With the new SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.0 version, the concept of the universe and the subsequent design has been completely overhauled. BusinessObjects BI 4.0 introduced unx universes as the semantic layer and the Information Design Tool (IDT) for designing them.

However, BusinessObjects BI 4.0 does not support linked universes. When you migrate to the new version, these linked universes are no longer recognized by the new BusinessObjects Enterprise reporting suite tools such as Explorer, Crystal Reports Enterprise, and SAP HANA. The linked universes have to be converted to the new concept of merged universes by using the IDT. On conversion, these universes with the new .unx extension are able to connect to the reporting suite as well as other BusinessObjects tools.

Traditionally linked universes have provided BusinessObjects developers with a means to connect multiple universes and also create reusable universe components. BusinessObjects 4.0 encourages the use of the new unx universes.

Technical Prerequisites

To be able to follow this article you need to have working knowledge of:

• BO 3.1 Universe Designer
• BO 4.0 IDT
• Universe design concepts
• Linked universes and the concepts behind designing them

New Format of Merged Universes and its Advantages

A universe is a semantic layer that helps to connect the BusinessObjects reporting application with the database. The semantic layer also helps to shield users from the nuances of query writing and database design. A universe allows business users to create their own ad hoc reports from the objects provided in the universe. Apart from providing convenience, a universe also helps the developer to maintain business rules in a single layer without exposing the logic to the users.

Certain design conditions call for a flavor of the traditional universe called a linked universe. A linked universe is an amalgamation of two or more different universes to form a derived universe that has objects of both. In addition to the ease of development, linked universes also provide advantages such as reusability and ease of maintenance of business rules.

A linked universe can be created using two concepts (i.e., core-derived universes and master-derived universes). Both concepts are based on disparate schools of thought though they serve the same basic purpose.

Core Universe Concept

A core defines the basic tenet of any principle. The core concept for universe design uses the same approach. The most important and common objects are placed in a central universe called core universe. There could be one or more core universes. Core universes are linked to a derived universe, which is exposed to the user. (A universe created by using components from other core universes is called a derived universe.) The objects within the core universes help in maintaining business rules centrally while also allowing reusability. The derived universe contains all the objects of the core universe and can additionally also have objects created within itself. A core universe approach is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1

Core universe

Master Universe

The master universe concept for designing linked universes works via an entirely opposite concept than that of the core universe. The master universe acts as the base that has all the requisite objects for all business sub areas. Based on the need and the requirement, the master universe is linked to the derived universe and only the relevant objects are made visible. The derived universe acts like a slave to the master universe as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2

Master universe

The approach you choose for deciding how to build the subsequent derived universe depends on the design scenario.

Scenario 1: If there are universes in place for marketing, finance, and sales and there is a requirement to have objects from these universes, the linked universe concept can be used to create the derived universe.

Scenario 2: The universe for marketing already exists and there is a requirement to create a universe based only on the marketing revenue fact and related dimensions. With this scenario, you can use the master universe concept to create the derived universe. Hiding objects from the master and considering only the ones needed for the requirement is advisable in this case.

Pros and Cons of Linked Universes

Linked universes were introduced by BusinessObjects for the advantages listed below. They are explained here for better appreciation of their functionalities.

Advantages of Linked Universes

Linked universes allow for reusability, rapid development, and easy maintenance.

• Reusability:  Core universes can be linked to dependent universes to build derived universes rapidly. The common tables and the objects appear in all the derived universes. Likewise once the master universe is built, individual slave universes can be built depending on the requirement. The core and the master universes can be reused to link to derived universes any number of times, making the universes reusable and more efficient.
• Rapid development: Since the objects can be reused and there is no need to rebuild the entire universe all over again, projects can be built and deployed faster. The core and the master universes hold the business logic that you can link to the derived universes, which helps in rapid development.
• Easy maintenance: If built with the right design, the linked universes can be easy to maintain, since changes can be centralized and localized to one universe. The business rules can be designed to be placed centrally and within manageable grounds. Any changes can be implemented and tested easily since the changes are localized to only one set of objects within either the core or the master.

Disadvantages of Linked Universes

The disadvantages of linked universes are that they are difficult to migrate and complex in structure.

• Difficult to migrate: Since linked universes are made up of core or master universes, the utmost care has to be taken while migrating between environments. Missing out on even a single core universe can result in the entire derived universe being corrupted. Changes to any of the core universes have to done only after thorough analysis of any impact upon other linked and derived universes.
• Complex in structure: The linked universes are based upon other core or master universes, and the structure of these kinds of universes become very complex and difficult to comprehend. Tracing a particular object logic becomes difficult in certain derived universes that are derived from multiple cores. Particularly in the case of universes built on the core universe concept, there might be multiple unused objects within the universe. Since the derived universe is built on reusable linked cores, not all the objects would be used and hence the universe is not as compact as a standard standalone universe.

Linked universes can be designed and developed in the Universe Designer, also known as the Universe Design Tool (UDT) in BI 4.0. However to convert a linked unv to a merged unx, you have to use the IDT.

Information Design Tool

The Business Objects 4.0 reporting suite introduced the IDT. The Universe Designer has traditionally been used to create universes in the business objects environment. The Universe Designer creates universes by using connections to connect to the data sources. The universe designer in BO 4.0 is known as the UDT. Though the IDT is not the replacement for the Universe Designer, the universes created in IDT have much more diverse uses and can connect to a multitude of tools.

