Purpose

The purpose of this document is to provide a list of the top ten most viewed SAP Knowledge Base Articles for Deployment in the month of May 2013.

Overview

Below are the top 10 most viewed SAP Knowledge Base Articles for Deployment.

Please note, in order to view the contents of the SAP KBAs, you will need to be logged into Service Marketplace.

Related Content

Purpose

The purpose of this document is to provide a list of the top ten most viewed SAP Knowledge Base Articles for Migration in the month of May 2013.

Overview

Below are the top 10 most viewed SAP KBAs for Migration.

Please note, in order to view the contents of the SAP KBAs, you will need to be logged into Service Marketplace.

Related Content

Purpose

The purpose of this document is to provide a list of the top ten most viewed SAP Knowledge Base Articles for Deployment in the month of June 2013.

Overview

Below are the top 10 most viewed SAP Knowledge Base Articles for Deployment.

Please note, in order to view the contents of the SAP KBAs, you will need to be logged into Service Marketplace.

Related Content

Purpose

The purpose of this document is to provide a list of the top ten most viewed SAP Knowledge Base Articles for Migration in the month of June 2013.

Overview

Below are the top 10 most viewed SAP KBAs for Migration.

Please note, in order to view the contents of the SAP KBAs, you will need to be logged into Service Marketplace.

Related Content

Purpose

The purpose of this document is to provide a list of the top ten most viewed SAP Knowledge Base Articles for Deployment in the month of July 2013.

Overview

Below are the top 10 most viewed SAP Knowledge Base Articles for Deployment.

Please note, in order to view the contents of the SAP KBAs, you will need to be logged into Service Marketplace.

Related Content

Purpose

Overview

Overview of the Business Case

Designing and deploying a BI environment can be challenging in and of itself, but it is most likely to fail when released to business users without validation of performance and reliability.  Chances are business users will be displeased with a BI platform if it does not meet their expectations in terms of response and the overall user experience.  While use of sizing guides and sizing calculators is recommended, they can never take into account the specific nuances of your data, security model, and infrastructure including network latency, corporate proxy servers, etc.

In order to deliver a solution that maximizes your Return on Investment (ROI) it is critical that all deployments be performance tested.  In some organizations you may have access to a dedicated team that is responsible for designing and executing performance tests with a commercial tool such as HP LoadRunner.  Some organizations, however, have no dedicated team or do not have access to a tool such as LoadRunner.  Performance testing is still every bit as critical and a workable solution must be identified.  Apache JMeter offers such a solution, one that is open source and free to use.  These exercises will introduce you to JMeter as a tool and demonstrate how it can be used with SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform 4.0.

Exercise 1:  Record a Test Plan

JMeter HTTP Proxy Server Component

JMeter allows you to create a set of actions in a number of different ways.  HTTP calls can be constructed manually, for example, by defining a particular URL and the headers and parameters needed to execute it.  This is great for developers that know their own application very well, but with enterprise software such as BI 4.0 it is unlikely you will have this level of knowledge.  JMeter therefore also allows you to record a specific workflow by performing it manually in your browser.  By acting as an HTTP Proxy Server, it can record all of the requests that you perform so that you can play them back at a later time.

In this exercise, you will learn how to launch JMeter, create an HTTP Proxy Server component, and record a simple workflow involving a Web Intelligence report.  We will then play the test plan back for 5 users and measure the performance of the BI 4.0 system.

You must have downloaded Apache JMeter and the JMeter Plugins library to complete this exercise.  Refer to the Performance Testing Wiki for instructions on configuring JMeter for the first time and this SCN Blog for JMeter Plugins.

1. Double-click jmeter.bat to launch the application.
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. Add the HTTP Proxy Server component by right-clicking on the Workbench > Add > Non-Test Elements HTTP Proxy Server.
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. Set the listening port of the HTTP Proxy Server component to 48080.  The default selection of 8080 is already in use by the local instance of Tomcat.
   
   
4. Under Test plan content change the Target Controller property to WorkBench > HTTP Proxy Server.  This instructs JMeter to store all recorded samples under the WorkBench so that we can move them to the Test Plan in our preferred format.
   
   
5. Change the Grouping option to Add separators between groups.
   
   
6. Check the box labeled Regex matching.  The HTTP Proxy Server component screen should now look something like this:
   
   
   
   
7. Click Start at the bottom of the HTTP Proxy Component to launch the JMeter proxy server.
   
   
8. Next, launch Internet Explorer by executing Start > Internet Explorer
   
   Tip: It is recommended that you practice the desired workflow before recording it.  This way you are comfortable with all of the steps and can execute them quickly and effectively.  This has the added benefit of caching static content locally on your machine, so that the recorded test plan is cleaner and less cluttered.
   
   
9. Access the BI Launch Pad and login using the desired credentials. 
   
10. Click Documents> Expand the Folders option from the accordion menu > Access Public Folders> Web Intelligence Samples> Double-click the Formatting Sample report.
    
    
    
    
11. Refresh the report and note that the last refresh date updates as below.
    
    
    
    
12. Close the report tab and accept the warning that appears.  Click Log Off to complete the process.
    
    
    
13. Click Tools > Internet Options > Connections > LAN settings
    
    
14. Uncheck the box Use automatic configuration script.  You can re-enable this setting once you’ve completed the exercise.
    
    
15. Enable Proxy Server and click the Advanced button under Proxy Server.
    
    
16. Change the HTTP proxy address to localhost and set the port to 48080. Delete all exceptions from the box at the bottom.  Click OK all the way out.
    
    
17. Repeat steps 8-12 to record the methods needed for the test plan.
    
    Tip: Ensure you access the machine by the server name as using the address localhost will not reach the proxy server.
    
    
18. Return to JMeter and expand the HTTP Proxy Component.  There should now be a number of requests present there that look something like this:
    
    
    
    Note: These requests represent all of the HTTP calls performed during the workflow above.  We can now customize them to extract session related data and play the actions back to emulate high concurrency.
    
    
19. Next, create a Thread Group within the test plan to store the requests captured by the HTTP Proxy Server component.  Thread Groups control the number of users emulated during test plan execution and are the component that our HTTP samples will reside.
    
