Migration of the BusinessObjects Repository

Numerous circumstances exist where an administrator might want to upgrade or migrate the BusinessObjects XI Repository. For example, during an upgrade, she might need to move objects from Development to Test and Production environments, or merge two repositories.

Caution

With any migration of data, you should perform any necessary backups. If the repository is not at the correct revision level, the Import Wizard will upgrade it to the correct level.

The Import Wizard, shown in Figure 17.2, is the tool that allows the user to migrate repositories from one version to another. The wizard walks the administrator through a number of steps, enabling her to determine what needs to be moved and which components will remain.

Figure 17.2. The Import Wizard shows the versions from which the user can import objects.

Note

Although the utility is Windows-based, it only requires a client for Windows and can be used to connect to Crystal Enterprise and BusinessObjects systems hosted on Windows, UNIX, or Linux.

Upgrades from Earlier Versions of Crystal Enterprise and Crystal Info

Prior to version 9, no Report Object repository existed. The Crystal Import Wizard migrates the Crystal Enterprise repository from versions 10.x and below (refer to Figure 17.2). The Import Wizard enables users to import users, groups, report objects and instances, associated permissions, events, and server groups.

Upgrades from Crystal Enterprise 9

In version 9 of Crystal Enterprise and Crystal Reports, the repository was split into two databases. This consisted of the Crystal Reports repository that stored the text, bitmaps, SQL Command objects, and custom functions, and the Crystal Enterprise 9 repository that consisted of objects such as the users, folders, and so on.

To migrate the Crystal Enterprise 9 repository, the Migration Wizard is used as described previously in this chapter.

To migrate a Crystal Reports 9 repository to BusinessObjects XI, use the Repository Migration Wizard. This Windows-based utility is found on the BusinessObjects Enterprise CD and can be installed on the local administrator's workstation. It requires the administrator to create a connection to the Crystal Reports 9 repository. After this connection is established, the administrator connects to the BusinessObjects XI, typically with administrator permissions, and the associated objects are imported.

For more information on setting the BusinessObjects Repository permissions, p. 401.

Caution

With any migration of data, you should back up the repository. The Migration Wizard does not move the data, but rather copies it, leaving the existing database intact.

Note

If an object exists with the same name, the Crystal Reports Migration Wizard does not copy over the database, but rather informs the user that there is a duplicate object and the original has not been migrated.

Migrations from BusinessObjects 6.x

The Import Wizard allows administrators to migrate BusinessObjects 6.x systems over to BusinessObjects XI systems. Before undertaking this migration, the administrator should be aware what will upgrade and what will not.

What Does Import?

For a successful import, ensure that your XI system has the same rights and middleware as your 6.x system and that the user performing the upgrade has sufficient operating system rights. For example, if a universe requires the Oracle 9 client to be installed, this needs to be created on the target machine before beginning the upgrade.

The following components are imported into the system:

• Universes You can import all universes and related objects or you can import the universes related to the documents you are importing. The latter approach is best used if you are using this upgrade as an opportunity to clean your XI system of any unwanted universes.

• Associated users and groups Enterprise 6.x profiles map to Enterprise XI groups; for example, the General Supervisor profile maps to the Administrators Group. Any users' personal documents can be added to their favorites folder in Enterprise XI.

• Permissions Supervisor in BusinessObjects 6 has been replaced by the Central Mananagement Console (CMC) in BusinessObjects XI. However, for the users and groups selected, their associated permissions will be migrated in the form of restriction sets.

• Domains and categories Domains are created as folders and all associated categories are created as categories.

  Caution

  User and group permissions might not map directly or might not import; therefore, your target objects can end up being more restrictive than intended. Administrators should check granted permissions at the target location to verify they have been imported as desired.

  
  

• Web intelligence documents By selecting their associated domains, the administrator can import the WebI documents. Alternatively, selecting the document will import its associated domain.

• Third-party documents With the ability to host third-party documents, such as Microsoft Office Documents, PDF, and text files, any XI supported document can be imported.

What Does Not Import?

Before the organization embarks on an upgrade, it needs to be aware of what will not upgrade:

• Version 5.x and prior versions If you are using an earlier version, you need to upgrade to version 6 before you can continue.

• Any BusinessObjects full-client reports These might need to be re-created in Web Intelligence or Crystal Reports, depending on the requirement. If the report cannot be re-created in either of the above tools, you might want to use a parrallel install of XI or contact BusinessObjects as to when this will be available.

• WebIntelligence OLAP A possible solution would be to rewrite these reports in OLAP Intelligence.

• BCA Scheduler, BCA Publisher, Supervisor, and Auditor components These are not included in Enterprise XI. Anything created in these components will have to be re-created in XI using the CMC.

• Infoview preferences The user preferences have changed considerably, so these will need to be reset.

• Customizations made using the SDK If, for example, you have made customizations using the Enterpise SDK, these have to be moved over and retested. Changes made using the WIBean should be rewritten to use the Enterprise Java SDK.

• Custom Application Foundation components Any cutomizations that you might have made to Application Foundation will not migrate.

It is expected that the ability to import and host full client documents (.rep) will be available in a future release of BusinessObjects. Depending on the requirement, it might be acceptable to rewrite the document in either Web Intelligence or Crystal Reports.