Dynamic access of data

• US 9,256,655 B2
• Filed: 04/12/2013
• Issued: 02/09/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/16/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP SE
• Inventors: Moser, Gerd, Vogt, Thomas, Berger, Arthur, Rieken, Gregor, Steuernagel, Ralf
• Primary Examiner(s): DAILEY, THOMAS J
• Application Number:
  US13/861,665
• Publication Number:
  US 20130232105A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,033 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/254 Extract, transform and load [ETL] procedures, e.g. ETL data flows in data warehouses
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/565 Conversion or adaptation of application format or content adding application control or application functional data H04L67/561

Abstract

A heterogeneous information technology system in which compatible and incompatible client systems are able to dynamically access master data stored in a master database maintained by a master data server. An integration server communicates with the client systems and the master data server, and in response to a request for data from a client system, maps the master data in the master database to mapped data based on a set of mapping rules associated with the client system, and sends the mapped data to the client system.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a master data server, to maintain a master database at a data server, the master database comprising master data objects, the master database accessible to clients comprising a first client and a second client;

an integration server, in response to a request from the first client to access master data identified by a first client identifier, to map the first client identifier to a master identifier, retrieve a master data object from the master database based on the master identifier, and map the master data object to a mapped data object based on a set of mapping rules associated with the first client, wherein the master data object has a plurality of attributes associated with characteristics of an entity represented by the master data object, the first client processes a first subset of the plurality of attributes, the second client processes a second subset of the plurality of attributes, the first subset being different from the second subset, and

a mapping table to store information related to mapping of client identifiers to master identifiers, the first client identifier from the client identifiers identifying the master data object in the first client, a second client identifier from the client identifiers identifying the master data object in the second client, and the master identifier from the master identifiers identifying the master data object in the master data server.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the first client and the second client use different client identifiers to identify the master data object.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the mapping table to store mapping rules associated with the clients, the mapping rules comprising the set of mapping rules associated with the first client.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the integration server dynamically maps the master data object in the master database to the mapped data object based on mapping rules defined by the first client each time the first client requests the master data object without replicating the master data object at a database local to the first client.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the integration server comprises a content integrator that finds characteristics that at least the first client and the second client associate with the master data object.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the integration server comprises an adapter that receives communications from the first client, extracts master data from the communications and forwards the extracted master data to the master data server.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the master data object is associated with products.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the master data object is associated with business partners.

9. A method, comprising:

maintaining a master database at a data server, the master database comprising master data objects, the master database accessible to clients comprising a first client and a second client;

receiving a request from the first client to access master data, the request comprising a first client identifier;

mapping the first client identifier to a master identifier;

retrieving a master data object based on the master identifier;

mapping the master data object to a mapped data object based on a set of mapping rules associated with the first client;

sending the mapped data object to the first client, wherein the master data object has a plurality of attributes associated with characteristics of an entity represented by the master data object, the first client processes a first subset of the plurality of attributes, the second client processes a second subset of the plurality of attributes, the first subset being different from the second subset, and

storing, in a mapping table, information related to mapping of client identifiers to master identifiers, the first client identifier from the client identifiers identifying the master data object in the first client, a second client identifier from the client identifiers identifying the master data object in the second client, and the master identifier from the master identifiers identifying the master data object in the master data server.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising receiving a request from the first client to modify the master data object to create a modified master data object, and querying other clients from the clients to verify that the modified master data object conforms to consistency rules defined by the other clients.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising, responsive to determining that a particular client does not respond to the querying, placing the particular client on an exception list to indicate that the modified master data object has not been verified to conform to the consistency rules defined by the particular client.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising, after a predefined period of time or when the particular client attempts to access data in the master database, performing another attempt to verify whether the modified master data object conforms to the consistency rules defined by the particular client.

13. The method of claim 9, further comprising receiving a request from the first client to delete the master data object from the master database, querying other clients from the clients to verify that the master data object is not used by the other clients, and deleting the master data object from the master database after confirming the master data object is not used by the other clients.

14. The method of claim 9, further comprising storing the master data object in a cache, and retrieving the master data object from the cache in response to determining that a request for access to the master data object is identical to a previous request for access to the master data object.

15. The method of claim 9, further comprising modifying the master data objects in the master database to produce modified master data objects, and modifying mapping rules associated with the master data objects to allow the clients to process the modified master data objects without making modifications at respective clients from the clients.

16. The method of claim 9, wherein the mapping rules associated with the first client define which subset of attributes from the plurality of attributes are processed by the first client.

17. A machine-readable non-transitory storage medium having instruction data executable by a machine to cause the machine to perform operations comprising:

maintaining a master database at a data server, the master database comprising master data objects, the master database accessible to clients comprising a first client and a second client;

receiving a request from the first client to access master data, the request comprising a first client identifier;

mapping the first client identifier to a master identifier;

retrieving a master data object based on the master identifier;

mapping the master data object to a mapped data object based on a set of mapping rules associated with the first client;

sending the mapped data object to the first client, wherein the master data object has a plurality of attributes associated with characteristics of an entity represented by the master data object, the first client processes a first subset of the plurality of attributes, the second client processes a second subset of the plurality of attributes, the first subset being different from the second subset; and

storing, in a mapping table, information related to mapping of client identifiers to master identifiers, the first client identifier from the client identifiers identifying the master data object in the first client, a second client identifier from the client identifiers identifying the master data object in the second client, and the master identifier from the master identifiers identifying the master data object in the master data server.

18. A method, comprising:

maintaining a master database at a data server, the master database comprising master data objects, the master database accessible to clients comprising a first client and a second client;

receiving a request from the first client to access master data, the request comprising a client identifier;

mapping the client identifier to a master identifier;

retrieving a master data object based on the master identifier;

mapping the master data object to a mapped data object based on a set of mapping rules associated with the first client; and

sending the mapped data object to the first client, wherein the master data object has a plurality of attributes associated with characteristics of an entity represented by the master data object, the first client processes a first subset of the plurality of attributes, the second client processes a second subset of the plurality of attributes, the first subset being different from the second subset.