201 Interview Questions

TABLE OF CONTENTS
FOREWORD ........................................................................ 10
KEY QUESTIONS ................................................................. 13
Basic ............................................................................................ 14
Intermediate ................................................................................. 16
Expert ......................................................................................... 2l
...................... CHAPTER 1: BW Administratio11 and Design 25
Basic Concepts ............................................................................. 2 6
BW Settings in SPRO ..................................................................... 44
Non Cumulative Key Figures ............................................................ 47
A~~thorizations .............................................................................. 5 0
BW Archival and retrieve ................................................................ 55
Process Chai~is .............................................................................. 57
Open Hub ..................................................................................... 6 2
Tuning ......................................................................................... 6 4
RSRV ............................................................................................ 67
ODs ............................................................................................ 69
BW Statistics ................................................................................ 72
Aggregates ................................................................................... 74
Tabl e o f c o n t e n t s
........ CHAPTER 2: BW Reporting (BEx and Web Reporting) 79
......................................................................... Business Explorer 80
................................................................... Calculated key figures 82
........................................................................ Boolean Operators 84
...................................................................... Structures and cells 85
.......................................................... Before and after aggregation 86
..................................................................... Key figure properties 88
................................................................... Hierarchies i n Reports 90
........................................................... User Exits for Bex Reporting 92
Variables ..................................................................................... 95
.......................................................................... Query properties 100
.......................................................................... Document utility 'I03
.................................................................... Query Administration 104
Conditions and Exceptions ..................................................... 105
.......................................................................... Reporting Agent 108
............................................................... Web Application Designer 112
.................................................... CHAPTER 3: Extracti on 121
............................................................................ Basic Concepts 122
.............................................................................. Class System 129
..................................................................... Generic Data source 130
Ta bl e o f c o n t e n t s
LIS Extraction ............................................................................... 131
LO Extraction .............................................................................. 134
CO-PA Extraction .......................................................................... 137
CO-PA Retraction ......................................................................... 140
Enhancing data extraction ............................................................. 142
DB Connect ................................................................................. 145
Currency Translation in BW ........................................................... 147
CHAPTER 4: BW Fu~~ct i onal ............................................. 149
ASAP methodology ....................................................................... 150
............................................................ Business Content and roles l5l
I NTRODUCTI ON
How to use this book:
As a consultant / analyst:
J
Start by reading this book from cover t o cover.
J Repeat that until you think you know all the details.
J Now practice what you have learnt in the system.
If you are an employer looking to hirelcontract a BW
professional:
*, The first part of the book highlights key questions
that you should be able to ask a candidate and
therefore gauge their competency based on their
answers.
J
By randomly adding in a few questions from the rest
of the book you can focus on a specific area and
ensure that the candidate really knows the relevant
information.
J
Before interviewing a candidate, always make sure
that you fully understand the question and the
answer. Although every effort has been made to
make the questions and answers simple in their
explanation, some questions may still not make sense
to an untrained user.
J We suggest highlighting those questions that you
wish to ask, familiarizing yourself with the answers
and then conducting the interview.
Note that the chapter / topic that: the question covcrs is always
listed on the top of each page. This is because it is always
important to know in what context the question w;ls asked, to
ensure that the candidate can respond to it as correctly as
possible e.g. If you are asking a reporting question then
explain to the candidate that the following question pertains to
reporting.
Key :
Each question has a rating which is illustrated by the tollowing
symbols:
0 Basic
0 0 Intermediate
000 Expert
As an added benefit we've included several worksheets and
bonus material on Geniepress.com, including candidate
worksheets which have all the questions marked out for yoi~,
provide space for the candidates name, the date of interview
and their overall scores.
There are also links to other BW data provided by the author,
such as SAP'S standard cubes. Links to SAPGcnic's BW
material are also available from this bonus arca.
To access this information: go to http://www.rrenicr,ress.com/
201 bw and enter the username 201 bw and password lsd2lk
Good luck and enjoy!
Ke y [ l uest i ons
Basic
1. What are the advantages of an Extended star schema of
BW vs. 'The star schema?
9 Uses generated numeric keys and aggregates in its
own tables for faster access.
9 Uses an external hierarchy.
9 Supports multiple languages.
9 Contains master data common to ;dl cubcs.
9 Supports slowly changing dimensions.
2. How maliy tliniensio~is are there ill a cube?
There are a total of 16 dimensions in a culx. Of these
16, 3 are predefined by SAP and thcsc arc timc, unit
and request. This leaves the customer uri th 1 3
dimensions.
3. What is the transaction for the Adrr~inistrator work bench?
Transaction RSA 1
4. Wliat is tlie "myself data mart"?
A BW system feeding data to itself is called the myself
data mart. It is created automatically and ilscs ALE
for data transfer.
5. What is an aggregate?
Aggregates are mini cubes. They arc uscd t o improvc
performance when executing queries. l'ou can cquate
them to indexes on a table. Aggregates klrc
transparent to the user.
Ba s i c
6. Wliat i s a calculated key figure?
A calculated key figure is ilsed to do complicated
calculations on key figures such as mathematical
functions, percentage filnctions and total filnctions.
For example, you can have a calculated key figure to
calci~late sales tax based on your sale price.
7. What i s t he enl i a~i cement user exit for BEx reportilig?
8. What i s a characteri sti cs variable?
You can have dynamic input for characteristics using a
characteristic variable. For example, if you are
developing a sales rcport for a given product, you will
define a variable for OMATERIAL.
9. What i s a condition?
If yo11 want to filter on key figures or do a ranked
analysis then you use a condition. For example, you
can use a condition to report on the top 10 customers,
or customers with more than a million dollars in
annual salcs.
Ke v Ou e s t i o n s
Intermediate
'10. What are t he data types s1.1pported by characteristics?
4 NUMC Numeric
4 CHAR (up to 60) IJp to 60 characters
4 DATS Date
4 TIMS Time
11. What are t he types of attri butes?
Display only - These attributes are only for display and
no analysis can be done.
Navigational attributes - These attributes behave like
regular characteristics.
For example, assume that we have customer
characteristics with country as a navigational attribute,
you will then be able to analyze the data using
customer and country. In the BEx query you can create
filters or variables for country and you can also use the
drill down feature.
12. What i s meant by compo~.lnding?
Compounding defines the s~lperior Infoobject, which
must be combined to define an object. For example,
when you define a cost center, the controlling area is
the compounding (superior) object.
I nt er medi at e
13. What are tlie 10 decision poi ~i t s of data warehousi~ig?
c/ Identify a fact table.
c/ Identify the dimension tables.
c/ Define the attributes of t he entities.
c/ Define the granularity of the fact table (how
detailed do you want the data to be).
c/ Define pre-calculated key figures.
c/ Identify slowly changing dimensions.
c/ Identify aggregates.
c/ How long will the data be kept.
c/ How often is the dat a extracted.
c, From which system is the data to be extracted.
14. What options are available i n t he transfer rule?
c/ Assign an Infoobject - direct transfer, no
transformation
c/ Assign a constant eg. If you are loading data from
a specified country from a flat file, you can make
the country (17s) as a constant and assign the value
explicitly
c/ ABAP routine eg. If you want to do some complex
string manipulation, assume that you are getting a
flat file from legacy data and the cost center is in a
field and you have to "massage" the data to get it
in. In this case the use of an ABAP routine is most
appropriate
Ke y Cl uest i ons
J Formula - for simple calculations usc formula eg. If
you want to convert all lower casc cl~uractcrs to
upper case, use the TOUPPER formula. You can
use formilla builder to help put your formulas
together.
15. What i s compression or collapse?
This is the process by which we delete the recluest ID'S
which leads to space savings. All the rcgular rcqucsts
are stored in the F table. When you compress, the
request I D is deleted and data is moved from the F
table to the E table. This saves space and improves
performance but the disadvantage is that you cannot
delete the compressed requests individually. You can,
however, still use selective deletion.
If you are using noncumulative key figures in a cube,
the cube should be compressed as often possible to
improve performance.
16. What i s an InfoSet?
An InfoSet is an info provider giving data by joining
data from different sources like ODs and master data.
You can also do an outer join in an InfoSet. InfoSets
can also be used to combine transactional data with
master data. For example, if you have cli~antity in the
transaction data and you have price as an attribute of
the material. Then you can have an InfoSet with
transaction data and material where yo11 will l)e able to
do calculations based on material pricc in BEx.
I nt er medi at e
Another usage is, if you have ODs you can disable
BEx reporting (in the setting) and use the ODs in the
InfoSet for reporting, which leads to improved
performance
17. What ar e lion cu~i i ul at i ve key figures?
These are key figures that are not summarized (unlike
sales, etc.). Examples are head count and inventory
amount. They are always shown in relation to a point
in time. For example, we will ask how many
employees we had as of last quarter. We don' t add up
the head count.
18. What perfornialice improvemelit cal l we do f or reporting?
4 Aggregates
4 OLAP cache
4 Pre-calculated web templates
4 Use small amount or result data as starting point
of any queries and do the drill down.
4 Avoid reporting on ODs and use InfoSet
containing ODs for reporting.
4 If you use exclusion in reporting (< >), the indices
are not used. So avoid using the exclusion but use
inclusion.
4 Use the read mode "H" read when navigating and
expanding hierarchies".
4 Use compression on Infocubes since the E table is
optimized for queries.
4 Create additional indexes.
Ke y R u e s t i o n s
v Run DB statistics often.
9 Use secondary indexes on ODS active table.
v Use RSRT transaction to look at t he "Explain
Plan" statement.
9 If you are running a query on an info provider with
non cumulative key figure then suppress summary
line items (totals).
19. Wliat are tl i e options when defining aggregates?
*
Groups according to characteris tics Values
H Hierarchy
F Fixed value; for example if you have a
OCOUNTRY characteristic and only US is
reported on, then you can create an aggregate
only for the country IJS
Blank None
Ex oe r t
Expert
20. What are t he BEx options for characteristics like F4 help
for query definition and execution?
This defines how the data is displayed in the query
definition screen or when the query is executed.
Options are from the dat a displayed, from master data
table (all data) and from dimension data. For example
let us assume that you have 100 products in total in
your material master, 10 products available in a cube
and in BEx you display a query for 2 products; the
following options for the product will display different
data:
4 Selective dat a only will display 2 products
4 Dimension data will display 10 products
4 From master data will display all 100 products
21. What i s tl i e 1:lifference between am~u~i t , l qua~i t i t y alid
number type key figures?
Amount / quant i t y is always combined with units. For
example, sales will be linked to currency and inventory
will be linked to quantity in units. In your design if
you don' t need units then you should use number or
integer to improve performance.
22. Wlieli coding t he ABAP transfer rule, what are t he
important variables yo11 make use of?
4 RESULT This gets the result of the
ABAP code.
Ke y Quest i ons
J RETURNCODE You set this to 0 if everything
is OK; else this record is
skippcd.
J ABORT Set this to a value not 0, to
abort thc cntirc package.
23. What i s the use of t i me di stri buti on option i n the update
rule?
This option is uscd to distribute data according to
time. For examplc, if the source contains calendar
week and the target contains calendar day, tlie data is
split for each calendar day. Here you can select either
the normal calendar or the factory calendar.
24. I n update rul es for key figures, what are tl i e return tabl e
options for?
lJsually thc ilpdatc rulc scnds one record to the data
target; using this option you can send multiple records
to the data target cg. If you gct 1 record from thc
communication structure using this option you can
create multiple records into thc data target. For
example if we are getting total tclcphone expenses for
the cost center, you can use this to return tclcphone
cxpcnses for cach employee (by dividing the total
cxpenses by the number of employccs i n tlle cost
center) and creating cost record for c; ~i l i cmployec
using ABAP code.
Exper t
25. How would you optimize di me~i si ons?
IJse as many dimensions as possible for performance
improvement eg. Assume that you have 100 products
and 200 customers;
Option 1) Make one dimension for both, the size
of the dimension will be 20,000; ( 100
* 200).
Option 2) Make individual dimensions one for
product (100 rows) and one for
customers (200) rows. The total
number of rows in both dimensions
will be 300.
c/ Obviously Option 2 is better.
Even if you have more than one characteristic per
dimension, you should do the math considering the
worst case scenario and decide which characteristics
may be combined in which dimensions.
26. What i s a line i t em (or degenerate) dimelision?
If the size of a dimension of a cube is almost the same
as the size of the fact table, you define that dimension
as a line item dimension. For example, if you store the
sales document number in one dimension in a sales
cube, usually the dimension size and the fact table size
will be the same. When you add the overhead of look
ups for DIMIDISIDs, the performance will be very
slow. By flagging it as a line item dimension, the
Ke v Ou e s t i o n s
system puts the SID in the fact table instead of
DIMID for the sales document number. This avoids
one look up into dimension table (the dimension table
is not created in this case).
Only one characteristic is allowed per line item
dimension and for F4 help, the complete master data is
displayed (which takes more time to display).
27. What i s a "Marker" in Non Cumulative cubes?
Noncumulatives are stored using a "Marker" for the
current period. A marker is nothing b~l t a pointer
referring to a time period. For example an inventory
cube marker may refer to the inventory levels as of
yesterday.
28. What i s the use of a colon ':' as an authorization value?
J It enables queries that do not contain an
authorization relevant object that have been
checked into the Infocube.
J It allows summary data to be displayeci if the user
does not have access to detailed data. For
example, if you create 2 authorizations for one
user: one with Sales Org * and customers : and
second with sales org 1000 and customers *, the
user sees all customers for sales org 1000 and only
summarized report for other sales org.
CHAPTER 1
BW Admi ni st r at i on
and
Desi gn
Chapt er 1: BW Admi ni st r at i on and Desi gn
Basic Concepts
29. What are the differences between OLAP and OLTP
applicatiolis? O
OLAP OLTP
J Summarized data Detailed
J Read only Read write
J Not Optimized Optimized for data
applications
J Lot of historical data Less historical data
30. What i s a star schema? O
A fact table at the center and surrounded (linked) by
dimension tables
31. What i s a slowly changing dimension? O
A dimension containing characteristics \\,hose value
changes over a time period. For example, take an
employee's job title, this changes over a pcriod of time
as the employee moves through an organization. This
is called a slowly changing dimension.
32. What are the advalitages of an Extelided star schenia of
BW vs. The star schema? O
J Use of generated keys (numeric) for faster access
J External hierarchy
J Support for multiple languages
Basi c Concept s
J Master data is common to all cubes
J Supports slowly changing dimensions
J Aggregates in its own tables which allows for
tastcr access
33. What i s the namespace for BW? 0 0
All SAP objects start with 0. The customer namespace
is A - 2. All tables begin with /BIO for SAP and /BIC
for customers; All generated objects start with 1-8
(like export data source). The prefix 9A is used in
APO.
