SAP BW Interview Questions and Answers

Are you planning to attend an interview for the SAP BW Developer role but are confused about how to crack that interview also what would be the most probable SAP BW Interview Questions that the interviewer may ask? Well, you have reached the right place. Tekslate has collected the most frequently asked SAP BW Interview Questions which are often asked in multiple interviews.

In this article, we will cover the following:

• SAP BW Interview Questions
• SAP BW on HANA Interview Questions
• SAP BI BW Interview Questions

Most Frequently Asked SAP BW Interview Questions

What does Rollup do? What are the inputs for an Infoset? Can you add programs to the scheduler? What is the function of the BW statistics cube? What is an open hub service? What is DB connect and where is it used? What is the V3 update method? What is the use of BW Statistics? How does the BEx analyzer connect to BW? What does delta initialization do?

SAP BW Interview Questions

Q1) What is partitioning and what are the benefits of partitioning in an InfoCube?

Ans: Partitioning is the method of dividing a table (either column-wise or row-wise) based on the fields available which would enable a quick reference for the intended values of the fields in the table. By partitioning an info cube, the reporting performance is enhanced because it is easier to search in smaller tables. Also, table maintenance becomes easier.

Q2) What does Rollup do?

Ans: Rollup creates aggregates in an info cube whenever new data is loaded.

Q3) What are the inputs for an Infoset?

Ans: The inputs for an Infoset are ODS objects and InfoObjects (with master data or text).

Q4) What internally happens when BW objects like Info Object, Info Cube, or ODS are created and activated?

Ans: When an InfoObject, InfoCube, or ODS object is created, BW maintains a saved version of that object but does not make it available for use. Once the object is activated, BW creates an active version that is available for use.

Q5) What is the specific advantage of LO extraction over LIS extraction?

Ans: The load performance of LO extraction is better than that of LIS. In LIS two tables are used for delta management that is cumbersome. In LO only one delta queue is used for delta management.

Q6) What is the importance of 0REQUID?

Ans: It is the InfoObject for Request id. REQUIRED enables BW to distinguish between different data records.

Q7) Can you add programs to the scheduler?

Ans: Yes. Through event handling.

Q8) What is the importance of table ROIDOCPRMS?

Ans: It is an IDOC parameter source system. This table contains the details of the data transfer like the source system of the data, data packet size, maximum number of lines in a data packet, etc. The data packet size can be changed through the control parameters option on SBIW i.e., the contents of this table can be changed.

Q9) What is the importance of 'start routine' in updating rules?

Ans: A Start routine is a user exit that can be executed before the update rule starts to allow more complex computations for a key figure or a characteristic. The start routine has no return value. Its purpose is to execute preliminary calculations and to store them in a global data structure. You can access this structure or table in the other routines.

Q10) When is IDOC data transfer used?

Ans: IDOCs are used for communication between logical systems like SAP R/3, R/2, and non-SAP systems using ALE and for communication between an SAP R/3 system and a non-SAP system. In BW, an IDOC is a data container for data exchange between SAP systems or between SAP systems and external systems based on an EDI interface. IDOCs support a limited file size of 1000 bytes. So IDOCs are not used when loading data into PSA since the data there is more detailed. It is used when the file size is lesser than 1000 bytes.

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Q11) What is the partitioning characteristic of CO-PA used for?

Ans: For easier parallel search and load of data.

Q12) What is the advantage of BW reporting on CO-PA data compared with directly running the queries on CO-PA?

Ans: BW has a better performance advantage over reporting in R/3. For a huge amount of data, the R/3 reporting tool is at a serious disadvantage because R/3 is modelled as an OLTP system and is good for transaction processing rather than analytical processing.

Q13) What is the function of the BW statistics cube?

Ans: BW statistics cube contains the data related to the reporting performance and the data loads of all the InfoCubes in the BW system.

Q14) When an ODS is in 'overwrite' mode, does uploading the same data, again and again, create new entries in the changelog each time data is uploaded?

Ans: No.

Q15) What is the function of the 'selective deletion' tab in the manage->contents of an info cube?

Ans: It allows us to select a particular value of a particular field and delete its contents.

 

SAP BW on HANA Interview Questions

Q16) When we collapse an info cube, is the consolidated data stored in the same info cube, or is it stored in the new info cube?

Ans: Data is stored in the same cube.

Q17) What is the effect of aggregation on performance? Are there any negative effects on performance?

Ans: Aggregation improves performance in reporting.

Q18) What happens when you load transaction data without loading master data?

Ans: The transaction data gets loaded and the master data fields remain blank.

Q19) When given a choice between a single info cube and multiple InfoCubes with a multi-provider, what factors does one need to consider before making a decision?

