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efforts in an organization.
KPIs are industry-recognized measurements on which to base critical business decisions.
In SAP BW, Business Content KPIs have been developed based upon input from
customers, partners, and industry experts to ensure that they reflect best practices.
6. What is the use of process chain?
The use of Process Chain is to automate the data load process.
Used to automate all the processes including Data load and all Administrative Tasks like
indices creation deletion, Cube compression etc.
Highly controlled data loading.
7. Difference between Display Attribute and Navigational Attribute?
The basic difference between the two is that navigational attributes can be used to
drilldown in a Bex report whereas display attributes cannot be used so. A navigational
attribute would function more or less like a characteristic within a cube.
To enable these features of a navigational attribute, the attribute needs to be made
navigational in the cube apart from the master data info-object.
The only difference is that navigation attributes can be used for navigation in queries,
like filtering, drill-down etc.
You can also use hierarchies on navigational attributes, as it is possible for
characteristics.
But an extra feature is that there is a possibility to change your history. (Please look at
the relevant time scenarios). If navigation attributes changes for a characteristic, it is
changed for all records in the past.
Disadvantage is also a slow down in performance.
8. If there are duplicate data in Cubes, how would you fix it?
Delete the request ID, Fix data in PSA or ODS and re-load again from PSA / ODS.
9. What are the differences between ODS and Info Cube?
ODS holds transactional level data. Its just as a flat table. Its not based on
multidimensional model. ODS have three tables
1. Active Data table (A table containing the active data)
2. Change log Table (Contains the change history for delta updating from the ODS
Object into other data targets, such as ODS Objects or InfoCubes for example.)
3. Activation Queue table (For saving ODS data records that are to be updated but
that have not yet been activated. The data is deleted after the records have been
activated)
Whereas Cube holds aggregated data which is not as detailed as ODS. Cube is based on
multidimensional model.
An ODS is a flat structure. It is just one table that contains all data.
Most of the time you use an ODS for line item data. Then you aggregate this data to an
info cube
One major difference is the manner of data storage. In ODS, data is stored in flat tables.
By flat I mean to say ordinary transparent table whereas in a CUBE, it composed of
multiple tables arranged in a STAR SCHEMA joined by SIDs. The purpose is to do MULTIDIMENSIONAL Reporting
In ODS; we can delete / overwrite the data load but in cube only add is possible, no
overwrite.
10. What is the use of change log table?
Change log is used for delta updates to the target; it stores all changes per request and
updates the target.
11. Difference between InfoSet and Multiprovider
a) The operation in Multiprovider is "Union" where as in Infoset it is either "inner join" or
"Outer join".
b) You can add Info-cube, ODS, Info-object in Multiprovider whereas in an Infoset you
can only have ODS and Info-object.
c) An Infoset is an Info-provider that joins data from ODS and Info-objects( with master
data). The join may be a outer join or a inner join. Whereas a Multiprovider is created on
all types of Infoproviders - Cubes, ODS, Info-object. These InfoProviders are connected
to one another by a union operation.
d) A union operation is used to combine the data from these objects into a MultiProvider.
Here, the system constructs the union set of the data sets involved. In other words, all
values of these data sets are combined. As a comparison: InfoSets are created using
joins. These joins only combine values that appear in both tables. In contrast to a union,
joins form the intersection of the tables.
12. What is the T.Code for Data Archival and what is it's advantage?
SARA.
Advantage: To minimize space, Query performance and Load performance
13. What are the Data Loading Tuning from R/3 to BW, FF to BW?
a) If you have enhanced an extractor, check your code in user exit RSAP0001 for
expensive SQL statements, nested selects and rectify them.
b) Watch out the ABAP code in Transfer and Update Rules, this might slow down
performance
c) If you have several extraction jobs running concurrently, there probably are not
enough system resources to dedicate to any single extraction job. Make sure schedule
this job judiciously.
d) If you have multiple application servers, try to do load balancing by distributing the
load among different servers.
e) Build secondary indexes on the under lying tables of a DataSource to correspond to
the fields in the selection criteria of the datasource. ( Indexes on Source tables)
f) Try to increase the number of parallel processes so that packages are extracted
parallelly instead of sequentially. (Use PSA and Data Target in parallel option in the info
package.)
g) Buffer the SID number ranges if you load lot of data at once.
h) Load master data before loading transaction data.
i) Use SAP Delivered extractors as much as possible.
j) If your source is not an SAP system but a flat file, make sure that this file is housed on
the application server and not on the client machine. Files stored in an ASCII format are
faster to load than those stored in a CSV format.
