Posts Tagged ‘Unbound Report’

What is an Unbound Report and Why Should I Care?

You may have read something on this web site or in one of our guides that mentioned “unbound reports” in a less than favorable light. Hopefully this article explains what we mean by this.

What is an unbound report?

With the migration to the Business Objects XI platform many things changed. One of these changes was the method used to connect (or bind) documents to universes. I wrote an article on this binding and relationship, it is called “Business Objects XI – Changing BO Report / Universe Relationships“. So I won’t revisit that discussion beyond saying that in BOXI reports and universes are primarily and securely bound to each other through a set of unique identifiers of the objects: CUID and Object ID. If a report loses this relationship to its universe we call it and “unbound report”.
There may be other names for this phenomenon, but I believe this is the one the experts in SAP Business Objects use, and if they don’t I like it and I think it fits very well.

What causes a report to become unbound from its universe?

The basic event that occurs causing a report to become unbound from its universe is that the unique identifier of the universe is removed from the system. Some of the actions that remove this unique identifier may seem rather innocuous, but they can all be potentially deadly to your reports:

1. Deleting a Universe: OK, this one is not innocent, but it is the most obvious and it actually has a few variants
2. Replacing a Universe Using Designer: Many people use Designer to migrate universes from a development environment to a production environment. If during export you are prompted to “overwrite” a universe and you accept… kiss your report binding good-bye. If you quickly delete the original universe and then upload the new one, same story.
3. Improper Use of Import Wizard: The “Merge” option causes so much trouble because it is not understood properly by many. If you use this or even if you use the much preferred “Update” option and you see that a new universe named with a “(2)” suffix was created, you haven’t ruined your report binding yet, but you next actions might. You must manually bind each report to the new universe with the “(2)” using the Java Report Panel to transfer the binding and make it safe to remove the old version of the universe. Failure to do this will fill your day with regrets.
The truth is that there are many permutations of actions that can lead to this. Many of them start with improperly creating backups of the universe (using Save as) and generating new unique identifiers for the modified universe. Others start with bad migration or promotion techniques.

But It Worked Fine in Business Objects 6.5

You are correct, but that doesn’t change anything. Remember, the game changed with Business Objects XI. The fusion with Crystal Reports created all new rules that Business Objects has barely explained to its customers. In BO65 the report-universe relationship was name based. Thinking this is still the case is the biggest issue facing Business Objects XI administrators and developers. Now it is all about unique identifiers and you can only maintain them by using the properly workflows.

I Followed a “Bad” Workflow but My Report Still Works, Why?

Many times unbound reports will continue to perform just fine, for a while. The first question is how long with that while be. The second question is, are you sure the report is using the right universe??? The CMS record of the report has meta data that lists a universe short name which many times will allow a report to find a universe to use. The problem with this is that it is unreliable and universe short names can change and be duplicated. In such cases a well-behaved unbound report might start to use a universe other than the one you intend or it might just fail. If it uses an unintended universe this could be a HUGE problem as it may not raise any errors to the end-user and the end-user may be making business decisions on wrong, bogus, or out-dated information!!!

The Nearly Unrecoverable Error – Error: WIS 00501

If your report cannot locate a universe, even with using the hidden short name stored in the report’s meta data then this is the error you will see:

Refreshing Data
Universe not found. See your Business
Objects Administrator. (Error: WIS 00501)
(Error: INF )


Once you see this error, you should expect the worst. In some rare and mostly undocumented cases some lucky BO developers have been able to recover from this issue by replacing the original universe. However, please don’t count on this; it is only worth an attempt.

So What are the Proper Development and Object Promotion Workflows?

I have hinted at a few and skimmed over others. To be honest there is a lot to discuss on this topic that exceeds the scope of a simple article. I am working on a new guide that details these workflows and how to properly design or retrofit a Business Objects XI system to best avoid these pitfalls and provide the maximum stability. As the guide materializes I will post some of the content here. I also hope to receive comments that will help shape part of the guide as well.

Using BO Query Builder to Detect Report-Universe Binding Status

The loss of binding between reports and universes is a common problem experienced by BO XI users. Often the issue can go unnoticed for quite a while, but like a dormant disease it can spontaneously begin to demonstrate severe symptoms that can result in the loss of your report. Sound serious enough? It is! The following article is intended to help you detect report-universe unbinding proactively, before they cause you serious trouble.

The best tool for detecting of Report-Universe Binding Status is Query Builder. As far as I know there is no third part tool or BO utility for this other than Query Builder, but honestly, Business Objects’ Query Builder works quite well and it is available to you for free. Here and the queries that you will need:

Business Objects Query Builder Query: Universe Binding Status

This query brings back a limited set of properties for the desired universe. I lifted it from our Query Builder Guide. Like most problems there are multiple ways to attack and starting by looking to the universe is one way.

SELECT
si_id,
si_name,
si_webi,
si_cuid
FROM
CI_AppObjects
WHERE
( si_name = '' OR si_id = ) AND
si_kind = 'Universe'

You need to put in the universe name (upper or lower case is not important) or the Object ID of the universe (most people are more familiar with name, but object ID (si_id) provides more precise results. From this query we will see only the reports to which this universe is bound. It won’t list the reports to which it should be bound. The report name nor the report’s query name are given here, but the reports si_id or object ID is given here. And so you my need to do some additional queries to identify the reports listed here. Which leads us to the other way to start looking at this issue.

Business Objects Query Builder Query: Report Binding Status

For many people this is the query they will lead with in QueryBuilder. Usu

SELECT
si_id,
si_name,
si_universe,
si_cuid
FROM
CI_InfoObjects
WHERE
( si_name = '' OR si_id = OR si_parentid = ) AND
si_kind = 'WebI' AND
si_instance = 0

Using the query will require you to provide at least one of the following: report name (si_name), report object ID (si_id), or parent folder object ID (si_parentid). This query’s result will list all of the universes to which the report(s) is/are bound. How can a report be bound to more than one universe? Multiple queries in the report (also called the classic name of “data providers”). This fact makes this query the most important query in my opinion. If it fails to list an expected universe then you have identified and unbound report. My sympathies and congratulations!

What does an Unbound Report Look Like in Query Builder?

Words are often not as valuable as pictures. Now pictures of words, well their value is questionable, but not in this matter. The following image show what the report Query Builder query looks like when a report is showing that it is bound to its universe (just a single universe in this example):

In the rather unfortunate case that a report is not bound to its universe you will see output that looks like this:

Note:This query will return only WebI or Web Intelligence reports. You will need to modify it if you are interested in other reports in your CMS InfoStore.

A Note About the Query Builder “si_universe” Property

Many properties in Query Builder are compound in nature, meaning they have multiple values for a single object. For example and report can have multiple universe and in fact its si_universe property has multiple sub-properties (si_total and the universes’ object IDs). We call properties like si_universe property bags. The unfortunate fact here is that in Query Builder you cannot filter on a property bag. Therefore, you cannot create a query that only returns all of the unbound reports.

What about the CUIDs?

If you have read my other articles such as “Business Objects XI – Changing BO Report / Universe Relationships” then you know that the relationship between reports and universes is really at the CUID level and not the Object ID level. Well, the truth is that Object IDs are specific to an environment, but CUIDs are portable between environments (with the write methods). Anyway, Query Builder and the CMS InfoStore will show the binding at the Object ID level, but this binding will look different in another environment to which you have correctly and successfully migrated the report and universe because the Object IDs will be different (but the CUIDs will be the same). Anyway, for now, just know that the CUID is very important with regards to report-universe binding; however, when detecting the status of that binding they are not important.

Important Note about Business Objects’ Import Wizard

I said earlier that there was no other tool for identifying unbound reports, but I fibbed a bit. It is possible to use Business Object’s Import Wizard to detect unbound reports. If you select a report and the option to automatically select its universes then if Import Wizard fails to select all of the expected universes you know that the report is in an unbound state. This is a tedious way to detect report-universe unbinding, BUT if you find yourself using Import Wizard and you are experiencing an issue with Import Wizard selecting reports’ universes then you have a good indicator that something is probably wrong with the report-universe binding.

Knowing is Half the Battle

The next logical question is, “Now that I have identified an unbound report, how can I correct it?”. That my friends is a topic for another article. My family and hobbies are calling to me now; please remind me if I forget to write that article soon.

Want to Know More About Query Builder?

I recommend that you take a look at our “Business Objects Query Builder Guide“, it is most likely “The Most Complete Business Objects XI Query Builder Guide Ever Written” and it will help you to discover and master the secrets of Business Object’s Query Builder, such as the one discussed in this article.

Business Objects XI – Changing BO Report / Universe Relationships

Common Ground – Terminology

Firstly, let me lay down some terminology in order to make this concept easier to discuss. “Classic BO” refers to any version of Business Objects between 5.X and 6.X. “BOXI” or “BO XI” refers to the Business Objects XI Release 1, 2, or 3 (R1/R2/R3), the injection of BO to the Crystal platform.

