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White Paper BusinessObjects Enterprise XI

Technical Overview�

Business Objects • BusinessObjects Enterprise XI Technical Overview

Author: James Thomas

Contributors: Cortney Claiborne, Whye Seng Hum, Jennifer Meegan, Roger Sanborn, David Townley

Audience: IT—CIO, database administrators, report authors, data warehouse managers, business intelligence managers

Business Objects • BusinessObjects Enterprise XI Technical Overview iii

Contents

Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .iv

BusinessObjects Enterprise: The Trusted BI Platform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Adaptive Services-Oriented Architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Performance and Benchmark Testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

BusinessObjects Enterprise XI Architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

User Interaction Tier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

BusinessObjects InfoView . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Portal Integration Kits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Dashboards and Scorecards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Office Integration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Threaded Discussions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Developer Services: Connecting the Platform to the Users . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Developer Interfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

J2EE and .NET Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Web Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Web Component Adapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Platform Services: The Core BI System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

BI Platform Services Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

BusinessObjects Enterprise Platform Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Deployment Scenarios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

Vertical and Horizontal Scalability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

Single Server Deployment: Reporting Server on Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

Mixed Deployment: ERP BI Solution on Windows and Sun Solaris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

Mixed Deployment: Data Warehouse on Multiple Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Data Services: Comprehensive and Flexible Data Access . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Semantic Layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

System Management Tools: Flexible Administration and Upgrades . . .21

Central Configuration Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

Import Wizard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

Publishing Wizard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

iv Business Objects • BusinessObjects Enterprise XI Technical Overview

This paper provides a technical overview of BusinessObjects™ Enterprise XI. BusinessObjectsEnterprise is the business intelligence (BI) platform from Business Objects designed to let ITmanage and securely deploy specialized end-user tools and applications for reporting, query andanalysis, and performance management on a proven, scalable, and open services-orientedarchitecture. The scalable, reliable, high performance architecture delivers business insight to allend users with a flexible system that allows organizations to deploy and standardize BIimplementations with confidence.

This paper outlines the overall platform architecture, system tiers, and individual services andcomponents that make up the BI platform. We’ve included information that will help IT andadministrators understand the essentials of BusinessObjects Enterprise and help them plan thedeployment, management, and maintenance of the system. For more extensive documentation,installation guides, and deployment strategy support, refer to the documentation available withBusinessObjects XI.

Executive Summary

Business Objects • BusinessObjects Enterprise XI Technical Overview 1

BusinessObjects Enterprise: The Trusted BI Platform

BusinessObjects Enterprise XI is a proven services-oriented architecture designed for the rigorousdemands of BI users. The core platform is currently used by thousands of organizations, worldwide,under the Crystal Enterprise™ name. It is used in mission-critical enterprise reporting applications todeliver operational information that helps companies more efficiently run their business.

BusinessObjects Enterprise XI is the next-generation BI platform from Business Objects andcombines the underlying platform services from Crystal Enterprise, and the powerful BusinessObjects semantic layer. It provides the complete BI platform for specialized end-user tools includingCrystal Reports,® Web Intelligence, OLAP Intelligence, Performance Manager, and DashboardManager. It also includes data integration capabilities from Data Integrator. In addition,BusinessObjects Enterprise provides the BI platform for performance management applications.

The BusinessObjects Enterprise BI platform was designed to integrate seamlessly with existingweb and rich-client application investments without imposing a new set of standards andprocesses. The platform helps our customers extend their current Business Objects and Crystaltechnology investments with an extensive set of upgrade tools and single platform support.BusinessObjects Enterprise delivers consistent performance and scalability, mission-criticalreliability, flexible configuration options, and comprehensive BI tool support. The result is aplatform you can trust to power your current and future BI initiatives.

The Business Objects product line.

2 Business Objects • BusinessObjects Enterprise XI Technical Overview

Adaptive Services-Oriented ArchitectureA BI platform is a vital component of an overall enterprise IT infrastructure and provides a keysupport system for corporate information access and decision making. Customers depend on theBI platform to enable organizations to track, understand, and manage their business. Thisnecessitates a readily available and highly efficient architecture for processing, managing, anddelivering critical information and analysis to a broad user base.

BusinessObjects Enterprise is built on a modern, sophisticated services-oriented architecture andis designed for flexibility and extensibility so it can manage and grow with the varied demands ofBI. The predecessor to BusinessObjects Enterprise XI was architected using modern web standardswith an industry-standard communication framework to tie all the components and servicestogether. Customers and third-party benchmarks have recognized it as one of the industry’s mostscalable, reliable, and powerful platforms.

