New Features of DTP in SAP BW 7.

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Applies to:

SAP BW 7.4

Summary:

This document describes the enhancements to DTPs(Data Transfer Process) in SAP

BW 7.4.
Author:
Sudeepti Bandi
Company:
NTT DATA Global Delivery Services Limited
Created On: 26th May 2015
Author Bio
Sudeepti is a Principal Consultant at NTT DATA from the SAP Analytics Practice.

INTRODUCTION : SAP Netweaver BW 7.4 utilizes the SAP HANA as an underlying database. So, the
enhancements in this version are built around the integration between SAP BW and SAP HANA. This blog is
an attempt to demonstrate the new features available in SAP BW 7.4 DTPs. DTP's are used to transfer data
from different sources of data to target objects.
Following are the options available in different tabs of Data Transfer Process(DTP) in SAP BW 7.4
Source object in the Extraction tab has more options

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New Features of DTP in SAP BW 7.4

A query (QueryProvider) can be used as the source object in a DTP.

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New Features of DTP in SAP BW 7.4

Target Object in the Update tab has more options.

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New Features of DTP in SAP BW 7.4

Changes in Error Handling:

Error handling has new descriptions.

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New Features of DTP in SAP BW 7.4

The table below has a comparison of error handling options for DTP between SAP BW 7.4 and the prior
versions.

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New Features of DTP in SAP BW 7.4

The option Track Records after Failed Request can be selected when error handling is set to
Terminate request; no record tracing; no updating, i.e. when error handling is deactivated.
By choosing this we can enable tracing of erroneous records after a request fails. This setting
(deactivating error handling) helps performance of data load as there is no tracking of error
records during data load process.
SAP HANA Processing mode

The DTP in 7.4 has a new processing mode SAP HANA Processing. If the BW system is using
HANA DB, this mode is seen in the DTP. We check for the availability of this processing mode by
clicking on the button.
If the corresponding transformations can be processed in HANA DB, this option can be used provided the
prerequisites listed below are met.

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New Features of DTP in SAP BW 7.4

Prerequisites:

Error handling is deactivated.

No existing requests in the DTP error stack.
Semantic groups are not created
If the target of the DTP is a DataStore object: On the Update tab, Subsequent Processing
without Master Data is selected.
If the target of the DTP is an open hub destination: The destination is a database table or a
third-party tool.

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New Features of DTP in SAP BW 7.4

If the source of the DTP is a DataStore object: On the Extraction tab, the parameter for
DeltaInit extraction from Active Table (with Archive) is not set.
If the source of the DTP is a DataSource: The data extraction comes from the PSA,
meaning that the option from From PSA is selected in the parametrs of the DataSource
under Data Extraction on the Extraction tab.

If the requirements listed above are not met, check availability throws an error as seen below.

Delta Merge: There are two storages when HANA DB is used - the main storage and the delta storage (delta
index). Changes to data are saved in the delta index.. When a read access happens (example- a query being
executed), both the main storage and delta storage are read and the results are merged. These changes are
updated to main storage through a delta merge. Only when a threshold value is reached, the delta merge is
triggered.

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New Features of DTP in SAP BW 7.4

The checkbox Trigger Database Merge in the Update tab of the DTP is selected to enable the
delta merge after the data load happens. In case of multiple sources to the object, delta merge
has to be performed as a step in process chain called Trigger for database merge to avoid any
inconsistency in load balancing.
Other features:
We can only use the type DTP for Direct Access if the target of the data transfer process is
a VirtualProvider
The flag Do not extract from PSA; is used when data is directly accessed from
source when source system is ODP.
In prior versions, only delta DTPs were used for fetching data request by requestfrom the
source was possible only in extraction mode Delta for hierarchies. This setting is now also
supported for Full DTPs.
The Request Template field in the DTP Monitor is used to display the DTP version
that the DTP was created with.

When adding a DTP to a process chain, input help is now provided so that you can search
by various criteria, for example by the DTP's source and target, the DTP type, status or
processing mode.

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New Features of DTP in SAP BW 7.4

Master data activation post loading can be automated within DTP as seen in the setting below.

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New Features of DTP in SAP BW 7.4

Conclusion:
This document is an attempt to highlight the enhancements to DTPs in SAP BW 7.4, by giving a look and feel
of the new features. Please note that all the options were not explored to the fullest extent and there could be
extension to few concepts and features mentioned here.
Reference Links:
http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-53527
http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw74/helpdata/en/15/c4421e20e540b58cb7debe8656364d/content.htm

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