Ans: One would have to see if the InfoCubes are used individually. If these cubes are often used individually, then it is better to go for a multi-provider with many cubes since the reporting would be faster for an individual cube query rather than for a big cube with a lot of data.

Q20) How many hierarchy levels can be created for a characteristic info object?

Ans: Maximum of 98 levels.

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Q21) What is an open hub service?

Ans: The open hub service enables you to distribute data from an SAP BW system into external data marts, analytical applications, and other applications. With this, you can ensure controlled distribution using several systems. The central object for the export of data is the Infospoke. Using this, you can define the object from which the data comes and into which target it is transferred. Through the open hub service, SAP BW becomes a hub of an enterprise data warehouse. The distribution of data becomes clear through central monitoring of the distribution status in the BW system.

Q22) What is the function of the 'reconstruction' tab in an info cube?

Ans: It reconstructs the deleted requests from the info cube. If a request has been deleted and later someone wants the data records of that request to be added to the info cube, one can use the reconstruction tab to add those records. It goes to the PSA and brings the data to the info cube.

Q23) What are secondary indexes with respect to InfoCubes?

Ans: Index created in addition to the primary index of the info cube. When you activate a table in the ABAP Dictionary, an index is created on the primary key fields of the table. Further indexes created for the table are called secondary indexes.

Q24) What is DB connect and where is it used?

Ans: DB Connect is a database connecting a piece of the program. It is used in connecting third-party tools with BW for reporting purposes.

Q25) Can we extract hierarchies from R/3 for CO-PA?

Ans: No We cannot, “NO hierarchies in CO/PA.

Q26) Explain the ‘field name for partitioning’ in CO-PA.

Ans: The CO/PA partitioning is used to decrease package size (eg: company code)

Q27) What is the V3 update method?

Ans: It is a program in the R/3 source system that schedules batch jobs to update extract structure to data sources collectively.

Q28) What is the use of BW Statistics?

Ans: The sets of cubes delivered by SAP are used to measure performance for the query, loading data, etc., It also shows the usage of aggregates and the cost associated with them.

Q29) What is the process chain and how you used it?

Ans: Process chains are tools available in BW for the Automation of the upload of master data and transaction data while taking care of dependency between each process.

In one of our scenarios, we wanted to upload wholesale price info objects which will have wholesale prices for all the material. Then we wanted to load transaction data. While loading transaction data to populate wholesale prices, there was a lookup in the update rule on this InfoObject master data table. This dependency of first uploading master data and then uploading transaction data was done through the process chain.

Q30) What are Remotecubes and how you accessed and used them in your project?

Ans: A RemoteCube is an InfoCube whose transaction data is not managed in the Business Information Warehouse but externally. Only the structure of the RemoteCube is defined in BW. The data is read for reporting using a BAPI from another system. B) Using a RemoteCube, you can carry out reporting using data in external systems without having to physically store transaction data in BW. You can, for example, include an external system from market data providers using a RemoteCube.

SAP BI BW Interview Questions

Q31) Are there any limitations to the BEx analyzer?

Ans: TBD

Q32) How does the BEx analyzer connect to BW?

Ans: Bex Analyzer is connected with OLAP Processor. OLE DB Connectivity makes Bex Analyzer connects with BIW.

Q33) What is field partitioning in CO-PA?

Ans: Internally allocates space in the database. If the needed table resides in one or a few partitions, then only these partitions will be selected and examined by SQL statement, thereby significantly reducing I/O volume.

Q34) What is the difference between ‘saving’ and ‘activating’?

Ans: In BIW, Saving--> actually saves the defined structure and retrieves it whenever required. B) Activating---> It saves and generates required tables and structures.

Q35) What does delta initialization do?

Ans: It makes BW expect the data from Sources, after the full update. It initializes the delta Update mechanism for that data source.

Q36) What is the difference between delta and pseudo delta?

Ans: Some data target and module has delta Update feature. Those can be used for the delta Update of data. Say ODS, COPA is delta capable. data can be expected stage-wise. After the first accumulation of data, BIW expects the data in delta wise for these data targets. When the other data target does not have these features (delta update), they can be made delta capable of using ODS as a data target.

Q37) What is the “replication of the data source process?

Ans: Replication of data source enables the extract structure from the source system to be replicated in the target system.

Q38) Are any quality checks available for inefficient cube designs?

Ans: Huge Dimension tables make a cube inefficient.

Q39) Why not star-schema is implemented for ODS as well?

Ans: Because ODS is meant to store a detailed document for quick perusal and help make short-term decisions.

Q40) How do you transform Open Hub Data?

Ans: Using BADI.