Uncover Performance Improvements When Working with Aggregates Based on Master Data

by Ned Falk, Senior Education Consultant, SAP (March 2010)

Apply these tips to master data-based aggregates to improve your system’s performance.

Categories: BI/BW, Performance

Key Concept

Navigation attributes are fields (InfoObjects) from the master data attribute table that link to the characteristic on the InfoCube. They provide additional reporting options and allow query designers to generate a different "version of the truth.”

Most BI professionals know the basics of aggregates. Many would say, “Aggregates are baby InfoCubes that include fewer characteristics than the basic parent InfoCube and therefore summarize the data even more than the InfoCube does.” When queries can use aggregates, the result is faster reporting.

That definition is fairly accurate. However, in addition to characteristics from the InfoCube, you can use navigation attributes and hierarchies to build aggregates. This results in even more improvements in speed for what would otherwise be slower hierarchy and attribute queries. In this case, issues around aggregates can mushroom and the nuisances associated with aggregate administration in these situations are often unknown. This is especially true with performance issues related to navigation attributes. For ease of discussion I focus on navigation attributes, but the concepts are almost universally applicable to hierarchies as well.

Here are some strategies you can use to for a smoother running, more responsive SAP NetWeaver BW installation. They include:

Flat aggregates
Configuration parameters for aggregates
Basis aggregates
Parallel processing
Key date variables
SAP NetWeaver BW Accelerator

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