    
20. Right-click the Test Plan icon, select Add> Threads (Users) > Thread Group
    
    
    
    
21. Rename the Thread Group to Web Intelligence Refresh Test, set the Number of Threads (users) to 5, and set the Ramp-Up Period (in seconds) to 10 as below.  This configures the test for 5 users and launches one user every 2 seconds, so that after 10 seconds all 5 users will be actively running the test. Set the Loop Count to 2 so that the test is repeated for a total of 10 executions.
    
    
    
    
22. Next, create a Once Only Controller underneath the Thread Group by right-clicking Web Intelligence Refresh Test > Add > Logic Controller > Once Only Controller.  Once Only Controllers execute the samplers contained in them a single time per thread, no matter how many times other controllers are configured to process.  They allow us to configure a test to login and logout only once, while potentially repeating other aspects of the test numerous times.
    
    
    
    
23. Rename the Once Only Controller to Login.
    
    
24. Shift+click to select all of the requests from the first 2 groups under the HTTP Proxy Server component.  Right-click and select cut.  Next, right click on the Login controller and select paste. Expand the Login controller and note that the requests have been entered there.
    
    
25. Right-click the Web Intelligence Refresh Test again, select Add > Logic Controller > Transaction Controller.  Transaction Controllers allow us to measure the aggregate time a group of samplers take to execute when we’re more interested in an action, such as navigating or refreshing, than we are each individual HTTP method.  Rename the Transaction Controller to Navigate BI Launch Pad.  Check the box Generate Parent Sample which instructs JMeter to collect only the performance statistics associated with the collection of samples.
    
    
    
    
26. Shift+click to select all of the requests from the next 4 groups under the HTTP Proxy Server component.  Right-click and select cut. Next, right click on the Navigate BI Launch Pad controller and select paste.  Expand the Navigate BI Launch Pad controller and note that the requests have been entered there.
    
    
    
    
27. Right-click the Web Intelligence Refresh Test again, select Add > Logic Controller > Loop Controller.  Loop Controllers allow us to repeat a group of samplers a specified number of times.  Set the Loop Count to 2.
    
    
    
    Tip: It is possible to nest controllers within a Loop Controller to add complexity.  You could nest a Once Only Controller, such as the Login controller used above, along with several transaction controllers.  In this fashion the Once Only Controller would process the first time only, but the remaining transaction controllers would be processed according to the Loop Count setting above.
    
    
28. Right-click the Loop Controller and select Add > Logic Controller > Transaction Controller.  Rename the Transaction Controller to View and Refresh Web Intelligence Report andcheck the box Generate Parent Sample.
    
    
29. Shift+click to select all of the requests from the next 3 groups under the HTTP Proxy Server component.  Right-click and select cut. Next, right click on the View and Refresh Web Intelligence Report controller and select paste.  Expand the View and Refresh Web Intelligence Report controller and note that the requests have been entered there.
    
    
    
    
30. Next, create another Once Only Controller underneath the Thread Group by right-clicking Web Intelligence Refresh Test > Add > Logic Controller > Once Only Controller.  Rename the controller to Logout.
    
    
31. Shift+click to select all of the remaining requests HTTP Proxy Server component.  Right-click and select cut.  Next, right click on the Logout controller and select paste. Expand the Logout controller and note that the requests have been entered there.
    
    
    
    
32. The Test Plan should now look something like this:
    
    
    
    Click File > Save Test Plan As and save the file as RefreshWebi.jmx
    
    

Exercise 2:  Customize Test Plan for Dynamic Data

Dynamic content is what makes enterprise software such as BI 4.0 truly function.  Each time a user logs into the application a session is created which is then referenced by future calls into the platform.  Similarly, viewing a Web Intelligence report creates a session on the Web Intelligence Processing server to hold temporary files associated with the request.

In order to have JMeter emulate distinct user sessions, it is necessary to extract this dynamic data from the BI platform and use it in future HTTP samplers. Some of this data is stored in cookies, some in HTTP Headers, and still other data is passed within the response body of the HTTP request itself.  JMeter is able to store cookies and header values automatically, but data passed in the response body needs to be extracted manually.  To do so, JMeter provides a number of post-processors, components that perform a function after an HTTP request has been executed.  The Regular ExpressionExtractor is the most important post-processor used with BI 4.0.

In this exercise, you will attach a series of post-processors to the test plan created in the previous exercise and use regular expressions to capture dynamic data from the BI 4.0 environment.  You will also add an HTTP Cookie Manager so that JMeter captures cookies for each user/thread.

1. The first step necessary is to extract the session token returned by the logon method.  This object is called bttoken in BI 4.0 and is returned in the response body of the logon.object sampler.  Right-click the logon.object sampler and select Add > Post Processors > Regular Expression Extractor
   
   
   
   
2. Rename the extractor to ***bttoken extractor*** and configure it as follows:
   
   Applies to: Main Sample Only
   Response Field to check: Body (unescaped)
   Reference Name: bttoken
   Regular Expression: bttoken=(.+?)&
   Template: $1$
   Match No. (0 for Random): 1
   Default Value: null
   
   
   
   
3. Select the next request in the sampler, which should be main.do.  This represents the entry point into the BI Launch Pad application and is the first place the bttoken property is used.  Double-click the value field, copy the string to the clipboard using CTRL+C, and replace the text with ${bttoken}. 
   
   The existing bttoken string should look something like this but will be different in every environment:
   
   MDAwRGNfQzxgaGFcVzI9ZDNobTJoXGltaTgPLUDNVOzAEQ
   
   This represents a JMeter variable, called bttoken, which we extracted in the previous step.  Click File > Save to update the test plan.
   
   
   
   Tip: The bttoken value will need to be updated in numerous locations throughout the test plan.  While it is possible to update the value manually, it is a time consuming and tedious process.  Instead, we can use a text editor such as Notepad to update every occurrence of the value.  The JMX format of a JMeter test plan is clear text and be modified easily using any text editor.
   
   
4. Navigate to the location where you saved the test plan (default will be in the JMeter bin directory) and locate the file RefreshWebi.jmx.  Right-click the file, click open, select a program from a list of installed programs, and select Notepad.  Select Edit > Replace and type the string value for bttoken in the Find what: box.  Enter ${bttoken} in the Replace with: box and select Replace All.  Click Cancel and File > Save.  Close the JMX file.
   
