As you might know, we introduced basic features for Data Consistency Management as part of Business Process Operations into SAP Solution Manager in 2006/2007 with the first interface monitoring capabilities and additional tools like the Generic External Comparison (GEC) and the Internal Database Comparison. A lot has happened since then, e.g. graphical interfaces first introduced with Cross-Database Comparison( CDC) replacing the GEC, and there is much more to come.
A detailed overview about all Data Consistency Management features and the evolution of key figure content for interface monitoring and data consistency monitoring can be found in our central set-up guides available at the WIKI-page (http://wiki.scn.sap.com/wiki/display/SM/Data+Consistency+Management) Within this new blog-series on Data Consistency Management, we will not only share new thrilling features (like new source types that enable you to integrate your on premise environment with a cloud solution) when released, but we will also share exciting insights into existing features and extensibility With this first blog in the series, I would like to provide a central overview on all tools introducing the (not yet widely known) single central access point SAP Solution Manager to lay the foundation for the introduction and elaboration of further aspects later on.
To stay within our legal guidelines, I should also point out that all of this blog’s content is subject to the disclaimer at the bottom of this blog.
How to reach the central access point for Data Consistency Management?
You might be aware that there was a big change with the introduction of the MAI for business process monitoring (-> Business Process Monitoring on MAI available with Solution Manager 7.1 SP12 ). This has also affected the way data consistency and interface monitoring is handled. Detailed insights on the exciting new capabilities gained by this in the area of Data Consistency Management will be demonstrated in our upcoming blog on the Integration of Interface Chanel Monitoring and Interface Monitoring via Business Process Monitoring. For the current blog it is mainly important that the two worlds coexist for a while (from Solution Manager 7.1 SP12 up to Solution Manager 7.2) requiring two access points. The good news is that they provide the same range of capabilities and differ only by the infrastructure used. You can reach the central access point in Solution Manager 7.1 via the respective work center for Business Process Operations in “Data Consistency Management” In upcoming releases, we intend to make it possible to start the central access point from the FIORI-Launchpad directly:
What are the tools accessible from the central point of entry?
The specific list of tools available depends on the exact release and SP you are using. This section will give you an overview on the complete list available and further possible extensions.
Data Consistency and Interface Monitoring
You will find alerts, which are of interest to data consistency management, in the top panel of the Data Consistency Management area. These are mainly interface related alerts and alerts concerning data consistency checks like Cross-Database Comparison. If you use MAI-based monitoring two separate alert inboxes (one for interface alerts, the other for data consistency reports) will display these alerts. You can switch between these two and adapt the underlying queries if required.
Data Quality
Closely related to data consistency is the topic of data quality. While data consistency is concerned with the correctness of data in a logical sense, data quality is related to the correctness of data according to business rules defined in your company.
The tool of choice for data quality checks is SAP Information Steward. Due to the close relationship, you can now navigate directly into your SAP Information Steward from the central data consistency access point after a few maintenance steps in LMDB (and include SAP Information Steward’s check results into your data consistency monitoring).
GSS Data Consistency Management
Did you ask yourself what kind of consistency checks does SAP provide to it’s customers. If yes, then the GSS DCM is the right tool for you. Just ask the SAP Solution Manager what check reports are available for certain modules, business objects or tables and the answer is at your fingertip. It gets even better: If you have your own consistency check tools created by your in-house development or partners, you can use GSS DCM to document them.
Transactional Correctness Check
Ever wondered whether your ABAP-programs stick to the “All-or-nothing”-principle? Just use the TC-Tool for ABAP to investigate a standard SQL-trace. With the central UI in SAP Solution Manager you can even start the trace as well as export and import the trace and the identified transactional correctness result for documentation or later re-evaluation. We intend to provide more features like simplified filtering of tables and additional rules to be checked in future releases.
Business Process Completion Check
This nice tool is based on the logging information provided by SAP Exception Management. If you have instrumented the processes, you can use this tool to display the actual process flow and apply rules to check whether the flow is complete. We also intend to provide extended context information for the steps monitored.
Internal Database Comparison (IDC)
Need a quick tool to compare consistency of a (logical) foreign key relationship between two tables in an ABAP-based system? IDC is the tool of choice for you: Just enter the relationship between the two tables and execute it!
Cross-Database Comparison
The cross-database comparison is the one-stop-tool for consistency checks involving custom objects or non-SAP systems! It provides methods for defining the comparison model, executing the comparison and evaluating the results. It provides out-of-the box integration features and is even extensible if these features are not sufficient. We intend to make this tool even simpler and more end-user friendly with SAP Solution Manager 7.2.
To get more insights and details on exciting new features of CDC continue following our blog. We will publish more details in the upcoming weeks.
Analytics
Sometimes you do not want to investigate the results of a single interface or comparison instance but would like to compare multiple instances. We provide Analytics for Cross-Database Comparison and Analytics for Interface Channels (Usage of MAI required) to allow the comparison in a nice graphical way
Stay tuned as we continue to roll-out — our upcoming blogs will drive you curious, how nicely and simple Data Consistency Management can be executed with SAP Solution Manager.
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