Yuqiong Liu.
Introduction
SAP S/4 HANA is the current suite of enterprise applications from SAP. Its representing the new generation of ERP systems and introducing several innovations, including CDS views. However, S/4HANA does not provide generic extractors (datasources) for consumption in BW4. Data extraction from SAP S/4HANA to SAP BW/4HANA relies on SAP ABAP CDS technology. Therefore, a straightforward question arises from a BW (Legacy) or Datasphere (Data Warehouse Cloud) perspective: How can one find a CDS in S4 to work as a generic extractor from previous versions of BW?
The answer lies in ODP_CDS, with ABAP CDS serving as ODP providers :
In this context, here is a strategy to identify the appropriate CDS extractor:
1. If there is a standard SAP extractor or CDS view:
- Verify if a standard extractor exists and check its SAP note classification as”whitelisted/NotWhitelisted“: https://launchpad.support.sap.com/#/notes/2500202
The access to this information requires an SAP account.
- If the extractor is classified as « whitelisted »
Activate this extractor with the RSA5/RSA6 tcode.
- If the extractor is classified as « Not Whitelisted »
Search for an existing CDS view and implement data acquisition based on the existing CDS view. If no modifications or enhancements are required, you can use the standard SAP CDS view directly.
If modifications or enhancements are needed, start by copying the existing CDS view to a new CDS view, adhering to the internal nomenclature of the organization. Subsequently, make the required modifications and improvements, such as annotation variances or the addition of fields.
2. If there is no standard extractor or CDS view available, a new extractor will need to be created.
- Create a CDS view for a straightforward extraction, such as elements, associations, calculations, etc.
- If the requirement involves complex logic, create a generic extractor based on a function module.
Checking and analyzing views to associate to a datasource.
1.1 Login in SAP S/4HANA system, use TCODE /n/UI2/FLP and click on “view browser” to check for CDS views.
Once in the application “View Browser”, enter a key word search.
Add a filter:
For example, the letters identifying an application component.
1.2 Search for standard CDS views in the “CDS SAP Help Portal” by SAP module. The List of standard CDS views is available through the SAP Portal website: CDS Views | SAP Help Portal
2. We also need to check the annotation indicating that the CDS view is enabled for extraction “@Analytics.dataExtraction.Enabled: true/false” :
Application developers can use this annotation to flag views that are suitable for data replication.
True : If this view is suitable for data replication, we can create a DataSource via ODP in BW with this annotation
False : This view is not suitable for data replication
We need to search for the ABAP CDS view with a specific annotation “ANALYTICS.DATAEXTRACTION.ENABLED” defined “true.“
For more information on this annotation “@Analytics.dataExtraction,” please refer to the page CDS delta extraction
3. Compare field by field between the elements of CDS views and DataSources
For example, compare InfoObject 0TASKLIST with the CDS view I_Maintenancetasklistdata (next image), two fields below « Work Breakdown Structure Element » and « Source System » are not found in the CDS.
Extractors based on CDS views do not correspond 100% to generic BW extractors due to changes in the data model in S4. Alternative extractors based on CDS views cannot be listed for every generic extractor. Therefore, in this situation, we need to create custom CDS views and apply them to the BW/4HANA system through the creation of a DataSource.
