Monitoring for SAP BI Reporting

Best Practice for Solution Management

Version Date: July 2008

SAP NetWeaver 7.0 BI

The newest version of this Best Practice can always be obtained through
the SAP Solution Manager or the SAP Service Marketplace.

Contents
Applicability, Goals, and Requirements................................................................................................2
Best Practice Procedure and Verification.............................................................................................4
Preliminary Tasks..........................................................................................................................4
Procedure .....................................................................................................................................4
Monitor and Tuning Query Performance ..................................................................................4
BI Statistics .............................................................................................................................4
BI Query Monitor RSRT...........................................................................................................6
BI Workload Monitor ST03 ......................................................................................................7
BI Administration Cockpit.........................................................................................................9
Monitoring the BI Accelerator................................................................................................. 11
Prefilling Cache..................................................................................................................... 11
Create Aggregates ................................................................................................................12
Delete Aggregates.................................................................................................................13
Delete BI Statistic Tables .......................................................................................................13
Further Information ...........................................................................................................................15
Best Practice: Monitoring for SAP BI Reporting 2

Applicability, Goals, and Requirements

To ensure that this Best Practice is the one you need, consider the following goals and requirements.

Goal of Using this Service

This service provides recommendations about jobs and tasks that have to be performed on a regular
basis to ensure stable reporting performance in a BI system.

Alternative Practices
You can get SAP experts to deliver this Best Practice if you order the “SAP Business Process
Performance Optimization for BI Reporting” Service. For further details concerning this service, please
refer to SAP Service Marketplace http://service.sap.com/bppo . The BPPO service can also be
delivered as empowering service where experienced support consultants will transfer knowledge to
your operations team. The service is called “SAP REPORTING PERFORMANCE WORKSHOP FOR
SAP NETWEAVER BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE (BI)". Please contact your SAP account
representative to get more information from the following Wiki
Pagehttps://wiki.wdf.sap.corp/display/K3S/SAP+Empowering+Service

Staff and Skills Requirements

For optimal benefit you should make sure that you have experience in the following areas:
The SAP Solution Manager 7.0 must be installed
Practical experience with the SAP BI Reporting and Data Warehousing Workbench
Root Cause Analysis must be configured in the SAP Solution Manager. This can be done by
the SAP Solution Manager Starter Package.
Experience with monitoring of SAP BI queries

System Requirements
This document refers to SAP NetWeaver 7.0 BI systems. Please be aware that the screenshots
provided in this document refer to SAP NetWeaver 7.0 BI; some of them might differ slightly in the
“look & feel” from SAP BW 3.x but the menu path is the same for both systems.
In order for this document to be of relevance and benefit to all BI administrators, it will not cover
features or restrictions that belong to any particular database or operating system.

Duration and Timing

The monitoring tasks in BI 7.0 have to be done on a regular basis. The time required depends on the
objects used and the complexity of the reporting process.

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Best Practice: Monitoring for SAP BI Reporting 3

Changed Terminology
As of SAP NetWeaver 7.0, some existing BI terms have been changed to better reflect the enhanced
functions of the tools and objects.

Old term New term

ODS object DataStore object

Transactional ODS object DataStore object for direct update

Transactional InfoCube Real-time InfoCube

RemoteCube,
SAP RemoteCube, VirtualProvider
virtual InfoCube with services

Administrator Workbench Data Warehousing Workbench

Monitor Extraction monitor

Reporting authorizations Analysis authorizations

OLAP Engine Analytic Engine

OLAP statistics BI query runtime statistics

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Best Practice Procedure and Verification

Preliminary Tasks
It is recommended that this Best Practice be first read completely before any given recommendations
are implemented. We strongly advise against direct changes in the production environment, and
recommend first testing any changes in a test system.