BusinessObjects Enterprise XI includes new services including specialized Web Intelligencecomponents, and an entire set of performance management services for dashboards, metricsmanagement, predictive analysis, and more. Due to the open nature of these products, theservices can integrate or plug directly into the framework. Once these services are plugged intothe platform, they instantly take advantage of the performance, failover, load balancing, and end-user interfaces.

The ability to plug in these new services has allowed for extensive user experience improvementsand product innovations that will help customers make the most effective use of information todrive business performance. More importantly, customers who have invested in either Crystal orBusiness Objects products can upgrade much of their current product investments to the newplatform with relative ease.

Performance and Benchmark TestingBusinessObjects Enterprise is architected for maximum performance across the broad spectrum ofuser scenarios. For example, specialized platform services handle either on-demand data accessand report generation or time- and event-based report scheduling. You can offload processorintensive scheduling and processing to other servers to minimize performance impact for endusers. The entire architecture is designed to meet the needs of virtually any BI deployment and isflexible enough to grow from a single user with a single tool to potentially millions of users withmultiple tools, interfaces, and user types.

BusinessObjects Enterprise has undergone rigorous internal benchmark and performance teststhroughout the product development cycle. The testing continues throughout the product lifecycleto ensure that it continues to meet customer performance needs. In addition, the product is testedwith third-party testing labs on various platforms. Business Objects provides sizing guides andtools to estimate the required deployment architecture for different usage scenarios.


BusinessObjects Enterprise XI ArchitectureThe BusinessObjects XI technical architecture is comprised of separate, yet interconnected, tiersoptimized for specific tasks. These tiers include:

� User Interaction

� Developer Services

� Platform Services

� Data Services

End users can access, create, edit, and interact with specialized tools and applicationsthat include:

� Crystal Reports®

�Web Intelligence

� OLAP Intelligence

� Performance Manager

� Dashboard Manager

� Performance management applications

User Interaction Tier

Portal & WebApplications

Rich ClientApplications

MicrosoftOffice

Dashboards &Scorecards

Data Services

ODBC, XML &Native Drivers

OLAP Servers ERP/CRM Data Integration

J2EE SDK Web Services.NET SDK

Web & Application Services

Security Caching &Failover

Repository Storage& Retrieval

Publishing& Distribution

Scheduling& Alerting

Crystal Reports

Web Intelligence

OLAP Intelligence

Excel

Powerpoint

Word

ManagementTools

Migration &Importing

Metadata Design

Adobe Acrobat

Programs

Hyperlinks

Business Rules& Metrics

ManagementCollaborationAuditingPerformance ManagementEngines

Platform Services

BI Tools & Content

Management Tools

.netMicrosoft

Metadata

The BusinessObjects XI functional architecture and tools.


IT administrators use data and system management tools that include:

� Central Management Console

� Central Configuration Manager

� Import Wizard

� Publishing Wizard

� Business Views Manager

� Universe designer

Combined, the BI system supports the entire range of end-user tools on a common, secure,scalable, and reliable platform. BusinessObjects Enterprise XI also includes an updated BI portaland a fully web-based management environment.

User Interaction Tier

BusinessObjects InfoView BusinessObjects XI includes an all-new, end-user BI portal interface called BusinessObjectsInfoView. With its single web interface, it can access and interact with any type of businessintelligence including reports, analytics, dashboards, scorecards, and strategy maps.

BusinessObjects InfoView provides a consistent user interface for both Java and .NET platforms.

BusinessObjects InfoView portal includes an all-new intuitive end-user interface.Shown are OLAP Intelligence and Web Intelligence documents.


Portal Integration KitsBusiness Objects provides integration into industry-leading portal server environments bydelivering components that deliver functionality similar to InfoView. BusinessObjects XI willinclude prebuilt portal integration kits for SAP, Microsoft SharePoint, BEA, IBM, and Oracleportals. These portal integration kits were built using portal standards such as JSR-168 and webparts. Additional portlets and portal integration kits can be built by partners or customers usingthe software development kits (SDKs) provided with the platform

Dashboards and ScorecardsBusinessObjects Enterprise supports an entire set of performance management tools andinterfaces. This includes support for Dashboard Manager, Performance Manager, Set Analysis,Statistical Process Control, and Predictive Analysis.

Office IntegrationBusinessObjects Enterprise includes tight integration with Microsoft Office including the ability to store and manage Word, PowerPoint, and Excel in the system repository. With BusinessObjectsLive Office, end users embed accurate, updatable data in documents, spreadsheets, andpresentations while allowing IT to maintain control of the underlying information. Users can then refresh the view or modify document parameters from within Office by logging in to BusinessObjects Enterprise. BusinessObjects Live Office XI supports Crystal Reports and OLAP Intelligence.