34. What is an Infoobject? 0
Infoobjects are business objects eg. Customer,
product. They are divided into characteristics and key
figures. Characteristics are evaluation objects such as
customer and key figures are measurable objects such
as sales quantity. Characteristics also include special
objects like unit and time.
35. What are time dependent text / attribute of
cliaracteristics? O
If text (for example a name of a product or person) or
if an attribute changes over time then these must be
marked as time dependent.
36. Can you create your own time characteristics? O
C h a o t e r 1: BW A d mi n i s t r a t i o n a n d De s i n n
37. Wliat i s mealit by Alplia conversio~i? 0 0
Alpha conversion is used t o store data consistently. It
does this by storing numeric values prefixed with 0s
eg. If you have defined a material as length 6 (of type
Numc) then material number 1 is stored as 000001
but displayed as 1; this removes inconslstenc~es
between 0 1 vs. 001.
38. What is tl i e alpha clieck executioli progra~ii? 00
This is used t o check consistency for BW 2. x before
upgrading the system t o 3.x. I t is RSMDCNVEXIT
39. What i s t he attri butes only flag? 0
If this flag is set, no master data is stored. This is only
used as an attribute for other characteristics, for
example comments on an Accounts Receivable
document.
40. Wliat are tl i e data types allowed for key figures? 0
4 Amount,
4 Quantity
4 Number
4 Integer
4 Dat e
4 Time
41. What are t he aggregation options for key figures? 00
If you are defining prices then you may want to set "no
aggregation" or you can define max, min, sum. You
can also define exception aggregation like first, last etc.
This is helpfill in getting a headcount eg. If you define
a monthly inventory count key figure you want the
count as of the last day of the previous month.
42. What i s ,the niaximuni number of key figures you call Iiave
in an Infocube? O
43. What i s the maximum number of characteristics you can
have per dimension? O
44. What i s a SID table a ~ i d what are i t s advantages? 00
The SID table (Surrogate I D table) is the interface
betwccn master data and the dimension tables.
Advantages include:
4 Using 8 byte integer values as indexes for faster
access
4 Master dat a is independent of Infocubes
4 Supports multiple languages
4 Supports slowly changing dimensions
45. Which tables are generated for master data? 00
P table Time independent master data
attributes
Q table Time dependent master dat a attributes
Chapt er 1: BW Admi ni st r at i on and Desi gn
S Table for the SID Ids
M view Com bines P and Q
X table Interface between master data SIDs
and time independent navip;ltional
attributes SIDs ( P is linked to the X
table)
Y table Interface between master data SIDs
and time dependent navigational
attributes SIDs ( Q is linked to the Y
table)
46. What i s the transfer routine of tl i e I ~i f oDbj ect ? O
It is like a start routine; this is independent of the data
source and valid for all transfer routines; you can use
this to define global data and global checks.
47. Wliat i s t he DI M ID? O
These are Dimensional IDS. Dim ID' S link dimensions
to the fact table. I t is an 8 byte integer like SID.
48. What i s a tabl e partition? 00
By partitioning we split the table into smaller tables
which is transparent to the application. This improves
performance (when reading as well as deleting data).
SAP uses fact table partitioning to improve
performance. Not e that you can only partition on
OCALMONTH or OFISCPER.
Basi c Concept s
Remember that the partition is created only in the E
fact table; the F fact table is partitioned by Request
Number as a default.
Advantages of a partition:
4 Makes use of parallel process
4 Allows a smaller set of data to be read
4 Allows fast deletion
49. How many extra parti ti ons are created and why? Can you
partition a cube wi,th data ? 00
IJsually 2 extra partitions are created to accommodate
data before the beginning period and one after the end
of partitioning period.
No, you cannot partition a cube with data. A cube
must be empty to partition it. One work around is to
make a copy of the cube A to cube B and then to
export data from A to B using export data source.
Then empty cube A, create partition on A, re-import
data from B and delete cube B. Note that this is going
to change in Netweaver 2004s (Or BW 7)
50. What i s a source system? O
Any system that is sending data to BW like R/3, flat
file, oracle database or a non-SAP systems.
Chapt er 1: BW Admi ni st r at i on and Desi gn
51. What is a data source and wha,t is an InfoSource? O
Dat a source: The source that is sending data to a
particular InfoSource on BW For example, wc have a
OCUSTOMER - ATTR dat a source to supply attributes
t o OCUSTOMER from R/3.
InfoSource : Group of logically related objects. For
example, the OCUSTOMER InfoSourcc will contain
dat a related to customer and attributes like customer
number, address, phone no, etc.
52. Wliat are tlie 4 types of InfoSources? O
J Transactional
J Attributes
J Text
J Hierarchy
53. Wliat i s a commur~ication structure? O
Is an independent structure created from an
InfoSource. It is independent of the sourcc system /
dat a source.
54. What are transfer rules and what is global tralisfer rule? O
Transfer rules: The transformation rules for dat a from
the source system to the InfoSource / communication
structure. These are used t o clean up thc data from
source system.
Ba s i c Co n c e p t s
For example when you load customer data from flat
file, you can convert the name to upper case using a
transfer rule.
Global Transfer Rule: This is a transfer routine (ABAP)
defined at the Infoobject level. This is common for all
soilrce systems.
55. Name some important formulas available in BW? O
c/ Concatenate
./ substring
c/ condense
c/ leftlright (n characters)
c/ 1 - trim
c/ r trim
-
c/ replace
c/ date routines:
DATECONV
date week
-
add - to - date
date - diff
c/ logical functions like:
if
and
56. What i s tlie process of replication and what menu path
would you use to perform it? O
This copies data source structures from R/3 to BW For
example, assume that you added a new data source in
R/3. This will not be visible in the BW system until
you replicate it.
Ch a n t e r 1: BW Admi ni st r at i on and Desi nn
You replicate using the transaction RSAl +Source
System +k g h t click on the system +Replicate. You
can also replicate at an info area level.
57. Wliat i s tlie update rule? O
The update rule defines the transformation of data
from the communication structure to the data targets.
This is independent of the source systems / data
sources. For example, you can use update rule to
globally change data independent of the source
system.
58. What are the options in update r~.lles? O
J One to one move for Infoobject value
J Constant
J Lookup for master data attribute value
J Formula
J Routine (ABAP)
J Initial value
59. What are the special conversions for time i n update
rules? O
Time dimensions are automatically converted. For
example, if the cube contains calendar month and your
transfer structure contains date, the date to c;ilendar
month is converted automatically.
Basi c Conc e pt s
60. What is t he st art routine? 00
The first step in the update process is to call start
routine. Use this to fill global variables to be used in
update routines. For example, you can define global
values to be used by the update routines. It is also the
first step in the Transformation process before the
Transfer rules.
81. What is the co~i ver si o~i r out i ~i e for u ~ i i t s and currencies in
t he update rule? 00
IJsing this option you can write ABAP code for unit /
currency conversion. If you enable this flag then unit
of measure of the key figure appears in the ABAP code
as an additional parameter. For example, you can use
this to convert quantity in pounds to quantity in
kilograms.
62. How do you add an entry i n t he monitor log from the
update rules? 000
This is added in the internal table MONITOR; the
following fields describe the MONI TOR structure
4 MONITOR-MSGID gives an I D
4 MONITOR-MSGTY message type
4 MONITOR-MSGNO message number
4 MONITOR-MSGV1 monitor message1
4 MONITOR-MSGV2 monitor message 2
4 Append it to the MONI TOR table, this will show
up in the monitor
Chapt er 1: BW Admi ni st r at i on and Desi gn
Here is a sample code to do this. Assumc that you are
checking for product 'XYZ' which should not bc
loaded to the cube and you want to display a message
in the monitor.
The code in the update routine will be :-
If comm- st r uct ur e- pr oduct = L X Y Z ' .
Ret ur ncode = 1.
Moni t or - msgi d = ' X Y Z ' .
Moni t or - msgt y = L E ' .
Moni t or- msgno = ' 1 2 3 ' .
Moni t or - msgvl = ' I n v Pr od' .
Moni t or - msgv2 = comm- st r uct ur e- pr oduct .
Append moni t or .
E x i t .
End i f .
63. How do you create t he "myself data mart"? O
The BW system feeding data to itself is called the
myself data mart. It is created automatically and uses
ALE for data transfer
d Right click and create the export data source for
the ODSIcube or PSA.
J In the target system replicate the data source
J Create transfer rules and update rules
d Create info package to load
64. Can you make MultiProviders alid liiaster data as data
marts? O
Yes
Ba s i c Conc e pt s
65. Wliat are tlie benefits of data marts? 0
4 Simple to use
4 Hub and spoke usage
4 Distributed dat a
4 In some cases they can provide performance
improvements
66. What are events and how do you use them? 00
Events are background signals to tell the system that a
certain status has been reached; you can use events in
batch jobs. For example, after you load data to the cube
you can trigger an event which will start another job to
run the reporting agent. Use SM62 to create and
maintain events.
67. Wliat i s all event chain and Iiow do you create one? 00
This is a group of events that are completed
independently of one another. Used to execute
processes based on success or failure of events. For
example, you can trigger a chain event if all loads are
successfill.
AWB Tools Event collector
68. What is meant by PSA? 0
Persistent staging area - is based on the transfer
structure and is source system dependent. The data in
the PSA is in the same format as the dat a received from
the source system.
C h a o t e r 1: BW Ad mi n i s t r a t i o n a nd De s i n n
69. What are different options available for update process to
data target? O
cl PSA and data targets in parallel - improvcs
performance
cl PSA and data target in sequencc
r/ PSA only - you have to manually load clata to data
targets
cl Dat a targets only - No PSA
For performance reasons you should do PSA ;1nd Dat a
targets in parallel.
70. Wliy, if one request fails, do al l t he subsequent requests
turn t o "red" in an Infoprovider? 00
This is to avoid inconsistency and ensures that only
data from subsequent requests is not available for
reporting which otherwise would lead to inconsistency
between report and underlying data.
71. What are t he two f act tables? O
There are two fact tables for each I nf oC~~bc namely the
E table and the F table. The E table is ol7timized for
Read.
72. What i s recons,tructitln? O
This is the process by which you reload data from PSA
(or ODs ) into the cube/ODS.
B a s i c C o n c e p t s
73. What i s a remote cube? 0
Remote cube is a logical cube where the data is
extracted from an external source. It is usually used to
report on real time data from an r/3 system instead of
drilling down from BW to R3.
74. What i s a virtual I ~i f oCube wi th services? 00
In this case, a user defined function module is used as
the data source. Using this, for example, you can access
a table from a logical cilbe. For example, the delivered
cube OBWTC-C08 (BW Metadata) is an InfoCube with
Services and it Llses a function module to get data.
75. What are t he restrictio~is/recomme~idations for usi ~i g
remote cube? 0 0
These are used for reporting on small volumes of data
with few users; no master data allowed. Performance is
poor while using remote cube.
76. Give examples of data sources t hat support remote cubes.
00
OF1 - AP - 3 - vendor line items, OF1 - AR - 3 - customer
line items
77. What i s a MultiProvider? 0
lJsing MultiProvider you can access data from different
data sources like cubes, ODS, Infosets, master data.
MultiProvidcr does a Union at the database level.
Ch a p t e r 1: BW Ad mi n i s t r a t i o n a n d De s i g n
78. What are the added features in 3.x for MultiProvider? 00
Prior to 3.x only multi cubes were available; J' OLL can
not combine a ODs and cube, for example.
79. What is ,the difference between MultiProvider and
InfoSet? O
MultiProvider is a Union whereas InfoSct is a 'Join"
(intersection). So from a MultiProvider JJOLI may get as
many rows as the number of underlying InfoProviders.
Example:
InfoProviderl (with Sales Order and order qt y)
Sales Doc Ord qty
S 10 1 10
InfoProvider2 (with Delivery doc no, salcs doc no, qty
delivered)
Del Doc No Sales Doc no Qty delivered
Dl 0 1 SlOl 8
If we use a MultiProvider to rcport, the f;)llowing data
will be displayed :-
SalesDoc DelDoc Ord Qty 1)clQtv
S 10 1 # 10
SlOl Dl 0 1 S
If we use an InfoSct the following result ~ v i l l be
displayed (join on sales doc no):
SalesDoc DelDoc OrdOty DclQty
SlOl D 10 1 10 S
B a s i c C o n c e o t s
Please note: Thc InfoSet cannot be created on an
Infocube but only on transparent tables like ODs and
Master data (BW version 7.0 this limitation is not
applicable).
80. What i s a transactional Infocube? How will you report on
this? O
These cubes arc used for both read and write, standard
cubes arc optimized for reading. The transactional
cubes are uscd in SEM.
Since transactional cubes are not loaded by
InfoPackagc thc reporting flag is not set until it
rcachcs a certain limit. To view the data from queries
with latest data, you should use the system variable
OS- RQMRC (Most Current Data) as a filter for
Request ID in your BEx queries.
BAPI's are needed to load data and also for reporting
on Transactional InfoCubes.
Plcasc note : You need BAPI to load data and also for
reporting on Transactional Infocube.
81. Wliat i s t he Transaction code for moni t or i ~i g Cache? O
Transaction code RSRCACHE
Chapt er 1: BW Admi ni st r at i on and Desi gn
82. What i s meant by Iiigli cardi ~i al i t y dinielisio~i? 00
If the dimension exceeds 10% of the size of the fact
table then you can make it as a high cardinality
dimension. Basically SAP converts from a bitmap
index to a B tree index.
83. When do you recommend high cardi ~i al i t y vs line i tem
dimension? O 0
If your dimension is more than 10% but less than 20%
of the size of hct table then use high cardinality
dimension; if it exceeds 20% then use line item
dimension.
84. What are the profile parameters for cache? 00
J rdsb/esm/buffersize-kb maximum size of cache
J rsdb/esm/max-objects maximum number of
entries in cache
85. Can you disable t he cache? 00
Yes, either globally or by using query d c l ~l g tool using
transaction code RSRT.
86. What is persistelice mode ill caclie? 00
Instead of swapping data from menlor): you can store
the data in a cluster table or file. This option ;~llows
you to store more data in cache than the avai1;~ble size
of main memory.
Basi c Concept s
87. What does tlie progralli RSMDCNVEXIT check? 000
All characteristics with conversion exit ALPHA,
NUMC and GJAHR
88. When should you do t he alpha conversion? 000
If you are upgrading you must do it before the
PREPARE phase of upgrade
89. Can you make an Infoobject as an InfoProvider and why? O
Yes, when you want to report on attribute values of
characteristics (master data), to make an Infoobject as
InfoProvider, right click on the info area in the
administration workbench and make them as an
InfoProvider.
For example, you can make OCUSTOMER as an
InfoProvider and do BEx reporting on OCUSTOMER.
