F.A.Q
What is Live Connect?
Live Connect is a custom developed ODATA Web Service that securely executes SAP BI Semantic Layer queries and returns result sets for ODATA consumers.
Why would my organization need Live Connect?
If your organization is looking for a secure way to connect ODATA consumer applications (like Tableau, Power BI, etc.) to SAP BusinessObjects BI platform Live Connect would be a perfect solution.
My company connects to database tables directly so why would we need Live Connect?
The main advantage of Live Connect vs direct database table(s) access is that Live Connect is built on top of the SAP BI Semantic Layer meaning that all security rules such as authentication, authorizations and row level security settings set by your platform Administrator will be enforced when running through Live Connect.
You can also leverage your investment into existing Web Intelligence reports and Universes
Our external applications don’t have ODATA connectivity. Can we still use Live Connect?
Very likely yes. Please contact us and we will provide you with the possible options to access the benefits of Live Connect.
Do we need to install Live Connect on each user’s workstation?
No. Live Connect has been specifically designed with a Web GUI that can be readily accessible from the browser by any user and, therefore, totally avoids this need and cost .
Do I have to manually create ODATA URL to run through Live Connect?
You can but Live Connect GUI allows you to visually create ODATA URLs so it will be ready to run from your applications.
What types of authentication does Live Connect support?
Live Connect supports the same authentication protocols that are enabled on your SAP BusinessObjects BI platform: Enterprise authentication, Windows AD, LDAP, SAP etc.,
Our users use Single Sign On (SSO) to get access to SAP BI Launchpad. Does Live Connect support SSO?
Yes, Live Connect has an optional Kerberos SSO module that supports silent SSO so users don’t have to specify their Windows AD/LDAP credentials to access Live Connect site.
What other security protocols does Live Connect support?
Live Connect supports SSL, WACS SSL and CORBA SSL protocols
What about folders and objects access security?
Live Connect uses SAP BusinessObjects BI platform SDK to access the repository. This means that all of your security settings specified by your platform Administrator will be enabled. Essentially, it will be the same level of security access as if users login through SAP BI Launchpad or CMC
Our organization has specific data access or row level security requirements. Will it be available through Live Connect?
Absolutely. All data access security settings set by your platform Administrator will be working the same way as if you refreshed your queries using SAP BI Launchpad.
Our organization requires us to keep track of who is running Semantic Layer queries and which objects users are accessing. Does Live Connect support this?
Yes. Live Connect has an optional powerful Audit Module that keeps track of all queries, objects and various other metrics. Using this Audit Module you can answer questions such as how many rows were processed, how long did it take to run SAP Semantic Layer Query, what was Live Connect overhead, what Webi/Universe objects were used, and many more.
We have many Web Intelligence reports. How can we use them with Live Connect?
Live Connect allows you to refresh your Webi documents and return ODATA result sets for external consumers.
Our Web Intelligence reports have prompts - how can we refresh them using Live Connect?
Live Connect supports all kind of Webi prompts: single and multiple values, LOV, context type prompts etc
Some of our Web Intelligence reports run for a long time - how will it be handled by Live Connect?
Live Connect has an option to use data from the latest instance instead of refreshing the report data. This way you can schedule a long running Webi report to be processed overnight, for example, and then instruct Live Connect to always use the latest instance of that report instead of refreshing data.
We have a group of advanced users that would like to create their own ad-hoc queries directly against Universes. Can we do that with Live Connect?
Yes. Live Connect has its own Semantic Layer Query Designer that allows advanced users to create, save, run and preview results using custom queries directly against SAP BI universes.
Does Live Connect support UNV type universes?
Yes - Live Connect supports both UNV and UNX types of universes.
Where does Live Connect store custom queries that users create?
Live Connect stores custom queries in its own internal database
How does Live Connect get deployed?
Live Connect is a web service that gets deployed on Windows or Linux servers as a service or daemon. Live Connect setup allows you to configure various options and install the service.
What SAP BusinessObjects BI Platform versions does Live Connect Support?
Live Connect supports:
- SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.1 SP6
- SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.2 SP3/SP4/SP5/SP6/SP7/SP8
- SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.3
What are the minimum requirements to install Live Connect?
The minimum requirements are :
- SAP BusinessObjects BI client tools
- Java 1.8 (64 bit recommended)
Do I have to install Live Connect on the SAP BusinessObjects Server?
You can but you don’t have to. You can install Live Connect on any machine that satisfies minimum requirements above.
Can I run more than one Live Connect Service at the same time?
Yes - you can run more than one instance of Live Connect service as long as each instance is configured to use a unique port number.
Do you have a demo version of Live Connect so we can try it before making our decision?
Yes - you can download a fully functional version of Live Connect and try it for free for 30 days. Please use the download link on the main page to request a demo version.