Procedure

Monitor and Tuning Query Performance

Frequency: Weekly
To improve end-user satisfaction, SLRs (service level requirements) should be defined for all new
queries and a pro-active query performance monitoring should be set up. It should not be the standard
procedure that long running queries are only identified by the end users in the functional department
and reported to the technical department.
Classify and prioritize the queries. Based on the outcome of this categorization, ensure that
appropriate monitoring and tuning procedures are in place to guarantee the maximum performance
and availability of these queries. This should include:
Having a minimal system load when the query runs or when the associated data is uploaded.
Having the responsible people on call during a critical load and ensuring that the correct
procedures are in place to contact that person.
SLRs should be defined by the functional department for all new queries. The technical department
should check if it is possible to meet these requirements by testing the queries in the development
system, therefore it is necessary to have a comparable data volume in the development and
production systems respectively. Queries with a high runtime on the database can be tuned by
aggregates or in SAP NetWeaver 7.0 BI by using BI Accelerator. If aggregates are not suitable or do
not improve the performance of these queries to the level required, consider if queries could be tuned
by pre-filling the OLAP cache with Information Broadcasting. Note that usually only a restricted
number of queries can be pre-calculated, therefore a prioritization is necessary and the performance
of these important queries should be monitored.
As the amount of data being read by the query and the reporting behaviour of the end-users typically
changes over the time, it is important to also monitor the query performance regularly, e. g. weekly or
when a high volume of data is loaded to the InfoProvider. In SAP NetWeaver 7.0 BI you can use the
BI Administration Cockpit to monitor query performance; in SAP BW 3.x you can use the Technical
Content and/or transaction ST03 (the workload monitor). A prerequisite for ST03 and the
Administration Cockpit is that the technical content needs to be activated. Please find a detailed
description in SAP Note 934848.

BI Statistics
There are three main processing areas during query execution; front-end, OLAP processor, and data
selection (which includes Database and BI Accelerator). When analyzing query performance, first

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identify where the performance problem is located and focus on the tuning possibilities for that
processing area.

Statistics identification: The two central tables for analyzing query performance are
RSDDSTAT_OLAP and RSDDSTAT_DM. The first one is used to find out where the time is spent.
You can distinguish between data selection, OLAP or front-end. The second table provides more
details about the data selection. With BI 7.0 it is now possible to check which BasisProviders and
aggregates are involved in a MultiProvider query.

Events are the basis for end-to-end runtime monitoring of processing in SAP NetWeaver BI 7.0.
Events can have two types
calculated by time (start time / end time)
calculated by a counter (e.g. number of records selected / transferred...etc)

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The detail explanation for the events is available in the online help:
http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw70/helpdata/en/45/f0488a1aa03115e10000000a1553f7/frameset.htm
Transaction RSDDSTAT: This transaction is used to switch on statistical recording for single objects
like queries, web templates, workbooks or whole InfoProviders. Only when statistics are switched on
runtime information in table RSDDSTAT* will be recorded. The level of detail can be influenced by a
parameter. It is possible to define a default value for all objects.
You can also find the find Transaction RSDDSTAT from RSA1 via menu navigation -> Tools ->
Settings for BI statistics:

For further information, please check the following link:

http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw70/helpdata/en/43/e37f8a6df402d3e10000000a1553f7/frameset.htm

BI Query Monitor RSRT

RSRT is the most important tool for query analysis. It should be used to investigate individual queries
and their executions/navigations in detail and to check whether query executions spend their time on
the database, in the OLAP processor or in the front-end. RSRT can be used to get a general technical
impression of a query definition and the usage of performance relevant features.

The important features in RSRT are:

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Execute + Debug: This is used among others to do query debugging, set predefined break-points,
show statistical entries for query execution, get aggregate proposals, and to prevent cache or BI
Accelerator access.
Properties: Here query specific properties like read mode and cache mode can be defined. There is
now a new Delta Cache Mode available. For more details please follow this link:
http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw70/helpdata/EN/57/b10022e849774f9961aa179e8763b6/frameset.htm
Technical Information: From the Technical Information screen, you get an overview of important
technical reference numbers for a query. Please find details under following link:
http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw2004s/helpdata/en/f2/c9bae61cca904284aebbecc84ed01b/frameset.h
tm

