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SAP ERP Icon SAP ERP ODBC Driver

The SAP ODBC Driver is a powerful tool that allows you to connect with live SAP ERP, directly from any applications that support ODBC connectivity.

With the SAP ODBC Driver, accessing SAP R/3 and SAP ERP is as easy as querying a database.

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Create SSAS Tabular Models from SAP Data


How to build a SQL Server Analysis Service Tabular Model from SAP data using CData drivers.

SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) is an analytical data engine used in decision support and business analytics. It provides enterprise-grade semantic data models for business reports and client applications, such as Power BI, Excel, Reporting Services reports, and other data visualization tools. When paired with the CData ODBC Driver for SAP ERP, you can create a tabular model from SAP data for deeper and faster data analysis.

Create a Connection to SAP Data

If you have not already, first specify connection properties in an ODBC DSN (data source name). This is the last step of the driver installation. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs.

You can connect to SAP systems using either librfc32.dll, librfc32u.dll, NetWeaver, or Web Services (SOAP). Set the ConnectionType connection property to CLASSIC (librfc32.dll), CLASSIC_UNICODE (librfc32u.dll), NETWEAVER, or SOAP.

If you are using the SOAP interface, set the Client, RFCUrl, SystemNumber, User, and Password properties, under the Authentication section.

Otherwise, set Host, User, Password, Client, and SystemNumber.

Note: We do not distribute the librfc32.dll or other SAP assemblies. You must find them from your SAP installation and install them on your machine.

For more information, see this guide on obtaining the connection properties needed to connect to any SAP system.

Creating a Data Source for SAP

Start by creating a new Analysis Services Tabular Project in Visual Studio. Next create a Data Source for SAP in the project.

  1. In the Tabular Model Explorer, right-click Data Sources and select "New Data Source"
  2. Select "ODBC" from the Other tab and click "Connect"
  3. Select the DSN you previously configured
  4. Choose "Default or Custom" as the authentication option and click "Connect"

Add Tables & Relationships

After creating the data source you are ready to import tables and define the relationships between the tables.

  1. Right-click the new data source, click "Import New Tables" and select the tables to import
  2. After importing the tables, right-click "Relationships" and click "Create Relationships"
  3. Select table(s), and choose the foreign keys, cardinality, and filter direction

Create Measures

After importing the tables and defining the relationships, you are ready to create measures.

  1. Select the column in the table for which you wish to create a measure
  2. In the Extensions menu -> click "Columns" -> "AutoSum" and select your aggregation method

Deploy the Model

Once you create measures, you are ready to deploy the model. Configure the target server and database by right-clicking the project and selecting "Properties." Configure the "Deployment Server" properties and click "OK."

After configuring the deployment server, open the "Build" menu and click "Deploy Solution." You now have a tabular model for SAP data in your SSAS instance, ready to be analyzed, reported, and viewed. Get started with a free, 30-day trial of the CData ODBC Driver for SAP ERP.