Right click on the info area and select "Insert
characteristic as data target"
Chant er 1: BW Admi ni st r at i on and Desi gn
BW Settings in SPRO
90. What are the control parameters for data transfer? O
They define the maximum size of the p~~cket , the
maximum number of records per packet, the number
of parallel processes, etc.
91. Which transaction code i s used to set up tlie permitted
characters? 000
Transaction code RSKC.
92. What i s meant by aggregate realignment run
maintenance? 0 0
This defines the level of percentage change where a
realignment run will cause a reconstruction of
aggregates. Remember that if you have exception key
figures like Min or Max, then the aggregate will be
rebuilt every time you run the change.
93. What i s meant by update mode for master data? O
It defines whether the master data (auto sid) is added
automatically, for non existing master data, nll~en you
load the transaction data.
BW Se t t i n e s i n SPRO
94. What are the ODs object settings? O
They are:
c/ The number of parallel processors in activation,
c/ Minimum number of data records
c/ Wait time
95. What are the settings for fl at files? O
They are:
c/ The thousand separator
c/ Decimal pointer
c/ Field separator (default is ;)
c/ Field delimiter (default '7
96. What are the settings for data transfer? O
They are:
c/ Maximum number of dat a packages
c/ Frecluency
c/ Size of PSA partition
97. What are tlie nio~iitor set'ti~igs? O
c/ Define the wait time before the status turns to red.
Usually it is 7 hours, which means if the dat a is not
transferred within 7 hours for the request, the
status is set to red.
c/ Status colors. Here you can specify what status
should be displayed in case of 0 records transferred
or warnings.
c/ Schedule monitor assistant in the background to
analyze requests.
Chapt er 1: BW Admi ni st r at i on and Desi gn
98. Which t r a~i sact i t ~n code defines t he background user in t he
source system? 0 0
Transaction code RSCUSTV3
99. What are t he settings for Reporti ~i g? O
4 Defines what should be displayed for conditions
like: divide by zero, no data, overflow, mixed
values and authorization errors
4 Infoprovider properties for cache
4 Activate personalization in BEx
100. What are t he settings for web ? O
4 Define default web template and style sheet
4 RRI Setting
4 Drag and relate settings
4 IGS settings
4 Maintain web protocol of http or https
Non Cumul at i ve Key Fi gur es
Nan Cumulative Key Figures
'101. What i s standard and exception aggregation? 000
Standard aggregation -) specifies how values for a key
figure arc aggregated using all characteristics except
time.
Exception aggregation -) specifies how values for a
key figure are aggregated using time characteristics.
102. What i s a ti me reference characteristic? 000
It is a time characteristic which determines all other
time characteristic eg. OCALDAY, OCALMONTH,
OCALWEEK, OFISCPER
103. Give example of data sources supporting non cumulative
key fig1.1t-es. 0 0
4 2L1S - 40 - S278 transfer BW stock
2LIS 03 BF
-
- Material Movements
4 2LIS - 03-UM Revaluations
104. Can you create aggregate for a cube having cumulative key
figure? 0 0
Yes, but you must include all time characteristics.
105. What i s t he opening balance? 0 0 0
When you start loading inventory data from R/3 you
start with inventory quantity at a certain point in time,
this is what is called the opening balance.
C h a o t e r 1: BW Ad mi n i s t r a t i o n a n d De s i a n
106. Wliat i s "No Marker Update"? 000
If you choose this option when compressing a non
cumulative cube, the reference point is not updated
but the requests are moved to Request O (usu;ll
compression). You must do this for compressing
historical data.
107. When you compress multiple requests, how would you know
which request had "Marker l l pdate" enabled or not? 000
Check the log file for each compression. If you see a
message like NO REFPOINT UPDATE rhen rhc
marker was not updated in this comprcssion.
108. What are the steps to load a non c~.lmulative cube? 000
r/ Initialize the opening balance in R/3 6 2 7 8 )
r/ Activate the extract structure MCO3BFO for data
source 2LIS - 03 - BF
c/ Set up the historical material documenrs in R/3
c/ Load the opening balance using data source
2LIS - 40 - S278
r/ Load the historical movements and comprcss them
without marker update.
r/ Set up the V3 update
r/ Load the deltas using 2LIS - 03 - BF
No n Cu mu l a t i v e Key F i g u r e s
109. How i s the result for a query based on an Infocube, having
noncumulative key figure, calculated? 0 0 0
Quantity = Reference point in time quantity + Non
compressed delta quantities - Deltas for
backward quantity
Example :-
Ref p i n t in time : 12/30/2003 qty 100
Delta for one day 1213 1/2003 qt y 10 (not compressed)
Total qty = 110.
110. Wliat i s a validity deterliiiliing characteristic? 000
This determines the validity period of a noncumulative
cube eg. Plants opening and closing time periods.
111. Wliat are ,the dos and dol i fts of no~i cumul ati ve key figures?
000
9 1Jse few validity objects.
9 Compress the cube as regularly as possible so that
the marker stays current.
9 IJsc a smaller time period using variable when
reporting.
Ch a p t e r 1: BW Ad mi n i s t r a t i o n a nd De s i gn
112. Wliat is tlie t ra~i sact i o~i code for mai ~i t ai ni ~i g autlioriza'tion
object and role maintenance? 00
Transaction code PFCG
113. What is a role? O
The role defines the responsibility of a user wit11 proper
menu and transaction authorizations.
114. Give some examples of the roles delivered with SAP BW. 0
All BW roles start with S - RS.
For example:
4 S - RS - ROPAD- Production system administrator
4 S - RS - RREPU - BEx user
115. What are the different authorization approaches available
ill BW? O0
4 InfoCube based approach - use this in conjunction
with Info area to limit access
4 Query name based approach - many customers use
this to limit access eg. Z queries are read only, Y
queries are readlwrite and FI* query names arc for
FI use.
4 Dataset approach - limitation of characteristics
and key figures. You can use reporting
authorization for this.
Aut hor i z at i ons
116. What are the two object classes of BW authorization? 00
4 BW Warehouse authorization - SAP standard
4 BW Reporting (not delivered by SAP) - user
defined eg. Restricting data using an authorization
variable
117. How niany fields can you assign t o all aut l i ori zat i o~i obj ect
and what are t he values for ACTVT? 00
10
The possible values for ACTVT are create, change and
display.
118. Give some examples of stalidard authorization obj ects
delivered for BW. 00
S - RS - IOMAD
S - RS - ADMWB
S RS ODSO
- -
S RS TOOLS
- -
S - RS - ICUBE
.
S - RS - HIER
S - RS - COME
S - RS - COMPl
S RS FOLD
- -
S RS IOBJ
- -
S - RS - ISOUR
S - RS - ISRCM
S - GUI - GUI
S - BDS - DS
Master data
AWB objects
ODs objects
BEx tools
InfoCube
Hierarchy
Reporting authorization
Folders
Info0 bject
InfoSource (transaction data)
Infosource (master data)
Activities (workbooks)
Document set (for workbooks)
Chapt er 1: BW Admi ni st r at i on and Desi gn
4 S - USER - AGR Role check for saving workbook
in a role
c, S - USER - TCD Transaction in rolcs for skiving
workbook in a rolc
119. What i s a reporting object? 00
The authorization object, t hat is used I)!. OLAP
processor in BW for checking reporting authorization.
For example, use an authorization variable to control
the dat a as an Infoprovider.
120. Give a step hy step approach t o creat e an authorization
object. Assume t hat we are restri cti ng the report by cost
center. 00
4 Make the Infoobject as Authorization relevant
(flag) and activate it. In this example
OCOSTCENTER
4 Create an authorization object ilsing Transaction
code RSSM and include OCOSTCENTER in this
object.
4 Assign the object t o one or more InfoProviders.
4 Create role(s) with different values for cost centers
eg. You can create a role called "IT Manager" and
assign it t o all IT cost centers.
c, Assign the role t o users.
4 Create a query. Create a variable Lvitliin the query
for OCOSTCENTER of type "Autlic>riz;ltion" and
include it in the query. If the I T ni;ln;lger runs the
query it shows only the cost centers assigned t o
himlher.
Aut hor i z at i ons
121. How t o i ni pl eme~i t structural autl i ori zati on i n BW? 00
c, Create a profile using transaction OOSP
c, Assign the user to the profile using transaction
OOSB
c, IJpdate the T77UU table
c, Run the progrnm RHBAUSOO
c, Activate the dat a source and related components
OHR PA 2 in BW
- -
c, Load ODS from R/3
c, Activate the target InfoObjects as "Authorization
relevant"
c, Rim the filnction module RSSB to generate BW
authorization.
122. What are the new BW 3.x authorizations? 0 0
c, S - RS - COMPl checks for authorization
depending on the owner
c, S - RS - FOLD info area view of BEx elements
(to si~ppress)
c, S - RS - ISET f or InfoSets
4 S - GUI new activity code 6 0 loaded for
upload
123. What i s the use of c o l ~ n ':' as an au.thoriza'ti~11 value? 00
c, It enables queries that do not contain an
authorization relevant object and have been
checked in the InfoCube
c, It allows summary dat a to be displayed if the user
does not have access to detailed data.
Chant er 1: BW Admi ni st r at i on and Desi nn
For example, if you create 2 authorizat~ons for one
user, one with Sales Org * and customers : and a
second with sales org 1000 and custon~ers *, the Llscr
sees all customers for sales org 1000 and only
summarized report for other sales org.
124. What i s $ as an a~~t hor i zat i on value and what i s
OTCTAU'TH H? O O
You use $ followed by a variable name (thcsc variable
values are populated in a BEx user exit). This avoids
having too many roles
OTCTAUTHH is used in hierarchy authorization.
125. How would you debug security issues? 00
By using transactions ST0 1 and RSSMTRACE. An ' X'
mark in the log shows a fiiiled authorization check.
126. Which Transaction code shows templ ates for
au,thorizatinns? O O
Transaction code SU24.
BW Archi val and r et r i eve
BW Archival and retrieve
127. What are t he adva~i t ages of archiving a ~ i d what i s tl i e
transaction code for archiving? 0 0
J To minimize space
J Improve query performance
i
J Improve load performance
Archive uses ADK (Archive Development Kit).
Tnns&ct"on code S A m .
128. What are tl i e size parameters for archiving? 00
J Maximum file size in Megabyte
J Maximum number of dat a objects
129. What i s t he pr eca~l l i on yuu should t ake wl i e~i
archiving? 0 0
When you archive an InfoCube or ODs , it is locked
for any loads until the delete is finished. You should
make sure that you archive and delete before you load
any new data.
130. Wliat i s tl i e difference between t he restoring of Cube vs
i
[IDS from archive files? 00
You can restore into ODs directly from the SARA
transaction. For the cube you should schedule an info
package.
Chant er 1: BW Admi ni st r at i on and Desi en
131. Cali you archive Mast er data or PSA? 00
No, it is not currently supported (as of 3.1).
132. Give the step by step approach to archi vi ~i g a Cube. 00
J Double click on the cube (or right click and select
change)
J Extras I) select archival
J Choose fields for selection eg. OCALDAY,
OCUSTOMER
J Define the file structilre (maximum file size and
maximum number of dat a objects)
J Select the folder (logical file namc)
J Select the delete options (not scheduled, start
automatically or after event)
J Activate the cube
J The cube is ready for archiving
Pr ocess Chai ns
Process Chains
133. Wliat i s a process cl i ai ~i and what i s t he t r a~i sact i o~i code
for going t o process chain? 0 0
The process chain is a utility to schedule batch jobs on
BW similar to SM37. It offers good monitoring
features and error handling.
Transaction code RSPC
134. Wliat are tl i e general services supported in process
chain? O0
c, Start process specifies a variant for the start time
and date. It can be set to be
recursive.
c, AND you can use this to check for
successful completion of two or
more processes eg. You can load 2
ODSs in parallel and put an AND
condition (if successful) to load a
cube.
c, OR
c, EXOR (first) you usually use this to determine if
any of the predecessor processors
failed. If you have multiple tasks
in parallel you can use this to
detect any process failures.
c, ABAP you use this to run an ABAP
program with variants.
Chapt er 1: BW Ad mi n i s t r a t i o n and Desi gn
J OS Command as an example, it is usef~ll to do an
ftp copy before loading.
J Local process chain
call another process chain. ~Jsually
there will be a master process chain
calling different child process
chains. For example, you can have
a process chain (master) called
"Daily load of master data" and
within that it may call 2 or more
process chains to load attributes,
texts, hierarchies and do a change
run.
J Remote process chain
J Workflow
135. List some of tl i e data target admi ~i i strati on tasks. 00
Delete index
Generate index
Construct database statistics
Initial fill of new aggregates
Roll up of filled aggregates
Compression of the InfoCube
Activate ODs
Complete deletion of data target
Pr ocess Chai ns
136. List t he reporting agent tasks. 0 0
4 Exception reporting
4 Print in the background
4 Pre calculation of web templates
4 Pre calculation of value sets
137. List sollie of the BW process types for building process
chain. 00
4 Attribute change run
4 Adjustment of time dependent aggregates
4 Deletion of requests from PSA
4 Reorganize attributes and texts for master data.
This is a useful tool to compress master data and
text.
138. What are t he scheduling options for st art process? 00
4 Direct scheduling or
4 Start from meta chain (parent chain)
4 API
Use the second option for your child process chains.
139. List some of t he parallel processes that could have locking
problems. 0 0 0
4 Hierarchy attribute change run
4 Loading master dat a for the same Infoobject eg.
Avoid loading master dat a from different source
systems at the same time
Chapt er 1: BW Admi ni st r at i on and Desi gn
c, Rolling up for the same InfoCubc
c, Selecting deletion of an InfoCube I ODS ~lnd
parallel loading
c, Activation or deletion of an ODS ohjcct when
loading in parallel
140. What i s tlie benefit of tl i e opt i o~i "default chai ~i s"? 000
When this option is enabled (by default) and when you
insert a process, any corresponding process types are
inserted automatically.
For example, if you drag and drop an info package
load for ODS, then the process types (such as "Update
from PSA", "Activate ODS", "Further processing") are
automatically inserted.
To disable this option use Transaction Code RSPC +
Settings + default chains + check mark "Do not
suggest processes".
14.1. By default, all newly created process chains are assigned
to tl i e "unassig~ied" ~i ode. How would you reassign i t to a
proper component? 00
Process Chain + Attributes + Display components
142. What are t he four views available for a process chain? 00
9 Planning view
9 Checking view
9 Log view
c, Job overview
Pr ocess Chai ns
143. How would you send an email when a process ends i n a
process chain? 00
%ght click on the process you want to monitor (eg.
Load info package) * select create message * select
when you want to send a message (success, fail or
always) + create a variant for the mail.
