Lately it seems that I’ve been doing an inordinate number of on-premises data connections to SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC). The process, in the past, has been long, cumbersome and very technical. There were lots of moving parts to the cloud connector with several elements to configure. Upgrading the cloud connector, while not impossible, was just as cumbersome. This has all been remedied with the release of the SAP Analytics Cloud Simple Deployment Kit. This all in one zip file contains everything that is needed to connect to on-premises data sources. Installation is quick and configuration is easy. Upgrades using this kit are a breeze! I want to give you my impressions of the new Agent Kit and relate my experiences to you.
The “Kit” is installed on a server that has access to internal data resources such as your SAP BusinessObjects installation, SAP HANA, SQL Databases, etc. The server works in conjunction with a free SAP Cloud Platform (SCP) to allow the acquisition of data from these sources into the SAC system. Once the data are acquired into SAC, it can be used to build stories and perform analyses. It is important to remember that the data will be exported from your data servers and will be copied into the SAP HANA system on which SAC runs. You will then need to schedule your SAC models to update to keep your data fresh.
Getting started with the Simple Deployment Kit is, well, simple. You begin by downloading the latest ZIP file from the SAP Support site. Download the Kit here: https://launchpad.support.sap.com/#/softwarecenter/search/SAP%2520ANALYTICS%2520CLOUD%2520KIT. This will require an S-ID to log into the SAP Support Portal. You should then copy the ZIP file onto a dedicated server within your data center. I highly recommend a minimum of 8 CPUs and 32GB RAM either physical or virtual. The Kit tends to take up the RAM that you provide it, so be sure to monitor the server’s performance once you go live.
Unzip the Kit and navigate to the setup.ps1 file. Right click and pick “Run in PowerShell” to begin the execution. This will walk you through a series of command prompt-based questions. Select the most appropriate answer to continue through a default installation.
Once the installation is complete, a new browser window will open and show you your post-setup guide as a html file. This file provides you with all of the information regarding your installation including URL’s to the cloud connector and agent, user id’s and passwords. To test the installation, open a browser and go to https://localhost:8443. You’ll enter the username and password provided in the post-setup guide.
The post-setup guide is very descriptive so I won’t go through the process of reproducing the same info here. Continue working through the steps in the guide to complete the configuration. The configuration goes relatively easily however, the two things that I have learned are:
Do not use localhost when defining your virtual to internal mapping in the Cloud Connector and your on-premises datasources location in SAC. Use the IP address of your SAP Agent Kit server instead.
When you create your subaccount in the SAC Cloud Connector interface, make sure that you use the same subaccount string that was generated in SAC (Datasource Configuration).
Since this isn’t defined in the post-setup, here’s some information on creating your free SAP Cloud Platform account. Follow this link and click Register for Free. Walk through the steps to create your account. You will use this in SAC as well as in the Cloud Connector interface.
Click on the person icon on the top right corner. If you have previously created an account with your email address, enter the address and password on the right. Otherwise fill out the registration form on the left. The wording here can cause concern but please remember that the SCP is a free service when using it with SAP Analytics Cloud. There is no trial that results in an extra payment to SAP. If you require the usage of ODATA connections, there may be a fee to use SCP.
To review, here’s what’s required to connect your SAC system to your on-premises databases:
Create a free SAP Cloud Platform account. Remember your username and password.
Log into SAC and add your email address to the Datasource Configuration page to get your subaccount id.
Download and install the Simple Deployment Kit to a server that has access to internal data sources.
Follow the post-setup.html file to complete the setup.
Once you create your on-premises datasources within SAP Analytics Cloud and see the green checkbox, you know you’re connected and ready to build your models.
Best of luck with this configuration!
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