How to Use ODP for Data Extraction into SAP BW/4HANA

SAP BW/4HANA is a next-generation data warehouse solution that can leverage the power of SAP HANA to provide fast and flexible analytics and reporting. But how can you get the data from your SAP or non-SAP source systems into SAP BW/4HANA? One of the options is to use ODP (Operational Data Provisioning), a framework that enables consistent, scalable and delta-enabled data extraction from various sources.

In this blog post, we will explain what ODP is, how it works, and how you can use it to extract data from your source systems into SAP BW/4HANA. We will also share some tips and best practices for optimizing your ODP performance and data quality.

What is ODP?

ODP is a framework that provides a technical infrastructure to enable data extraction and replication between different systems, technology stacks, products and deployment modes. ODP supports different contexts, such as SAP NetWeaver Business Warehouse (for InfoProviders of the BW system), DataSource/ extractors, ABAP CDS views or HANA information layer. ODP data sources can also be accessed for extraction in new scenarios, such as OData or file store.

ODP uses a data replication API as a communication protocol between the source system and the target system. The source system provides the data via an ODP provider, which exposes the data in a standardized format. The target system consumes the data via an ODP subscriber, which requests the data from the provider and loads it into the target system.

ODP provides the following qualities:

Direct access for small data volumes without an operational delta queue (for a preview, for example)
Package-based full extraction via the operational delta queue for large data volumes
Delta extraction (with initial full extraction) via the operational delta queue for changes, provided that the ODP data source supports deltas (for example, DataStore object (advanced) in the BW system)

How to Use ODP for Data Extraction into SAP BW/4HANA?

To use ODP for data extraction into SAP BW/4HANA, you need to have your source system and your SAP BW/4HANA system connected via RFC or Remote Function Call. You also need to have an ODP provider in your source system that exposes the data that you want to extract. Depending on the context of your source system, you can use different types of ODP providers, such as:

DataSource/ extractor: This is the most common type of ODP provider, which is based on an ABAP extractor in the source system. You can use transaction RSDS in the source system to create or maintain a DataSource/ extractor. You can also use transaction RSA5 or RSA6 in the source system to activate or deactivate a DataSource/ extractor.
ABAP CDS view: This is a type of ODP provider that is based on an ABAP Core Data Services view (ABAP CDS view) in the source system. You can use Eclipse IDE to create or maintain an ABAP CDS view with the corresponding analytics annotations for use in SAP BW/4HANA. You can also use transaction RSDCUBE in the source system to activate or deactivate an ABAP CDS view.
HANA information layer: This is a type of ODP provider that is based on a HANA information model (such as calculation view or analytic view) in the source system. You can use SAP HANA Studio to create or maintain a HANA information model with the corresponding analytics annotations for use in SAP BW/4HANA. You can also use transaction RSDCUBE in the source system to activate or deactivate a HANA information model.

Once you have your source system and your SAP BW/4HANA system ready, you can follow these steps to create an InfoObject and start replicating data:

Log in to your SAP BW/4HANA system and call transaction RSA1 to open the Data Warehousing Workbench.
In the Modeling tab, navigate to InfoProvider > InfoObjects > InfoObject Catalogs.
Right-click on the InfoObject catalog where you want to create your InfoObject and select Create InfoObject.
Enter a name and a description for your InfoObject and click on Continue.
In the General tab, select Data Type as Characteristic or Key Figure according to your requirement.
In the Master Data/Texts tab, select With Master Data if you want to store master data for your InfoObject.
In the Business Explorer tab, select Query-relevant if you want to use your InfoObject in queries.
In the Extraction tab, select Operational Data Provisioning as Source System Type.
Click on the magnifying glass icon next to Source System to select your source system from the list of available systems.
Click on the magnifying glass icon next to ODP Name to select your ODP provider from the list of available providers in your source system. You can filter the list by context, such as BW, Extractor or CDS.
Click on Save and Activate to create and activate your InfoObject.
Right-click on your InfoObject and select Manage to open the Data Management screen.
In the Data Management screen, click on the Load icon to start loading data from your source system into your InfoObject. You can choose between Full Load or Delta Load according to your requirement.
You can monitor the load status and performance by using transaction RSMO or RSPC in your SAP BW/4HANA system. You can also use SAP HANA Studio to view the loaded data in your InfoObject.

Tips and Best Practices for ODP

Here are some tips and best practices for using ODP for data extraction into SAP BW/4HANA:

Before replicating data, make sure that your source system and target system have compatible data types and structures. You can use transaction RSDRI_ODP_CHECK in your SAP BW/4HANA system to check the consistency of data definitions between source and target systems.
To improve the performance of ODP, you can increase the number of parallel processes and package size according to your system resources and network bandwidth. You can also use compression techniques such as SID generation or data aging to reduce the data volume and memory consumption.
To ensure the data quality and integrity of ODP, you can use transaction RSDRI_ODP_REPAIR in your SAP BW/4HANA system to repair any inconsistencies or errors in the data replication. You can also use transaction RSDRI_ODP_COMPARE in your SAP BW/4HANA system to compare the data between source and target systems.
To avoid unnecessary replication of data, you can use filters to only replicate the data that you need for your SAP BW/4HANA scenarios. You can also use transaction RSDRI_ODP_DELETE in your SAP BW/4HANA system to delete the data that you no longer need from target system.

Conclusion

ODP is a framework that enables consistent, scalable and delta-enabled data extraction from various sources into SAP BW/4HANA. By using ODP, you can leverage the power of SAP HANA to gain insights from your data in real time or on a schedule.

We hope this blog post has helped you understand how to use ODP for data extraction into SAP BW/4HANA. If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to leave a comment below.

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