How to Plan and Provision an SAP BW Bridge System ...

Dominik_Graus · ‎2023 Jun 21

Are you planning to leverage SAP BW bridge in SAP Datasphere? This short blog helps you plan and provision the SAP BW bridge landscape.

You have already provisioned your SAP BW bridge landscape and you are looking for guidance how to transport objects in that landscape? See the blog How to Transport in an SAP BW Bridge System Landscape for a detailed step-by-step guide.

System Landscapes with SAP BW Bridge

SAP BW bridge is an optional feature of SAP Datasphere, and, at the time of writing, there is at maximum one SAP BW bridge tenant per SAP Datasphere tenant.

For SAP Datasphere with SAP BW bridge, we recommend a 2-tier system landscape with an SAP Datasphere tenant including SAP BW Bridge for development (“development tenant”) and another SAP Datasphere tenant including SAP BW bridge for productive use (“productive tenant”).

There are also projects with 3-tier system landscapes with a development tenant, a dedicated test tenant, and a productive tenant. In a 2-tier landscape, testing can be done either in the development or in the productive tenant.

Enable System for Development – Yes or No?

When provisioning an SAP BW bridge tenant, you decide whether this tenant is intended for development or for productive use. For development tenants, you provision the new tenant with setting ‘Enable system for development’ checked (true) whereas productive tenants must be provisioned with ‘Enable system for development’ unchecked (false).

Figure 1: Create Dialog when Provisioning an SAP BW Bridge Tenant

In productive tenants, it is not possible to create or change BW bridge or ABAP development objects. This is also true for DTPs and process chains. Any new developments or changes must be done in the development system and then transported into the target system(s).

For 3-tier landscapes, we recommend creating the dedicated test tenant with setting ‘Enable system for development’ unchecked (false). This way you can be sure that the test tenant is a valid environment for testing which can easily be kept in sync with your productive tenant. However, if you want to be able to make changes in the test tenant, you may also create the test tenant of a 3-tier landscape with ‘Enable system for development’ checked (true).

SAP BW Bridge Space

When SAP BW bridge is provisioned, a space of type SAP BW Bridge is generated in SAP Datasphere. You can define the name of that space when provisioning the SAP BW bridge tenant (Instance Name, see Figure 1). We recommend choosing the same name for that space in all tenants of a system landscape. This can simplify transporting objects from one SAP Datasphere tenant to another.

After successful provisioning of a tenant, it is no longer possible to change the name of the SAP BW Bridge space or the setting ‘Enable system for development’. If you created the tenant with incorrect settings, you must delete it and create a new tenant with appropriate settings.

FAQ on System Landscapes with SAP BW Bridge

The FAQ below takes up again some of the aspects discussed above and lists a few additional questions.

How many tenants should an SAP BW bridge landscape consist of?

It is highly recommended to have a 2-tier landscape with two SAP Datasphere tenants and two SAP BW bridge tenants, one for development and one for productive use. You may also stick to the established concept of having a 3-tier landscape with a development tenant, a separate test tenant, and a productive tenant. In that scenario, it is mandatory to also have a 3-tier SAP Datasphere landscape consisting of three tenants.

Is it reasonable to use SAP BW bridge in a 1-tier landscape?

While technically possible, we strongly advise against a 1-tier landscape, for various reasons. This tenant must be created with setting 'Enable system for development' checked (true). Otherwise, you are unable to make any developments at all. Using the same tenant for development and productive use can likely lead to unplanned downtimes of your applications if a developer makes incautious changes. A 1-tier landscape may be a reasonable exception though for a PoC.

How many SAP BW bridge tenants can be created in an SAP Datasphere tenant?

At the time of writing, you can create only one SAP BW bridge tenant in an SAP Datasphere tenant.

Is it possible to share an SAP BW bridge tenant with several SAP Datasphere tenants?

This is not possible. An SAP BW bridge tenant is connected to an SAP Datasphere tenant. It is not possible to reassign an SAP BW bridge tenant to another SAP Datasphere tenant.

Can I change the setting ‘Enable system for development’ of my SAP BW bridge tenant?

Once provisioned, it is not possible to change the setting ‘Enable system for development’. In case you have created an SAP BW bridge tenant with an incorrect setting, you must delete the tenant and recreate it with the appropriate setting.

When provisioning an SAP BW bridge tenant, which name should be chosen for the space of type SAP BW Bridge in SAP Datasphere?

We recommend choosing the same name for that space in all tenants of a system landscape. This can simplify transporting objects from one SAP Datasphere tenant to another.

How can I refresh an SAP BW bridge test tenant via system copy?

It is not possible to create system copies or refresh tenants from a system copy.

Conclusion

This blog answered some of the frequently asked questions around planning and provisioning an SAP BW bridge landscape.

Many thanks to my colleagues Dirk, @konstantinos_stergios, and @Thomas_Baer for their valuable contribution to this blog post.