   
   
   
5. Return to JMeter, click File > RefreshWebi.jmx.  If you are prompted to save the file say No as it would overwrite the changes we have just made.  When the test plan is reloaded, expand the thread group and Login controllers, and select the sampler home.do.  Note that the bttoken value has been updated to reflect the JMeter variable.
   
   
   
   
6. Next, it is necessary to extract the Web Intelligence sEntry, a value that represents a Web Intelligence document state.  An sEntry is generated when you view a report, and another sEntry is created when you refresh a report.  Each value represents a distinct document state within Web Intelligence (that is, the state of the document when it is opened with saved data, and the state after it is refreshed with live data). 
   
   Expand the Loop Controller > View and Refresh Web Intelligence Report and select the viewDocument.jsp sampler. Right-click viewDocument.jsp and select Add > Post Processors > Regular Expression Extractor.
   
   
   
   
7. Rename the extractor to ***sEntry Extractor*** and configure it as follows:
   
   Applies to: Main Sample Only
   Response Field to check: Body (unescaped)
   Reference Name: sEntry1
   Regular Expression: "strEntry":"(.+?)"
   Template: $1$
   Match No. (0 for Random): 1
   Default Value: NONE
   
   
   
   Tip: Regular Expressions provide a concise and flexible means to match strings of text.  In the example above, the post processor examines the response body of viewDocument.jsp for the string “strEntry”:” and returns every character until it encounters a closing set of double quotes.  The parentheses open and close the function, while the .+? combination tells the processor to capture every character.  A useful tutorial on regular expressions can be found on the Apache HTTPD website
   
   
8. Select the next request in the sampler, which should be report.jsp.  Double-click the sEntry value field, copy the string to the clipboard using CTRL+C, and replace the text with ${sEntry1}.
   
   The existing sEntry string should look something like this but will be different in every environment:
   
   we0001000078432c722f78
   
   Click File > Save to update the test plan.
   
   
   
   
9. Navigate to the location where you saved the test plan and locate the file RefreshWebi.jmx.  Right-click the file, click open, select a program from a list of installed programs, and select Notepad.  Select Edit > Replace and type the string value for sEntry in the Find what: box.  Enter ${sEntry1} in the Replace with: box and select Replace All.  Click Cancel and File > Save.  Close the JMX file.
   
   
   
   
10. Return to JMeter, click File > RefreshWebi.jmx.  If you are prompted to save the file say No as it would overwrite the changes we have just made.  When the test plan is reloaded, expand the thread group > Loop Controller > View and Refresh Web Intelligence Report controllers, and select the 1^st instance of getImage.jsp.  Note that the sEntry value has been updated to reflect the JMeter variable ${sEntry1}.
    
    
    
    
11. The final piece of dynamic data to be extracted is the sEntry that corresponds to the document state after refreshing the report.  Right-click the refreshDocument.jsp sampler and select Add > Post Processors > Regular Expression Extractor.
    
    
12. Rename the extractor to ***sEntry2 Extractor*** and configure it as follows:
    
    Applies to: Main Sample Only
    Response Field to check: Body (unescaped)
    Reference Name: sEntry2
    Regular Expression: sEntry=(.+?)&
    Template: $1$
    Match No. (0 for Random): 1
    Default Value: NONE
    
    
    
    
13. Select the next request in the sampler, which should be report.jsp.  Double-click the sEntry value field, copy the string to the clipboard using CTRL+C, and replace the text with ${sEntry2}.
    
    The existing sEntry string should look something like this but will be different in every environment:
    
    we00020000105bca428762
    
    Click File > Save to update the test plan.
    
    
14. Navigate to the location where you saved the test plan and locate the file RefreshWebi.jmx.  Right-click the file, click open, select a program from a list of installed programs, and select Notepad.  Select Edit > Replace and type the string value for sEntry2 in the Find what: box.  Enter ${sEntry2} in the Replace with: box and select Replace All.  Click Cancel and File > Save.  Close the JMX file.
    
    
15. Return to JMeter, click File > RefreshWebi.jmx.  If you are prompted to save the file say No as it would overwrite the changes we have just made.  When the test plan is reloaded, expand the thread group > Loop Controller > View and Refresh Web Intelligence Report controllers, and select the 2^nd instance of getImage.jsp.  Note that the sEntry value has been updated to reflect the JMeter variable ${sEntry2}.
    
    
16. Finally, in order to capture any cookies generated by BI 4.0, right-click the thread group Web Intelligence Refresh Test and select Add > Config Element > HTTP Cookie Manager.  Check the box Clear cookies each iteration? to ensure new cookies are stored for each loop. Click File > Save to complete the test plan customization.
    
    
    

Exercise 3:  Single User Test

It is beneficial to execute a single instance of the test plan to ensure the test functions as expected.  A single typo can cause the test to fail and it is much better to identify any problems with 1 user as opposed to 1000!  In this exercise you will confirm core functionality of the test before moving on to the final execution.

1. Configure the test plan to run for a single user as in the screenshot below.
   
   
   
   
2. Right click the Web Intelligence Refresh Test thread group and select Add > Listener > View Results Tree.  This component captures every request and response in the test plan for review and is beneficial for debugging a test.  The component consumes large amounts of memory and is not recommended for use in large scale testing.
   
   
   
   
3. Right click the Web Intelligence Refresh Test thread group and select Add > Sampler > Debug Sampler.  This component adds a record of all JMeter variables collected to the bottom of the View Results Tree component.  This allows us to confirm that the dynamic data configured in the previous exercise has been extracted correctly.
   
   
   
   
4. At the top of the application, click Run > Start to kick off the test plan.  Note that the thread count increments in the top right corner to reflect the number of active threads.
   
   
5. When the counter returns to 0/1, select the View Results Tree component and locate the View and Refresh Web Intelligence Report controller.  Expand it and select the first report.jsp sampler.  Set the drop down menu below to HTML and click the Response data tab in the right hand pane.  Confirm that report data appears.
   
   
   
   Note: The Loop Controller may cause navigation to fail the 2^nd time this controller is executed.  You may disregard a 500 error associated with the ajaxRequest sampler located there.  The report refresh is still correctly executed the 2^nd time.
   
