SAP BusinessObjects is a business intelligence tool to connect to data for data reporting, visualization, and sharing. Configure an SAP BusinessObjects catalog source to extract metadata from SAP BusinessObjects.
Objects extracted
Metadata Command Center extracts the following objects from an SAP BusinessObjects source system:
•Alias Column
•Alias Table
•Analytic Model
•Analytic Report
•Business Layer View
•Category
•Cell
•Class
•Column
•Connection
•Connection Classifier
•Connection Feature
•Connection Folder
•Connection Model
•Constants
•Context
•Contexts
•Crystal Report
•Crystal Report Model
•Custom Hierarchies
•Dashboard
•Data Provider
•Data Providers
•Database Connection
•Default Hierarchies
•Derived Table
•Desktop Intelligence Document
•Desktop Intelligence Model
•Detail
•Detail Result
•Detail Variable
•Dimension
•Dimension Result
•Dimension Variable
•Discovered Tables
•Enterprise Folder
•Favorite Folder
•Field
•File
•File Connection
•Filter
•Folder
•Formula Fields
•Formulas
•Group Name Fields
•Hierarchy
•Inbox
•Join
•Key
•List of Values
•Logical Column
•Measure
•Measure Result
•Measure Variable
•Merged Dimensions
•Object Package
•Olap Connection
•Olap Dimension
•Parameter
•Parameter Answer
•Parameter Prompt
•Personal Category
•Procedure Query
•Procedure Table
•Query
•Query Filter
•Report Field
•Report Filter
•Report Folder
•Repository
•Running Total Fields
•SQL Expression Fields
•SQL Query
•Schema
•Special Fields
•Summary Fields
•Table
•Universe
•Universe Connection
•Universe Folder
•Universe Model
•Universe Query
•Value
•Variables
•View
•Web Intelligence Document
•Web Intelligence Model
•XML Query
You must purge, run, and perform connection assignments for all SAP BusinessObjects catalog sources created prior to the November 2023 upgrade. This is required to extract additional metadata from universe objects and to view the complete lineage.
Prerequisites for configuring the SAP BusinessObjects catalog source
To extract metadata from SAP BusinessObjects, complete the following prerequisite tasks:
•Verify that your Secure Agent is running on Microsoft Windows.
•Install the SAP BusinessObjects Client Tools for Microsoft Windows on the same machine where the Secure Agent is running.
Permissions to configure the catalog source
Remove write-protection permissions from any SAP Business Object universe that you want to export. For more information about removing Business Object permissions, see the SAP Business Objects documentation.
Verify that the user who logs in to the SAP Business Objects repository belongs to the Universe Designer Users group and has read access to all the Business Objects metadata. If the Business Objects repository contains web intelligence reports in the Favorites or Personal folders, make sure that you include the user in the Administrators group. Create a custom security group and provide permission for the user to view Web intelligence reports.
Connection properties
On the Registration page in Metadata Command Center, specify values for the following properties to connect to the SAP BusinessObjects source system:
Property
Description
Version
Required. Select the version of the SAP Business Objects repository.
System
Required. Name of the BusinessObjects repository used to connect.
Authentication Mode
Required. The authentication mode for the user account that logs in to the BusinessObjects repository. Select one of the following values:
- Enterprise. Log in using the BusinessObjects Enterprise authentication mode.
- LDAP. Log in using LDAP authentication configured to BusinessObjects.
- Windows AD. Log in using a Windows Active Directory server.
User Name
Required. User name to log in to the BusinessObjects repository.
Password
Required. Password of the user account for the BusinessObjects repository.
Configuration parameters for metadata extraction
Expand the Catalog Source Configuration Options in the Metadata Extraction tab on the Configuration page. Configure the following parameters to extract metadata from an SAP BusinessObjects source:
Property
Description
Incremental import
Select one of the following options to specify if you want to extract metadata that has changed since the previous run or extract complete metadata:
- True. Extracts only the changes to the metadata since the last metadata extraction job.
- False. Extracts the complete metadata.
Add dependent objects
Select one of the following options to determine whether you want to add documents that depend on selected universes:
- True. Imports the documents that depend on the specified universe. Select this option if you want to enable extraction of reference objects for the catalog source.
- False. Ignores the documents that depend on the specified universe.
Add specific objects
Select one of the following options to determine whether you want to add documents that do not depend on any universe:
- None. Ignores all objects.
- Universe Independent Documents. Imports documents that do not depend on any universe.
Crystal CORBA port
Specifies the client port number on which the Crystal SDK communicates with the report application server (RAS).
The RAS server uses the port to send metadata to the local client computer. If you do not specify a port, the server randomly selects a port for each execution.
Class representation
Controls how the import of the tree structure of classes and sub classes occur.
Metadata Command Center imports each class containing objects as a dimension or as a tree of packages. Specify one of the following values:
- As a flat structure. Creates no packages.
- As a simplified tree structure. Creates a package for each class with a sub class.
- As a full tree structure. Creates a package for each class.
Import joins
Select one of the following values to specify whether you want to import joins and contexts:
- True. Imports joins and contexts.
- False. Does not import joins and contexts.
Import hierarchies
Select one of the following options to specify whether you want to import hierarchies:
- True. Imports hierarchies.
- False. Does not import hierarchies.
Multiple threads
Number of worker threads that Metadata Command Center uses to extract metadata asynchronously. Leave blank or enter a positive integer value.
If left blank, the Secure Agent calculates the number of worker thread by using the JVM architecture and number of available CPU cores on the Secure Agent machine. If you specify a value that is not valid, the Secure Agent uses one worker thread.
Reduce the number of worker threads if the Secure Agent generates out-of-memory errors during metadata extraction. Increase the number of worker threads if the Secure Agent machine has a large amount of available memory, for example, 10 GB or more. If you specify too many worker threads, performance can decrease.
Agent Options
You can specify the following additional options to pass at runtime:
-idtJre32 [path to the 32-bit JRE executable] -customXMILocation [path to xmi files] -m 4G
- -idtJre32. Specify this option to configure the 32-bit JRE location and the -m option to specify the memory value required to run the metadata extraction job. For example:
- -customXMILocation. Specify this option if you want to load the XMI files that are generated when you run a metadata extraction job. Specify the location where the XMI files are stored. For example:
If the source system references another source system, create a connection assignment in Metadata Command Center to view data lineage with endpoints. To create a connection assignment, create a connection based on the referenced source system, and then assign the connection to the catalog source.
Note: You can view the lineage with reference objects without creating a connection assignment. After connection assignment, you can view the actual objects.
You can assign the following source systems as endpoint catalog sources: