Integrate SAP BusinessObjects BI Data in Pentaho Data Integration

The CData JDBC Driver for SAP BusinessObjects BI enables access to live data from data pipelines. Pentaho Data Integration is an Extraction, Transformation, and Loading (ETL) engine that data, cleanses the data, and stores data using a uniform format that is accessible.This article shows how to connect to SAP BusinessObjects BI data as a JDBC data source and build jobs and transformations based on SAP BusinessObjects BI data in Pentaho Data Integration.

Configure to SAP BusinessObjects BI Connectivity

To connect to your SAP Business Objects BI instance, you must set the following connection properties:

• Url: set this to the rest API URL. After logging into the Central Management Console, choose 'Applications' from the combo box. Double-click on 'RESTful Web Service' and you'll see the access URL. By default it is, http://{Server-Name}:6405/biprws.
• User: set this to the username of your instance.
• Password: set this to the password of your instance.

Built-in Connection String Designer

For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the SAP BusinessObjects BI JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.

java -jar cdata.jdbc.sapbusinessobjectsbi.jar

Fill in the connection properties and copy the connection string to the clipboard.

When you configure the JDBC URL, you may also want to set the Max Rows connection property. This will limit the number of rows returned, which is especially helpful for improving performance when designing reports and visualizations.

Below is a typical JDBC URL:

jdbc:sapbusinessobjectsbi:User=username;Password=password;Url=http://myinstance:6405/biprws

Save your connection string for use in Pentaho Data Integration.

Connect to SAP BusinessObjects BI from Pentaho DI

Open Pentaho Data Integration and select "Database Connection" to configure a connection to the CData JDBC Driver for SAP BusinessObjects BI

1. Click "General"
2. Set Connection name (e.g. SAP BusinessObjects BI Connection)
3. Set Connection type to "Generic database"
4. Set Access to "Native (JDBC)"
5. Set Custom connection URL to your SAP BusinessObjects BI connection string (e.g.
   

   jdbc:sapbusinessobjectsbi:User=username;Password=password;Url=http://myinstance:6405/biprws

6. Set Custom driver class name to "cdata.jdbc.sapbusinessobjectsbi.SAPBusinessObjectsBIDriver" 👁 Configuring the JDBC Driver connection.
   
7. Test the connection and click "OK" to save. 👁 Saving the connection.
   

Create a Data Pipeline for SAP BusinessObjects BI

Once the connection to SAP BusinessObjects BI is configured using the CData JDBC Driver, you are ready to create a new transformation or job.

1. Click "File" >> "New" >> "Transformation/job"
2. Drag a "Table input" object into the workflow panel and select your SAP BusinessObjects BI connection. 👁 Configuring the Table input object
   
3. Click "Get SQL select statement" and use the Database Explorer to view the available tables and views. 👁 Selecting data (QuickBooks Online is shown).
   
4. Select a table and optionally preview the data for verification. 👁 Previewing the data (QuickBooks Online is shown).
   

At this point, you can continue your transformation or jb by selecting a suitable destination and adding any transformations to modify, filter, or otherwise alter the data during replication.

Free Trial & More Information

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData JDBC Driver for SAP BusinessObjects BI and start working with your live SAP BusinessObjects BI data in Pentaho Data Integration today.