144. How would you convert an i nfo package grol.lp i nt o a
process chain? 0 0
Double click on the info package group * click on
the "Process Chain Maint." button * type in the
name and description + the individual info packages
are inserted automatically.
145. What i s t l i e di fferel i ce between EXOR and OR ill a process
chain? 0 O
The target for an OR process will be executed for each
successfi~l occurrence. EXOR will be executed only
once. Usilally you use EXOR to detect failed processes.
Chapt er 1: BW Admi ni st r at i on and Desi gn
Open Hub
146. What i s Ope11 Hub (OH) and what data targets does i t
support? Does it s ~ ~ ppor t delta? 00
O H is a tool by which you can send data from BW to
different targets. It is a controlled distribution of
consolidated and cleansed daca.
Targets could be another BW system, external
systems, relational table, flat file and ODBO interface.
Yes it supports Delta.
147. How do you get into Ope11 Hub and what are the supported
data sources? 0 0
Use the following menu path:
Transaction Code RSBO or AWB * Tools * Open
Hu b Service
Datasources for an Open Hu b are cube. ODs and
Infoobject (attributes and texts).
148. What are the dest i ~i at i o~i target optiolis for Open Hub i n
BW? 0O
J CSV file
J Database table
Open Hu b
149. What i s the "delete tabl e before extracti on" option i n Open
Hub i n BW? 00
If you choose this option, the table contents are
deleted before any new record is written. Disable this if
you want to keep historical data.
150. How do yo11 change tl i e default dest i ~i at i o~i of Ope11 Hub
fi l es i n BW? 00
Menu path for changing the default destination of
Open H ~ t b is as follows:
LJse Transaction Code SE 11 3 choose table RSBFILE
3 modify entry for XIDEST.
151. What i s t he l i censi ng requirement t hat you should be
aware of for using Open Hub i n BW? 00
Extracting dat a from SAP BW by any means requires
additional licensing.
152. How do you transform Ope11 Hub data? 00
IJsing a BAD1 you can transform Open Hub dat a
according to the destination requirement.
Chapt er 1: BW Ad mi n i s t r a t i o n and Des i gn
Tuning
153. What s ho~~l d yo11 consider when tuning your Oracle
database? 0 0 0
4 Apply OSS note 180605 to set tlic riglit oracle DB
parameters. This does improve performance.
c, 1Jse database statistics.
4 Use database partitioning.
4 Run statistics on all tables as often ;IS possible.
154. What should you consider when tuning your server? O 0 0
The right combination of server resources like
CPU, memory and disk space.
Load balancing across several application servers.
4 Check for unnecessary traces and 10s files.
4 If you have process chains, make sure that you run
cleanup jobs to clean the table TPRI-PAR.
155. What should you consider when tuning your web? 0 0 0
4 Use HTTP compression to reduce nctlvsrk traffic
Refer to note 550669.
4 Use client browser caching.
4 Use the iemon.exc program's log file option to
time the query.
c, Use analyze - iemon.exe to extract a csl. filc that
can be used for further analysis.
4 Use precalculated web templates fi)r newspaper
like reporting together with a reporting agent.
Tuni ng
156. List major tuni ng tasks you would undertake t o improve
the performance of t he data load. 000
4 If you are loading lot of transactional data try
deleting the indexes before the load and recreating
the indexes after the load.
4 Watch for ABAP code in transfer and update rules.
This [night slow performance.
4 IJse load balancing across servers.
4 Build indexes on source tables.
4 ITse fixed length files if you load dat a from flat
files. Put the file on the application server.
4 Use standard content (SAP delivered) extractor as
much as possible.
4 IJsc PSA and dat a target in parallel option in the
info package.
4 Start several info packages parallel with different
selection options.
4 Buffer the SID number ranges if you load lot of
data at once.
4 Load master dat a before loading transaction data.
4 Rim the attribute change job in parallel.
157. Li st stlme of t l i e ge~i eral tuni ng guidelines. 000
4 Archive and delete old data.
4 Use line item dimensions instead of a large dimension.
4 Use MultiProviders. Parallel query is started on
basic cubes.
4 Use the BW Statistics cube to monitor performance.
Chaot er 1: BW Admi ni st r at i on and Desi nn
J Reporting authorization checks impact tlie
performance negatively.
J Reporting on browser is faster than reporting on
Excel using BEx Analyzer.
J Use the aggregate hierarchies to minimize the roll
up time.
J Use parallel upload and activation for ODS objects
using transaction SPRO or RSCIJSTA?.
J If you are not going to use an ODs for reporting,
disable the BEx Reporting flag.
158. Wliat are t l i e syst e~i i tools you can use t o nionitor
performance? 000
The following are the Transaction codes that are used
for system monitoring:
J RSRT, RSRTRACE to debug and get explain
plan statements on queries
J ST05 for SQL traces
J RSRV to repair objects
J ST03 t o monitor current query
performance
RSRV
RSRV
159. Explain the purpose of the tra~i sacti on code RSRV . 000
RSRV is a powerful transaction code to test consistency
of following BW objects and repair them if required.
For example, if there are any inconsistencies between
the Q and Y tables for a master data object you can fm
using them this transaction.
J Master data
J Transaction data
J Hierarchies
J Database
J Aggregates
J PSA tables
160. What are the RSRV combined tests? 000
J Master data
1/ Transaction data
J Hierarchies
J Database
J Aggregation
181. Cali you scliedule RSRV i n the background? 000
Yes, but if you want to fix errors found in the
background use the program
RSDMD - CHECKPRG - ALL.
Chant er 1: BW Admi ni st r at i on and Desi en
162.Typically, when do you use RSRV? 000
When loading data sometimes you get SID error
inconsistencies on some master data objects. You
would then do a combined test on the InfoOhject, fix
the problem and reload the data.
163. How do you scliedule the RSRVjob ill tlie background? 000
The menu path for scheduling the RSRV job in the
background is, use the Edit menu and select "Test
Package" + create a package for current selections +
schedule it.
164. How would you a~i al yze t he size of t he f act tabl e vs tlie
dimension table, using RSRV? 0 0 0
Menu path for analyzing the size of the fact t;thle vs
the dimension table is, use the transaction code RSRV
+ All Elementary tests + database + data1)ase
information about the Infoprovider tables. This gives
you the count as a percentage of the hict t;ll,le.
'165. What i s ODs alid what tabl e structures are used? O
Operational Dat a Source is used for detailed storage of
data. You can overwrite existing data in the ODS (in a
cube you can not), You can also drill down from a
cube to the ODs . This is used for data harmonizing,
cleansing and synchronizing. ODS adds a delta
capability when used in the staging process before the
cube. The data is stored in a flat table (unlike the
extended star schema of the cube). So using SE 11 /
SE 16 you can query the ODS data directly.
Table structures :
J Active data
J New dat a
J Change log table
166. What i s ,the purpose of a clialige log in ODs a ~ i d how do you
del ete i t? O
A change log is used for delta updates to the data
target after the ODS. It stores all changes for a record
in Active Table. The records in a Change log are
stored based on the generated request during each
activation of requests in the new data table.
To delete a change log use the following menu path:
lJse Transaction code RSAl right click on ODS +
Manage j Environment Delete change log
Chapt er I : BW Admi ni st rat i on and Desi gn
167. Wliat are t he advantages of usi ~i g all ODs in an I ~i f oSet for
reporting? O
4 Access via OLAP engine.
InfoSets can join flat BW objects such as master
data attributes.
168. What are additional features available for ODs from BW
version 3.x? O
4 You can load and activate ODs in parallel.
c/ M table is replaced with new data which is similar
to PSA.
J It is possible to create secondary indexes for an
ODs object.
4 Selective deletion of data is now possihle.
169. What i s a t r a~i sact i o~i al ODs object? O
An ODs object:
4 Has only the active table.
4 Is filled using APIs.
c/ Is only reported on using an InfoSct.
4 Is usually used for applications like SEbl (Strategic
Enterprise Management).
170. What are t he flags used for i n ODs and specifically what i s
t he unique dat a record f l ag used for? O
If you enable the unique data record then an error is
issued when a duplicate record, to that in the Active
table is inserted. 1Jse this feature to load a cube
filtering any duplicates (Cubes will simply add up
duplicates)
c/ BEx Reporting whether this ODs is enabled
for reporting.
c/ Unique data records.
c/ Set quality status to OK automatically.
c/ Activate ODs automatically.
c/ IJpdate data targets automatically.
Please note: The Unique data record is used to
improve performance and it is to be used only when
you are sure that the data source will note send a
duplicate record.
Chapt er 1: BW Admi ni st r at i on and Desi gn
BW Statistics
171. What is the purpose of BW statistics cubes? O
The standard sets of cubes delivered by SAP are used
to measure performance for queries, data lo,lds, etc. It
also shows aggregate usage and the cost associated
with them. It provides data on aggregates, OLAP and
Warehouse management.
172. How do you enable monitoring of an Infocube-cube using
BW statistics? O
Individual data targets and InfoProvidcrs call 1)c
included for monitoring in BW statistics using the
following menu path: AWB -) Tools I) BUf statistics
173. How do you install BW statistics? O
You use tlle business content available In AW7B to
install
J Using the Business Content section of AWB
select info area "BW Statistics" I) right click and
select insert objects for collections .) select before
and after data flow for grouping and install.
J Similarly install the Technical Content
SAP - BW - TCONT role.
# Install the info package groups for Master data /
text and transaction data.
BW St at i st i cs
174. Give some examples of queries delivered with BW
statistics. O
4 Mean time per query
4 R~lntime query
4 T Jsing Infocubes
4 I Jtilizing OLAP
175. Give some examples of usage of BW statistics reports. O
4 Who is using the query, how often i t is used and
when it was last used.
4 How the query was executed? How much time
was spent on the Database.
4 How many rows were read from the database vs
how many were displayed / processed.
4 You can create custom exceptions to proactively
tune queries eg. You can create exceptions if the
clilery spends more than 50% accessing the
database - in this case tuning is needed.
176. Give a reason why BW statistics can not provide
inforniation ill real t i ~i i e and name the transaction code
used to monitor BW system statns in real time. O
The BW statistics data is loaded periodically. If you
want to display the data in real time from the statistics
tables (not cubes), use transaction ST03. Select Expert
Mode and select BW System load.
Chaot er 1: BW Admi ni st r at i on and Desi gn
177. Cali you create aggregate 011 all ODs or MultiProvider? 0
178. What i s "fi l l i ng" of aggregate and whi cl i tabl e has tl i e
aggregate status? 00
The dat a from an InfoCube is summarized into the
aggregates.
RSDDAGGRDIR
179. What i s the change run process and how do you start i t? 00
Whenever there is a change in master d; l t ; ~ like
navigational attributes, hierarchy, time dcpendenr
attributes that are used in aggregates, you nced to
execute the change run process to realign thc
aggregates.
To start t he change run process use a proccss chain or
AWB I) Tools I) Apply Hierarchy attri1,ure change.
180. Which report can you use t o moni tor t he change run
process? 000
RSDDS - CHANGERUN - MONI TOR
181. Wliich program i s used t o maintail1 aggregates? 000
RSDDS - AGGREGATES - MAINTAIN
Aggregates
182. I n t erms of aggregates, what i s "Roll Up"? 00
Roll up is the process by which new requests loaded
into the InfoCube are "rolled up" into the aggregates.
The dat a loaded from a new request is available for
reporting only after a successfill roll ilp into the
aggregates.
183. Wliat i s t he optimal size of t he aggregates? 00
It should have around 10-20% of the size of the fact
table. For example, if your fact table contains
1000,000 rows, the aggregate should have less than
200,000 rows.
184. Wliat i s meant by "propose from stati sti cs" for
aggregates? 0 0
Based on BW statistical dat a (such as query run time),
you can request the system to suggest the optimal
characteristics for aggregation.
185. Can you define aggregates 011 tinie depelidelit liavigational
attri butes? 00
Yes, as of version 3.x.
186. What "proposal options" are available for aggregates? 00
J Propose from BW statistics cube: history of BW
statistics.
J Propose from BW statistics (tables): based on
database tables RSDDSTAT and
RSDDSTATAGGRDEF
Chant er 1: B W Admi ni st r at i on and Desi en
J Propose from the last navigation: suggcstion
based on the last entry of the abovc mentioned
tables for the current user.
J Propose from a query.
187. What i s the naming convention for aggregates created
from statistics? 0 0
STAT 1 through STAT n
188. What i s t he naming convention used for aggregates
created from a query? 00
MIN 1 through MIN n and MAX 1 through MAX n.
189. List major usage indicators for aggregates. 00
J Number of records
J Summarization (compression)
J Last used date - remember if you don't see any
recent activity then this aggregate is not used
J Valuation - with signs of + + + for good aggregate
and --- for not so good aggregate.
190. What i s an aggregate hierarchy? 0 0
Aggregates hierarchies are where aggreg;ltcs arc built
on top of other aggregates. This hierarchy is done
automatically.
It is recommended that you create a fcw large base
hierarchies and small aggregates can bc built from
these.
Aggr egat es
191. How does change ruli af f ect the aggregate? 0 0
The change run (also called hierarchy attribute
realignment run) adjusts the dat a in the aggregates
and turns the modified version of the navigation
attributes and hierarchies into an active version.
192.111 the real world when would you recommend
aggregates? 0 0
By looking at the BW statistics and noticing if a query
spends more than 50% of the time in the database
accessing data and the ratio of records read to records
processed is more than 10, then you recommend
aggregates.
CHAPTER 2
BW Reporting
( BEx and Web Reporting)
Ch a p t e r 2: BW Re p o r t i n g ( BEx a n d Web Re p o r t i n g )
Business Explorer
193. What i s the effect of using characteri sti cs i n free area vs
f i l t er area i n Query designer? 0
Free Characteristics : The characteristics in this area are
not displayed in the initial view of the query but you
can drill down and filter once you execute the query.
Filter Area: The characteristics in this area are
restricted and can not be filtered or drillcd down any
further.
194. What i s lROWCOUNT key figure? 0 0
For InfoProviders based on transparent tal)les like
ODs / Master data, this system generated key figure is
available. This can be used t o count the num1)er of
records.
195. What i s a restri cted key figure? Give an example. O
These are key figures "restricted" by values of one or
more characteristics. For example, nrhcn you want to
compare the sales of product "A" betwccn different
fiscal year periods, you will create a restricted key
figure with "Sales qt y" as a key figure and restricted by
OMATEFUAL of value "A".
Busi ness Exol orer
196. Wliat i s a constant selection? 00
This feature allows you to mark a selection of specific
value or all values of characteristics in the query
designer as a "Constant". Navigation and filtering has
no effect on this selection during run time. For
example, if you want to report a product's sale in
reference t o a product group rather than all the
products, you makc the product group as the constant
selection; any drill down, navigation, filtering will not
have any change in the sales quantity for that.