Threaded DiscussionsDiscussions provide threaded notes that enable users to create and maintain comments on anydocuments in BusinessObjects Enterprise. Discussions are a fully integrated feature of theBusinessObjects Enterprise environment and are displayed in the InfoView portal. The systemmanages all threaded discussion information and stores it in the repository. Discussion threadscan be added to Crystal Reports, Web Intelligence, OLAP Intelligence documents, and third-partymanaged documents like Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF.

Threaded discussions are availabledirectly within the InfoView portal.


Developer InterfacesBusinessObjects Enterprise is comprised of a powerful set of BI services, exposed through anextensive set of SDKs. All of the end-user interfaces provided by the platform are built on top ofthese SDKs, ensuring that developers can access all aspects of the system. These object modelsencapsulate all the calls needed to extract content listings from the system, control contentprocessing and delivery, view content, interact with content, and administer the system. And allthe sample applications included with the product use this well-documented object model.

J2EE and .NET Services, BusinessObjects Enterprise provides tight integration with Java and Microsoft-based platforms vianative J2EE, Microsoft .NET, and Web Services SDKs. These kits are made up of robustcomponents, sample applications, and documentation. Developers install these components onweb application platforms including BEA WebLogic, IBM WebSphere, Apache, Oracle 10gApplication Server, Sun One, or Microsoft IIS. The SDKs provide a high-level API to control everyaspect of BusinessObjects Enterprise using the developer language of choice.

The developer services layer hosts the server-side components and act as the translation layerbetween the end user and the BI platform. The components process requests from the users in thepresentation tier and then communicate these requests to the appropriate service in the platformtier. The developer services include support for document viewing, scheduling, and logic tounderstand and direct web requests to the appropriate BusinessObjects Enterprise platformservice.

From a technical perspective, BusinessObjects Enterprise systems use the BusinessObjectsEnterprise Java SDK or the BusinessObjects Enterprise .NET SDK to run the system with a third-party application server. The application server acts as the gateway between the web server andthe rest of BusinessObjects Enterprise components. The application server is responsible forprocessing requests from your browser, sending certain requests to the web component adapter(WCA), and using the SDK to interpret components in java server pages (.jsp files) or in activeserver pages (.aspx files). BusinessObjects Enterprise XI continues to support Crystal Server Pages(.csp) for legacy system support. However, developers are encouraged to use industry standard.jsp and .asp whenever possible when building web applications.

Web ServicesBusinessObjects Enterprise includes a comprehensive Web Services SDK that allows developers tointegrate documents directly into applications using industry-standard technology. It consists of aseries of web-based functions that use .NET or J2EE platforms and developer environments.BusinessObjects Web Services also makes it easier and faster to integrate BusinessObjectstechnology with other web-based applications, and it facilitates the deployment ofBusinessObjects with customized applications. BusinessObjects Web Services are available fordocument display, refresh, and providing drill functionality to end users. For developers, the WebServices provider is deployed on the server side with a BusinessObjects Enterprise server. The APIenables the creation of customized web sites, applications, or web services that access theBusinessObjects Enterprise services.

Developer Services: Connecting the Platform to the Users


The application server also supports the BusinessObjects InfoView BI portal and uses the SDKs toconvert documents managed by BusinessObjects Enterprise HTML format when users view pageswith a DHTML viewer.

Web Component AdapterThe web server communicates directly with the application server that hosts the BusinessObjectsEnterprise SDK. The WCA runs on the web application server and provides all services that arenot directly supported by the BusinessObjects Enterprise SDK. The web server passes requestsdirectly to the application server, which then forwards the requests on to the WCA. The WCAsupports the central management console (CMC) and OLAP Intelligence document viewing andinteraction.


BI Platform Services OverviewThe platform services tier is the core processing and management engine for BusinessObjectsEnterprise. The BI platform services tier is often referred to as the intelligence and processing tierbecause this is the area where the actual data processing, document processing, and end-userinteractivity access takes place.

The platform is segmented into a series of specialized services for different tasks and is linked bya highly-optimized communication framework. The individual services can be run from a singleprocessor, multiple processors on the same machine, or in virtually any clustered multi-serverenvironment.

The communication framework handles the movement of information between the platformservices and SDKs, and provides end-user information access, delivery, and interaction. You canaccess individual services via the provided Java, .NET, and Web Services SDKs so there is no needto directly access or configure the communication framework. This communication framework isbuilt on proven application technology and is designed as a pluggable or extensible framework toadd, customize, or remove services as required for specific BI deployments.

The BusinessObjects Enterprise end-user administration and management tools are built using theprovided developer SDKs. The CMC is included for full control over the environment. In addition,specialized administration interfaces are provided when you require administration of specific-useraccess, document creation, and server configuration. This is particularly important in decentralizedsystem management environments where different people are responsible for different aspects of thedeployment. The result is a powerful, open, and complete BI platform that meets the needs of endusers while providing IT with full control over the deployment.

