SAP BW/4HANA Connector

• Requirements
• Metadata Ingestion
• Lineage
• Troubleshooting

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Requirements

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Metadata Ingestion

-- InfoArea directory (maps to schemas)
GRANT SELECT ON <abapSchema>.RSDAREA TO <user>;
GRANT SELECT ON <abapSchema>.RSDAREAT TO <user>;

-- ADSO directory (maps to tables)
GRANT SELECT ON <abapSchema>.RSOADSO TO <user>;
GRANT SELECT ON <abapSchema>.RSOADSOT TO <user>;

-- CompositeProvider directory (maps to views)
GRANT SELECT ON <abapSchema>.RSOHCPR TO <user>;
GRANT SELECT ON <abapSchema>.RSOHCPRT TO <user>;

-- BEx Query directory (maps to views)
GRANT SELECT ON <abapSchema>.RSRREPDIR TO <user>;

-- ADSO column definitions (HANA system view)
GRANT SELECT ON SYS.TABLE_COLUMNS TO <user>;

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Lineage

-- ADSO → ADSO transformation definitions
GRANT SELECT ON <abapSchema>.RSTRAN TO <user>;

-- Column-level transformation rules and fields
GRANT SELECT ON <abapSchema>.RSTRANRULE TO <user>;
GRANT SELECT ON <abapSchema>.RSTRANFIELD TO <user>;

-- ADSO → CompositeProvider lineage (HANA system view)
GRANT SELECT ON SYS.OBJECT_DEPENDENCIES TO <user>;

SELECT SCHEMA_NAME FROM SYS.TABLES WHERE TABLE_NAME = 'RSOADSO';

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Metadata Ingestion

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Step 1: Add New Service

1. In the left navigation, click Connections.
2. On the Connections page, click Add New Service.

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Step 2: Select a Service and Connector

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Step 3: Add Service Name and Description

• Enter a unique, descriptive Service Name. Collate identifies services by their service name. Enter a name that distinguishes this deployment from other SAP BW/4HANA services you are ingesting metadata from.
• Optional: Enter a Description for the service.

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Step 4: Configure Connection Options

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Select Ingestion Runner

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Enter Connection Details

• Host and Port: Host and port of the SAP HANA instance underlying BW/4HANA. Specify as hostname:port, e.g. hana-host:30015. This is the standard HANA SQL port — not the BW application server address.
• Username: HANA database username with SELECT access to the BW ABAP catalog tables listed in the Requirements section above.
• Password: Password for the HANA database user.
• ABAP Schema: Schema name in HANA where the BW/4HANA ABAP metadata tables reside. Defaults to SAPHANADB. To confirm the correct value on your system, run:
  SELECT SCHEMA_NAME FROM SYS.TABLES WHERE TABLE_NAME = 'RSOADSO';
  
• Schema Filter Pattern: Regex pattern to include or exclude InfoAreas (which map to schemas). System InfoAreas starting with 0 or / are automatically excluded by the connector.
• Table Filter Pattern: Regex pattern to include or exclude InfoProviders — ADSOs, CompositeProviders, and BEx Queries (which map to tables/views).

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Test Connection

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Step 5: Configure Ingestion Options

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How Filter Patterns Work

• Include: Add one or more comma-separated regular expressions. Collate ingests only assets whose names match at least one expression. Leave blank to include all assets.
• Exclude: Add one or more comma-separated regular expressions. Collate skips any asset whose name matches an expression. Leave blank to exclude nothing.

• contains: matches any name containing the value. For example, sales matches my_sales_data and sales_2024.
• starts with: matches names beginning with the value. For example, prod_ matches prod_db and prod_schema.
• ends with: matches names ending with the value. For example, _raw matches events_raw and logs_raw.
• is exactly: matches the exact name only. For example, analytics matches only analytics.
• matches regex: matches names using a regular expression. For example, ^prod_.*_v\d+$ matches prod_events_v1.

• Schema: Controls which InfoAreas (mapped to schemas) Collate ingests from the source.
• Table: Controls which InfoProviders — ADSOs, CompositeProviders, and BEx Queries (mapped to tables/views) — are included.