BO Classic Universe-Report Binding

In Classic BO if you wanted to replace a universe that was deleted from the repository or swap out one version of a universe for another version all that you had to do was place a universe in the repository which had the same name as the universe upon which the report was initially developed. The binding between report and universe was on name. For this reason universe name, for the most part, was the unique identifier for the universe. It made sense and it was a relationship everyone could understand regardless of technical background. When a report was selected from the repository its universe was also found based on the name of the universe listed in the report’s properties.

BO XI Universe-Report Binding

In BOXI, reports are bound to their universes not by the universe name, but by the unique identifier of the universe, the Cluster Unique Identifier (CUID). While this may seem a small change at first glance, one begins to see the full scope when one thinks beyond the simple workflow of universe creation and report creation. For example, what happens when you want to move the universe and report to another BOXI environment? What about if someone deletes the universe and reloads it from a back-up copy on their PC? What if you copy the universe to a different universe folder? Do you know how to answer these questions? Will your answers always result in preservation of the universe’s CUID?

Appearances are Deceiving

At first glance BusinessObjects has brought Full-client, WebI Intelligence, and Universes almost as they were in BO 6.5 (with a few improvements) into the the new Crystal platform with BOXI. The fundamental problem here is the phrase “as they were”. To the end user, it will appear that, despite the InfoView improvements and addition of multiple data providers to WebI, everything else is “as it was”. While familiarity is good, here it also creates the problem. Most end users do not realize that the binding mechanism between report and universe has changed, because for the most part everything else has not, and many training courses do not alert users either to this binding change. Therefore most users will follow development work flows based on the misconception that reports are bound to their universes based on universe name.

How to Maintain Business Objects XI Universe-Report Binding

Getting Started – Creating BOXI Universes and Reports

First of all you do not need to do anything special to create the proper CUID-level binding between the universe and the report. Creating a new report and selecting the universe will create the proper binding. In fact, if you copy a report, that is properly bound to a universe, you will end up with a duplicate report that is properly bound to it’s universe. Like I said before, if this is all that you are doing then you need not think differently about Universe and Report Binding. The problem is that most of us do more with reports and universes then just create them once, save them, and leave them alone.

Making Changes – Proper Universe Editing

Editing a report and a universe requires no special instructions as long as you obey some guidelines. Universes require the most delicate and precise handling. A universe that is imported from the repository, edited, and exported back to the repository will maintain it’s CUID and relationship to its reports. If you create a copy of the universe, using either CMC or Designer, the copy will receive its own CUID and it will not be associated with the original’s reports. Moving a universe between universe folders will maintain the CUID; HOWEVER if a universe of the same name exists in the destination DO NOT overwrite the universe. This will definitely cause the moved universe to receive a new CUID (this is true at least in Business Objects XI Release 2). NEVER USE THE OVERWRITE FUNCTIONALITY OF DESIGNER, terrible, unreliable results are nearly guaranteed. By the way, moving a universe cannot be done in CMC, BO Designer is required.

NOTE: A CUID is a unique identifier. It is impossible for two objects in the world (or same BO XI platform for that matter) to possess the same CUID, unless IMPORT WIZARD (or some other such tool) is used to “clone” the object from one environment to another.

Making Changes – Proper Report Editing

With regards to retention of the universe-report binding, editing a report does not require much delicacy at all, beyond that one would normally employ. However, if your goal is to retain the Business Objects report’s CUID (for reasons of cross-environment synchrony, for example) then there are some rules of engagement. A new CUID will only be created for a report if the report is duplicated, for example: the report is copied, the report is saved using “Save As”, the Import Wizard is used (various options could result in a duplicate with a different CUID).

NOTE: Once you understand the basics you will begin to ask yourself more profound questions such as… How can I tell if a report is not bound to its universe? Many unbound reports continue to work fine, why is that and if this is true why should I worry? How can a revert back to an old version of a universe without losing my universe’s CUID? Why do unbound reports spontaneously go berserk? These are all excellent questions that I will answer if you confirm to me (through your comments) that you are interested in the answers.

Closing Thoughts

In order to maintain CUID parity/synchrony within your Business Objects XI environment and across multiple BOXI environments you will need to learn more than can be covered in the scope of a single article. If this article has piqued your interest or assisted you in understanding the basics, and you would like to learn more then please leave your comments. I could present a couple more focused articles on this topic. Nevertheless, I would also like to know if there is interest in a more comprehensive guide that we could make available for sale at a reasonable price. If so, I would invest more time in this (many hours).