White Paper

MetadataManagement forEnterprise ApplicationsNeil Buchwalter, Product Manager, AllFusion® Modeling Suite

May 2006

Table of ContentsExecutive Summary .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 3How EAP Data is Structured .......................................................................................................................................................................... 3

Multiple Language Support ......................................................................................................................................................................3RDBMS Independence................................................................................................................................................................................3

The Importance of Metadata Management ................................................................................................................................................3How AllFusion Saphir Option Aids Metadata Management ....................................................................................................................4AllFusion Saphir Option Product Description ..............................................................................................................................................4AllFusion Saphir Option Benefits......................................................................................................................................................................5Obtaining More Information ............................................................................................................................................................................6About CA ..............................................................................................................................................................................................................6

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Executive Summary Enterprise Application Product (EAP) packages like SAP,J.D. Edwards EnterpriseOne, PeopleSoft Enterprise andSiebel CRM have large databases at the core of theirapplication functionality. Making sense of the truestructure of these databases is difficult at best due tocryptic naming of tables and columns, and application-based referential integrity.

This paper explains how EAP data is structured, theimportance of metadata management and why AllFusion®

Saphir Option from CA is a key element in any EAPmetadata management strategy.

The paper also briefly describes the AllFusion SaphirOption technology and the benefits it offers.

How EAP Data is Structured Enterprise application packages can provide a broad setof business functionality because they have broad datastructures. For example, SAP R/3 has about 25,000 basetables. These products treat the underlying databasealmost as a flat file system. Two important factorsinfluence the way the data is structured:

• Multiple language support

• Relational database management system (RDBMS)independence

Multiple Language Support SAP, J.D. Edwards EnterpriseOne, PeopleSoft and SiebelCRM packages all support multiple languages. Users cansee the screen dialogs and report texts in their languageof choice (such as English, German or Spanish).

To accommodate this multi-language capability, screenprompts, report headings and other similar data are storedas part of the product’s data dictionary. This means thatthe physical table and column names usually bear littleresemblance to the data they contain. For example, in SAP,the table called KNA1 holds data about customers, and inthat table there is a column called ORT01, which containsthe names of cities.

As a result, it’s very difficult to understand the structureof the data by looking at the table and column names, asyou might do with any other database. The “meaningful”textual descriptions are in the data dictionary and do notrelate easily to the table and column names.

RDBMS Independence Another factor that influences the way EAP data isstructured is that enterprise applications are designed tobe implemented on a range of RDBMS types (such as DB2,Oracle or SQL Server).

To help ensure RDBMS independence, enterpriseapplications use these databases at a very simple level.Many of the features normally associated with an RDBMSare implemented via the application’s own data dictionary.For example, the relationship information defining howSAP tables are joined is held in the data dictionary, not inthe underlying database.

The Importance of MetadataManagement The challenges presented by the structure of EAP datamake metadata management all the more important.

Metadata is data about data. It’s a road map of theinformation resources available to an organization. Forexample, in a system designed to hold invoices, InvoiceNumber 7 is a piece of data. The properties Invoice Number,Invoice Date, Customer Number and so forth are metadataabout the invoice. Metadata describes the characteristicsof the data, rather than being the data itself.

Typically, metadata provides information related to thestructure and location of data. For example, an organiza-tion might have a Customer table with a set of fields, eachof a particular data type, and the table might reside on aparticular computer on the network.

In addition, the metadata might describe how pieces ofinformation in the organization relate to each other. Forexample, a Customer might have a series of associatedContacts, which can be located by accessing all theContacts with the same Customer code.

Metadata becomes important whenever there is a needto understand where and how data is stored, as in thefollowing situations:

• Creating a data warehouse

• Developing custom reports

• Building interfaces between disparate systems

In all these cases, one of the crucial questions is, “Wherecan I find the information I’m looking for?”

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The process of creating a data warehouse illustrates theimportance of metadata. Without a clear understandingof the sources of potential data for the warehouse, it’svery difficult to determine the location of the data to beloaded into the warehouse. Given the strategic nature ofenterprise application products like SAP, the data in theassociated database would be a prime candidate forinclusion in a data warehouse, but the closed architectureof EAP packages makes the discovery of the metadatavery difficult.

How AllFusion Saphir Option AidsMetadata Management The data warehouse tools market is now crowded withproducts offering reporting, data movement, data cleaningand a number of other functions related to data ware-housing. Many of these products are based on some kindof metadata architecture and recognize the importance ofmetadata for good warehouse implementation. However,in the enterprise application market, very specificmetadata is required to make implementation practical.