14. Performance monitoring and analysis tools in BW
a) System Trace: Transaction ST01 lets you do various levels of system trace such as
authorization checks, SQL traces, table/buffer trace etc. It is a general Basis tool but can
be leveraged for BW.
b) Workload Analysis: You use transaction code ST03
c) Database Performance Analysis: Transaction ST04 gives you all that you need to
know about whats happening at the database level.
d) Performance Analysis: Transaction ST05 enables you to do performance traces in
different are as namely SQL trace, Enqueue trace, RFC trace and buffer trace.
e) BW Technical Content Analysis: SAP Standard Business Content 0BWTCT that
needs to be activated. It contains several InfoCubes, ODS Objects and MultiProviders
and contains a variety of performance related information.
f) BW Monitor: You can get to it independently of an InfoPackage by running
transaction RSMO or via an InfoPackage. An important feature of this tool is the ability to
retrieve important IDoc information.
You can access this by entering OSS1 transaction or visit Service.SAP.Com and access it
by providing the user name and password.
17. How to transport BW object?
Follow the steps.
i. RSA1 > Transport connection
ii. In the right window there is a category "all object according to type"
iii. Select required object you want to transport.
iv. Expand that object, there is select object, double click on this you will get the number
of objects, select yours one.
v. Continue.
vi. Go with the selection, select all your required objects you want to transport.
vii. There is icon Transport Object (Truck Symbol).
viii. Click that, it will create one request, note it down this request.
ix. Go to Transport Organizer (T.code SE01).
x. In the display tab, enter the Request, and then go with display.
xi. Check your transport request whether contains the required objects or not, if not go
with edit, if yes "Release" that request.
Thats it; your coordinator/Basis person will move this request to Quality or Production.
18. How to unlock objects in Transport Organizer?
To unlock a transport use Go to SE03 --> Request Task --> Unlock Objects
Enter your request and select unlock and execute. This will unlock the request.
19. What is InfoPackage Group?
An InfoPackage group is a collection of InfoPackages.
20. Differences Between Infopackage Groups and Process chains
i.Info Package Groups are used to group only Infopackages
where as Process chains are used to automate all the processes.
ii Infopackage goups:
Use to group all relevent infopackages in a group, (Automation of a group of
infopackages only for dataload). Possible to Sequence the load in order.
Process Chains:
Used to automate all the processes including Dataload
and all Administrative Tasks like indices creation deletion, Cube compression etc
Highly controlled dataloading.
iii. InfoPackage Groups/Event Chains are older methods of scheduling/automation.
Process Chains are newer and provide more capabilities. We can use ABAP programs and
lot of additional features like ODS activation and sending emails to users based on
success or failure of data loads.
21. What are the critical issues you faced and how did you solve it?
Find your own answer based on your experience..
22. What is Conversion Routine?
a) Conversion Routines are used to convert data types from internal format to
external/display format or vice versa.
b) These are function modules.
c) There are many function modules, they will be of type
CONVERSION_EXIT_XXXX_INPUT, CONVERSION_EXIT_XXXX_OUTPUT.
example:
CONVERSION_EXIT_ALPHA_INPUT
CONVERSION_EXIT_ALPHA_OUTPUT
23. Difference between Start Routine and Conversion Routine
In the start routine you can modify data packages when data loading. Conversion routine
usually refers to routines bound to InfoObjects (or data elements) for conversion of
internal and display format.
24. What is the use of setup tables in LO extraction?
The use of setup table is to store your historical data in them before updating to the
target system. Once you fill up the setup tables with the data, you need not to go to the
application tables again and again which in turn will increase your system performance.
25. R/3 to ODS delta update is good but ODS to Cube delta is broken. How to fix
it?
i. Check the Monitor (RSMO) whats the error explanation. Based on explanation, we can
check the reason
ii. Check the timings of delta load from R3 ODS CUBE if conflicting after ODS load
iii. Check the mapping of Transfer/Update Rules
iv. Fails in RFC connection
v. BW is not set as source system
vi. Dump (for a lot of reasons, full table space, time out, sql errors...)
