Using SAND/DNA to Streamline the Unicode Conversion Process
During Migration from SAP BI 3.x to SAP NetWeaver BI 7.0
The Unicode Conversion Challenge
With the introduction of SAP NetWeaver 7.0, SAP has adopted Unicode as the recommended encoding scheme for new or existing SAP BI installations. Therefore many organizations migrating from SAP BW 3.x to SAP NetWeaver BI 7.0 are seeking to convert their databases to Unicode. However, converting a SAP BI database to the Unicode standard calls for additional resources and can tie up a system for significant periods. Tests show that, depending on the type of data involved, up to 1.1 to 1.3 times the amount of disk space is required to accommodate data converted to Unicode, along with 30% more CPU power and 50% more memory.
Optimizing the Conversion Process with a Nearline Approach
To ease the process of converting to Unicode, SAP has developed a number of special strategies and processes. In conjunction with these concepts, implementing SAP's nearline approach using partner solutions such as SAND/DNA for SAP NetWeaver BI can help overcome the challenges associated with Unicode conversion.
SAND/DNA is ideally suited for use as part of a nearline approach to enable more efficient Unicode conversion. When the process is complete, the new unicode-based relational database in SAP NetWeaver BI 7.0 will be significantly reduced in size, because the less important and less frequently used data has been moved into highly compressed SAND/DNA storage.
SAP NetWeaver BI 7.0's NLS Interface
In addition to reducing database size prior to Unicode conversion, the nearline approach creates an accessible nearline repository for the NLS Interface through SAND's SAP NLS conversion framework for SAP NetWeaver BI 7.0. In fact, the data moved to nearline storage from SAP BI 3.x are stored as they would be through “nearlining” with SAP NetWeaver BI 7.0's new NLS Interface.
Benefits of the Nearline Approach using SAND/DNA
Reducing the size of the SAP BI database before undertaking conversion to Unicode brings a number of important benefits:
- Accelerated Unicode conversion
- Reduced downtime
- Reduced hardware / RAM /CPU requirements
Plus, the resulting SAP NetWeaver BI 7.0 installation will be based on SAP's recommended ILM strategy from the outset, allowing maintenance of overall system operability and satisfaction of SLA's over the long term, with significantly reduced TCO.
More Information
For more information on using SAND/DNA to streamline the Unicode conversion process during migration from SAP BI 3.x to SAP NW BI 7.0, please complete and submit the following form (fields marked with * are mandatory):
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