| Overview | Events |
This page provides an overview and supplemental information for SAP BusinessObjects BI customers seeking to upgrade their systems from releases Enterprise XI 3.1 and earlier to BI 4.1. There's also relevant information for current BI 4.0 customers to update their systems to BI 4.1.
When upgrading from releases XI 3.1 and earlier, it is important to realize that a significant shift to a 64-bit architecture (from 32-bit) takes place to take advantage of modern hardware and RAM, which allows BI 4.x to overcome previous resource limitations. In other words, don't expect to run on the same hardware. Of course, proper sizing, will help you attain optimal performance.
On the events page, you will find a series of informative webinar sessions on the Upgrade topic intended to provide you with detailed, end-to-end information and best practices on how to plan your upgrade, the upgrade process itself, and post upgrade configuration along with finishing touches.
Upgrade Process Overview
How you actually move onto the new SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.1 release depends largely on the release you are starting from.
There are two main options for migrating to SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.1 from previous releases.
- Update: Perform a minor release update from BI 4.0 (any SP).
- Upgrade: Perform an upgrade from Enterprise XI 3.1 release and lower.
The diagram below provides a summary of the available migration paths to 4.1 from previous releases.
Update
Before performing an update from BI 4.0, please read the blog entry by Matthew Shaw on this topic:
“Doing a full install for updating from BI4.0 to BI4.1? Think again...”
The “In-Place Update” option shown above is the recommended option. As Matthew states in his blog:
“…The update to BI4.1 from BI4.0 is the same process as applying a Support Pack. I.e. just apply the ‘patch’ software to update from BI4.0 to BI4.1. There is no need to install BI4.1 on a new machine, nor is there a need to move, or copy content from one repository to another. Indeed it’s vital that the CMS System Repository database is updated as part of the update process…”
Upgrade
Upgrading to BI platform 4.1 involves installing a new deployment and copying your content and system data from an existing deployment.
You can install the new deployment independently or side-by-side with an existing deployment. The two deployments can work at the same time. When you no longer need your old deployment, you can uninstall it.
Direct
- A direct upgrade path is possible if the version is at least “Business Objects Enterprise XI R2 SP2”.
- Attention: There is information available saying that the minimum version for a direct upgrade can be “BusinessObjects Enterprise XI R2”… This is NOT correct!
Indirect
- An indirect upgrade path is available for versions that are lower than “BusinessObjects Enterprise XI R2 SP2”.
- These are for example “BusinessObjects Enterprise 6.x” and/or “Crystal Enterprise 10”
- In this case you need a version which is capable of a direct upgrade path in between
- To upgrade to 4.1 from XI R2, XI MHF1, or XI R2 SP1, you must first upgrade to XI R2 SP2 (or higher).
- To upgrade from BusinessObjects 5/6, or Crystal Enterprise 9/10, you must first upgrade to XI R2 SP2.
Webinars
A BI 4.1 Upgrade webinar series is currently in progress. Be on the lookout for these webinars by checking the Events page for scheduled dates.
Previously Recorded Webinars
BI 4.1 Upgrade - Value Proposition and Client Tools Find out the top reasons for upgrading to SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.1 and what the key value drivers are. Also, receive guidance on selecting which BI client tool to use.
Presented by Henry Banks on July 17th 2014
Key Subjects: Value Proposition (20s), Choosing the Right Client (18m 15s)
| |
BI 4.1 Upgrade and Update - Best Practices Learn about the overall upgrade process and how to plan for your upgrade to SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.1. Find out about best practices for upgrading from earlier BOE XI releases to BI 4.1 and how to avoid potential pitfalls.
Presented by Sathish Rajagopal on July 30th 2014
Key Subjects: Evolution of BI/Value Prop (8m 40s), Getting Ready to Upgrade (13m 40s), Customer Case Studies (32m 50s), Q&A (48m 55s)
| |
BI 4.1 Sizing and Virtualization Learn how to develop a good strategy for sizing your SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.1 deployment. Find out how to test and tune your BI system before releasing it to your user base. Also, learn about virtualization support and guidelines when deploying to virtual and cloud environments.
Presented by Carlos Lourenco on August 14th 2014
Key Subjects: Building Better BI Systems (1m), Sizing (15m 12s), Testing/Tuning (23m 50s), Virtualization (29m 9s), Key Learning Points (33m 43s), Q&A (37m 43s)
| |
BI 4.1 Deployment Best Practices Obtain key information about SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.1 deployment best practices - including upgrade planning, architecture and sizing, and deployment overviews. Also get some configuration tips on optimizing BI server tiers.
Presented by Harjeet Judge on August 29th 2014
Key Subjects: BI 4.1 Deployment Component Overview (1m 10s), Web Tier Deployment (5m 7s), Intelligence Tier (11m 30s), Processing Tier (16m 40s), System Demo (20m 10s), Deployment Scenarios (31m 20s), Q&A (44m 25s)
| |
BI 4.1 Installation and Patching In this session, you will obtain tips to install and configure SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.1. Learn about the important post-installation configuration that is required on the server. Walk through the necessary steps on building up a patching strategy to take advantage of the latest fixes and enhancements.