197. How wi l l yalr debug errors wi,thin SAP GUI (l i ke al l Active X
error)? 0 0
Run BEx analyzer -) Business Explorer menu item -)
Installation check. This shows an excel sheet with a
start but t on -) click on it -) this verifies the GUI
installation -) if you find any errors either reinstall it
or fix it.
198. How do you acti vate personalization for BEx? 00
IMG -) Activate personalization for BEx.
199.1 have a variable f or characteri sti c val ~res of Infoobj ect
ZLOCATION. How wi l l I use t hi s variable t o sel ect values of
ZLOCATION where 'ZA' are the alphabets i n 2nd and 3rd
place for the values? 0 0
In the BEx variable input window, type in ' +ZA*'
The ' +' character is used as a single character wild
card.
Chant er 2: BW Reoor t i ne ( BEx and Web Renor t i ne)
Calculated Key Figures
200.Wl1at di fferel i t percentage cal cul at i o~i s can we use i n
BEx? O
Percentage variance : This is defined as parameter 1 %
parameter2 eg. Actual expenses exceeds thc %
budgeted expenses.
Percentage share: It is defined as parameter 1 %A
parameter2; gives the percentage share of parameter 1
of parameter2.
Percentage share of result: Defined as %CT
parameterl; gives the result in percentage with respect
to result.
Percentage share of overall result: Defined as %GT
parameterl; similar to previous but the percentage is a
share of overall results.
Percentage share of result total: Defined as %RT.
201. Besides percentage functions, what other usef l ~l f l ~nct i ons
are there i n BEx? O
J COUNT Count(parameter) returns value 1 if
parameter is not zero else zero.
J NDIVO ndivO(parameter) returns 0 if the
parameter returns division by 0.
J SUMCT sumct(parameter) result of parameter
in all rows and columns.
C a l c u l a t e d Key Fi gur e s
9 SlJMGT sumgt (parameter) result of the
parameter for the overall result.
c/ SlJMRT sumrt (parameter) result of the
parameter for the report result.
202. Li st some of the mathemati cal f~nnctions available in Query
designer. O
c/ Max
c/ Min
c/ Absolute
c/ Smallest
c/ Division
C h a p t e r 2: BW R e p o r t i n g ( BEx a n d We b Re p o r t i n g )
Boolean Operators
203. What does a Boolean operator return? O
1 or 0 (True or False)
204. What are t he Boolean expressions allowed? O
J < less than
J <> not equal to
J > greater than
J <= less than or equal to
J >= greater than or equal co
J = equal
J logical NOT
AND
J OR
J XOR exclusive OR
205.Give an example of boolean expression. O
Assume you are calculating tax rate on a sal;u-y; if
salary is < I 000 i t is 10% and if more than 1000 then
it is 15% is defined as ((salary < 1000) :k salary * 0.10
)+ ((salary > 1000) * salary * 0.15).
Bool ean Oper at or s / St r u c t u r e s and Cel l s
Structures and Cells
206. What is a structure? O
The structure helps in calculation between its
elements. For example, a structilre containing 3
months with specific values eg. JAN, FEB and MAR
and 4t h element, could be FIRST QUARTER which is
a formula representing sum of the earlier elements. A
globally defined structure can be reused in any of the
query on the InfoProvider.
207. What i s a reusable structure and how do you create it from
a local struct~.lre? O
These are InfoProvider level structures which can be
used in any queries on that InfoProvider.
k g h t click on the local structure + select save as +
enter technical name and description.
208. What i s a cell editor? O
Gives the definition of a specific cell in a query
(intersection of two structures one characteristics
structure and one key figure structure). Using this you
can override the default cell values.
209. What is an exceptiun cell? O
I t is a cell specific definition that allows you to define
explicit formulas t o overriding those implicitly created
cell vali~es. This allows you t o design much more
detailed queries. tJse the icon to create exception cells.
Chapt er 2: BW Repor t i ng (BEx and Web Repor t i ng)
Before and after aggregation
210. Il l ustrate, wi t h example, effect of 'before and after
aggregation' property of a key figure. 0 0
In many queries you may come across the following
situation.
Assume that you have a cube with product qty, ilnit
price; you have a BEx report showing clty, unit price
and value (unit price * qty); the report looks like this
by default
\4lI uc Q~J Uni t Price
10 2 20
20 3 60
Result 30 5 150
You can see t hat the value is calculatecl using a
calculated key figure as "After aggregation" by defidult;
basically it multiplies 30 by 5 which is 150; but the
correct amount is 80;
Now right click on the calculated key figure, select
properties, enhanced and change to Before
aggregation. Now the result is calculated correctly :-
Q~J Uni t Price Value
10 2 20
20 3 60
Result 3 0 5 80
Before and After Aggregation
Note: If you use before aggregation, the cubes
aggregates are not used; so this will have negative
effect on performance.
You set the before or after aggregation on a global
calcillated key figure.
C h a p t e r 2: BW R e p o r t i n g ( BEx a nd Web Re p o r t i n g )
Key figure properties
211. List some of t he properties of key figure. O
9 Scaling factor: Valid range is 1 to 1 l)illion; if you
set a scaling factor of 1000, then the value 3000 is
displayed as 3
9 Number of decimal places. For example, 2.48 or
2.5 or just 2 is displayed in the report.
212. What are tl i e options for "cal cul ate si ~i gl e value as"? O
For each item:
Normalization + data is displayed as:
9 a percentage of the result
normalization of result
normalization of overall result
9 normalization of query result
Ranked list size of the characteristic value wit11 the
largest being 1. Ranked list (Olympic) silllilar to the
previous point except the next smallest v~llue, when a
value appears more than once, is not given rank
increased by value 1:
9 maximum
9 minimum
9 count all values
9 count all values < > (not equal to) 0
9 average of all values
9 average of all values < > (note equal ro) 0
9 suppress single values
Key Fi gur e Pr oper t i es
213. Wliat i s an exception aggregation? Give an example. O
This defines how the key figure is aggregated in
relation to exception characteristics, usually a time
characteristics. For example, when you report number
of employees by cost center, you would create an
exception aggregation on "Last Value".
Chant er 2: BW Renort i ne (BEx and Web Renort i ne)
Hierarchies in Reports
214. Wliat i s a reporti ng hierarchy. Me ~ i t i o ~ i a few properties of
a hierarchy? O
A hierarchy is a structure of characteristics values
allowing you t o view dat a in different ways.
Nodes are like branches in trees with thc uppermost
node referred to as t he root node. A l~ierarchy can
have multiple nodes.
4 Intervals:
4 Hierarchy levels: Node of a hierarchy are
structurally placed in different
levels eg. Parent - child nodes.
Intervals automatically gr oup
leaves together. When a new
value is added to a characteristic
it is automatically added to the
proper node.
4 Link Node: This node allows a s ub tree to
be included in a hierarchy on
more than one occasion.
215. Wliat are tl i e report-relevant set t i ~i gs ill hierarchy
maintenance? O
4 Level maintenance + this setting allows the
naming of different levels of hierarchies. K1u can
navigate during execution of the query 1)). using a
right click.
Hi erarchi es i n Report s
4 Do not display inner nodes in a query +does not
display the leaves level of the hierarchy report.
4 Changeable display for leaves of inner nodes +
specifies whether a user can change the display.
4 Suppress unassigned node + suppress nodes
with no values appearing.
4 Root / totals item + indicates whether the
totals are displayed at the beginning or end of the
hierarchy.
4 Start drill down level -) the default level of the
query t hat is displayed when opening.
Chant er 2: BW Renort i ne (BEx and Web Renort i ne)
User Exits for BEx Reporting
216. Nanie t he BEx reporting user exit e~i l i anceni e~i t . 00
There are three user exits:
RSROOOOl - For User Exit Variable
RSR00002 - For Virtual Key Figures
RSR00003 - For Moving Characteristics M~lucs
217. Name t he BEx reporting user exit component and i t s
include program for variable. 0 0
J The component is EXIT - SAPLRRSO - 00 1.
J The include program is ZXRSRUO 1.
218. Wliat variables would you typically use when ~i i a k i ~i g use of
t he user exit RSR00001 i n BEx reporting? 00
J I - STEP is used in ABAP code as a conditional
check. The following values are checkcd:
1 Before processing of the variable pop-ups and
gets called for every customer var~abl c .
2 Is called after variable popup for variables not
marked as "Ready for input" and are set t o
required entry.
3 Is called after all variables are processed (only
once and not for each variable).
J I - VNAM: It is the variable containing the variable
name within ABAP Typically you lvould do a
U s e r Ex i t s f o r BEx Re p o r t i n g
CASE statement on this variable to get the
variable working.
E - T - RANGE: This is the internal table populated
with variable values in a customer exit.
J L S RANGE: This is the structure to populate
E-f - - RANGE
LOW low end value
HI GH high end value
SIGN ' I' to include, etc.
OPT
gives the options like ' BT' for between,
' EQ' for equal, ecc.
c/ I - VARTYP- variable type
1 Characteristic
2 Hierarchy node
3 Text
4 Formula
5 Hierarchy
c/ I - IOBJNM: name of the Infoobject.
c/ I PERIV: fiscal year variant.
-
c/ I - T - VAR - RANGE: table with all variables and
their values.
219. What is the call sequence for the user exit RSROOOl in BEx
Reporting? O O
J First call of the user exit.
c/ Popup and enter values (if ready for input is
enabled).
c/ Second call for the user exit.
C h a p t e r 2: BW R e p o r t i n g ( BEx a n d We b Re p o r t i n g )
BEx User Exit Example
DATA: L-S-RANGE TYPE RSR-S-RANGESI D.
DATA: E-BUPER L I K E TOOSB-POPER,
E-GJAHR L I K E TOOSB- BDATJ.
DATA: T A B I X L I K E S Y - T A B I X -
CASE I - VNAM.
WHEN ' ZPERQUAR' .
CAL L FUNCTI ON LDATE-TO-PERIOD-CONVERT'
EXPORTI NG
I - DATE = SY-DATUM
I - P E RI V = ' F L '
I MPORT I NG
E-BLIPER = E-BUPER
E-GJAHR = E-GJAHR.
I F SY- SUBRC = 0 -
CLEAR L-S-RANGE.
L-S-RANGE-SI GN = '1'.
L-S-RANGE-OPT = ' BT' .
L- S- RANGE- HI GH( 4) = E- GJAHR.
L- S- RANGE- HI GH+4( 3) = E-BUPER.
L-S-RANGE-LOW = L- S- RANGE- HI GH.
CASE E- BUPER-
WHEN ' OOL' OR ' 0 0 2 ' OR ' 0 0 3 ' .
L- S- RANGE- LOW+4( 3) = ' 0 0 1 ' .
WHEN ' 0 0 4 ' OR ' 0 0 5 ' OR ' OOL' .
L- S- RANGE- LOW+4( 3) = ' 0 0 4 ' .
WHEN ' 0 0 7 ' OR ' 0 0 B ' OR ' 0 0 9 ' .
L- S- RANGE- LOW+4( 3) = L 0 0 7 ' -
WHEN ' OLO' OR ' 0 1 1 ' OR ' 0 1 2 ' .
L- S- RANGE- LOW+4( 3) = ' 0 0 9 ' .
ENDCASE.
APPEND L-S-RANGE TO E-T-RANGE.
E NDI F .
ENDCASE -
Var i abl es
Variables
Var i abl es ar e ver y i mpor t ant i n BEx. You shoul d pay par t i cul ar
at t ent i on t o t hi s sect i on i f you ar e i nt er est ed i n BEx r epor t
devel opment .
220.Wha.t i s a variable? Li st tl i e obj ects t hat are supported by
variables. O
Variables are used to parameterize the query at the
runtime and the following reporting objects are
supported by variables:
c/ Characteristics
Hierarchies
c/ Hierarchy nodes
c/ Texts
c/ Formula elements
221. What i s the scope for a characteri sti cs variable? O
Variables are defined on Infoobjects and are thus
globally available across InfoProviders.
222.Give the 4 variable types for BEx queries. O
c/ Characteristics
c/ Hierarchy node
c/ Text
c/ Hierarchy variables
Ch a p t e r 2: BW Re p o r t i n g ( BEx a nd Web Re p o r t i n g )
223.W11at i s a cllaracteristics variable? 0
Characteristic variables allow you to have dynamic
input selection for values of characteristics eg. If you
are developing a sales report for a given product, you
will define a variable for OMATERIAL to report sales
of specific products.
224. What are text variables? 0
Text variables are used to display texts dynamically for
a given characteristic. For example, take the sales
report for a given product for the last 3 nionths. The
inputs prompted are product and fiscal year period, on
the column level you have drilled down l>v fiscal year
period; since the fiscal year period is dvnamic
(depending on the user input), you want t o display the
correct title for the key figure so in this case create a
text variable for the fiscal year period and use it in the
text of properties. These are defined :LS
&text - variable - name&.
225. What are formula variables? 0 0
Formula variables are variables used in calculations of
the query. For example, take a customer disco~lnt
report where each customer is given a different
percentage discount; yo11 create a formula variable for
the discount percentage and use it in the calculated
key figure.
Var i abl es
226. What are the options for hierarchy node variables? O
J Fixed hierarchy and variable hierarchy node where
only the node is selected at run time
J Variable hierarchy and variable node where both
hierarchy and nodes are selected at run time.
227. What are t he different processing types for variables? O
J lJser entry
J Replacement path
J Authorization
J Customer exit
J SAP exit
228. What is a user entry processing type? O
This is entered by the user at run time of the query.
You can specifjl a default value for this, for example, in
a product sales report you would enter a product at
run time.
229. What i s replacement path processi ~i g type? O
In this processing type for the variable, system replaces
the value of a characteristic in a calculation / expression
at run time. For example, where the query displays
dynamic heading for the fiscal year period; the variable
type is text and processing type is replacement path.
C h a p t e r 2: BW R e p o r t i n g ( BEx a n d We b Re p o r t i n g )
230. What is an authorization processing type? O
In this case the system looks for authorized values for
the characteristics for the user and replaces the
variables with these values. For example, let us look at
a cost center reporting, each manager is 'lssigncd one
or more cost centers and each are restricted from
seeing the others' cost centers. In this case we would
create a characteristics variable for OCOSTCENTER
with processing type authorization. On the bdck end
you should create reporting authorization objects and
assign fixed cost centers to each manager.
231. What i s a customer exit processing type? O
In this case, you write an ABAP program on the back
end and fill up t he variable values. For example, take
the case of cost center reports mentioned above,
instead of defining it as an authorization type assume
that you get managerlcost center data trom a Z table
in Rl3.
In this case you would write ABAP code to:
4 read the user who has run the query
4 read the Z table to get the cost centers and fill up
the variables.