BI Workload Monitor ST03

You should use the Workload Analysis to proactively monitor the performance of queries and
aggregate maintenance.
Identify and analyze InfoProviders and queries that have performance tuning potential
Identify InfoProviders and aggregates that consume most of the aggregate maintenance time
window
Identify the focus area for performance improvement i.e. database, OLAP, front-end

The BI Content for statistics has to be activated before using transaction ST03, as the information with
ST03 comes via the DataSources: 0TCT_DS01 (OLAP aggregated data), 0TCT_DS02 (OLAP detailed
data) and 0TCT_DS03 (DataManager detailed data).
The data will be loaded to the InfoCubes 0TCT_C01 (Front-End and OLAP Statistics (Aggregated))
and 0TCT_C02 (Front-End and OLAP Statistics (Details)) from the Technical Content. Please check
the SAP Note 934848 and online help for more details:
http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw70/helpdata/en/80/1a66d5e07211d2acb80000e829fbfe/frameset.htm
For current analysis, for example of today, the information will be read from the tables directly as the
data is not in the InfoProviders yet.
Enter the workload monitor with transaction ST03 and switch to “Expert Mode”. Under the “BI
Workload” tree you can specify the timeframe for you analysis. In the “Analysis View” tree you select

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the different areas where your analysis will focus on.

For BI performance monitoring and analysis, we can focus on 4 areas:

1. Reporting
To analyze the performance for Queries, Workbooks and Web Templates
2. Aggregates
Investigate the performance for initial filling, rollup or delta update of aggregates
3. Load Data
Analyze the performance for data loading during the extraction and DTP
4. Process Chains
Analyze the performance of process chain
Workload Overview:

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Query Runtime overview on tab “Share of runtime”:

If you want to learn more about transaction ST03 and the general BI Reporting Monitoring we
recommend the Empowering Service “SAP REPORTING PERFORMANCE WORKSHOP FOR SAP
NETWEAVER BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE (BI)".
https://wiki.wdf.sap.corp/display/K3S/SAP+Empowering+Service

BI Administration Cockpit
The BI Administration Cockpit is a central point of entry for monitoring complex BI landscapes
providing information about data warehousing, reporting and query analysis and planning services. It
focuses solely on monitoring the ABAP Stack. Java Stack monitoring like heap memory consumption
on the Java server nodes is done with Solution Manager Diagnostics (SMD).
Admin Cockpit Overview:

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Best Practice: Monitoring for SAP BI Reporting 10

Admin Cockpit Architecture:

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Monitoring the BI Accelerator

The central point of access to the monitoring and administration functions for the BI Accelerator is the
BI Accelerator monitor (transaction RSDDBIAMON2). This transaction provides an overview of the
current status of the BI Accelerator and offers a detailed, technical overview of the hardware, BI
Accelerator services, any trace files that exist, and the BI Accelerator indexes.
For more information about the BIA technology and usage please note this link
https://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/sdn/bia

Prefilling Cache
Frequency: Daily
By using the OLAP cache, the load on the database server is reduced. Cached queries, especially
those that are cached in main memory and in flat files, do not cause any database access (at least the
database accesses are reduced significantly). Because of this reduction, there are fewer
displacements in the database buffer and therefore the cache has a positive impact on the overall
database performance and the network load. With query execution, the runtime for reading the data is
reduced by the cache especially for queries reading a huge data volume.
To meet the business requirements in reporting performance, pre-calculation of some important
queries could be necessary. This means you can "warm up" the OLAP cache for these queries directly
instead of it being filled "indirectly" by the reporting in question. Then the result can be read out of the
OLAP cache and this is much faster than from the database.
This function is not explicitly provided with BW 3.x. However, you can use the method that is described
in "How to ...Performance Tuning with the OLAP Cache" with certain restrictions.
In SAP NetWeaver 7.0 BI, you can use the BEx Broadcaster to fill the OLAP cache. Call the
broadcaster from the BEx Query Designer:

Choose “Create New Setting” Choose “Fill OLAP Cache”. Select the filter navigation. When the
query uses variables, also a variant has to be maintained; otherwise the variable could not be filled in
the background job.
Save and schedule the job: You can either schedule the pre-filling of the OLAP Cache to run at
predefined times or with each data change in the InfoProvider.