   
6. Scroll to the very bottom of the View Results Tree component and select the Debug Sampler.  Confirm that bttoken, sEntry, and sEntry2 are correctly populated.
   
   
   
   
7. Next, remove both the View Results Tree and Debug Sampler components by right-clicking them individually and selecting Remove.

Exercise 4:  Configure Results Analysis Collectors and Execute Test Plan

You have now created a simple test plan that is ready for execution. No test plan would be complete, however, without a means to measure the results.  In this exercise, you will add JMeter components to your test plan that allow you to measure throughput and response time from within the JMeter console. You will also configure an extension called JMeter Plugins that allows you to monitor system resources such as CPU and Memory from within the JMeter console.

You will use the plugins you configured by following the blog post listed earlier in this document.

1. Right click the Web Intelligence Refresh Test thread group and select Add > Listener > Graph Results.  Deselect Data, Median, and Deviation from the Graphs to Display section, leaving only Average and Throughput selected.
   
   
   
   Tip: The Average measurement displays the average response time of a given transaction.  Throughput measures how many transactions occur in a given interval (second, minute, etc).
   
   
2. Right click the Web Intelligence Refresh Test thread group and select Add > Listener > jp@gc - PerfMon Metrics Collector.  This component allows you to retrieve resource consumption statistics for the machine such as CPU and Memory.
   
   
3. Select the jp@gc - PerfMon Metrics Collector component and click Add Row to add a CPU counter.  Click Add Row a second time and change the Metric to collect drop down to Memory.  Leave all other options as the default.
   
   
   
   
4. Launch the JMeter Plugins server agent which monitors the server and delivers statistics to JMeter.  Navigate to the location where you extracted JMeter Plugins and double click startAgent.bat
   
   
   
   
5. Ensure the Thread Group is configured for 5 users, 10 second ramp-up time, and 2 loops.
   
   
6. Click Run > Start to execute the test plan and note the counter increment to 5/5.
   
   
7. Once the counter returns to 0/5 select the Graph Results component and note the metrics returned. In this example, an average request took ~500 ms and throughput was ~376 transactions per minute.
   
   
   
   
8. Select the jp@gc - PerfMon Metrics Collector component and note the metrics returned. In this example, CPU fluctuated and peaked at around 98%.  Memory remained constant at ~82%.
   
   
   

Although this is a simple test, the components demonstrated in this exercise can be used to create complex test plans that touch every area of the SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform.  By running performance tests before releasing an environment to business users, you can be confident in the usability and response time of your deployment.

Introduction

Whether your deployment is big or small, upgrading to BI 4 should be treated as a project. Planning is the most important element of your upgrade project.

Things to consider

When you plan your upgrade, consider the following items and include them in the upgrade process.

Skills and Enablement	Although BI platform 4 is compatible with most existing BI content and its design is similar to XI 3.1, there are some fundamental differences in user and administrator roles:   For IT departments and administrators, differences exist in platform design. For instance the grouping of processes in the APS, the mobile server, or the built-in SAP integration means that existing installation, deployment and tuning processes need to be revised. Training, hands-on discovery, and update of existing procedures is also necessary.   Business Intelligence developers should review existing BI clients and note any changes in their typical workflows. While most changes are intuitive improvements over previous releases, an adaptation period should be expected. Going forward, BI developers must evaluate new BI clients and their capabilities in order to take advantage of the full value of the platform.   The end-user experience has been revamped across the entire suite, modernizing it and improving productivity of most common workflows. However, these changes will require an adjustment period. It is recommended that these changes are evaluated directly (with business users who may need help) and then included in a roll-out plan.
Scope and Methodology	BI 4 offers various upgrade options, from a full system copy to incremental upgrades. Your strategy will depend on your organization's technical and business requirements. Your upgrade assessment must account for factors such as the size of your existing deployment, the time zones it serves, how many users and BI applications run on it, or how much downtime the business can cope with.   Smaller environments that serve a few hundred users are more likely to be candidates for a full system upgrade. However, some smaller organizations still prefer to use a staged upgrade due to the business-critical nature of BI.   Important: In terms of scope, it is not necessary to simultaneously perform a platform upgrade (sometimes called a technical upgrade) and modify your existing BI applications (for example, to implement new features) in the same project. The two tasks should be performed as different projects in order to manage scope and risk.
Architecture and Sizing	Because of changes in the BI platform, such as the adoption of 64-bit support and new capabilities such as monitoring or analysis, you must plan a revised sizing and architecture blueprint. Planning and executing this task early in the upgrade process will allow for proper provisioning of new infrastructure to support BI 4.   Note: Some degree of server tuning will be necessary even for your sandbox or development environments, in order to process some of your existing large reports.
Testing and Validation	Additional investment in testing reduces risk. Your upgrade plan should include multiple stages of testing:   Sandbox BI 4 platform and clients discovery with a number of BI artifacts Iterations of dry-run upgrades for security and BI applications Functional test of the dry-run applications First-pass IT test of security and content after an application is upgraded to the test environment Second-pass user acceptance test by the business in the test environment Final user validation after the application is moved from a test system to a production system   User acceptance should cover all business-critical analytics (typically, executive dashboards and operational reports) and a good sample of BI applications across the different report structures that are used typically.

Impacted IT processes

The following table summarizes the IT processes that may be impacted by the upgrade process. Actual impact will depend on the degree to which these processes rely on the BI Platform infrastructure in own business.

Secure your success

It is important to engage SAP or a Partner because of the scale of changes and innovations introduced by the upgrade. You should engage the following four parties in the early stages of the process, before you determine your scope and draft a plan:

Where can I find my version number?

You can find the version number (also referred to as the build number) for your software in several locations, including:

• On Windows, in the Add or Remove Programs dialog. The update indicates the current level.

• In the Help > About menu of most BI platform client tools, such as the universe design tool.

What does my version number mean?

The version number of your software appears as 14.x.y.abc. This number corresponds to a particular Support Package (or Feature Pack) and Patch level as follows:

• 14 = Major release 4.0/2011.
• x = Minor release number.
• y = Support Package level.
• abc = Build number corresponding to your Patch level.

For example, 14.0.2.481 corresponds to 4.0 Support Package 2 Patch 6, or Patch 2.6.