The IDT can be used to create the semantic layer in its completely reworked form. The IDT has a completely redesigned UI with better usability and accessibility of features. The IDT breaks down the traditional universe into three components and the new universe is a combination of these components:

• The connection layer (cnx): The cnx layer establishes the connection to the database.
• The business layer (blx): The blx layer holds the business logic to be implemented in the universe.
• The data foundation layer (dfx): The dfx layer is a physical universe structure based on the data model.

The unx offers many advantages over the unv, some of which are:

• Multiple data sources: The universes introduced in BO 4.0 can connect to multiple data sources in a single data foundation layer. This eliminates the restriction of having a single connection per universe.
• Better connectivity to BI tools: SAP has introduced a suite of reporting and visualization tools to work with the Business Object standard tools. The unx universe can connect to the entire suite of products which the older unv universe is incapable of doing.
• More intuitive: Being systematically based on clear components, the new universe makes it easier for developers to build universes more intuitively and systematically.

Though SAP has maintained support for linked universes, which is the traditional unv format in BO 4.0, they cannot be created in the IDT. SAP encourages Unx universes as the future of universes. Linked universes (unv) need to be converted to merged universes (unx) for them to be accessible through the BusinessObjects reporting tools. The IDT provides an option to convert unv universes to unx.

Step-by-Step Procedure to Convert Linked unv to Merged unx

In this section, we explain the procedure to convert a linked universe to a merged universe. The steps are performed on the BusinessObjects tool.

Step 1. Start with a pre-built linked universe. The linked universe is based upon the core universe concept as explained in the previous section. The example in Figure 3 is based on the eFashion universe that comes bundled with BusinessObjects Enterprise. The linked universe in this case has been named efashion_linked.unv. This universe needs to be created in the BusinessObjects 3.1 version.

Figure 3

Linked universe

Figure 4

Exporting a universe using Universe Designer in BusinessObjects 3.1

Step 3. Open the IDT on Windows from Start > All Programs > SAP Business Intelligence > SAP Business Intelligence 4 Client Tools > Information Design Tool (1 in Figure 4). The IDT home screen opens (2 in Figure 5). The IDT is used to convert the linked universe in the old efashion_linked.unv to the new unx universe.

Figure 5

Information Design Tool

Step 4.The next step is to convert the linked universe. The universe has been exported to the BusinessObjects repository as shown in Step 2 and can be imported by connecting to the Central Management Server (CMS). To start the process, go to File > Convert unv universe as shown in 1 in Figure 6. IDT has been provided with this inbuilt feature to convert unv universes to unx universes.

Figure 6

Log on to the repository while converting a universe

Step 8. Select the eFashion local project as shown in 2 in Figure 7 and click the OK button.

Step 9. Once the local project is selected, click the option to automatically convert @ prompts into universe-named expressions. @ prompts are created by the universe designer to facilitate universe level prompts on objects. These prompts help users to directly associate selections with objects. Selecting this option automatically converts the @ prompts into named expressions.

Figure 7

Convert the universe

Step 10. When you click the OK button, the conversion process starts and ends with the message shown in 1 of Figure 8.

Step 11. The converted merged universe is as shown in 2 of Figure 8.

Step 12. To check if there are any problems associated with the converted universe, run the integrity check as shown in 2 of Figure 8. The Check Integrity Problems button checks for problems in object definitions, joins, contexts, and other problems in the universe. Access it from Window > Check Integrity Problems in the IDT. Checking a universe for any known divergences is a best practice to build a bug-free universe.

Figure 8

Check integrity problems after the universe conversion

Step 13. Resolve the problems reported by the Check Integrity Problems tool. The problems, if any, are listed in a separate  panel that appears after you click the Check Integrity Problems button (Figure 9). The converted universe will have all the features of the linked universe.

Figure 9

Check Integrity Problems window

Shreekant W. Shiralkar

Shreekant W. Shiralkar is a senior management professional with experience on leading and managing business functions as well as technology consulting. He has authored best selling books and published many white papers on technology. He also holds patents for innovations. Presently he is global head of the SAP Analytics Centre of Excellence at Tata Consultancy.

You may contact the author at s-shiralkar@yahoo.com.

If you have comments about this article or publication, or would like to submit an article idea, please contact the editor.

Meenakshi Chopra

Meenakshi Chopra is an associate at Tata Consultancy Services with 15 years of experience in IT serving the banking, manufacturing, and travel & hospitality Industries. Meenakshi is part of the leadership at SAP Analytics and SAP HANA Center of Excellence at Tata Consultancy and is engaged in architecting and designing solutions on SAP BusinessWarehouse, SAP BusinessObjects, and SAP HANA platforms. She is an engineer with specialization in electronic instrumentation.

You may contact the author at meenakshi.chopra@tcs.com.

If you have comments about this article or publication, or would like to submit an article idea, please contact the editor.

Vinayak Gole

Vinayak Gole is a senior Business Intelligence consultant with 15 years of experience in IT across multiple business domains. Part of the global SAP Analytics Center of Excellence at Tata Consultancy Services, Vinayak has been engaged in architecting solutions on SAP Business Objects suite including Lumira and Business Objects cloud.  

You may contact the author at vinayak.gole@tcs.com.

If you have comments about this article or publication, or would like to submit an article idea, please contact the editor.