SAP BusinessObjects Repository 6.x - Import
Bridge Requirements
This bridge:is only supported on Microsoft Windows.
requires the tool to be installed to access its SDK.
Bridge Specifications
| Vendor | SAP |
| Tool Name | BusinessObjects (BO) Repository |
| Tool Version | 6.x |
| Tool Web Site | http://www.sap.com/solutions/sapbusinessobjects/large/intelligenceplatform/bi/information-infrastructure/enterprise |
| Supported Methodology | [Business Intelligence] Multi-Model, Metadata Repository, BI Design (RDBMS Source, Dimensional Target, Transformation Lineage, Expression Parsing), BI Report (Relational Source, Dimensional Source, Expression Parsing, Report Structure), Graphical Layout via ODBC API |
| Data Profiling |  |
| Incremental Harvesting |  |
| Multi-Model Harvesting | |
| Remote Repository Browsing for Model Selection | |
SPECIFICATIONS
Tool: SAP / BusinessObjects (BO) Repository version 6.x via ODBC API
See http://www.sap.com/solutions/sapbusinessobjects/large/intelligenceplatform/bi/information-infrastructure/enterprise
Metadata: [Business Intelligence] Multi-Model, Metadata Repository, BI Design (RDBMS Source, Dimensional Target, Transformation Lineage, Expression Parsing), BI Report (Relational Source, Dimensional Source, Expression Parsing, Report Structure), Graphical Layout
Component: BoRepository5to6 version 11.2.0
OVERVIEW
This SAP BusinessObjects Repository bridge imports all supported BusinessObjects files and extracts detailed metadata including lineage within each of them, including:
- BusinessObjects Universe design layers known as Universes from both the older BusinessObjects Designer (.UNV files) and newer Information Design Tool (.UNX files)
- BusinessObjects Reports including Crystal reports, Web Intelligence reports, Desktop Intelligence reports, and more.
REQUIREMENTS
WARNING: This bridge uses the COM API of a Windows based tool client and/or SDK which must be (a) properly installed, (b) licensed on behalf of a Windows user capable of running this tool, and (c) capable of accessing the tool server content. In addition:
(1) As recommended by the tool vendor, the tool server must NOT be installed/coexist on the same machine where the tool client (and the bridge) is installed/running because of potential conflicts of resources, including with respect to COM API.
(2) Windows COM API based tools are notoriously unstable after repeated failures or lack of system resources, which requires a Windows reboot to make that tool COM API work properly again.
(3) If this bridge is running as an application, then it must be logged with the same above Windows user.
If the bridge is running as a Windows service, then go to the services manager of Windows, right-click on the MIMB Application Server service, and go to the "Log On" tab to define an account by name under which the service will run.
This bridge requires SAP BusinessObjects SDKs and a specific Java JRE as explained below:
Java Requirements:
BusinessObjects supports Java 8 only and is not compatible with any version of OpenJDK which may be the default JRE.
BusinessObjects SDK Requirements:
The bridge relies on the BusinessObjects Designer OLE/COM API to import the Universe metadata. Therefore, SAP BusinessObjects Designer must be properly installed on the machine executing this bridge.
The bridge relies on the SAP BusinessObjects Desktop Intelligence COM/OLE API to import the Report metadata. Therefore, SAP BusinessObjects Desktop Intelligence must be properly installed on the machine executing this bridge.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q: What username and password should I supply as BO login?
A: Please provide a valid BO username and password, the same way you would login with Designer or Desktop Intelligence.
For example: supervisor (version 6.x)
If you are not sure about which username and password to use, you should contact your BO system administrator.
Q: The bridge fails to import some universes or reports for an unknown reason, what can I do?
A: Please try to run the bridge again with parameter 'Execution mode' set to 'Interactive'.
The application may display an error in a popup window.
Q: What report file formats does this bridge support?
A: This bridge can read the report formats supported by BusinessObjects Desktop Intelligence:
- BusinessObjects documents (*.rep)
- BusinessObjects document templates (*.ret)
- BusinessQuery Files (*.bqy)
- WebIntelligence 2.x documents (*.wqy)
Q: What report file formats are not supported?
A: BusinessObjects Desktop Intelligence and this bridge do not support:
- WebIntelligence 6.x documents (*.wid)
- Crystal reports (*.rpt)
- Crystal OLAP Analysis reports (*.car)
Q: Can this bridge run from an application server as a Windows service?
A: No, BO Designer is a desktop application, running the Designer COM API and this bridge as a service is not supported. Please make sure that if running from a remote bridge server, it is configured to run as a regular desktop application, not as a service.
LIMITATIONS
n/a
SUPPORT
Q: How do I provide metadata to the support team to reproduce an issue?
A: For BusinessObjects 6.x, save the universe(s) as UNV file(s) and document(s) as REP file(s) with check the check-box 'Save for all users' enabled.