The following table lists the version numbers for SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform 4.0, and what Feature Pack (FP), Support Package (SP), and Patch level the version number corresponds to. These levels are the same for both the client and server installation programs and also apply to SAP Crystal Server 2011.

Where can I find version information for BI platform 4.1 and Crystal Server 2013?

Starting in 4.1, the installation program creates and updates a version.txt file where you can check the current version of your BI platform server installation. The file is located at:

• <BIP_INSTALL_DIR>/sap_bobj/enterprise_xi40/linux_x64/version/ (Unix)
• <BIP_INSTALL_DIR>\SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise XI 4.0\win64_x64\version\ (Windows)

This file contains the build number and version name for the last update applied to your installation. For example:

14.1.0.981

4.1 Patch 2

See "Checking the installed version" in the following installation guides:

• Installation Guide for Unix
• Installation Guide for Windows
• Minor Release Update Guide

Where can I find version information for previous SAP BusinessObjects releases?

Version information for previous software releases can be found in the following articles:

• SAP Note 1287906: How to determine the version number of BusinessObjects XI 3.x in Windows
• Crystal Reports 2008 (and 9.1, XI R1, XI R2) - Version and Download information for Service Packs

Table 1: SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform 4.0

CMC and BILaunchPad Integration
In 4.1 release, you will have the ability to configure security policies via CMC, ability to configure categories for content management via CMC and the ability to Mobile enable and manage documents properties via BI Launch Pad (starting with BI 4.1 SP01 release and above).

Security Enhancements

Security enhancements such as support for confidential category within personal and sub-categories

2. SAP BusinessObjects Mobile BI Server side

Mobile Log Folder

This version delivers a dedicated folder to store Mobile server logs. To debug Mobile server related errors, access Mobile server logs folder.

Security Policies Configuration

You can configure server policies in server.properties file. The server policies configured in the configuration server will be applicable to the clients connecting to any connection via this configuration server.

Multiple Operating System Support

Along with Windows and LINUX operating system, the Mobile server web applications can be auto deployed on AIX and Solaris operating system. For more information, refer Auto-Deployment of Mobile Server section in 4.1 Mobile Server Deployment and Configuration Guide.

Replacement of Mobile Services

Implementation steps for Mobile BI Server has been changed in this release. Mobile Authentication server (VAS) and Mobile Job server (VMS) used for BlackBerry solution are replaced by the Mobile BI Web application server (MobileBIService.war). Therefore, all the server requests from the mobile client devices, such as Android device (smart phone or tablet), iOS, and BlackBerry are now handled by the Web Application (MobileBIService.war).

Note:

* Replacement of Mobile Services was first introduced in SAP BI 4.0 release.

** For complete list of changes including system files changes and how these were affected in the previously available VAS and VMS servers, refer the the 4.1 Mobile Server Deployment and Configuration Guide (link is available in the reference section below)..

Managing Mobile BI Server

The following table summarizes the managing the Mobile BI server by feature / functionality across three versions of SAP BusinessObjects BI Platform;

3. SAP BusinessObjects Mobile BI Client side enhancements

There are two important things when it comes to Mobile BI Client

1. The Mobile BI application features and capabilities as a container

2. Mobile consumable BI contents such as Web Intelligence, Dashboards etc.

The enhancements listed below are mostly about content type related and for client app related enhancements, please refer the latest SAP BusinessObjects Mobile BI App release notes.

Enhancements by BI content types

Followings are some of the key enhancements, new features / functionalities introduced in SAP BI 4.1 release;

SAP BusinessObjects Web Intelligence

• Support for lSI, lSM and lSR parameters with OpenDoc URL
• Support for OpenDoc across different BI artifacts
• Support for Multi Column LOV’s
• Support for downloading Latest instance / Document whichever is latest while adding a document to Home
• Support to Disable Refresh Icon on Device, if user doesn't have refresh rights on document

SAP BusinessObjects Explorer

• Listing of Explorer Information Spaces and E-Views
• Grouping of Information Spaced and E-Views via Category approach
• Support for Security Configurations

Note:

Starting with SAP BusinessObjects Mobile BI 5.0 release, you can access Explorer contents (InfoSpaces and Exploration Views) in the same App as Web Intelligence, Dashboards etc. thus eliminates the need to have two Apps on your device.

SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards

• Support for Dashboards on Android
• Support for Dashboards with Query as Web service (both iOS and Android) and Flash Variables (iOS only)
• Support for Waterfall and Bubble Plot charts (both iOS and Android)

Mobile Client Audit Options

Using the Audit log files, you can view the activities performed specifically by Mobile client application (from the device).

Migration -  Upgrade

Upgrade Paths

We are looking at couple of upgrade paths to SAP BI 4.1 release;

Upgrade Steps

Steps to be performed prior to Upgrade

Back-up the important files and components such as Clientsettings, Mobi and SUP property files  “[AppServer_Install_Dir]\webapps\MobileBIService\WEB-INF” depends upon your Mobile system landscape.

Steps to be performed post Upgrade

Using the new CMC approach- by default with BI 4.1 release, the mobile configuration for content management is moved under “CMC – Applications – SAP BusinessObjects Mobile”. Therefore to make use the new approach;

• Make sure the values in property files (that are backed-up before upgrade) and the parameters in “CMC – Applications – SAP BusinessObjects Mobile – Right click and Select properties”  are identical

OR to continue using the Property File approach;

• Browse to the following location and open "web.xml" in any text editor

       "<BOE_INSTALL_DIR>\<ENTERPRISE_Dir>\warfiles\webapps\MobileBIService\WEB-INF\" 

• By default, the value set for "mobile.server.configuration.location" in "web.xml" is "boe", which directs the mobile server to read the configuration set on application (SAP BusinessObjects Mobile) properties in CMC. You will have to set the value of this property to "local", if you want to continue using the property file based approach of mobile server.

               <context-param> 

                     <description> local-if configuration on mobile server, boe-ifconfiguration on boe </description>

                     <param-name>mobile.server.confituration.location</param-name>                   

                     <param-value>local</param-value>             

                </context-param>

• From this release onwards, mobile configuration properties files are not getting shipped by defatult with the mobile server package. Ensure to have "mobile.properties" and "ClientSettings.properties" files at the following location with the desired properties required for your mobile server:

          "<BOE_INSTALL_DIR>\<ENTERPRISE_Dir>\warfiles\webapps\MobileBIService\WEB-INF\config\custom".              

