collected Objects
In the central area of the screen, select the objects that you want to install, and drag and drop them into the right-hand Collected Objects area of the screen.
The Find Object function allows you to use strings of characters (for example, 0CUST) or wild card searches (for example, 0CUST_*B) to search for objects.
Input help is available for every type of object: Double-click on the Select Objects icon in the tree structure of the corresponding object type to display the Input Help for Metadata screen. Select the required objects. Choose Transfer Selection.
If you implement BI Service API Releases lower than 7.0 in the source system, you have to install the active version of the BI Content DataSources in the source system and replicate them in the BI system before you can use them for transferring data into BI. For more information, see Installing BI Content DataSources and Metadata Upload for SAP Systems.
In the Collected Objects area of the screen, the system displays the selected objects and all dependent objects. Collected objects are stored by default in the repository cache. This reduces the time it takes to access these objects when you want to use them again.
When you transfer objects into the Collected Objectsarea of the screen, these objects are also added to the tree structure of the corresponding object type in the central area of the screen and stored for your user. This personal object list can be called up each time the program is restarted.
If you want to remove objects from your personal list, select the objects that you want to remove and choose the Remove Object from Display option from the context menu or click on the icon.
Objects that are listed in several tree structures can only be changed in the place where they first appear. All additional instances of these objects are grayed out so you cannot modify them.
6. Check Settings for Collected Objects
Check the following columns in the Collected Objects area of the screen:
Install
The following BI Content objects are highlighted in this column by default:
Objects that are being transferred for the first time. There is not an active version of these objects in the system.
BI Content objects that have been redelivered in a new version. These objects can be identified by the Content time stamp in the corresponding object tables.
When setting this indicator, check whether the checkbox refers to a folder of an individual object: If the checkbox refers to a folder, the indicator is set for all the objects that belong to this folder. If the checkbox refers to an individual object, the indicator is set for a single object and the indicators for the other objects in the folder are not changed. The same applies if you deselect this indicator.
In the context menu, the following options are available for the installation:
a. Install All Below
The object in the selected hierarchy level and all objects in the lower levels of the hierarchy are selected as to Install.
b. Do Not Install All Below
The Install indicators are deselected for the object in the selected hierarchy level and all objects in the lower levels of the hierarchy.
Match (X) or Copy
If the SAP delivery version and the active version can be matched, a checkbox is displayed in this column.
With the most important object types, the active version and the SAP delivery version can be matched.
Note that the InfoSource TRCS supports the match, but the 3.x InfoSource ISTD does not.
From a technical point of view, the SAP delivery version (D version) is matched against the M version. As in most cases the M version is identical to the active version (A version) in a customer system, this is referred to as a match between the D and A versions for reasons of simplification.
When a match is performed, particular properties of the object are compared in the A version and the D version. First it has to be decided whether these properties can be matched automatically or whether this has to be done manually. If you are sure that the object will be used in the same way after you install BI Content, you can perform an automatic match for those properties. When performing matches manually you have to decide whether the characteristics of a property from the active version are to be retained, or whether the characteristics are to be copied from the delivery version.
Example of an automatic match:
Additional customer-specific attributes have been added to an InfoObject in the A version. In the D version, two additional attributes have been delivered by SAP that do not contain the customer-specific attributes. To be able to use the additional attributes, the delivery version has to be reinstalled from BI Content. At the same time, the customer-specific attributes are to be retained. In this case, you have to set the indicator (X) in the checkbox. After installing the BI Content, the additional attributes are available and the customer-specific enhancements have been retained automatically. However, if you have not checked the match field, the customer-specific enhancements in the A version are lost.
Example of a manual match:
An InfoObject has a different text in the A version than in the D version. In this case the two versions have to be matched manually. When BI Content is installed, a details screen appears which asks you to specify whether the text should be transferred from the active version or from the D version.
The Match indicator is set by default to prevent the customer version being overwritten unintentionally. If the BI Content of the SAP delivery version is to be matched against the active version, you have to set the Install indicator separately.
The active version is overwritten with the delivery version if:
The match indicator is not set, and
The install indicator is set.
In other words, the delivery version is copied to the active version.
If the Install indicator is not set, the object is not copied or matched. In this case, the Match indicator has no effect.
In the context menu, two options are available:
a. Merge All Below
The object in the selected hierarchy level and all objects in the lower levels of the hierarchy are selected as to Match.
b. Copy All Below
The Match indicators are removed for the object in the selected hierarchy level and all objects in the lower levels of the hierarchy. If the Install indicator is also set, these objects are copied from the delivery version to the active version.
The most important properties that are taken into account when versions are matched are listed below.
