Using the SAP XMLA Connector

Use Birst Live Access to import XMLA from SAP BW cubes. The Birst Live Access connection to SAP via XMLA uses SOAP/HTTP protocols to access SAP’s MDX (Multidimensional Expressions) processor.

For an overview of the different methods you can use to extract SAP data, see SAP Connectors.

Prerequisites

The Birst Connect and Birst SAP Query Connector products must be installed. See Checking Which Products Are Installed.
For BEx Queries, the property "Allow External Access to this Query" must be checked.

To extract SAP data using XMLA

Launch Birst Connect from the command line (run cmdUI.bat from the \commandline folder). The Birst Connect Java application opens.
Click Add Connection under Realtime Connections.
Select SAP BW (XMLA) as the Database Type and enter your SAP account credentials as shown below.
Tip: Supply your InfoProvider name in the Database Name field.
Click OK. A new connection will be initialized.
Tip: The status of the connection is initially red as Birst Connect attempts to contact the Birst server. After the connection is established, the status will turn to green.
Click File - Save Settings in Birst Connect. This saves the current connection information back to your Birst space.
Important: Do not close Birst Connect. It can be minimized but it must be running.
In Birst, click Home to refresh your settings. This allows Birst to update your interface to include your new connection.
On the Home page, select the space in which the connection was created.
Go to Admin - Define Sources - Manage Local Sources.
On the Manage Local Sources page, click File - Import Table/Cube Definition.
If prompted, select the Live Access connection to use and click Go.
Select the data cube you would like to import and click Go.
The components of the cube will be imported into Birst Connect as dimensions and measures and will be displayed on the left side as shown below.
Click File - Save Changes.

Once the metadata has been created in Birst, you can go into Designer or Visualizer and immediately start building reports against your cube database.