AllFusion Saphir Option makes it feasible for bothtechnical and business users to quickly discover thelocation of the data in which they are interested. Inaddition, this solution’s interface to CA’s AllFusion®

ERwin® Data Modeler (AllFusion ERwin DM) means thatentity-relationship diagrams of chosen data structurescan be easily created.

AllFusion Saphir Option ProductDescription AllFusion Saphir Option is a simple but powerful,Windows-based tool that makes the exploration and useof enterprise application metadata practical. It includesthe following features:

• Metadata extraction from SAP, J.D. EdwardsEnterpriseOne, PeopleSoft and Siebel for storagein an AllFusion Saphir Option repository

• Metadata exploration

• Metadata export to AllFusion ERwin DM to producevisual data models

• System-to-system comparison features to help identifydifferences between releases and installations

Extracted metadata is managed in an AllFusion SaphirOption repository, which is a set of database tablesimplemented in Oracle, SQL Server or a range of otherRDBMS types.

AllFusion Saphir Option makes it easy to access thefollowing metadata objects:

• Tables

• Fields

• Relationships

• Data elements

• Views

• Domains

• Indexes

This solution includes powerful, generic search featuresthat let you locate tables and fields quickly. Finding alltables that use a particular field or finding all tables with aparticular string in their names becomes easy to achieve.

Once you have found a table that interests you, you caneasily access all the relationship information that showshow the table is joined to other tables. AllFusion SaphirOption allows navigation up and down relationship paths,making it practical to surf through the complexities ofenterprise application metadata.

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Figure 1. Browsing Metadata with AllFusion Saphir Option.

AllFusion Saphir Option also has easy-to-use databrowsing capabilities — valuable confirmation that thedata items found really do hold the data required.

Pushing metadata out from AllFusion Saphir Option intoAllFusion ERwin DM makes the data structuresunderstandable in graphical form.

AllFusion Saphir Option Benefits Any project that involves accessing data from SAP, J.D.Edwards EnterpriseOne, PeopleSoft or Siebel requires anunderstanding of the data structures involved. Typically,the personnel involved in such projects do not have thenecessary specialized knowledge of these applications,and rely on scarce and expensive resources outside theproject team to give them that knowledge. AllFusionSaphir Option reduces this dependence on externalresources by providing project teams with a means toexplore enterprise applications on their own.

To minimize impact on system performance, AllFusionSaphir Option stores a copy of the extracted metadata inits own “application” repository. Once this repository ispopulated, there is no need to access the source systemfor day-to-day access to these structures. As a result, youcan analyze the data without adversely affecting theresponsiveness of the enterprise application.

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Figure 3. Data Model in AllFusion ERwin DM Showing Physical Names.

Figure2. Viewing Parent and Child Tables for a ChosenSAP Table.

AllFusion Saphir Option also makes it possible to recognizeand understand the differences between a standard orreference version of an EAP and a customized version thatmight be in use. This solution’s Model Comparison featurefurther provides a simple, yet powerful means to identifychanges between two different releases or two differentimplementations of the enterprise application.

The interface between AllFusion Saphir Option andAllFusion ERwin Data Modeler allows project teams toeasily create data models that provide unique views of thecomplexities of enterprise applications. In addition, thosedata models then serve as an integration point between anEAP and an organization’s legacy databases and/or datawarehouses and marts.

Obtaining More Information To find out more about AllFusion Saphir Option ordownload a free evaluation copy, please visitca.com/ERwin.

We’d also like to receive your feedback. If you have anycomments or questions about this technology or thisdocument, please go to ca.com/products/info_request.htmand share your thoughts with us.

About CA CA (NYSE: CA), one of the world's largest informationtechnology (IT) management software companies, unifiesand simplifies the management of enterprise-wide IT.Founded in 1976, CA is headquartered in Islandia, N.Y., andserves customers in more than 140 countries. For moreinformation, please visit http://ca.com.

For more information, call1-800-783-7946 or visitca.com/ERwin

Copyright © 2006 CA. All rights reserved. All trademarks, trade names, service marks and logos referenced herein belong to their respective companies. This document is for your informationalpurposes only. To the extent permitted by applicable law, CA provides this document “AS IS” without warranty of any kind, including, without limitation, any implied warranties of merchantability,fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. In no event will CA be liable for any loss or damage, direct or indirect, from the use of this document, including, without limitation, lost profits,business interruption, goodwill or lost data, even if CA is expressly advised of such damages. MP302050506

Figure 4. Data Model in AllFusion ERwin DM Showing Logical Names.