          Sample:                 

               mobi.properties file:                                  

                    default.corporateCategory=Mobile                                 

                    default.personalCategory=Mobile                                  

                    default.category.mobileDesigned=MobileDesigned                                       

                    default.category.secure=Confidential                                   

                    default.category.featured=Feature                                  

                    ...                   

                ClientSettings.properties file:                                  

                    default.corporateCategory=Mobile                                 

                    savePassword=true                                  

                    offlineStorage=true                                  

                    offlineStorage.ttl=365                                  

                    offlineStorage.appPwd=true  

• Using WDeploy, redeploy the MobileBIService web application.

Reference:

• Refer the 4.1 Mobile Server Deployment and Configuration Guide @ https://websmp102.sap-ag.de/~sapidb/011000358700000508552013E/sbo41_mob_inst_deploy_en.pdf
• Refer the feature matrix document available here for complete list of features by content type, mobile operating systems @ http://help.sap.com/businessobject/product_guides/sbo41/en/5x_mobiOSandr_featcomp_en.pdf
• Refer the SCN article for SAP BI 4.0 upgrade related @ http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-43249
  

By: Rense Varughese

Target Audience

This document would help SAP Business Objects administrators/developers easily migrate/upgrade SAP BO XI 3.1 web intelligence reports to the BI 4.0/4.1 platform.

It avoids the use of Upgrade Management Tool especially when you are not looking at migrating the entire content of BO XI 3.1 to BI 4.0/4.1.

Objective

Upgrade Management Tool is often seen as a cumbersome approach to moving content from the XI environment to the new BI 4.0/4.1 platform. Also, UDT has its restrictions for allowing complete/incremental upgrade for the Windows and Unix BO server environments. This approach will save you a lot of time and effort if your source and target BO servers are on the Unix platform, no incremental upgrade with UDT is possible and/or you are not looking at migrating only a few reports.

Solution

The below steps would help you bring the .wid file from BO XI 3.1 to BI 4.0 platform

1. Open the 'Web Intelligence Rich Client' from your BO XI 3.1 client tools.

2. Import the web intelligence document you wish to have in your target BI 4.0 platform from the CMS.

3. Save the document into your local machine with the two options checked -  'Save for all users' and 'Remove document security'. This is the most important step here as it would now de-link this .wid file from the BO XI 3.1 CMS.

4. Now open the 'Web Intelligence Rich Client' from your BI 4.0 client tools and login with your BI 4.0 user credentials.

5. Browse to the location where you saved the .wid document in Step 3 and open it.

7. Change the source of this report to another universe/Bex connection.

6. Export it to the BI 4.0 repository. The report is now linked to your BI 4.0 CMS repository.

The above steps can also be followed for .unv files using Universe Designer in BO XI 3.1 and Universe Design Tool in BI 4.0.

About the Author:

Rense Varughese

3 years of experience in SAP BO & SAP BW, 2 years in SAP Basis.

Query Language

BusinessObjects
Enterprise has a query language that allows users to query the system for information.  The following is documentation on how to use this tool.

Tool is accessed in IE using the URL: servername:port/AdminTools

The query language is similar to SQL but not all SQL options are supported.  Data is split across multiple tables with the most used being ci_infoobjects,
ci_systemobjects and ci_appobjects.

The following are a list of simple queries to get information from the system.  All queries return a max of 1000 rows by default.

Query Language
BusinessObjects Enterprise has a query language that allows users to query the system for information.  The following is documentation on how to use this tool.
Tool is accessed in IE using the URL:  servername:port/AdminTools
The query language is similar to SQL but not all SQL options are supported.
Data is located in three tables ci_infoobjects, ci_systemobjects and ci_appobjects.
Sample Queries
Scheduling information
select si_name, si_id, si_kind, si_scheduleinfo from ci_infoobjects where si_schedule_status = 9

Logon Information - Crystal Reports
select si_name, si_id, si_kind, si_processinfo.si_logon_info from ci_infoobjects where SI_PROGID='CrystalEnterprise.Report' and SI_INSTANCE=0

Logon Information - Webi
select si_name, si_id, si_kind, si_processinfo.si_logon_info from ci_infoobjects where SI_PROGID='CrystalEnterprise.Webi' and SI_INSTANCE=0

Query to get calendars
select si_name, si_kind, si_template_days from ci_systemobjects where si_kind = 'calendar'

Query to get events
select si_name, si_kind, si_features from ci_systemobjects where si_kind = 'Event'

Get All Webi reports
Select SI_ID, SI_NAME From CI_INFOOBJECTS Where SI_PROGID='CrystalEnterprise.Webi' And SI_INSTANCE=0

Get All Crystal reports
Select SI_ID, SI_NAME From CI_INFOOBJECTS Where SI_PROGID='CrystalEnterprise.Report' And SI_INSTANCE=0

Get All universes
Select SI_ID, SI_NAME, SI_WEBI, SI_KIND From CI_APPOBJECTS where SI_KIND ='Universe'

Get All Users
SELECT SI_ID, SI_NAME FROM CI_SYSTEMOBJECTS WHERE SI_PROGID='CrystalEnterprise.USER'

Get all groups
Select * from CI_SYSTEMOBJECTS Where SI_KIND='UserGroup'

Get all folders
Select SI_ID, SI_NAME From CI_INFOOBJECTS Where SI_PROGID='CrystalEnterprise.Folder'

Query limitations
By design, querying by type ids will not always return results.
By default the query will only scan 1000 rows of data.
In order to scan the full database use the "select Top XXX" where XXX = a number higher than the current number of objects (2000 works for now)
fields will be returned in the order they are stored, not the order requested.
Fields like "si_aliases" are "property bags" and will return all the fields in the property bag
Fields in the si_scheduleinfo and si_processinfo can be returned by prefixing the fields with the collection name
eg: si_processinfo.si_logon_info
si_processinfo.si_prompts

List of available Fields per table
To document the fields for each table, you can run a query that returns a few records.
Field names for the ci_infoojbects
Select * from ci_infoobjects where si_name = "your logon id"

Field names for the ci_systemobjects table
Select * from ci_systemobjects where si_name = "your logon id"

Field names for the ci_appobjects table
Select * from ci_appobjects where si_name = "a valid universe name"

Introduction:

This document is for the Consultants who are new to BO and just started working on a Project. There are similar documents available in SCN. I have added few more points on top of it. During the Project Life Cycle we need to move our developed objects across the environments (Dev to QA or Dev/QA to Prod). We call it Transports; here in BO we call it Promotion. This is achieved through a tool call Promotion Management. Say for example Promotion Management is configured in QA CMC System to promote objects from Dev to Prod.