What is Live Connect?
Live Connect is a custom developed ODATA Web Service that securely executes SAP BI Semantic Layer queries and returns result sets for ODATA consumers.
Why would my organization need Live Connect?
If your organization is looking for a secure way to connect ODATA consumer applications (like Tableau, Power BI, etc.) to SAP BusinessObjects BI platform Live Connect would be a perfect solution.
My company connects to database tables directly so why would we need Live Connect?
The main advantage of Live Connect vs direct database table(s) access is that Live Connect is built on top of the SAP BI Semantic Layer meaning that all security rules such as authentication, authorizations and row level security settings set by your platform Administrator will be enforced when running through Live Connect.
You can also leverage your investment into existing Web Intelligence reports and Universes
Our external applications don’t have ODATA connectivity. Can we still use Live Connect?
Very likely yes. Please contact us and we will provide you with the possible options to access the benefits of Live Connect.
Do we need to install Live Connect on each user’s workstation?
No. Live Connect has been specifically designed with a Web GUI that can be readily accessible from the browser by any user and, therefore, totally avoids this need and cost .
Do I have to manually create ODATA URL to run through Live Connect?
You can but Live Connect GUI allows you to visually create ODATA URLs so it will be ready to run from your applications.
What types of authentication does Live Connect support?
Live Connect supports the same authentication protocols that are enabled on your SAP BusinessObjects BI platform: Enterprise authentication, Windows AD, LDAP, SAP etc.,
Our users use Single Sign On (SSO) to get access to SAP BI Launchpad. Does Live Connect support SSO?
Yes, Live Connect has an optional Kerberos SSO module that supports silent SSO so users don’t have to specify their Windows AD/LDAP credentials to access Live Connect site.
What other security protocols does Live Connect support?
Live Connect supports SSL, WACS SSL and CORBA SSL protocols
What about folders and objects access security?
Live Connect uses SAP BusinessObjects BI platform SDK to access the repository. This means that all of your security settings specified by your platform Administrator will be enabled. Essentially, it will be the same level of security access as if users login through SAP BI Launchpad or CMC
Our organization has specific data access or row level security requirements. Will it be available through Live Connect?
Absolutely. All data access security settings set by your platform Administrator will be working the same way as if you refreshed your queries using SAP BI Launchpad.
Our organization requires us to keep track of who is running Semantic Layer queries and which objects users are accessing. Does Live Connect support this?
Yes. Live Connect has an optional powerful Audit Module that keeps track of all queries, objects and various other metrics. Using this Audit Module you can answer questions such as how many rows were processed, how long did it take to run SAP Semantic Layer Query, what was Live Connect overhead, what Webi/Universe objects were used, and many more.
We have many Web Intelligence reports. How can we use them with Live Connect?
Live Connect allows you to refresh your Webi documents and return ODATA result sets for external consumers.
Our Web Intelligence reports have prompts - how can we refresh them using Live Connect?
Live Connect supports all kind of Webi prompts: single and multiple values, LOV, context type prompts etc
Some of our Web Intelligence reports run for a long time - how will it be handled by Live Connect?
Live Connect has an option to use data from the latest instance instead of refreshing the report data. This way you can schedule a long running Webi report to be processed overnight, for example, and then instruct Live Connect to always use the latest instance of that report instead of refreshing data.
We have a group of advanced users that would like to create their own ad-hoc queries directly against Universes. Can we do that with Live Connect?
Yes. Live Connect has its own Semantic Layer Query Designer that allows advanced users to create, save, run and preview results using custom queries directly against SAP BI universes.
Does Live Connect support UNV type universes?
Yes - Live Connect supports both UNV and UNX types of universes.
Where does Live Connect store custom queries that users create?
Live Connect stores custom queries in its own internal database
How does Live Connect get deployed?
Live Connect is a web service that gets deployed on Windows or Linux servers as a service or daemon. Live Connect setup allows you to configure various options and install the service.
What SAP BusinessObjects BI Platform versions does Live Connect Support?
Live Connect supports:
- SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.1 SP6
- SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.2 SP3/SP4/SP5/SP6/SP7/SP8
- SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.3
What are the minimum requirements to install Live Connect?
The minimum requirements are :
- SAP BusinessObjects BI client tools
- Java 1.8 (64 bit recommended)
Do I have to install Live Connect on the SAP BusinessObjects Server?
You can but you don’t have to. You can install Live Connect on any machine that satisfies minimum requirements above.
Can I run more than one Live Connect Service at the same time?
Yes - you can run more than one instance of Live Connect service as long as each instance is configured to use a unique port number.
Do you have a demo version of Live Connect so we can try it before making our decision?
Yes - you can download a fully functional version of Live Connect and try it for free for 30 days. Please use the download link on the main page to request a demo version.