BusinessObjects Enterprise Platform ServicesBusinessObjects Enterprise includes the entire set of cross-platform BI services and supports leadingserver and application platforms including Windows, Sun Solaris, IBM AIX, HP-UX, and Red HatLinux. In addition, it provides support for Java and .NET application servers and web servers.

The platform enables end users to view and interact with information. It allows intuitive on-reportanalysis for information exploration, discussion threads for collaborative decision making, andintegrated scheduling and distribution of documents based on events, business calendars, or intervals.

IT management and administration benefit from the central repository for all content and user profiles,access to security entitlement databases for user, role, and document security, metrics managementand performance management applications, and portal and dashboard integration components.

Platform Services: The Core BI System


Central Management ServerThe CMS is the central platform service and is responsible for maintaining a database ofinformation about your BusinessObjects Enterprise system. All the platform services are managedand controlled by the CMS. The CMS also manages access to the system repository databasewhere the physical documents are actually managed. The system repository database ismaintained using the provided MSDE or MySQL databases, or by using your preferred SQLServer, Oracle, or DB2 database. The database structure is automatically created when you set upyour BusinessObjects Enterprise system or it can be configured on a different database if youwant to move your implementation to another environment. All access to the repository ismanaged directly by the platform and management interfaces and by the SDKs.

The CMS data includes information about users and groups, security levels, BusinessObjectsEnterprise content, and services. The CMS also maintains the BusinessObjects Enterpriserepository, and a separate audit database of information about user actions. The CMS performsfour main tasks:

�MAINTAINING SECURITY. By maintaining a database of users and their associated object rights,the CMS enforces access rights to BusinessObjects Enterprise and the types of tasks users areable to perform. This also includes enforcing and maintaining the licensing policy of yourBusinessObjects Enterprise system.

The platform manages user access and content delivery to broad internal and external useraudiences. Building on a hierarchical object-level security model, BusinessObjects Enterpriseenables the application of rights at both the folder and object level, and supports fullinheritance at the user and group level. Similarly, the product supports aggregation througha flexible, group-user membership model.

BI Platform

Enterprise Communication Framework

Systemrepository

PageViewingServices

CacheServices

ReportModification

Services

ReportServices

ScheduleServices

EventServices

File RepositoryServices

ManagementServer

Query &AnalysisServices

PerformanceManagement

Services

Auditrepository

The BusinessObjects Enterprise platform is comprised of a set of components or services, connectedwith a powerful web-based communication framework.


The system is designed for access and integration with third-party security systemsincluding LDAP, Netegrity Siteminder, Microsoft Active Directory Server, and Windows NT.The BusinessObjects Enterprise security system maps to these security systems directly sothat when a user is added to an LDAP group, he or she is automatically added to that samegroup within the platform. In addition, an integrated security system called Enterprise isavailable for those customers who do not currently use an entitlement database. The systemalso supports the ability to use more than one entitlement database in the sameimplementation. This is particularly important in cases where organizations need to combinedifferent audiences. For example, a system might maintain that internal users access theenvironment using an NT authentication database while business partner securityinformation is stored in an LDAP database.

�MANAGING OBJECTS. The CMS keeps track of the object location and maintains the folderhierarchy. All system objects are called InfoObjects and essentially contain all the informationabout the actual object. The physical documents or objects are stored in a file systemrepository. The separation of the object definition (metadata) from the physical documentallows for fast and efficient processing as only the required information is retrieved from thesystem’s repository. In addition, by communicating with the scheduling and processingservices, the CMS is able to ensure that scheduled jobs run at the appropriate times.

�MANAGING SERVERS. By staying in frequent contact with each of the services in the system,the CMS is able to maintain a list of service status. Report services access this list, forinstance, to identify which cache server is free for a report viewing request. BusinessObjectsEnterprise XI includes adaptive Crystal Reports page generation services that automaticallyadd or remove service instances as work loads change or services become unavailable.

The CMS also handles intelligent load balancing and automated clustering using algorithmsto eliminate bottlenecks and maximize hardware efficiency. In a multi-server environment,balancing load efficiently across multiple machines greatly enhances scalability and end-userresponse time. Therefore, most implementations do not require separate third-party loadbalancing software.

�MANAGING AUDITING. By collecting information about user actions from eachBusinessObjects Enterprise service and writing these records to a central audit database, theCMS acts as the system auditor. This audit information allows system administrators tobetter track and manage their BusinessObjects Enterprise deployment.