Steps:

Login to QA CMC System via Start – All Programs – SAP Business Objects BI Platform 4 – BOQ-BOBJ QA

Provide your credentials in the next Log on Screen.

Authentication: You can either select Enterprise or SAP. If you’re selecting SAP, you need to provide system details and your SAP User ID and Password. Below is the screen with SAP Authentication

In the Next CMC Home screen, Select  – Promotion Management

And then Click on New Job button on top left

Provide all details as below,

Name: Name for new Promotion Job     Description:  Suitable Description

Keywords: Can keep it as blank                 Start Job in: Select the Default

Source: Login to New CMS – Give credentials as shown in further screenshot

Destination: Give credentials as shown in further screenshot

Source – Login to a New CMS – Select SAP authentication and provide details as follows

You will see green icon once login is successful

Similarly do it for Destination

Click on Create Button now, And Expand your folder where your report is and Select it in the right pane and then click on Add & Close button

Click on Manage Dependencies button now

Dependent objects will be shown here– e.g. related Connections and Queries. Don’t select them if it is an existing report in the target system– just click Close button

Click on Promote button in the next screen

Give Change Management ID in the next screen (This is optional) and click on Promote button

Click on History button to see the status of the Promotion job

Hurray Status is successful

Result: Your report is successfully got promoted to QA from Dev in the respective folder

Note: You can promote the objects only when if both the Systems (Source and Target) are of same Version.

Another point needs to be taken care of is that, the CUID of the report in both the systems should be the same. Otherwise, promotion job will fail. If it is different in the Target system, you can copy it in your Favorite folder and then delete the report from the Actual Folder and then Promote it from Dev system.

It is advisable that you should keep all the Pre snap shot of every change on the Report either in your favorite folder or Create a Test folder in all the systems– Dev – QA – Prod (Access only to Developers). You can maintain all these change details in an Excel

CUID of a Report – Select the Report in Launch Pad – Right Click – Properties

CUID of Payment Report in Dev e.g.:

CUID of Payment Report in QA:

One can maintain an excel of CUIDs of all the reports and across the systems and use it during the Promotion

Regards,

Prasad

1 Introduction

User security is configured per object as part of the object's property. Objects automatically inherit security settings from its parent folder. As such, if a user's or group's access level is configured on a folder, all containing subfolders and objects would inherit the same configuration. In addition, users also inherit rights from groups that they belong to. The user security of an object may be set in the CMC as follows:

   1.    Locate the target object in the CMC. For a folder or report object, select "Folders" from the Organize section of the home page or in the top left   drop-down menu.

2.     Right click the target object and click "User Security" in the menu.

3.     Click "Add Principals" to add a new user or group to the security setting.

•    Search for the user or group in the available users/groups list and click to add the user or group to the select list

•    Click "Add and Assign Security" to return to the User Security properties screen.

4.     Click "View Security" to see a list of assigned rights for each user and/or group (Note: each user and/or group automatically inherits the access level of its parent object, if available). Click "OK" to return to the User Security properties screen.

5.     To change the access level or rights of a user or group, select the user or group and click

"Assign Security".

6.     To assign an access level, which is a group of rights, select the level from the list of available access levels and click to assign.

7.     To assign individual rights, click "Add/Remove Rights" in the Advanced tab.

     a.     In the Add/Remove Rights screen, choose "Granted", "Denied", or "Not Specified" for rights that are to be set.

     b.     Click "Apply" to assign rights.

     c.     Click "OK" to return to the Assign Security screen.

8.     Click "OK" to return to the User Security properties screen.

9.     Repeat previous steps to assign security to other users or groups.

10.   Click "Close" to return to the CMC.

BACKUP STRATEGY

Before doing the patch upgrade on the server, all necessary files and DataBase backups should been taken as a security measure.

1.     Database Backup

DataBase Administrator(DBA), who is administering the database, on which the BO server is mounted, can take backups of CMS DB, Audit DB and Mobile DB. This is called cold backups as all the BO servers should be down while taking these backups.

2.     File Repository Backup

Backup of Input File Repository and Output File Repository can be done from respective file locations. Location can be found out from CMC. CMC-> Servers-> Properties of Input File Repository and Output File Repository servers. Uaually these would be as given below:

(E:\FileStore\Input) and (E:\FileStore\Output).

3.     Windows AD Authentication Backup

This is one of the main area need to be taken care of while applying the patch. Configuration files like krb5.ini and bscLogin files backup need to be taken. These files are located at D:/Bi Platform/WinAD folder. 

The snapshot of Windows AD authentication properties from CMC can be taken and kept for reference. As in cases,the authentication drop down may be missing after installation, it can be retained by backing up all the files Tomcat custom folder. Usually the location is like D:/Bi Platform/Tomcat6/webapps/BOE/WEB-INF/config/custom.

Screenshot of Java options from Tomcat Configuration also can be kept for reference.

4.     Trending DB Backup

Trending DB backup can be taken from TrendingDB folder. Usual location will be D:\BI Platform\SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise XI 4.0\Data\TrendingDB.

5.            LCM Bair Backup

All objects can be retained by LCM Bair backup and it is a recommended backup strategy.

INSTALLATION PRE-REQUISITES

• Make sure to Turn OFF ALL servers Except the most essential servers such as CMS, File repository servers (FRS) and if applicable Tomcat and CMS Database.
• Ensure that ALL non-essential processes are DOWN by running process explorer (or task manager with the command line showing by selecting it in view | select columns) after stopping them. The path is needed as many of the processes are named java.exe so one can look at the command line and kill those processes which are running in the Business Objects directories.
• Still see any BI 4.0 platform related process or sub processes besides CMS, Input FRS and Output FRS, Terminate them within process explorer (Eg. Crystalras.exe, Java.exe etc)
  (this doesn’t include Tomcat and the CMS  database processes bundled with BI Platform)

      Ensure that all JAVA processes (java.exe) associated with the BI Platform are down. If not, terminate them using the process explorer.
NOTE: This will ensure that there won’t be any issues with missing libraries which is primarily caused by the java processes locking up files causing them to be updated or deleted.
This is an issue due to JVM locking which has been identified in Windows deployments and is scheduled to be fixed in BI Platform Support Pack 05 (SP05).