Do not receive an IDOC correctly.
vii. There is a error load before the last one and so on...
26. What is short dump and how to rectify?
Short dump specifies that an ABAP runtime error has occurred and the error messages
are written to the R/3 database tables. You can view the short dump through transaction
ST22.
You get short dumps b'coz of runtime errors. The short dump u got is due to the
termination of background job. This could be of many reasons.
You can check short dumps in T-code ST22. U can give the job tech name and your
userid. It will show the status of jobs in the system. Here you can even analyze short
dump. U can use ST22 in both R/3 and BW.
OR To call an analysis method,
choose Tools --> ABAP Workbench --> Test --> Dump-Analysis from the SAP Easy
Access menu.
In the initial screen, you must specify whether you want to view todays dump or the
dump from yesterday. If these selection criteria are too imprecise, you can enter more
specific criteria. To do this, choose Goto --> Select Short Dump
You can display a list of all ABAP dumps by choosing Edit --> Display List. You can then
display and analyze a selected dump. To do this, choose Short Dump --> Dump Analysis.
Within a query definition you can use either no structures or a maximum of two
structures. Of these, only one can be a key figure structure.
6. Difference between filter and condition in report
Filters act on Characteristics; Conditions act on Key Figures. You do not use KF in the
filter area. Only char values can be restricted in the filter area, whereas Conditions are
created to key figures.
7. Reporting Agent
Definition: The Reporting Agent is a tool used to schedule reporting functions in the
background.
The following functions are available:
Evaluating exceptions
Printing queries
Managing bookmarks
Use
You make settings for the specified reporting functions.
You assign the individual settings to scheduling packages for background processing.
You schedule scheduling packages as a job or within a process chain.
8. RRI: Report-Report-Interfacing is the terminology used to describe linking reports
together. Report-Report-Interfacing uses Jump Targets that are created using the
transaction code RSBBS (see Question #4). A Query with RRI functionality can be
identified by clicking on the Goto icon in the BEx Analyzer toolbar.
9. What are the restrictions on ODS reporting? Active, retired and terminated
employees can be separated using different ODS for detail reports.
10. Difference between ODS & Cube Reporting
ODS is 2 dimensional format and it is not good to analyze the data in multi dimensional
way. If you want to take flat reporting then go for ODS reporting.
Cube is multidimensional format and you can analyze data in different dimensions, so if
your requirement is multidimensional report go for Cube.
Example: List of purchase orders for a vendor is two dimensional reports whereas sales
organization wise, sales area wise, customer wise sales for last quarter and comparison
with earlier quarters is a multi-dimensional report.
Two dimensional reports are similar to reporting on a table. ODS active table is a flat
table like an r/3 table. Reporting is done on active table of ODS. Other tables are for
handling the deltas.
Cube structure is a star schema structure. Hence Reports on cubes are multidimensional
reports.
11. Why we need to use 0Recordmode in ODS?
0Recordmode is an InfoObject for loading data into ODS. The value indicates how the
data should be updated and which type.
Field 0RECORDMODE is needed for the delta load and is added by the system if a
DataSource is delta-capable. In the ODS object the field is generated during the creation
process.
d). Serialized V3 Update: This is the conventional update method in which the
document data is collected in the sequence of attachment and transferred to BW by
batch job. The sequence of the transfer does not always match the sequence in which
the data was created.
Basic difference is in the sequence of data transfer. In Queued delta it is same as the one
in which documents are created whereas in serialized v3 update it is not always the
same.
4) Difference between Costing based and Account based CO-PA
Account based is tied to a GL account posting. Costing based is derived from value fields.
Account based would be more exact to tie out to the GL. Costing based is not easy to
balance to the GL and more analytical and expect differences. Costing based offers some
added revaluation costing features
Implementing costing based is much more work but also gives much more reporting
possibilities especially focused on margin analyses. Without paying attention to it while
implementing costing based COPA, you get account based with it, with the advantage of
reconciled data.
COPA accounting based is for seeing at abstract level whereas costing based is the
detailed level, 90% we go for costing based only.
COPA Accounting is based on Account numbers; where as cost accounting is based on
cost centers.
COPA Tables: Account base COPA tables are COEJ, COEP, COSS and COSP
5. Give an example of business scenario you worked on
6. What does success mean to you?