Presented by Harjeet Judge on September 4th 2014
Key Subjects: BI 4.1 Products & Components (1m 35s), Upgrade Management Tool (3m 30s), BI Server Installation Tips (4m 57s), Patching Information (23m 2s), Q&A (46m 15s)
| |
BI 4.1 User Authentication and Single Sign-On Obtain details about the authentication methods that are supported by SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.1 platform and how SSO can be achieved for the available BI clients. Also learn about new options to configure SSO for SAP HANA.
Presented by Tim Ziemba on September 11th 2014
Key Subjects: Authentication Introduction (1m), Kerberos SSO (4m 17s), Trusted Authentication (11m 50s), Semantic Layer Connectivity (20m 37s), HANA Authentication Options (29m 20s), Database Credentials (40m 40s), Q&A (47m 40s)
| |
Upgrade Process: Moving from SAP BusinessObjects XI Release 2/3.1 to 4.1 Learn about the specific upgrade process and how to plan for your upgrade from XIR2/XI 3.1 to BI 4.1 - also about the specific update process and how to plan for your update from BI 4.0 to BI 4.1. Obtain the details, best practices, and how to avoid potential pitfalls for these specific upgrade and update scenarios.
Presented by Merlijn Ekkel on September 25th 2014
Key Subjects: Planning (1m 38s), Upgrading: SAP BOE XI Rel. 2/3 to BI 4.1 (7m 29s), Updating: SAP BI 4.0 to BI 4.1 (29m), Q&A (37m 20s)
| |
DeskI to WebI Conversion & Desktop Compatibility Pack (DCP) Learn about best practices for planning and converting DeskI reports to WebI and how you can leverage the DeskI Compatibility Pack (DCP) in BI 4.1 to smooth your upgrade.
Presented by Merlijn Ekkel on Octopber 9th 2014
Key Subjects: Reasons to Convert (2m), Planning the Conversion (4m 35s), Migration Path/Report Conversion Tool (7m 52s), Best Practices (30m 35s), Desktop Intelligence Compatibility Pack (34m 45s), Q&A (50m 5s)
| |
WebI Calculation Engine Changes Learn about the Web Intelligence calculator behavior changes over the releases, why there are changes and what to do in the event that your WebI documents are impacted.
Presented by Pascal Gaulin on Octopber 9th 2014
Key Subjects: Introduction to Calculation Changes (2m 12s), Types of Changes (6m 8s), Examples of Changes (11m 14s), Automatic Formula Rewrite Mechanism (15m 3s), Q&A (35m 10s)
| |
Promotion Management and Version Management An overview of best-practices processes, usage and deployment options for lifecycle & content management, using the native BI platform Promotion Management application.
Presented by Matthew Shaw on Octopber 16th 2014
Key Subjects: High-Level Architecture (2m 50s), Promotion Management Best Practices (14m 20s), Demo (21m 3s), Templates, Workflows & Mappings (33m 30s), Q&A (52m)
| |
Troubleshooting An overview of tools, techniques and best-practices for capturing & investigating issues on the BI platform, using both native and external utilities.
Presented by Graham Sturmy on November 6th 2014
Key Subjects: BI Support Tool (2m 15s), End to End Tracing (22m 40s), Consuming the Trace Logs (45m), Q&A (52m 15s)
| |
Monitoring An overview of the native BI Platform Monitoring application, including: best practices, architecture/deployment, use-case scenarios, custom probes, accessing probe/metric attributes via JMX clients and leveraging the SAP Host Agent.
Presented by Toby Johnston on November 13th 2014
Key Subjects: Server Metrics (2m), Host Agent (6m 45s), Server Watches (13m 50s), Custom Probes (25m 25s), Q&A (54m 50s)
|
Workshops
Customer/Partner on-site BI Migration/Upgrade Workshops are planned for various locations starting in August. Stay tuned!
Relevant Guides
All the main guides for SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform 4.1 such as Update, Upgrade, Sizing, Installation, What’s New, and many more can be found on the SAP Help Portal: http://help.sap.com/bobip41.
Relevant Blogs
- Matthew Shaw’s “Doing a full install for updating from BI4.0 to BI4.1? Think again...”
- Top 10 Reasons to Realize the Value of SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.1
- Is It Time To Upgrade To BusinessObjects 4.x?
Relevant SAP Notes, KBAs
- KBA 1909881: How to upgrade from one version of BI4 to another
- KBA 1934748: Is a full installation required when updating BI4.x installations?
- KBA 1882363: Upgrading and multiple CMS database/Nodes leading to CMS database corruption, missing Application Settings/rights/icons/??dummy placeholders and more
- KBA 2013616: How to patch BI 4.x servers in a distributed BI Platform deployment simultaneously ( in parallel ) ?
- KBA 1949693: AdaptiveProcessingServer Running with errors after installing BI 4.1 or after upgrade to BI 4.1
- KBA 1987825: The APS status is "Running with errors" after upgrading to BI 4.1 SP2
- KBA 1982241: Tomcat does not start in BI 4.1
| Brought to you by the SAP Customer Experience Group |