• PATCH UPDATE ON CLIENT – While installing patch on client, it is recommended to stop Tomcat server and SIA. Thus installation will be fast and as well as while installation is in progress, Crystal and BO share some of the libraries, so if Crystal is trying to update any shared and the same is locked by any service will cause problem.

INSTALLATION STEPS

1.        Run the installer.

2.        Click next if the prerequisite check is succeeded.

3.        Accept the terms and condition and proceed.

4.        Provide the existing BI 4.0 CMS Logon details.

5.        Click on Next to initiate the installation.

6.        Click on finish and reboot the server.

POST INSTALLATION

•          If SIA, Adaptive Processing server (APS), Crystal Cache and Xcelsius Cache server processes FAIL to start after applying the patch or behaviour stays the same despite recreating processes , SIA, (repair or ) uninstall and reinstall SP04then check the following:
  • check the InstallData logs folder (Eg. D:/Bi Platform/SAP BusinessObjects/InstallData\logs\<install_timestamp>)
  • Typically, you will find only 3 files in this folder (InstallManifest.sqllite, setupexe.log and setupengine.log)
  • If you see any other log files such as InstallDU-*.log (eg: InstallDU-cvom.java-4.0-core-nu,14.0.4.738.log etc), this indicates that some files or libraries have not  been installed properly

This issue is typically caused by the Report Application Server (RAS) performing processing while the update is being run, which causes it to fail to shut down one of its java child processes when requested.  This results in a number of files being locked while the patch is being performed, and so binaries are missing when the patch has completed.  It can be avoided by following the best practices around shutting down servers and inspecting the processes as listed at the beginning.

Also, we can Run a Repair on the BASE BI Platform 4.0 install by going to Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features > SAP Business Objects BI Platform 4.0 > Uninstall/Change > REPAIR\\\\. Optionally, if possible, it is recommended to perform an uninstall and conduct a refreshed SP04 full build installation.

BI Launch pad is not loading properly after SP04 patch

Below are the options we can try to recover it:

1.      Stop tomcat server, and clear everything from the folder D:/Bi Platform/Tomcat6/tomcat6/work/catalina/localhost  and start tomcat server. Tomcat will take some time to come up the usual as it will recreate the Application Cache.

2.      Eliminate the keytab entry in global.properties file at D:/Bi Platform/Tomcat6/webapps/BOE/WEB-INF/config/custom folder.

#idm.keytab=D:/BI Platform/WinAD/EGDEVCMS.keytab

(If the SSO is working from outside the DMZ it means that the external DNS is granting TGS ticket to the client for Kerberos authentication. But the internal DNS does not.It is created with AES encryption and uses the SID of the machine in the domain. By joining back the domain SID entry changed for the server in the Domain Database and keytab is not able to get the ticket granted in the Intranet.)

3.      Increase Tomcat’s maxHttpHeaderSize

For Tomcat servers it is necessary to increase the default HTTP Header size in the server.xml. Kerberos login requests contain, amongst other things, group information. The more AD groups a user is a member of the larger the http header must be to accommodate the size of the kerberos packet. 16384 is usually large enough but if your mapped users are a member of many groups (50 or more AD groups) you may need to increase this size to 32768, 65536 or more (multiples of 16384).

NOTE: Make a backup copy of server.xml file prior to editing

D:/Bi Platform/Tomcat6/conf/server.xml

Previous entry:  <Connector port="8080" protocol="HTTP/1.1" connectionTimeout="20000" redirectPort="8443" compression="on" />

New entry:

<Connector port="8080" protocol="HTTP/1.1" connectionTimeout="20000" redirectPort="8443" compression="on" maxHttpHeaderSize="65536" />

Well, I am done, I took the final exam this morning for the BI Platform Course taught by Henry Banks and James Rapp 

I want to thank both Henry Banks and James Rapp for this course.  In the beginning, I heard it was BI4 elite-like, similar to what we had last year in Vancouver.  However this was really geared solely to the BI platform and how to support it, which was a subset of what we had in last year's BI4 Elite course.

My usual steps for taking a course is taking notes, with screen shots.  I thought about posting my notes here on SCN, but then I feared SCN members would think I was spamming the site.  If you think I should do this then please post below.

I was joined by 16,606 learners and growing (see above).  I haven't visited the forums as I fortunately didn't get stuck, experience issues or have questions - I credit this to attending so many webcasts and attending SAP Insider conferences that I was already familiar with some of the material even though I am not a BI admin.  I saw Jim Rapp present patching strategies at BI 2013 earlier this year.  I also saw Toby Johnston  present Wily and Fiddler at BI4 Elite last year.

So while I took diligent notes during the lectures, I am not sure it was enough.  I took the final exam this morning and while I won't share the questions, I will give you a tip to take notes during the demonstrations (something I failed to do).

Overall tips:

1) Follow SCN blogs and follow Henry Banks on SCN

2) Take notes during the lectures and demos

3) Download all slides and the recordings at the start of the unit - while I didn't experience slow times it is helpful to have this information while you take the final exam

4) Enjoy!

This was a relief this morning:

Now to wait until January for the results.  If you want face to face education sessions, BI 2014 in March in Orlando has a two tracks below:

• TRACK 11: BI administration and performance »
• TRACK 12: BI implementations, upgrades, and enhancement projects

See this link for a discount.

If you have a story to share about BI Platform, we are interested in hearing from you at ASUG Annual Conference.  Please see You're Invited to Submit A Proposal for ASUG Annual Conference 2014 - Share Your Knowledge

Related Links

Getting an Update on BI4 Maintenance Strategy - ASUG Webcast

BI 2013 – It's a Wrap, Part 2 , Maintaining your BI4 System

Book Report: Integrating SAP BusinessObjects BI with SAP NetWeaver (3rd Edition)