If the title of this article seems familiar- that’s because it is.
Back in January 2025, I went looking for the updated sizing guide for BI 4.3 and to see if a new one had been created specifically for BI 2025. At that time, we were teased that a new version was coming soon. However, as of today, the title for SAP KB 3078824 has been updated to simply “Where can I find SAP BI Platform Sizing Guides?” and indicates that the information applies to the now-obsolete BI 4.2, BI 4.3 and BI 2025.
Unfortunately, there is a single link to the same June 9, 2023, sizing guide that I found 15 months ago.
Aside from the usual information, I had three new sizing questions that could be addressed with a revised sizing guide.
How should I size the new Crystal Reports Adaptive Processing Server?
The Crystal Reports DSL Engine Service (CR DSL) in APS was introduced in BI 4.3 SP4, as the UNX universe support traditionally provided by the retired Crystal Reports for Enterprise is now in Crystal Reports 2020 SP4+ and Crystal Reports 2025. It also supports managed OLAP connections from Crystal Reports to BW (see SAP KB 3556385). Unfortunately, the System Configuration Wizard does not split this new Adaptive Processing Service and leaves it behind in the default Adaptive Processing Server (see SAP KB 3662580 – System Configuration Wizard does not Split the Crystal Reports DSL Engine Service APS).
Although the sizing guide has not been updated with sizing recommendations for the Crystal Reports DSL Engine Service, SAP KB 3662580 does recommend placing it in its own APS. I have been manually adding a new APS and using the default 2 GB heap, which is probably sufficient given that there won’t initially be many (if any) Crystal Reports with UNX connections. Many organizations do not use Crystal Reports and therefore disable the Crystal Reports services to conserve resources. Just keep in mind that UNX-based Crystal Reports will receive errors if the new DSL service does not exist to support them (see SAP KB 3564134).
How should I size my BusinessObjects system to support Web Intelligence data mode?
The second reason I would like to see an updated sizing guide is Web Intelligence Data Mode. Data Mode was first introduced in SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.3 Support Package 3 (SP3) and further enhanced in SP4. Data Mode brings data preparation capabilities directly into Web Intelligence and enables users to treat queries as reusable datasets (cubes) within a document, allowing them to prepare, combine, join, and transform data independently of report layout before using it for analysis and reporting.
My concern with data mode is “where does all the data actually go?”. When merging or cleansing large data sets, do I need to increase the memory allocated to the Tomcat web application server? Are there new settings on the Web Intelligence Processing Server or DSL server? Should I replace the dilithium crystals in the server? My questions remain unanswered.
And beyond the lack of sizing guidance, I’m simply curious about Data Mode’s architecture. Does it use a miniaturized version of SAP HANA? Apache Derby? A technical whitepaper would be a great read.
How should I size for the new UI5 Charts? Or WIDX?
What about the new UI5 charts? Should I assume that the Visualization DSL is rendering them like it renders older charts? And what about the new Web Intelligence Document Extract, or WIDX?
What Previous Sizing Information No Longer Applies?
Probably the last question that remains unanswered is “what previous sizing information no longer applies”. It’s likely that the answer to this question is “not much”, since BI 2025 really is just BI 4.4 with the UNX and Data Mode enhancements that I’ve already mentioned. But I’d sleep better knowing with certainty.
But I see a lot of BusinessObjects deployments that still carry over architecture and sizing recommendations from XI R2 and XI 3.0/3.1 that no longer apply in BI 4.x. Which is sad because BI 4.0 was first introduced on September 16, 2011 – over 14 years ago. While I understand “if it ain’t broke”, your system is deliberately crippled if you’re still using the assumptions of 20-year-old 32-bit software with 64-bit software.
Are there assumptions that were true in BI 4.0/BI 4.1/BI 4.2/BI 4.3 that are no longer true or require revision or resizing?
I Still Have Questions
I’m sad that the reality is that there just aren’t that many people left at SAP that could give us the updated document that we’re seeking. Like Bono, I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.
Are you looking for the Sizing Guide for SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence 2025? What questions do you have for the SAP engineering team regarding sizing and configuration? Post a comment below.