When referring to InfoObjects it is important to differentiate between:
Characteristics
Time characteristics
Key figures and
Units
Valid for All InfoObjects Named Above:
Properties Matched Automatically:
Properties Matched Manually:
Texts
Description
If texts/descriptions in the delivery version do not yet exist in the active version, they are transferred.
Attribute only (indicator)
Short and long text (description)
Time dependency of attributes
Transfer routine
Valid for Characteristics
Properties Matched Automatically:
Properties Matched Manually:
Compounding
New InfoObjects are included in compounding
Referenced characteristic
Reference characteristics are transferred automatically. A warning is issued.
Attributes / navigation attributes
New attributes are included.
If an attribute is added by the customer, the settings for this attribute are transferred (for example, F4 sequence).
Application components
If the entry for the active version is initial, the delivery version is used.
BEx display
Characteristic constants
Default member
Authorizations (indicator and field)
Selection (CHASEL)
InfoObject is document attribute
Data type
Length
Output length
Conversion routine
Lower case allowed (indicator)
Contains master data (indicator)
Master data is authorization relevant (indicator)
Export DataSource (indicator)
F4 query design
F4 query runtime
Check DataStore object
Contains text tables (indicator)
Texts are language-dependent (indicator)
Short, medium and long texts exist (each with indicator)
Default currency
GIS attribute
Hierarchies exist (indicator)
Validty for Key Figures
Properties Matched Automatically:
Properties Matched Manually:
Type of key figure
Fixed unit
Fixed currency
Aggregation
Exception Aggregation
Valid for Units
Properties Matched Automatically:
Properties Matched Manually:
See the table above (Valid for Characteristics), if these properties are also relevant for the units.
When referring to InfoProviders it is important to differentiate between:
MultiProviders
InfoCubes
DataStore objects and
InfoObjects
InfoObjects are discussed above (see the first table Valid for All Objects Named Above).
Valid for All InfoProviders Named Above:
Properties Matched Automatically:
Properties Matched Manually:
New InfoObjects
If InfoObjects in the delivery version do not yet exist in the active version, they are transferred.
Manual matching is not necessary.
Valid for MultiProviders
Properties Matched Automatically:
Properties Matched Manually:
New InfoProviders
If InfoProviders in the delivery version do not yet exist in the active version, they are transferred.
Manual matching is not necessary.
Valid for InfoCubes
Properties Matched Automatically:
Properties Matched Manually:
New dimensions
If dimensions in the delivery version do not yet exist in the active version, they are transferred.
Manual matching is not necessary.
With the InfoObject catalog object type, InfoObjects that are assigned to a catalog in the delivery version are transferred to the active version automatically. Manual matching is not necessary.
With the transfer rule object type, those objects that exist in the delivery version but are not yet contained in the active version (for example, additional attributes) are added automatically when the match is performed. Manual matching is not necessary.
With the process chain object type, those objects that exist in the delivery version but are not yet contained in the active version (for example, additional objects in the process chain) are added automatically when the match is performed. Manual matching is not necessary.
Active Version Available
In this column, the following display options are available:
: The object is available in an active version. You decide whether you want to retain this version or reinstall the latest version of the object.
Date symbol: The object is already available in an active version. However, the active version belongs to an older BI Content release. We recommend that you install the latest version.
Gray symbol : An activated version of the object is available in the system. However, the object status is inactive. If an object version is activated, this indicates that all metadata for the object can be created successfully. The inactive object status indicates that the processed object is inconsistent and cannot currently be used for processing data. Transfer the object again from the SAP delivery version (D version). If this is not enough to change the object status from “inactive” to “active”, the object has to be postprocessed. In the activation log, you can find notes on postprocessing.
Postprocessing: An InfoObject may have status inactive if changes have been made to the structure at field level. Postprocessing the object involves converting the relevant tables in accordance with the activation log.
No indicator: The object is not available in an active version.
7. Make Settings in the Selection List and Install.
Make the required settings in the Install selection list:
Installation Type
Installation Type
Information
Simulate installation
The system runs a test to see whether any errors are likely to occur during the installation. However, not all errors that may occur can be identified during simulation: Some error messages can only be generated when a real A version (not just a simulation) is available in the system. You should, therefore, only use the simulation function as a rough guide to help you identify and remove basic errors.
Install
The selected objects are installed immediately.
Install in Background
The selected objects are installed in the background.
Install and Transport
The selected objects are installed immediately and then written to a transport request.
We recommend that you use the Install in Background option because installing a large number of objects can take a long time. Modifying objects that are already active can take an especially long time. Make sure that when you install objects in the background, the versions are not matched. It is always the delivery version that is installed. They are not matched against any available customer versions.
8. Correct Errors
You can find out if errors occurred during the installation of BI Content by displaying a log. Choose the Log pushbutton to access the log. In the relevant maintenance transaction, repair any errors that occurred during the installation. Install the BI Content again.
Thanks,
Sankar M