Typically, administrators provide the CMS with database connectivity and credentials whenthey install BusinessObjects Enterprise, so the CMS can create its own system database andBusinessObjects Enterprise repository database using your organization’s preferred databaseserver.


The auditing functionality allows administrators to better understand which users accessedthe enterprise system, which documents they interacted with, and the overall system metricsfor system optimization. The usage data is collected from the system interactions, and thenwritten in a usable form to the auditing database. With new compliance regulations likeSarbanes-Oxley and Basel II, capturing and storing audit information is a critical componentfor any BI system.

The collected auditing data allows you to create reports or analysis. There is a limited set ofout-of-the-box report samples provided with the product. Customers and partners can accessthe database to write their own reports using Crystal Reports, or create a universe and useWeb Intelligence to analyze data or, if the customer builds, use OLAP Intelligence.

Event ServiceThe event service manages three event types: file-based, scheduled, or programmatic. ITadministrators create file-based event monitoring programs to track a variety of tasks includingthe monitoring of inventory reorder thresholds, revenue shortfalls or increases, or the addition ofnew customers or employees as they are added to the application. After the file-based event iscreated and stored in BusinessObjects Enterprise, the event service monitors the specifieddirectory for new files and executes those programs when they appear. In other words, the eventserver notifies the CMS that the file-based event has occurred. The CMS starts processing any jobsthat are dependent upon your file-based event. For example, if inventory reorder thresholds aremet, a file is written to the event directory that executes the scheduling of an inventory levelreport to the manager, allowing the manager to take the appropriate action.

Scheduled events are an effective way to link the execution of reports together. It is possible tohave a report schedule processed based on the success of another scheduled report. Programmaticevents are events that are triggered from within a custom application.

After notifying the CMS of the event, the event service resets itself and monitors the directory forthe appropriate file. When the file is newly created in the monitored directory, the event servicetriggers your file-based event.

File Repository ServicesIn every BusinessObjects Enterprise implementation, there is both an input and an output filerepository service. The input file repository server manages all of the objects managed by theplatform. The output file repository server manages all of the report instances generated by thescheduling services (see job and program services below).


Cache ServicesThe cache server is responsible for handling all report viewing requests. The cache server checkswhether or not it can fulfill the request with a cached report page before it requests new data fromthe database. For example, if the cache server finds a previously viewed page that has been storedwith exactly the requested data, it returns that cached report page instead of retrieving theduplicate data. Caching saves system resources and database hits and provides for faster, moreefficient document processing and presentation.

BusinessObjects Enterprise XI also supports active data sharing with Crystal Reports. Active datasharing means that in situations where different reports access the same data, the documents canuse that shared data and the requested report can be rendered without an additional database hiteven though the other report itself may be different. This results in a significant performanceimprovement across the entire system, including the database. A major benefit of active datasharing is that as the load and usage increases, more data is cached, and the system runs moreefficiently.

Program Job ServerA job server processes scheduled actions on objects at the request of the CMS. You can configurethe job server to process program objects and it will become a program job server. Program objectsallow you to write, publish, and schedule custom applications, including scripts or Java programsthat run against, and perform maintenance work on, BusinessObjects Enterprise.

The program job server processes scheduled program objects, as requested by the CMS. To run aprogram, the program job server first retrieves the files from storage on the input file repositoryserver, and then runs the program. By definition, program objects are custom applications.Therefore the outcome of running a program will be dependent upon the particular programobject that is run.

Crystal Reports Services

Report Job ServerA Crystal report job server processes scheduled actions on objects at the request of the CMS.The report job server processes scheduled reports and generates report instances (instances areversions of a report object that contain saved data). To generate a report instance, the report jobserver communicates with the database to retrieve the current data and then stores that instancein the repository.

The Crystal report job server provides scheduling capabilities for Crystal Reports as well asrefreshing performance management metrics. There are many options available for schedulingincluding scheduling based on a specified time, a recurring schedule, or even a predefinedbusiness calendar. The Crystal Reports job server can schedule objects to different formats such asCrystal Reports, Excel, PDF, Word, and text and schedule to different destinations includingemail, printer, or file server.


Page ServerThe page server is primarily responsible for responding to page requests by processing reportsand generating encapsulated page format (EPF) pages. The key benefit of EPF is that it supportspage-on-demand access so that only the requested page is returned, not the entire report. Thisgreatly enhances performance and reduces unnecessary network traffic for large reports. The EPFpages contain formatting information that defines report layout. The page server retrieves data forthe report from an instance or directly from the database (depending on the user request and therights he or she has to the report object). When retrieving data from the database, the page serverautomatically disconnects from the database after it fulfills its initial request and if necessary,reconnects to retrieve additional data. This helps conserves database traffic and use ofunnecessary database licenses.