• Scan Mode: You can choose between the following scan modes:
  • Scan all: Ingests every asset of that type the connector can access. This is the default.
  • Only specific: Enables include rules so only assets matching at least one rule are ingested.
• Always exclude: Add permanent exclusion rules (shown in red). Assets matching these rules are never ingested, regardless of include rules.
• Preview: Shows a real-time summary of what will be in scope based on your current rules.
• Include rules (available only in Only specific mode): Click + Add to define a rule. Added rules appear as chips; an asset is included if it matches any rule.

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Step 6: Create & Deploy

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Configure Metadata Agent and Schedule Ingestion

1. In the left navigation, click Connections and select your service.
2. Click the Agents tab.
3. Click Add Agent and select Metadata from the dropdown. For some services, the dropdown is not available and clicking Add Agent takes you directly to the agent configuration page.
4. On the Configure Ingestion page, do the following and click Next.
   • Name this Ingestion: Enter a unique recognizable name for this ingestion pipeline.
   • Agent Setup: Configure core parameters for metadata extraction. The following fields are available:

     Field	Default	Description
     Default Owner	—	Owner applied to all entities when no specific level owner is configured. Accepts a user or team name/email.
     Service Owner	—	Owner assigned to the service entity.
     Database Owner	—	Owner assigned to all ingested databases. Accepts a single owner or a per-database name mapping.
     Database Schema Owner	—	Owner assigned to all ingested schemas. Accepts a single owner or a per-schema name mapping.
     Table Owner	—	Owner assigned to all ingested tables. Accepts a single owner or a per-table name mapping.
     Enable Inheritance	On	When on, child entities inherit the owner from their parent when they have no owner configured.
     Query Log Duration	1	Number of days to look back in query logs when processing stored procedure results.
     Query Parsing Timeout Limit	300	Timeout in seconds for parsing a single query.
     Number of Threads	1	Number of threads to use for parallel table ingestion.
     Incremental Extraction	Off	When enabled, subsequent runs only extract entities changed since the last successful run.
     Successful Pipeline Run Lookback Days	7	Number of days to search back for a prior successful run to use as a baseline for incremental extraction.
     Safety Margin Days	1	Additional days added to the baseline timestamp as a buffer for incremental extraction.
     JSON Schema Sample Size	10	Number of rows sampled to infer JSON column schema. Only applies when Extract JSON Schema is enabled in Advanced Config.

     
   • Filter Patterns: Apply include or exclude rules to scope which databases, schemas, tables, and stored procedures this agent ingests. For more information about various filter options, see Step 5: Configure Ingestion Options.
   • Scope & Behaviour: Control how the agent handles metadata during ingestion. Toggle each option on or off based on your needs:

     Toggle	Default	Description
     Include Tables	On	Ingest table metadata from the source. Turn off to skip tables entirely.
     Include Tags	On	Ingest tags from the source.
     Include Stored Procedures	On	Ingest stored procedure metadata.
     Include DDL Statements	Off	Ingest DDL statements alongside table metadata.
     Include Owners	Off	Assign owners to ingested entities when the source owner’s email matches a user in Collate. Does not overwrite an existing owner.
     Include Custom Properties	Off	Ingest connector-specific custom properties onto entities.
     Mark Deleted Tables	On	Soft-delete tables in Collate when they are removed from the source. Applies only within the currently ingested schema.
     Mark Deleted Stored Procedures	On	Soft-delete stored procedures in Collate when they are removed from the source.
     Mark Deleted Schemas	Off	Soft-delete schemas and all their child assets when removed from the source.
     Mark Deleted Databases	Off	Soft-delete databases and all their child assets when removed from the source.
     Override Metadata	Off	When on, source values overwrite existing descriptions, tags, owners, and display names in Collate. When off, Collate only updates fields that have no existing value.
     Enable Debug Log	Off	Sets the ingestion log level to DEBUG. Useful for troubleshooting.

     Note: Available toggles vary by connector. Stored procedure options only appear for connectors that support stored procedures.
     
   • Advanced Config: Optional connector-specific settings such as Include Views and Extract JSON Schema.
5. On the Schedule Interval page, set when the agent runs:
   • Schedule: Choose a preset interval (Hourly, Daily, Weekly, Monthly) or enter a custom cron expression.
   • On-Demand: No automatic schedule; trigger the agent manually when needed.
   
6. Click Add to deploy the agent.

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Troubleshooting