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When the pre-filling of the OLAP cache is scheduled to run with each data change in the InfoProvider,
an event has to be raised in the process chain which loads the data to this InfoProvider. When the
process chain executes the process “Trigger Event Data Change (for Broadcaster)”, an event is raised
to inform the Broadcaster that the query can be filled in the OLAP cache.

Create Aggregates
Frequency: When the service level requirements of the queries are not met, when you
encounter increasing I/O or bad data hit ratio on the database server.
When you are using a SAP NetWeaver 7.0 BI system, consider the usage of the new BI Accelerator
instead of aggregates. The BI Accelerator does not only speed up queries which have a high database
time, it also helps avoiding the ongoing and time-consuming finding and creation of aggregates.
Further information about the BI Accelerator is available on the SAP Service Marketplace:
http://service.sap.com/bifaq BI Accelerator.
If the query runtime is mainly spent on the database, suitable aggregates should be created. The ratio
between rows selected and rows transferred indicates potential performance improvements with
aggregates. It should be investigated which queries are performing badly; and then, which of them can
be tuned by aggregates.
Define responsibilities for aggregate creation in order to ensure that the queries are performing well.
Further information is available on the SAP Service Marketplace:
http://service.sap.com/bi Performance Aggregates

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Best Practice: Monitoring for SAP BI Reporting 13

We also recommend ordering the TEWA50 “Empowering Workshop: SAP BW - Query Tuning with
Aggregates. “ This workshop contains information about:
Concept of aggregates
Find queries that can be tuned with aggregates
Create suitable aggregates
Maintain aggregates efficiently

Delete Aggregates
Frequency: Quarterly
There are several reasons, why an aggregate might be unnecessary:
There can be very similar aggregates that might be combined into one new aggregate.
There can be aggregates which are never used and which are no basis aggregates.
There can be aggregates with an insufficient reduction factor compared to the InfoCube.
As aggregates contain redundant data and are especially created for performance reasons,
unnecessary aggregates need disk space and have to be regularly maintained via roll-up and/or
change run.
Check regularly the usage of your aggregates. It can be the case that the merging of similar
aggregates is possible. Some aggregates may not be used at all, or some aggregates could be similar
in size to the InfoCubes and lead to no performance improvement.
The EarlyWatch Report can also be checked for aggregates to be deleted.

Delete BI Statistic Tables

Frequency: Quarterly
The BI statistic tables RSDDSTAT* and the BPS statistic tables UPC_STATISTIC* have to be deleted
regularly.
Please follow the SAP Notes 211940, 195157, 179046, 366869 before deleting or archiving.
For the BI statistic tables RSDDSTAT*, the deletion of records older than x days can be done in
transaction RSA1. To delete data, call transaction RSA1, choose 'Tools' 'Settings for BI Statistics’
and select 'Delete Statistical Data':

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The time period for data, which should be deleted, can now be entered. Please read SAP Note
309955 for information on usage and errors in the BI Statistics.
For the BPS statistic tables UPC_STATISTIC*, the deletion of records older than x days can be done
in transaction BPS_STAT0:

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Further Information
Alternative Practices
You can get SAP experts to deliver this Best Practice if you order the SAP Business Process
Performance Optimization for BI Reporting. For further details concerning this service, please refer to
SAP Service Marketplace http://service.sap.com/bppo . The BPPO service can also be delivered as
empowering service where experienced support consultants will transfer knowledge to your operations
team. Please contact your SAP account representative to get more information from the following Wiki
Page https://wiki.wdf.sap.corp/display/K3S/SAP+Empowering+Service

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Best Practice: Monitoring for SAP BI Reporting 16

Feedback and Questions

Send any feedback by formulating an SAP customer message to component SV-SMG at
http://service.sap.com/message in the SAP Service Marketplace.

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