SAP has introduced a new type of storage called “nearline storage”, managed by the new “Nearline Storage Interface (NLS Interface)”. This NLS Interface (described in SAP NetWeaver 2004s Release Notes SPS 7 (New "Data Archiving Process (DAP)”)), enables use of a partner NLS application for effective management of very large amounts of data based on an Information Lifecycle Management (ILM) approach.
The ILM approach classifies warehouse data into current data kept online in the main data warehouse, less frequently used nearline data, and very rarely used data in archive solutions that provide storage ensuring compliance with applicable regulations.
In previous versions, SAP BI customers archived SAP BI data by using ADK to delete “old” data in SAP BI while keeping it available for further business or audit processes.
Products such as Livelink Enterprise Archive Server from Open Text allowed these archived ADK files to be stored in a way that was compliant with applicable regulations.
The disadvantage of this solution was the inability to directly and transparently access the archived data for business reporting, audit or data management purposes. The only standard way to access archived ADK data is to reload it into SAP BI.
Therefore, “old” data was typically kept online in SAP BI, resulting in
- Exponentially increased data volumes
- Considerable administration and hardware costs.
Some customers have tried to restrict data growth in SAP BI, but this can result in
- Inability to enjoy the full benefits of SAP BI
- Reduced user acceptance due to limited data availability (i.e. not all required data is available).
Using the new NLS features of SAP NetWeaver BI 2004s, SAP customers are able to overcome these challenges.
In combination with NLS partner applications like SAND/DNA for SAP BI, it is possible to move InfoCubes or DSO's (or parts of them) from SAP BI into a “nearline repository” in SAND/DNA.
The data will be deleted in SAP BI but will still be transparently accessible in SAND/DNA via BEx or any other SAP-certified BI front-end, and can also be used as a data source to feed Data Transfer Processes (DTP’s) in SAP BI.
What are the specific benefits of using SAND/DNA for SAP NetWeaver BI 2004s in combination with the NLS interface?
Reduced TCO: lower resource consumption due to more than 85% data compression:
- Reduction of hardware & infrastructure costs for SAP BI 2004s, or “freezing” of hardware and infrastructure costs at a specified level
- Lower memory and CPU requirements
- Reduced system administration costs
Ability to efficiently meet Service Level Agreements ( SLA's):
- Reduced backup and recovery times
- Reduced downtime and planning when significant corporate or regulatory changes occur
- Ability to rebuild historical aggregates and InfoCubes as required when corporate changes occur
- Quicker, simpler software and release management in SAP BI
- Ability to store more history and more granular data
Ability to manage and use very large amounts of information without compromising the performance of the underlying relational database (that is, to keep the database operating in its “sweet spot”):
- Detail information available for ad hoc analyses and rebuilding of data objects
- “Drill-to-detail” availability from InfoCubes
Now that nearline functionality is available, is there still a need for archiving solutions like Livelink Server from Open Text?
Yes, solutions like Livelink Enterprise Archive Server are still needed because, with increasingly stringent legal requirements, the data within SAP BI is becoming more and more legally relevant, and so must be archived in an approved way to ensure regulatory compliance. For instance, if the consolidated financial statement is prepared using SAP BI, the compliance of archived data needs to be ensured.
Since Nearline data is stored in SAND/DNA as SCT files, customers may want to archive data in ADK format as well because it is a de-facto standard that is accepted by external authorities.
In general, Livelink Enterprise Archive Server provides the possibility to store and access data in a secure and tamper-proof way over the long term.
Regulatory requirements such as the European Data Retention Directive, the SEC, the US FDA, HIPAA, GDPdU and Basel II require the implementation of data and document retention management. Companies have to ensure that specific data and documents are securely archived for certain periods of time. For some organizations it is also important to ensure that data and documents are being deleted after the retention period has ended. Livelink Enterprise Archive Server guarantees that archived data and documents cannot be deleted or modified throughout the specified retention period.
Yes. In 2006, SAND/DNA (a nearline solution) and Livelink Enterprise Archive Server (an archiving solution) have been integrated to offer SAP BI customers an accessible, integrated and efficient way to store less frequently or very rarely used data in a compliant environment.
Integration of these products makes it possible to manage the information lifecycle in its entirety.
What major benefits will SAP BI and Livelink Enterprise Archive Server customers gain from integration with SAND/DNA for SAP BI?
With SAND/DNA, SAP BI and Livelink Enterprise Archive Server customers are now able to:
- Relieve SAP NetWeaver BI 2004s from the need to keep large amounts of infrequently or rarely used data online
- Reduce Total Cost of Ownership
- Archive all legally relevant SAP BI data in a way that is approved for regulatory compliance
- Use types of media other than hard disk to store nearline and archived data (for example, DVD, WORM, UDO, EMC Centera, NetApp Snapshot)
"Closing the gap between online, nearline, and archived data is becoming an increasingly critical requirement. It is important to provide retention management for archived data in order to address compliance issues, By integrating SAND/DNA with Livelink ECM, our customers who use SAP NetWeaver BI can enable pinpoint access to archived information, with deep-dive analysis capabilities that were simply unavailable until now. In addition, archived data is securely stored and maintained by Livelink ECM - Archive Server." - Patrick Barnert, Vice President of SAP Applications at Open Text
Using the NLS Interface of SAP NetWeaver BI 2004s and SAND/DNA, customers can store selected nearline data in a data format called SCT (SAND Compacted Table).
Based on individual data retention plans, these SCT’s are then moved via Livelink API into Livelink Enterprise Archive Server to be stored in a “compliant form” fashion on any media supported by Livelink.
Is it possible to archive data from the SAND/DNA Nearline solution for SAP BI 3.1 or BI 3.5 in Livelink Enterprise Archive Server?
Yes, it is possible to archive data coming from SAND/DNA for SAP BI 3.1/3.5 in Livelink Enterprise Archive Server, because both nearline solutions from SAND (for SAP NetWeaver BI 2004s and for SAP BI 3.1/3.5) work with the same version of SAND/DNA.
Yes, all data coming from SAND’s Nearline solutions that is archived in Livelink is still accessible by SAP BI users via BEx or any other SAP-certified BI front-end.
The newly designed “Data Archiving Process” (DAP) can be used for storing data “nearline” in SAP partner applications such as SAND/DNA for SAP NetWeaver BI 2004s and/or for archiving data traditionally via ADK.
Both processes involve deleting the selected data within SAP NetWeaver BI 2004s, however only “nearline” data will still be transparently accessible via BEx or other SAP-certified front-end tools, and only SAND/DNA offers a high-efficiency nearline repository with minimal administration requirements (i.e no indexing is required for data access purposes).
Both types of data can then be archived in “compliance ready” form in Livelink Enterprise Archive Server at the same time.
“With the SAND/DNA nearline solution, we have found a way to control the explosion of data inside SAP NetWeaver BI. The SAND solution optimizes data warehouse resource usage and allows us to fulfill our Service Level Agreements no matter how much data is involved” - Bardo Gutberlet, Head of SAP System Development / Management, RI-Solution GmbH