The cache server is accessed before the page server is used. If the cache server does not fulfill therequest with a cached report page, it passes the request to the page server. The page server runsthe report and returns the results to the cache server. The cache server then caches the report pagefor future use, and returns the data to the viewer. By storing report pages in a cache,BusinessObjects Enterprise avoids accessing the database each and every time a report isrequested.

BusinessObjects Enterprise XI includes an adaptive architecture that allows new page servers tobe added or removed as work load increases or decreases.

Report Application ServerThe report application server (RAS) processes reports that users view with the advanced DHTMLviewers. The RAS also provides the web-based report creation and modification capabilities.Crystal Reports Explorer is a web-based tool built on top built on top of a RAS SDK for intuitivereport creation and modification. The RAS SDK allows developers to build their own web-basedmodification tools if they require something more than Crystal Reports Explorer functionality.

The RAS is very similar to the page server—it is primarily responsible for responding to pagerequests by processing reports and generating EPF pages. However, the RAS uses an internalcaching mechanism that involves no interaction with the cache server. As with the page server,the RAS supports COM, ASP.NET, and Java viewer SDKs.


Web Intelligence Services

Report ServerThe Web Intelligence report server is a new service in BusinessObjects XI and provides core WebIntelligence display and interaction within the platform for end-user query and analysis. The WebIntelligence report server is accessed when the CMS requests the creation or viewing of a WebIntelligence document for further interaction.

For users who want to conduct ad hoc query and analysis, the Web Intelligence reports serverrequests a predefined metadata object, called a universe, from the repository and opens an HTMLor Java-based query panel. Users can then drag and drop requested fields, filters, or objects ontothe Web Intelligence user interface. The Web Intelligence report server handles report viewing,modification, and interaction. This includes advanced on-report analysis functionality nowavailable with Web Intelligence XI. Due to the interactive nature of Web Intelligence, no separatereport application server is required.

Web Intelligence Job ServerThe Web Intelligence job server processes document scheduling, as requested by the CMS, andgenerates Web Intelligence report instances. Instances are versions of a report object that containsaved data. To generate a Web Intelligence report instance, the Web Intelligence job serverprocesses requests it receives from the CMS and communicates with the database to retrieve thecurrent data and then stores the instance in the output file repository. When a user requests toview and interact with a stored document instance, the Web Intelligence report server accessesthat instance directly.

WebIntelligenceJob Services

WebIntelligence

Report Services

CrystalReports

Job Services

CrystalReports

Page Services

CrystalReports

Application Server


Detail view of Web Intelligence and Crystal Reports.


The primary task of the WebIntelligence job server is to providescheduling functionality for end users.There are many options available forscheduling including schedulingbased on a specified time, a recurringschedule, or even a predefinedbusiness calendar. Depending on theobject type and the abilities of theprocessing servers, the scheduler canschedule objects to different formatssuch as Web Intelligence, PDF, andCSV and schedule to differentdestinations including email, printer, or file server.

List of Values Job ServicesThe list of values job service is a new component within BusinessObjects Enterprise XI. Itspurpose is to support the scheduling of predefined lists of values or prompts. These lists supportdynamic and cascading prompts for Crystal Reports XI. Future versions will support scheduleddynamic and cascading prompts lists for Web Intelligence and other tools. The key benefit ofhaving predefined and scheduled lists of values is that the report does not have to query thedatabase to gather the prompts every time a user requests a specific view of a report. On-demandlists of values that query the database are handled by the RAS. Wherever possible, prompt listsshould be scheduled in cases where the cascading prompt levels do not change regularly (e.g.,country/state/city/customer lists).

Predefined business calendars are available for end usersand administrators to automatically schedule a Web Intelligence document.

Performance ManagementBusinessObjects XI integrates specialized services to support performance management. Each ofthese services can be configured separately depending on the license options purchased and thespecific implementation requirements. More information on these services is available separately.

The services are:

� Analytics Service

�Metrics Service

� Rules Service

�Mining Service

� Profiling Service

� Query Management Service

� Dashboard Management Service

� Performance Management Service

� Set Analysis Service

� Predictive Analysis Service

� Statistical Process Control Service


Analytic Engines

Performance Management Engines


AnalyticsService

RulesService

MetricsService

MiningService

ProfilingService

QueryManagement

Service

DashboardService

PerformanceManagement

Service

SetAnalysisService

PredictiveAnalysisService

StatisticalProcess Control

Service

These are the the specific performance management services managed by BusinessObjectsEnterprise. The arrow signifies that all these services plug directly into the Enterprisecommunication framework and take advantage of the platform management anddeployment capabilities.