232. Name t he SAP enhancement used t o manipulate the
customer exit processing type variables. 0 0
Var i abl es
233. What i s t he function module used t o manipulate t he
cl ~st omer exit processing type varial:~les? 0 00
EXIT - SAPLRRSO-00 1
234. What i s a SAP exit processing type? 0 0
The SAP Exit processing type is used for variables
delivered by SAP eg. The SAP exit variable
OCMONTH returns the current calendar month.
235. How do you replace a result from a ~i i ast er query t o a child
query (not a drill down)? 00
If you select characteristic value with Replacement
path then it uses the results from previous query. For
example, let us assume that you have query Q 1 which
displays the top 10 customers. We have query 4 2
which gets the top 10 customers for Infoobject
OCUSTOMER as a variable with replacement path.
This displays a detailed report on the customers passed
from Q 1.
236.Explaili variable offsets. 0 0
Variable offsets are a powerfill feature in BEx where a
characteristics value is calculated with an offset. (You
can have negative or positive offsets). For example, let
us assume that our query displays all sales data for the
3 months prior to a user entered value for the month.
You would create 3 restricted key figures for sales
quantity with OCALMONTH, first with offset value 0,
then with -1 and then with -2.
Ch a p t e r 2: BW R e p o r t i n g ( BEx a n d We b Re p o r t i n g )
Query properties
237. List a ~ i d explain properties of a query. 00
J Adjust format after reporting - you can use this
option to disable the ability to change the format
of the reporting results. You would use this option
if you use your own templates and wish co enforce
the use of these template. (By default chis property
is enabled i.e. The user is allowed to adjust the
format of the query results).
J Suppress repeated key values - the def;lult is
enabled. If you want repeated key values to be
displayed (some users demand this) then disable
this option.
J Display scaling factor (default is disal)lcd).
J Display document links - use this to display any
available document links.
J Display drag and relate links - this is usefill if you
have portals and BW For example, yo11 can drag a
sold-to-party and put it on an R/3 transc\. , ctlon ' to
execute.
J Results position - bottomiright (default) or topi
left or bottomileft or toplright.
J Display of +/- signs.
J Display or suppression of zero rows and columns
l l uer y Pr oper t i es
238. What i s the purpose of option "Pause Automatic
Refresh"? O O
When you enable this option, you can stop the query
from being refreshed automatically after either
selecting a filter value or changing a query or its'
properties. This is ilsef~ll for big queries where you do
not want to wait for the system to refresh but just one
time after you make all the changes.
239. Wl i at is a query t e~i i pl at e? O
You can create excel templates to display the BEx
queries. For example, you can create a corporate excel
template containing your company logo and title. You
can then use this as a standard in your BEx reports.
240. What are the options for using template BEx Analyzer? O
J Empty (nothing).
J Select from list - this shows a list of workbooks
and you select one.
J From a permanent template - use a permanent
template.
24.1. Give an example of using VBA in a template. O
You can use VBA to customize the report. For
example, assume that you want to hide / delete some
header / filter are after each refresh of the query, use
the SAPBEx on Refresh macro to do this. By default
this macro is empty, add excel code to customize the
f~lnctionality of BEx queries in workbooks.
C h a n t e r 2: BW R e o o r t i n ~ ( BEx a n d Web Reoor t i n! ?)
Remember that the macro f~~nct i ons are ;n,;lil;tble only
on BEx and not when you do web reporting using the
same query.
242. What are t he read modes for a query? O
H Query to be read when you navigate or
expand hierarchy. This mode is
recommended by SAP
X Query to Read Data during navigation.
OLAP processor requests data for each
navigational status of the query.
A Read all at once - read all data at once.
This will take a long time if i t is a large
query. Use this if the InfoProvider does
not support selection or a user exit is active
in a query.
243. How do you set tl i e read mode for a query? O
You can set the read mode for the query using the
transaction code RSRT +Property.
Document Ut i l i t v
Document utility
Many user s have st ar t ed usi ng t hi s new f eat ur e t o cr eat e / at t ach
document s for queri es or r esul t s.
244. What are the objects t hat support docume~i t at i o~i and Iiow
do you use t he documents feature? O
J Infoobject
J Infocube
J InfoSet
J ODs
J Query
You ciin use the document feature either:
J After executing the query (right click and select
documents for BEx, left click and select document
from web reports) or,
J IJsing the admin work bench + documents +
metadata path.
245.Give all exarnple of niaster data docume~i t at i o~i . O
Assume that we want to add product images for each
product. To do this create a master data document
utility for the creation of a document for each
OM ATERIAL value.
246. What i s Infoprovider documentation? O
This is used to create one or more documents for the
transaction data of an Infoprovider. For example, you
can define a document for the following combination
of key figures and characteristics - sales quantity,
material and fiscal year period.
Chapt er 2: BW Repor t i ng ( BEx a n d Web Repor t i ng)
Query Administration
247. What i s the menu path for deleting multiple query objects
(like Workbook) in a single transaction? O
Logon to your BW sap client, select Business explorer
Query * Delete objects.
248.Can yo11 copy queries between two InfoProviders? O
Yes, you can copy queries between one InfoProvider to
another as long as their key figures and characteristics
match.
( l uery Admi ni st r at i on / Condi t i ons and Except i ons
Conditions and Exceptions
Condi t i ons and except i ons a r e ext ensi vel y used i n BEx r epor t i ng.
249. What i s a condition? What options are available for usi ~i g
conditio~is? O
If you want to filter on key figures or do ranked
analysis then you would use a condition. For example,
you can use a condition to report top 10 customers or
customers with more than a million dollars in sales
yearly.
Option available : You can either select a single
characteristic, or a combination of characteristics, or all
characteristics in the drill down. Note that a condition
is only effective when the report is drilled down for all
characteristics defined in the condition.
250. What are t he options for creati ng condition on a key
figure? OO
J =
J <>
J <
J >
J <=
J >=
J Between
Not between
C h a p t e r 2: BW R e p o r t i n g ( BEx a n d We b Re p o r t i n g )
9 Top N
9 Bottom N
9 Top % (eg. Top 20% of customers)
9 Bottom %
9 Top Sum
9 Bottom Sum
251. Why do t he t ot al s somet i ~i i es not ~i i at ch, when we use
conditions ? 0 O
By default the report shows overall resulrs total and
not the results total taking the filter into accounr. ?i>
display the correct totals you should use "Si~rnrnation"
in the key figure properties instead of "Norhing
defined".
252. What are different status' for conditions, when you have
multiple active condi t i o~i s i n a query? 00
9 Conditions work (all valid).
9 Status is displayed as "Variant" because the
characteristics combination is not included in the
drill down.
9 Status is displayed as "Not Used" because of
colliding conditions where one condirion
deactivates the other.
Co n d i t i o n s a n d Ex c e p t i o n s
253. Wl i at i s an exception? O
An exception is not a filter (like condition) but is used
to highlight reports in different colors when key
figures exceed predefined values.
For example, you may want to show red for all
accounts receivables that are older than 90 days and
yellow for older than 60 days.
254. What i s cel l restri cti on and what are i t s' options? 00
You can define restrictions on characteristics as to how
the exception reporting will be done. For each
characteristics in the report you can define the
following:
J Everything
J Totals only - exception on totals only (not
individual rows)
J Everything except totals
J Fixed value - where you can specify fixed values or
select a variable. For example, you may want to do
an exception for sales where the customer is in
OCOlJNTRY = USA
J Level - exception is applicable only for a specific
level of the hierarchy.
Chapt er 2: BW Repor t i ng (BEx and Web Repor t i ng)
Reporting agent
You can use ,the r epor t i ng agent t o schedul e except i on r epor t i ng and
al er t t l i e user s f or any unusual data. For exampl e, you can cr eat e
an except i on f o r act ual sal es quant i t y and an except i on t o r epor t any
sal es t hat do 11ot ni eet t he t ar get . You can t hen send per i odi c al er t s
t o i nt er est ed par t i es based on t hese except i ons.
255.What types of reports can yo11 use in the reporting
agent? O O
c, Exceptions
c, Print
c, Web templates (precalculated)
c, Value sets
c, Bookmarks
4 Crystal reports
256.How do you use reporting agent for exception ge~ierating
alert? 0 0
Use the reporting agent for this from the
Administrator Work Bench (AWB):
*r Click on the exceptions icon on the left, give it a
technical name and text description.
4 Select the exception based on a specific query for
generating alert using drag and drop.
Reporting Agent
257. What are the follow-up actions available in t he reporting
agent? 000
c/ Send mail - alerts user by email. For example, you
can send an email alerting managers that the sales
quantity target was missed.
c/ Alert monitor entry - view results in the alert
monitor. You can also give a URL to the alert
monitor.
c/ Export - send the data to a work flow for follow-
up action.
c/ RRI interface - if an exception happens you can
jump to another query for a more detailed data
display using the Go To option.
258. What are t he options available t o check exception
occurrence using tlie al ert monitor? 0 0
If an exception is handled by the alert monitor then
you can use the following menu path: AWB +
Reporting agent + select Exception on the left
window + Alert icon. Alternatively, in the BEx
Analyzer you can select open + exceptions.
259. How do you use print settings? 00
You use print settings to print report in the
background using the reporting agent. From the
reporting agent, use the create icon, specifying:
c/ title
c/ zcros suppression
C h a p t e r 2: BW Re p o r t i n g ( BEx a n d We b Re p o r t i n g )
9 colors, position
9 margins
9 how the Infoobjects will be displayed in the report
etc.
260. What are value sets? 00
Using the reporting agent you can fill values for a
variable on a particular characteristic in the
background eg. Assume that everyday poi1 gencrate a
detailed report on the top 10 products. To gct the top
10 products you run another query with a condition.
The parent query can then be defined as a value set
returning values for OMATERIAL.
261. What i s t he menu path for creati ng value set? 00
Use the AWB -) Reporting agent and sclcct the value
set icon on the left
262. What i s t he menu path t o find correct 1lRL of t he pre-
calculated web templ ate whether 'STORED' or 'STATIC'
mode? 00 0
Even if you have pre-calculated templates, ilnlcss you
have the right URL with variable \~alues, it lvill show
an error.
To find the correct URL ilse the following mcuu path:-
9 Use the transaction code RSRAPS (Document
Repository).
Re o o r t i n n Ane nt
9 Navigate to the Reporting agent job.
9 Open the 1ndex.hcm document by double clicking.
Gght click on thc documcnc on the right and
select Vicw Source.
9 Search for string THIS IS A URL TO THE
DOCIJMENT.
Use this LTRL to get the stacic reporting from
docitn~cnc score
Chapt er 2: BW Repor t i ng ( BEx and Web Repor t i ng)
Web Application Designer
263.Wl1at i s a Web I tem? 00
A web item gives the HTML output from the data
provider. It has a logical name and comm,lnci
processing capabilities. These are reprcscntcd by the
OBJECT tag in the web template.
Web items have attributes like HIDDEN,
GENERATE - CAPTION, CAPTION, ctc.
Attributes that are specific to Web itcrms arc
MODIFY - TABLE, SHOW - PAGING - AREA - TOP
for tables;
264. Li st some of t l i e standard delivered web i t ems. 0 0
J Chart
J Tdble
J Dropdown box
J Radio button group
J Check boxes
J Generic navigation block
J Hierarchical context menu
J Filter
J Label
J Text elements
J List of exceptions
J Alert monitor
Web Aool i cat i on Desi ener
J Menu
J Ticker
J Map
J Single document
J List of documents
265. What are t he flags for general reporting? 00
J Open dialog for web applications in new windows.
J 1Jse the read mode for data flag to use pre-
calculated or HTML pages.
J Flag for output optimization.
J Force variables entry.
266. What i s the web i tems library? 00
The web items library is a library of customized web
items which can be used across web applications. For
example, you can customize the table web item (like
setting flags and display options) and save it in the
library for other web templates to use. Note that the
data provider assigned to the web item library object is
not copied.
267. Give all overview of some of t he web items. 0 0
J Table - to display table data like product sales
report.
J Chart - different charts like pie chart and bar
charts; remember that you should have the IGS
setup properly to use charts.
C h a o t e r 2: BW R e o o r t i n n ( BEx a n d We b Re o o r t i n n )
4 Drop down box - used for filtering the report.
4 Radio button group - used for data filtering.
4 Check box - filter values.
4 Generic navigation block - used for filter, drill
down etc.
4 Hierarchical context menu - to filter llicrarchy
nodes.
4 Filter - filter values by navigation.
4 Label - for cockpit design - creates navigational
blocks by using labels for charactcristics and
structural components.
4 Text element - query information.
4 List of exceptions - list of cxccptions defined.
4 List of conditions.
4 Alert monitor - to view alerts.
4 Role menu - displays favorites and roles of the
user.
4 Ticket - similar display as a stock ticker.
4 Map - image map.
4 Single document - individual documents for
master data.
4 List of documents.
4 ABC classification - to classify data.
4 What if condition.
268.Where do you store custom style sheets? 000
In the MIME repository and store it under SAP +
Public + SAP BW + Customer + Style Sheets.
Web Appl i cat i on Desi gner
269.Where do you store yol.lr custuln iniages (like logos)? 000
They are stored in the MIME repository. Use the
following menu path for accessing the MIME
rcpository : SAP I) Public I) SAP I) BW I)
Customcr I) Images.
270. What i s the effect of various DATA - MODE options in the
command line URL? 0 0 0
STORED use prc-calculated data exclusively.
HYBRID uses pre calculated if available else new data.
STATIC uses pre calculated data.
271. Give all example for this llRL command. 000
# HYPERLI NK " h t t p : / / my a p p l i c a t i o n s e r v e r / SAP/
BW/
ex?CMD=LDOC8TEMPLATE=yourtemplate8DATA~MODE=STORED1'
o l l r a t l o n s e r v e r / S A P / B W/
m-TFnpI ATE=vour-ATA MODF=STORFQ
272. What i s a pre-calculated web template? 00
This is like a precalculated value set. The report is
generated as an HTML document by the Report
Agent but bear in mind that in this case no navigation
/ drill down is possible.
273. Wliat i s a co~i t r ol query? 000
A control query is used to filter query results for
different precalculated web templates.
Chant er 2: BW Renor t i ne ( BEx and Web Renor t i ne)
For example, if you have scheduled different reports for
the top 10 selling products with different
characteristics using a pre-calculated web template, the
top 10 products are available from this control query,
which is used as a filter in the pre-calculated web
template.
274. Wliat i s t he default web templ ate used ill a report? 00
OQUERY - TEMPLATE.
275. How would you cl i a~i ge tl i e default teniplate? 000
You should not change OQUERY - TEMPLATE; but
you should make a copy using program
RS - TEMPLATE - MAINTAIN and make the changes
to the copy. Give this new template a name from the
customer namespace eg. ZTEMPLATE. Then go to
transaction SPRO to define the new Z template as the
default web template.