Bridge Parameters
| Parameter Name | Description | Type | Values | Default | Scope | |||||
| Version | The BusinessObjects software version. This software version must be installed on the computer that runs this bridge. |
ENUMERATED |
|
6.5.1 | ||||||
| Repository name | The BusinessObjects Repository server name used to connect. For BusinessObjects version 6.x it is the name of the repository defined by the Supervisor application. For example: bomain |
STRING | bomain | Mandatory | ||||||
| Repository user name | The BusinessObjects user name used to connect. A repository installation of BusinessObjects (BO) requires the user to identify himself/herself using a login. For example: supervisor (version 6.x) If you are not sure about which username and password to use, you should contact your BO system administrator. This import bridge is warrantied to be read only and will never affect the Repository contents. It is therefore safe to attempt the initial metadata harvesting as 'Administrator' in order to ensure that the entire Repository content is extracted without any access permission issue. Eventually, the administrator can set up a 'read only' user. Refer to the tool documentation on permissions and security for more details. |
STRING | supervisor | Mandatory | ||||||
| Repository user password | The BusinessObjects user password used to connect. | PASSWORD | ||||||||
| Repository ODBC DSN | The BusinessObjects Repository server ODBC Data Source Name (DSN) name used to connect (in order to list domains, categories and documents). Use the ODBC Administrator to configure the DSN for the repository database. |
STRING | Mandatory | |||||||
| Repository ODBC user name | The BusinessObjects Repository server ODBC Data Source Name (DSN) user name used to connect (in order to list domains, categories and documents). Use the ODBC Administrator to configure the DSN for the repository database. |
STRING | ||||||||
| Repository ODBC user password | The BusinessObjects Repository server ODBC Data Source Name (DSN) user password used to connect (in order to list domains, categories and documents). Use the ODBC Administrator to configure the DSN for the repository database. |
PASSWORD | ||||||||
| Repository subset | The subset of the BusinessObjects repository to import defined as a semicolon (;) separated list of IDs of universes, reports and/or folders. For BusinessObjects version 6.x, the format of universes path is: UniverseDomain/UniverseName. Example: Universe/beach; Universe/efashion |
REPOSITORY_SUBSET | ||||||||
| Add dependent objects | Add documents dependent on selected universes: 'True' The documents dependent on selected universes are imported. 'False' The documents dependent on selected universes are not imported. WARNING: This feature relies on the BO Repository metadata cache of dependency between universes and report documents, and therefore works well on production environments where all reports are actively used. However, in the context of BO Repositories in development and test environments, some universes and/or report documents may have been redesigned or moved leaving inaccurate dependency information in the BO Repository cache. In such case, all dependent report documents of a given universe may not be detected. The BO repository cache can be refreshed by loading such modified or moved report documents and refreshing the queries. |
BOOLEAN | True | |||||||
| Add specific objects | Add documents that do not depend on any universe: 'Universe independent documents' The documents that do not depend on any universe are imported. 'None' |
ENUMERATED |
|
None | ||||||
| Class representation | Controls how the tree structure of Classes and subClasses should be imported. The bridge will import each Class containing Objects as a Dimension (as defined by the CWM OLAP standard). In addition, Classes and subClasses can also be imported as a tree of Packages (as defined by the CWM and UML standards). 'As a flat structure' No Packages are created. 'As a simplified tree structure' A Package is created for each Class with subClasses. 'As a full tree structure' A Package is created for each Class. |
ENUMERATED |
|
As a flat structure | ||||||
| Import joins | Specify whether joins and contexts should be imported. 'True' The joins and contexts are imported. 'False' The joins and contexts are not imported. |
BOOLEAN | True | |||||||
| Import hierarchies | Specify whether hierarchies should be imported. 'True' The hierarchies are imported. 'False' The hierarchies are not imported. |
BOOLEAN | True |
Bridge Mapping
| Meta Integration Repository (MIR) Metamodel (based on the OMG CWM standard) |
"SAP BusinessObjects Repository 6.x" Metamodel BoRepository |
Mapping Comments |
| ClassifierMap | The Mapping Models use many ClassifierMaps to connect QuerySubjects and Filters defined in FM models with QuerySubjects and Filters used in reports | |
| Connection | Used to store stitching mappings between report models and universe models | |
| DirectoryStructureModel | Repository | |
| Name | name | |
| FeatureMap | The Mapping Models use many ClassifierMaps to connect Objects and Filters defined in Universe models with Objects and Filters used in documents | |
| Folder | Folder, Category | |
| Description | description | |
| Name | name | |
| MappingVersion | Used to store stitching mappings between report models and universe models | |
| ModelVersion | Universe, Document | |
| MultiModelVersion | Repository | |
| StoreContent | Universe, Document | |
| Name | name | |
| NativeId | path or id | |
| StoreModel | Universe, Desktop Intelligence Document, WebIntelligence Document | All runiverses and documents are imported using the Designer, Reporter and WebIntelligence import bridges. See the respective bridges specification for details on metadata mapping of each tool. |
| Name | name |