Deployment ScenariosThe BusinessObjects Enterprise platform and developer services can be deployed on Windows,Solaris, IBM AIX, HP-UX, and Linux machines. Specific platform support is subject to change andis available from your account representative. As a result, you can deploy different services on asingle machine, a single platform type, as well as on multiple machines and on multiple platformsat the same time. The benefit for IT is that BusinessObjects Enterprise can fit directly within yourcurrent and future architecture decisions.

Vertical and HorizontalScalabilityPlatform services can be verticallyscaled (use more processors on thesame machine) to take full advantageof the hardware they are running on,and they can be horizontally scaled totake advantage of multiple computersover a network environment. Thismeans that the services can all run onthe same machine, or they can run onseparate machines. The same servicecan also run in multiple instances on a single machine for reliability andload balancing.

For example, you can run the central management server and the file repository server on onemachine, while you run the report application server on a separate machine. This is calledhorizontal scaling. If the entire set of system services is running on a multi-processor computer,then you may choose to run multiple instances of each service on it. This is called vertical scaling.The services do not need to run on separate computers but rather take advantage of multipleprocessors on the same machine.

Guided installation tools provide quick and efficient services deployment on the chosen platform.For Windows users, BusinessObjects Enterprise includes a wizard-driven installation routine toease system setup and configuration. For UNIX environments, shell scripts are used to install andconfigure each of the system services on the available hardware.

There are many factors that influence the actual architectural design and configuration. Theseinclude an understanding of where the data resides, the complexity of the application, the need toplace processing power closest to the application to speed performance and reduce networktraffic, and current and future hardware investments. Once the system is up and running,individual services can be added, removed, and configured using the tools provided with theplatform without restarting or reinstalling the entire system.


Web Server

Web Application Server

BI Platform: Server 1 BI Platform: Server 2 BI Platform: Server 3

CentralManagement

Servers

FileRepository

Server

System Repository

Audit Repository

CacheServices

ScheduleServices

EventServices

Web Connector

Web Component Adapter

ReportServices

ReportModification

Services

PageViewingServices

A three-server cluster of platformservices for horizontal scalability.


Below are a few examples of how BusinessObjects Enterprise could be deployed. The differentshading refers to different physical hardware boxes that comprise the individual services

Single Server Deployment: Reporting Server on Windows


Systemrepository

RDBMS Data

ApplicationData

Auditrepository

PageServer

CacheServer

Report Job Servers

Program JobServers

Metrics &AnalyticServices

List ofValuesService

Windows Windows WindowsWindows Windows Windows

SharepointPortal Server

.NET SDK

Windows

EventServer

Windows

File RepositoryServer

Windows

CentralManagement

Server

Windows


Systemrepository

PageServer

CacheServer

Report Job Servers

Program JobServers

SharepointPortal Server

ERP Data

.NET SDK EventServer

CentralManagement

ServerFile Repository

Server



Auditrepository

Windows

Sun Sun Sun

Windows Windows

Windows Windows

Windows

Mixed Deployment: ERP BI Solution on Windows and Sun Solaris

In this scenario, all services are deployed on a single Windows NT/2000/2003 machine. The platformaccesses a portal server on a separate machine and databases are managed within an application. Someservices are duplicated to spread the workload. When more than one service is installed, the systemautomatically load balances across them.

In this scenario, the report processing services are placed on a UNIX machine closest to the ERP applicationto minimize network traffic. The remaining services are placed on a Windows machine closest to the end-user portal environment. The result is that the processing and display are separated for optimal performanceof each task. The common framework communicates with each service regardless of the platform.


Mixed Deployment: Data Warehouse on Multiple Servers


Systemrepository

PageServer

CacheServer

Report Job Servers

Program JobServers

Tomcat(or other JAS)

J2EE SDK EventServer

CentralManagement

ServerFile Repository

Server



Auditrepository

RedHatRedHat

HP-UX or AIX HP-UX or AIX HP-UX or AIX

RedHat RedHat

RedHat RedHat RedHat

RedHat

RDBMS Data

Legacy Data

In this scenario, a Linux server handles the web portal viewing services and system management whileIBM AIX or HP-UX handles the core report processing. In this case, available hardware is used in amixed-realm deployment to lower procurement costs while maximizing processing efficiency.


BusinessObjects Enterprise supports a flexible set of options for accessing, organizing, andexposing data to report writers, analysts, and end users.

Semantic LayerWith BusinessObjects Enterprise, you can easily and cost-effectively create a metadata-basedsemantic layer to unlock corporate data for end users.

Universes The Business Objects patented semantic layer is the foundation for empowering end-user queryand analysis. It abstracts the complexity of data by using business language rather than datalanguage to access, manipulate, and organize data. That business language is stored as objects in auniverse file. Web Intelligence and Crystal Reports use the universe to simplify the user creationprocess required for simple to complex end-user query and analysis.