276. How do you handle language dependent texts? 0 00
Use the tag SAP - BW - TEXT and specify the program
name and key.
277. What does setti ng the VARI ABLE - SCREEN l l RL parameter
to ' X' do? 000
An X will force the web report to display rlie variablcs
entry screen.
We b Appl i c a t i on Desi gner
278. I f you are asked t o change t he way tabl es are displayed i n
web reporting, how would you do this? 000
IJsing the SAP delivered class
CL - RSR - WWW - MODIFY-TABLE as a template,
copy it to a Z class where you make your desired
changes. In the object tag of the table in the template
put <param name=' MODIFY - CLASS' value= ' NEW
Z - CLASS'>.
The following methods are used in this class
START called before any cell creation
NEW-RO W called after a new row is
completed
FINISHED after the table is rendered
CAPTION - CELL, STRUCTURE - CELL
cell methods
DATA - CELL, CHARACTERISTIC - CELL
table body methods
279. How will you add buttc~ns t o a templ ate? 000
Create a button and add a URL that can call web
reporting eg. Create a standard HTML button with
label 'USA' to call URL with
FILTER - IOBJNM=OD-COUNTRY
FILTER - VALUE = 'US'.
280. How wo1.11d you debug Web reports? 000
Using the transaction code RSRT2.
Chapt er 2: BW Repor t i ng (BEx and Web Repor t i ng)
281. What are processing commands? 00 0
Processing commands are used to bring a change in
status (like hiding or drill down) or to perform an
action (for example, display the variablc screen) eg.
You can define a html command to creatc ;L 1)ookmark
<a href=" <SAP BW UFU cmd =' BOOKhiARK' >
" > BookMark b his </a>.
Sample commands are Expand (drill down),
SET - NAV - STATE and EXPORT
You can also embed a command in Javascript; cxample
is SAPBWOpenURL(SAP - BW - IJFU - GctO +
"&CMD= BOOKMARK").
282.What i s the use of download scheduler? 00
This is the tool that enables the users to schedule the
off-line downloading of reports from reporting agents.
283. What are the advantages of BW 3.x web server (WAS)? 0O
c, Enhanced scalability, use of IGS for charts,
background processing
c, Full SAP application server with ABAP run time
c, HTTP server and client functionality
c, Native support for open protocols like HTTPS,
SSL, SSO, etc.
c, No proprietary products (no RFC)
4 XMLIXSLT engine and integrated J2EE engine
c, MIME objects are cached
We b Aool i cat i on Oesi ener
284.What are the built i n javascript functions available to
customize web templates? 000
c/ SAP - - - BW Get Language
Gives the logon language.
c/ SAP - BW - URL Get
Returns the uE.
c/ SAPBWOpenURL
Executes URL in current window.
c/ SAPBWOpenWindow
Opens URL in a new window.
c, SAPBWGetItemProp(itemName)
Returns properties of items in an array.
c, SAPBWGetDataProviderDimensions(provider
name)
Gives an array of characteristics and structures.
c/ SAPBWAddToMenu(labe1, javascript handler,
parameter, cell - type, filter, visibility, position,
dataqrovider, item).
lJsed to enhance context menu eg. You can add
new entries to the context menu.
285.Give a broad step by step process to convert web objects
from 2.x to 3.x. 0 00
Step 1: Do a consistency check of web objects using
transaction RSRV. (This check is available from
BW 2.0b SP 13).
Step 2: Fix any errors.
The following steps occur after you upgrade to 3.x.
WAD Web Application Designer lJsing SE38.
120
C h a p t e r 2: BW R e p o r t i n g ( BEx a n d We b Re p o r t i n g )
Step 3: Execute program
RSZW - WEBOBJECTS - 30 - UPGRADE. If
there are any errors then fur thcm and re-
convert. Once the conversion is complete.
Step 4: Delete the old templates using program
RSZW - OLD - BDS - ENTRIES-DELETE .
Step 5 : You can also use program
RSZW - REPLACE - TEMPLATE - STRINGS to
replace strings. For example, you can use this
program to replace links to logos on the old
JGS server path to new MIME repository path.
Step 6: You can also use program
RS - TEMPLATE - MAINTAIN to edit
templates on the server.
286.What are the parameters available for Web Reporting?
000
J Filter - Example to filter for a specific customer:
FILTER-IOBJNM = 'OCUSTOMER'
FILTER - VALIJE =' 1234'
v Use a variable as filter:
FILTER-IOBJNM = 'OCUSTOMER'
FILTER VALUE - TYPE = 'VARIABLE-EXIT'
FILTER-VALUE - = 'ZCIJSTEX1T'
J Sort data (customer ascending):
CMD=' SORT' IOBJNM ='OCI JSTOMER'
SORT - TYPE=' T' SORT - DIRECTION=' A'
J Export data as excel file:
CMD ='EXPORT' FORMAT = 'XLS'
CHAPTER 3
Ext r act i on
C h a p t e r 3 : E x t r a c t i o n
Basic Concepts
287. What are di fferent types of extractors? 000
c, Application Specific extractors (BW Content
extractors like FI, LO Cockpit and Generic
extractor for LIS, FI-SAL).
J Cross application Generic extractor (for Custom
extracts from database tablelviews ancl Sap Query).
288.Wllat i s the transacti on code for creati ng or changing t he
generic extracti on tool Data Sources? 00
Transaction code RS02
289.What i s the i ni t i al transacti on code for mallaging
extracti on tasks? 0 0
Transaction code SBIW
290.What are t he broad steps followed t o extract data from
R/3? 0 0
c, Replicate the dat a sources.
J Assign them to an Infosource.
c, Maintain the communication structure and
transfer rules.
J Create an info package.
c, Extract data.
Ba s i c C o n c e p t s
291. Wliat are business content extractors? Give an example. O 0
Extractors supplied by SAP for a specific business
module eg. OFI-AP-03.
292.What i s di rect update for an I~i foObj ect? 00
An Infoobject is updated without the use of update
rules. Only transfer rules are used.
293.What i s flexible updating? 00
Flexible updating makes use of update rules, making it
possible to ~lpdate a harmonized master data from
different source systems before updation to master
data tables.
294.Give some examples of thi rd party ETL tool s t hat are
supported by SAP. 0 0
c/ Ascential
c/ Informatica
c/ Mercator
295.Wliat i s the transacti on code for accessing monitor? 00
Transaction code RSMON
296.List broad steps followed t o co~i f i gure and use tlalird party
(BAPI) tools. 00
J Define the RFC connection using SM59
c/ Define the third party source system
Ch a p t e r 3 : Ex t r a c t i o n
J Assign to InfoSources
J Map and define transformation rulcs
J Create info package and load data
297. Wliich fi l e formats are supported for ,third party E'TL tools?
00
J csv
J ASCII
298. Defi ne the record modes for del ta (assume, for exa~i i pl e,
t he sales quantity changed from 2 0 t o '10). 000
J Before Image: the record before it got changed, in
this case it is 20.
J After image: the record after it got clx~ngcd, in
this example it is 10.
J Additive image: in this case only thc difference i.e..
10.
J Reverse image: used for deletion, rcvcrse with the
quantity to zero out.
J Delete image: only the ODs keys are givcn for
deletion, not supported for cubes.
299. Wl i at update modes are available? 00
J Full
J Init of delta
J Delta
Basi c Concept s
300.Explain what a repair request is. 000
Assurne that you have done "init of delta" and "deltas"
for an ODS and you find that there is a problem with
certain loaded data. If you wish to do a full load
without destroying the delta inits, you would perform
;I selective deletion of the data from ODS first and
then schedule a fill1 load with this selection, making it
a repair request (Scheduler Repair f~lll request).
301. What set t i ~i gs are available for del t a option for loadirig
data from f l at file? (You set t he del ta mode i n t he transfer
structure - Update niode 'field). 0 0 0
J New status only: this sends records of changed
records. This is only available for ODS. A cube
can not be used.
J Additive delta: just the change in key figures is
sent. This can be used in both the ODS and in a
cube.
302. Wl i at i s a del ta update? 00
Instead of updating the entire data, SAP uses a change
log (for business content extractor and Time stamp
(CO-PA)) to do delta update.
303. When you creat e a datasource some flags ar e attached t o
each field, what are they? 00
J Selection flag: if this flag is set for a field then we
can select the field.value for extraction fro111 the
InfoPackage.
C h a o t e r 3 : Ex t r a c t i o n
For example, if you set the flag for OCI JSTOMER,
then in the Infopackage you can select customer
numbers in extraction.
4 Hide flag: if this flag is set, then the field is not
populated in extraction.
4 Cancellation fields: this is field is inverted when a
transaction is cancelled.
304.Wliat tra~i sacti on code i s used t o tl i e clieck extractt~r? 0 0
Transaction code RSA3
305.Which transacti on code i s used t o check del ta Q for a data
source? 0 0
Transaction code RSA7
306.Wliat i s t l i e source tabl es for t l i e FI AP ex,tractor from SAP
R/3? 0 0
4 BSIK: Open invoices
4 BSAK: Cleared invoices
307. Wliat i s t l i e source tabl es for ,the FI AR extractor froni SAP
R/3? 0 0
4 BSID: Open invoices
4 BSAD: Cleared invoices
308.Wliat opt i o~i s are generally avai l al ~l e when f i l l i ng i n the
values f or selection? 0 0
4 Manual input
Basi c Conceot s
*/ Fill up from OLAP variables - use variables created
in BEx
*/ ABAP routine
309. What t abl e i s fi l l ed when you sel ect ABAP routi ne for
sel ect i o~i ill info pack? 000
Similar to variable exits, the 1 - t - range table is filled.
310. How do you send XML data t o BW? 000
*/ Install the XML 3.0 parser
*/ Create an Infosource
*/ Assign PC file as the dat a source
9 Create a transfer and communication structure +
activate
*/ From the transfer structure screen select Extras +
create BW datasource with SOAP application
9 After successful generation, the dat a source is
connected t o the myself dat amart . The name of
the dat a source is 6A*
Create an info package
*/ Load dat a from an xml file
311. What del ta modes are available? 000
"F" Flat file provides delta.
"A" IJses ALE (Application Link Enabling).
"D" Application determines t he delta queue eg. LO.
"E" Extractor determines t he delta eg. CO-PA, LIS.
C h a p t e r 3 : E x t r a c t i o n
312. Name the tabl e i n SAP R/3 t o get detailed i nformati on on
data source and i t ' s delta capability. 00
IJse table ROOSOURCE. The delta column shows
the delta method (A - ALE, E- Extractor, ctc.). The
AIM value describes type of delta such as F 1 for
function module, V - view, Q - InfoSet query.
313. Name t he tabl e ill SAP R/3 to get detailed i nformati on on
delta methods. 0 0 0
From table RODELTAM.
314. How do you configure BW t o load data from a data stage
system? 000
c, Create the RFC connection (SM59) and tcst i t with
the datastage system
c, Define the job in the data stage syst cn~
c, Create a source system (type third p;lrty)
J Load transfer structure from BW
c, Map columns to BW structlire
c, Define and load info package.
315. What i s t he benefi t of 'early delta i ~i i t i al i zat i on' trption?
000
This is the process in which you run thc initialization
of delta and load the delta queue in parallel. The LO
extraction supports this method which allows for
minimum downtime on the SAP R/3 side.
Cl a s s Svst em
Class System
316. What are tlie steps taken to create class? 000
c, Define the properties.
c/ Create a class type. This controls the classes that
can be assigned to them. For example, class type
can be material.
c, Create a class and assign it to the class type. For
example, class could be digital cameras.
c, Assign objects to the class.
c, Searches can now be done on the classes. For
example, get all the cameras with 3.0 mega pixels.
c, These values are transferred to BW as Omaterial
attributes.
317. Which tralisactinn code do you use t o do cl assi f i ca~t i o~i on
SAP R/3 for BW? 00 0
Transaction code SBIW and select maintain data
source for classification data.
318. What are t he steps within SBIW t o create classes for
BW? 000
c, Select the data source for assigning classes eg.
Select OMATERIAL - ATTR.
c, Select the class.
J Generate the data source, a prefix 1CL is added to
the data sources generated.
C h a n t e r 3 : Ex t r a c t i o n
Generic Data source
319. What are the st eps followed t o creat e a generic dat a
source? 00 0
c/ Execute transaction code RS02.
c/ Enter the data source name and description.
c/ Select a table, view or a ABAP query 1 InfoSct for
the source of the data.
c/ Flag the fields that are required for sclection.
c/ Flag the fields that are required to be hidden.
c/ Activate the data source.
c/ Replicate, assign Infosource, define
communication structure and transfer rulcs; create
info package and load the data.
Gener i c Da t a Sour c e / LI S Ext r act i on
LIS Extraction
320. What does LIS stand for? 0 0
Logistics Information System. Used in R/3 for
reporting for snapshot in time reporting with
drilldown and analysis capabilities. It allows for on-
line reporting that does not affect the performance of
your on-line transactions.
321. Wliat i s t he t ransact i o~i code for set t i ~i g up extractors
based on I-IS? 0 0
Transaction code RMCSBIWC
322.Explain the data flow for 1.1s updation in SAP R/3. 00
4 OLTP (On-line Transaction Processing) data is
stored in application dat a tables.
4 When dat a is updated in LIS, it is stored as a
comn~unication structure.
4 The communication structure is then written to
the corresponding information structures using
update rules.
4 This dat a is then stored in S tables (tables
beginning with S) eg. S301.
4 Customer defined info structures are tables from
S500 onwards. Standard LIS tables are up to
S499.
C h a n t e r 3 : Ex t r a c t i o n
323. How many structures are generated when LIS extractor i s
created? 00
Even though 2 tables are crated for LIS cxtracrion only
one structure is created in the form SxxxBIWS where
xxx is the LIS table name eg. S30 1BIWS.
324. How does t he data flow from t he LIS tabl es t o BW? 00
For example, if we are extracting S30 1 then 2 tables
are created internally, S301BI W 1 and S301BI W2.
The information is written t o each table alternatively
(depending on the last delta).
325.How do we know which tabl e has the current data (BIW1 or
BIWZ)? 00
I t is in table TMCBI W
326.What i s the naming convention of the 1.1s data source? 00
2 LIS 01 Sxxx where xxx is the LIS table name cg. Z
- - -
LIS 01 S301.
327. What happens when you do an i ni ti al i zati on of del ta for an
LIS data source? 00
The entire dat a from the S table exaniplc S30 1 is
extracted t o B W
LI S Ext r act i on
328. What steps are followed to set up extracti on from LIS i n
SAP R/3? 00
c/ Run transaction code RMCSBIWC.
c/ Set up initialization of delta.
c/ Generate the data source + select the fields for
selection -) mark necessary fields as hidden or
cancellation fields.
c/ Generate the update program for Delta.
c/ Replicate the data source + assign Infosource +
maintain communication structure and transfer
rules + create info package.
c/ Do the initialization of delta.
c/ Activate the delta.
c/ Start loading the delta.
329. Where i s t he data extracted from rlurilig i ~i i t i al i zat i o~i of
del t a and del ta updates? 00
During initialization of delta, the data is extracted
directly from the S tables. The delta update programs
once activated, start collecting delta data and populate
one of the SBIW tables (1 or 2). During delta update
on BW either one of these tables is read for extraction.
C h a p t e r 3 : E x t r a c t i o n
LO Extraction
330. What are t he advantages of t he new LO Extraction ? 00
4 Improved performance and reduced volume.
4 No LIS functionality meaning you don't need to
setup LIS on RJ3.
4 Single solution for all logistics applications.
4 No 2 table use like in LIS.
4 Detailed extraction.
4 Only data that was changed from a BW
perspective is added in the delta queue.
4 Updated with a batch process (V3 update).
331. Which t r ansacl i o~i code on R/3 shows the t ra~i sact i ons
wi th pending processes for update? 0 0
Transaction code SM 13
332. What are vl, v2 and v3 updates? 0 0
v l + postings are carried out synchronously;
directly tied to document posting.
v2 + postings are carried out asynchrononsly;
the processing is treated as a secondary
step to the document saving.
v3 + postings are left in Initial status. It waits
until a unique trigger is issued. Data is
passed to a centralized delta n1;Lnagement.
L O Ext r act i on
333. What i s the naming convention used for LO data
so~.~rces? 0 0
2LIS - nn - xxxxx where nn is the number that
represents an application and xxxx is the source of dat a
eg. 2LIS - 11 - VAHDR for sales document header,
where 11 is for application sales.
334. What transaction codes are useful in LO extractions? 00
J LBWE Customizing cockpit
I, LBWF BW log
J LBWG Delete setup tables
J OLI*BW Initialization / Setup
335. Which R/3 version supports LO extraction? 0 0
From R/3 4. 0b with SP 4 0 with P12002.1.
336.How do you convert from LIS to LO Extraction? 0 0
J Make sure no R/3 dat a is updated for the data
sources in question.
I, Switch off LIS extraction, switch on update for LO
extraction.
I, Load the last delta queue for the old LIS
extraction.
J Do not refresh statistics for new dat a sources.
I, Simulate an initialization of delta with new LO
data source. This does not write any dat a but sets
the pointer.
J Now you can start a delta.
Ch a p t e r 3 : Ex t r a c t i o n
337. What i s the differelice betweer~ LIS and LO in ini.tialization
of delta and delta? 00
v For initialization of delta LO i~scs setup tables vs.
LIS use of the S tables.
9 For delta update LO uses the comn~unication
structure with V3 update vs. LIS using BIX'1 or
BI\.'2 tables.
338. What are the liew update methods since PI 2002? 000
v Direct delta: data is transferred t o the BW delta
queue for each document posting. This is ilsefiil
for low volume extraction.
v Queued delta: extraction data is collcct-ed for the
affected application instead of being collected in an
extraction queue which ensures serialization. This
is useful for large volume extraction.
v Non serialized V3 update: data in the update run
is read without regard to sequence in the update
tables.
339. How do you improve tlie perforniance whe~i creating a
setup tabl e i n LO extraction? 000
You create multiple batch jobs with different- selection
criteria. For example, when you do a setup table for
SD, use different document number ranges and do the
setup in parallel.
CO- PA Ext r act i on
CO-PA Extraction
Cont r ol l i ~i g a ~ i d Prof i t abi l i t y Anal ysi s
340. What i s meant by characteri sti cs derivation? 00
This is where characteristics are derived from another
given characteristic. For example, if we have product
we can derive product group.
341. Why i s CO-PA a generic extraction and not a business
coritent extraction? 0 0
CO-PA is highly customizable where value fields and
characteristics are defined differently between
customers. SAP has released CO-PA as a generic
extraction which can be customized.
342. What i s a characteristic i n CO-PA? 00
Characteristics are defined at levels where information
is maintained eg. Customer groups and divisions.
343. What are "predefined characteristics"? 0 0
Some characteristics like company code, material and
customer are set LIP with predefined set values.
344. How many customer defined characteri sti cs are you
allowed to create? 00
Ch a p t e r 3 : Ex t r a c t i o n
345.Define the database structure in CO-PA. 00
4 There are 4 tables CENXXXX (n is 1 - 'I and
XXXX is the operating concern)
4 CE1 is the Actual Line items table containing data
at the line item level.
4 CE2 is the Plan line item similar to CE 1
4 CE3 - Segment level table - contains the value
fields (key figures), contains values of the period
for each profitability segment nun~ber.
4 CE4 - Segment Table - this defines thc link
between profitability segments and the linc items
using segment number. Each record in this tablc
defines the profitability segment numl ~cr for a
given combination of characteristics' values. You
can exclude some characteris tics ( l i kc order
numbers) to reduce the volume (similar tc) linc
item dimensions in the Infocube).
346.How would you k~i ow if a segment/segment level entry has
been summarized? 00
Using the time st amp of the last summarization run.
347. What i s the safety delta for CO-PA? 000
BW only updates records t hat arc at least 30 minutes
old.
CO- PA Ext r act i on
348. How would you compare t he CO-PA t o an Infocube? 00
CO-PA BW
I/ Operating Concern Infocube
4 CE 1/CE2 Line item details ODs
4 CE4 - Segment table Dimension table
4 Excl~lding characteristics in
Segment tablc CE4 Line item dimension
4 CE3 - Segmcnt level table Fact table
4 S~lmmarization Level Aggregate
349. What i s t he standard naming convention of t he CO-PA data
source? 00
1 - - - CO PA <SYS>-<CLIENT> - <OPCON> -
where sys - system ID, client - client number and
olxon - operating concern name
350. Defi ne t he steps necessary t o set up CO-PA for BW. 00
4 CO-PA datasource must be defined at Operating
Concern / Clicnt Level.
4 Define data source for f~111 updates (summarization
level, segment level and line item).
I/ Select SBIW transaction to get into CO-PA setup.
I/ Select the characteristics.
4 Select the value fields.
4 Generate the data source.
Ch a p t e r 3 : Ex t r a c t i o n
CO-PA Retraction
351. What i s CO-PA retraction? 000
This is the process by which BW data is loaded into
N3.
352. How is the query from BW used for CO-PA retraction? 000
The query on BW is the source for the retraction.
Data is retracted after drilling down using all free
characteristics. This drill down is performed internally.
353. What are thegeneral restrictions of CO-PA retraction? a00
J Allowed only for cost based CO-PA.
J No delta functionality although runs can be
cancelled.
J Retractor uses RSCRM - BAPI to run the query.
J Actual data is always updated ilsing rccord type H
where planning data, record type and version can
be specified.
354.Give a step by step approach for doing CO-PA
retraction. 0 0 0
J Define the query.
J Enable for OLE DB.
J create the RFC connection in R/3 if not already
there.
C O - PA Ret r act i on
*/ Define field assignments (between InfoObjects and
CO-PA fields):
1. You can find this under SPRO + controlling
+ controlling profitability analysis. Search
for "data transfer from SAP BW".
2. There are two options: assignment at system
level or query level. If both are defined then
the query level takes precedence.
3. Key figures can ONLY be assigned at the
query level.
4. Currencies and units are assigned
automatically.
5 . Choose the query.
6. Assign the InfoObjects; you can also assign
fixed values.
*/ Execute the extraction.
*/ IJse SPRO and search for "Execute data transfer".
*/ You may do retraction in the background and use
variant.
Please note : If you want to cancel the retraction run
you can perform a reverse by displaying all runs (log),
selecting a run and clicking on "Cancel Run".
Cha pt e r 3 : Ex t r a c t i o n
Enhancing data extraction
You enhance t he ext ract i on of dat a sources when you fi nd t hat you
have t o add Z f i el ds t o t he SAP del i vered data sources ( t ext , mast er
and t ransact i on) .
355. What are the typical steps taken to enhance data
source? O 0
c/ Append the standard data structure.
c/ Add the custom fields.
c/ Edit the right user exit to populatc the custom
fields.
c/ Activate the user exit.
c/ Create InfoObjects corresponding t o thc new
custom fields.
c/ Replicate the datasources.
c/ Map the new fields to the InfoObjects
c/ Activate the communication structure and transfer
rules.
c/ Create info package and load the data.
356. What restriction i s placed on t he naming of custom fields
in appended structures? 0 0 0
All new fields in the appended structure should start
with ZZ
357. What i s t he SAP enliancenient for data sources? 000
RSAPOOOO 1
Enha nc i ne Da t a Ex t r a c t i o n
358. What are t he user exits within the SAP enhancement for
data sources? 00 0
EXIT - SAPLRSAP - 001 + transaction data
EXIT - SAPLRSAP-002 + master data
EXIT - SAPLRSAP-003 + text
EXIT - SAPLRSAP-004 + hierarchy
359.1s t he user exit for data st ~urces commtln for al l data
sources? 00 0
Yes, which is why you should use a case statement
checking the data source name in your code.
360. How do you debug a background user exit? 000
J Create an infinite loop on a value eg. x = 3. do
while x > 1.
J Start the extraction on BW
J The process on R/3 now goes into an infinite loop.
J Look for the applicable process in SM5O.
J Debug the process.
J Within debugger change value of x to 1, thus
exiting the while loop.
J Now you can see and debug your code.
361. Can you add data records in the user exit for data
sources? 0 0 0
No. The user exit is only used to append data to the
record.
Chapt er 3 : Ext r act i on
362. What parameters are available in the user exit, for data
sources, for enhancing master data? 00 0
I - T - FIELDS list of transfer structure fields.
I T DATA
- -
internal table containing data
for the master attri1)utes.
Remember that this contains
all data.
I - UPDMODE update mode.
I - CHABASNM basic characteristics
I - SOURCE name of the InfoSourcc.
363. What are t he hierarchy relevant parameters? 000
C - T-HIENODE table which contains hierarchy.
C - T - HIETEXT internal table containing text
of hierarchies.
C - T - FOLDERT contains descriptions of nodes.
C-T - HIEINTV containing hierarchy leaves
with intervals.
364. What enhancements are available for LIS? 00 0
MCS10001 Sales documents
MCS5 000 1 Deliveries
LEINSOO 1 Purchase orders
365.What enhancements are available to enhance HR data? 0 0
HRPTDWO1 for HR time related data
O B Co n n e c t
DB Connect
366.What i s DB connect? 00
DB connect is a utility to load data directly from
external databases such as Oracle.
367. What are the restrictions of DB connect? 00
4 No synonyms are allowed .
4 If you are using Oracle, the date format is different
in SAP Oracle has both date and time in the date
column; so to map date only to SAC use the
to - char(date - column, ' YYYYMMDD' ) function.
You can create a view with this fi~nction and use
db connect with the view.
368.What are 'the pre-requisites for DB con~iect? 00
4 DBSL must be installed on the SAP server.
4 The database specific DB Client must be installed.
4 Tdbk and field names must be in capital letters.
4 Table name is limited to number of characters. A
view is used to circumvent this limitation.
369.What are the steps to create DB connect? 00
4 First verify that the DB connection works from the
server.
4 AWB + Source systems + create
Chapt er 3: Ext r act i on
c, Select Database source system.
c, Enter the database user name, pass\vord and
connect string.
c/ Using transaction RSDBC generate the data
source.
c, Assign data source to info source.
c, Maintain and activate the communication
structure and transfer rules.
c, Create info package and load data.
Currency Tr ansl at i on i n BW
Currency Translation in BW
369.What are the options available i n BW f or currency
conversion? 0 0
It can be done in either the update rule or in Bex. If
you do it in the update rule then you lose the
information on the original currency.
370. What i s the transl ati on key? 00
Defines how the exchange rate is calculated. For
example, the target currency can be fixed or can be
determined at the time of translation.
371. Which table contai ns the exchange rate? 00
372. What i s the functi on module t o convert currency? 00
RSW - CURRENCY - TRANSLATION
373. How do you load exclialige i l i formati ol i ,from R/3 t o BW? 00
AWB + Source systems + right click on the SAP R/
3 source system + select transfer exchange rates
374. How do you do Euro coliversioli at tl i e database level? 00
1Jse the program RSEURO
Chapt er 3: Ext ract i on
375. How do you upload currency exchange from a f l at file?
00
c/ The file must have the same structure as TCIJRR
table including exchange range type, from
currency, t o currency, valid from date, exchange
rate, Ratio
c/ Once the file is ready g o t o AWB + flat file
source system, select the file system + right click
and select Transfer exchange rate.
CHAPTER 4
BW Funct i onal
Ch a p t e r 4: BW Func t i ona l
ASAP methodology
376. What does ASAP stand for? 00
Accelerated SAP implementation nietlioclology.
377. What are t he proj ect phases wi thi n ASAP? 00
4 Project preparation: perform a concel,tual review
following this phase.
J Business blue print: filnctional spccs arc written in
this phase. Perform a design review following this.
4 Realization: configure and develop. Pcrform a
configuration review following this p1i;lsc.
4 Final preparation: QA, go-live plan. Final work
prior to moving to production. Conduct a
performance review following this phasc.
4 Go live and support: move to production and
provide support.
378. What i s a typical set up of a BW team? 00
J Project manager
J One or more functional consultants 1 cxpcrts
J One or more developers
J One or more QA testers
J Basis team support
379. Wliat i s tl i e 90 day rule? 00
It is a thumb rule that SAP-B\V can bc ~mplenienced
in 90 days because most of the generic reclilirenients
are already delivered in its business contcnc.
ASAP Met hodol ogy / Bus i nes s Cont ent and Rol es
Business content and roles
380.What i s business content? 00
The pre configured objects delivered by SAP are called
1)usiness content. It includes roles, queries, info
providers, info sources, data sources, info objects, info
packages, ctc. For cxamplc, OMATERIAL is a
busincss content delivered by sap.
381. What are the gr oi ~pi ng options available when i nstal l i ng
busi ~i ess co~i t ent ? 00
9 Only necessary objects - This will collect only the
csscntial objects.
9 Dat a flow before - If you are installing a cube with
this option it will install all the required objects
like info objects, update rules, etc with the cube.
9 Dat a flow aftcr. - If you install a cube with this
option it will also install anything after the cube
such as qucries, work books, roles etc.
9 Dat a flow before and after. - This will install all
thc objects beforc and aftcr almost from info-
objccts to Role.
382. What are the versioris ill objects? 00
9 D SAP delivered
9 M Modificd version
9 A Active vcrsion