Universes are a core component of BusinessObjects Enterprise XI. All universe objects andconnections are stored and secured in the central repository. Universe designers need to login toBusinessObjects Enterprise to access the system and create universes. Universe access and row-level security can also be managed at the group or individual user level directly from with thedesign environment.

Business ViewsBusiness Views, first introduced in Crystal Enterprise 10, are included in BusinessObjectsEnterprise XI. As with universes, access to Business Views is managed by BusinessObjectsEnterprise security. Business Views Manager is a tool designed to simplify the report creationexperience and interaction by abstracting the complexity of data for report developers. BusinessViews help separate the data connections, data access, business elements, and the overall businessdefinition and allow for granular rights access control for report designers.

Business Views can only be used by Crystal Reports and are designed to simplify the data accessand granular view time security required for Crystal Reports creation. Business views support thecombination of multiple data sources in a single view.

Data Services: Comprehensive and FlexibleData Access


BusinessObjects Enterprise XI includes a series of dedicated, preconfigured platform managementservices for tasks such as password management, server metrics, and user access control tosupport decentralized management functions.

Central Management ConsoleBusinessObjects Enterprise provides forcentralized and/or decentralized systemmanagement depending on theorganizational needs. The systemmanagement is built on a common APIproviding granular control of theenvironment for tasks that include settingup user roles, security access, serveradministration, password management,and more.

Included with BusinessObjects Enterpriseis a 100% .NET or Java web-basedenvironment for total infrastructuremanagement, deployment, andconfiguration. The CMC is a web-based environment for administrators to easily access andconfigure the system while controlling the overall access rights, applications, and end-userviewing experience.

System Management Tools: FlexibleAdministration and Upgrades

Using the central management console to manage universe security.


The CMC manages the following system elements:

� User and group creation and management

� Authentication

� Server/services configuration

� Server groups (clusters)

� Objects rights, processing, scheduling, security

� Business calendars

� License keys

� User categories

� Universes and data connections

� User interface settings and preferences

Central Configuration ManagerThe central configuration manager (CCM) is designed exclusively for the server-management andconfiguration of your BusinessObjects Enterprise services. This tool allows you to start, stop,enable, and disable servers, and it allows you to view and configure advanced server settings.

Import WizardThe import wizard is a locally-installed Windows application that guides administrators through theprocess of importing users, groups, reports, and folders from an existing Crystal Enterprise,BusinessObjects, or Crystal Info implementation to BusinessObjects Enterprise. In addition, the importwizard can be used to move a test or development deployment of BusinessObjects XI to a productiondeployment.

The import wizard can access aBusinessObjects 6.x and/or a Crystaldeployment and can import documents,semantic layer, security settings, users,and groups.


The import wizard runs primarily on Windows, but can be used to import information into a newBusinessObjects Enterprise system running on Windows or UNIX by simply logging in to theCMS. The BusinessObjects Enterprise XI import wizard supports imports of Web Intelligencedocuments, universes, users, categories, and folders from the BusinessObjects 6, 6.1.x, and 6.5.xrepositories. In addition, it supports the full repository upgrade for Crystal Info 7.5 and CrystalEnterprise 8, 8.5, 9, and 10.

Publishing WizardThe publishing wizard is a Windows desktop application that enables both administrators andend users to add documents to BusinessObjects Enterprise. By assigning object rights toBusinessObjects Enterprise folders, you control who can publish reports and where they canpublish them to. The publishing wizard publishes reports from a Windows machine toBusinessObjects Enterprise servers running on Windows or UNIX.


BusinessObjects Enterprise XI is the proven and trusted BI platform from Business Objects. The highly-scalable, services-oriented architecture is comprised of specialized tiers for thepresentation, design, deployment, and data access required for today’s BI requirements. Theplatform is designed for extensibility—so as new services are purchased, new and innovativetools become available, new platforms are introduced, new hardware or software is acquired, newinnovations are developed, and more users need access, the system can adapt to these changingrequirements.

Conclusion




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Business Objects owns the following U.S. patents, which may cover products that are offered and licensed by Business Objects: 5,555,403, 6,247,008 B1, 6,578,027 B2, 6,490,593 and

6,289,352. Business Objects and the Business Objects logo, BusinessObjects, Crystal Reports, Crystal Enterprise, Crystal Analysis, Web Intelligence, RapidMarts and Business Query are

trademarks or registered trademarks of Business Objects SA or its affiliated companies in the United States and other countries. All other names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their

respective owners. Copyright © 2004 Business Objects. All rights reserved. PT# WP2089-A

� www.businessobjects.com

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+1 800 877 2340

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