Hands-on Lab Overview

1. Introduction

HOL311: Getting Started with the Business Data Catalog in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007

2. Technologies Highlighted

Microsoft® Office SharePoint® Server 2007

3. Audience

Solution Developer – 300 level

4. Scenario

Overview of the Business Data Catalog

The Business Data Catalog is a new business integration feature in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007. It is a core service, and it
enables Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 servers to interact with business applications and display business data on the portal
without any custom development. The Business Data Catalog bridges the gap between the portal and your business applications and
enables you to bring in key data from various business applications to SharePoint sites, lists, search, and user profiles.

The Business Data Catalog is essentially a catalog of business applications that are of interest to SharePoint Server 2007 users. It
provides out-of-the-box support for displaying data from databases and any business application that provides Web services for
retrieving data from the application. For example, using the Business Data Catalog, you can display data from your SAP or Siebel
application using web services.

The Business Data Catalog is the key infrastructural component around which most of the other business data features of SharePoint
Server 2007 are built. Metadata authors with a skill set equivalent to that of an SQL developer describe the application programming
interface (API) of business applications by using the Business Data Catalog XML metadata model. Administrators can register business
applications in the catalog, after which the data in the business application is immediately available to you on your portal site through
several other SharePoint Server 2007 business data features. Following is a brief discussion of these business data features.

Business Data Web Parts

SharePoint Server 2007 ships with four out-of-the-box Business Data Web Parts: Business Data List, Business Data Items, Business
Data Related List, and Business Data Actions. These Web Parts rely on the Business Data Catalog, and their main purpose is to enable
you to display business data on your portal without writing any code. Also, these Web Parts are generic and can show any type of data
(entity) registered in the Business Data Catalog.

These Web Parts support Web Part connections and make it easier to create Master-Detail applications without writing any code. For
example, you can display customers and their details using the BusinessDataList and BusinessDataItems Web Parts.
Table 1 provides a brief description of the Business Data Web Parts.

Table 1. Business Data Web Parts

Web Part
Description

BusinessDataList Web Part

Displays a list of entity
instances from a business
application registered in
the Business Data Catalog.
For example, you can use
a Business Data List Web
Part to display all the
customers or orders from
the AdventureWorksDW
database.

BusinessDataItems Web
Part
Displays the details of an
entity instance from a
business application. For
example, you can use a
Business Data Items Web
Part to display the details
of a particular customer or
order from the
AdventureWorksDW
database.

BusinessDataRelatedList
Web Part
Displays a list of related
entity instances from a
business application. For
example, you can use a
Business Data Related List
Web Part to display all the
orders for a particular
customer from the
AdventureWorksDW
 5. Purpose of Hands-on Lab

Lab 1: Build and Register Metadata

The objective of this lab is to build the metadata file that will connect SharePoint Server 2007 to the SQL Server 2005
AdventureWorksDW database.

Note: A completed copy of the metadata file can be found in C:\HOL\BDC\Reference.

Lab 2: Accessing the Business Data Catalog

The objective of this lab is to register the AdventureWorksDW metadata file with SharePoint Server 2007.

Hands-on Lab

Discussion Points Actions taken

Lab 1: Build and Register Metadata

Exercise 1 – Connect to AdventureWorksDW Database

A LobSystem object is a source of business data, business logic, or both.
SAP R/3 IDES, Siebel 7.5, and Microsoft SQL Server 2005 databases are
examples of LobSystem objects.

The LobSystem object is the top-level container for metadata that describes a
particular business application. In XML terms, it is the root node that contains
all other metadata objects.

In this exercise, you will configure the connection to the AdventureWorksDW

database as a LobSystem object.

Create the base XML for the LobSystem object. • Login using the following credentials:
o Username: administrator
• Notice that this creates connection information for the o Password: pass@word1
AdventureWorksDW database. o Log on to: LITWAREINC
• Wait for the Warmup Script to complete and the popup window to close.
• Open Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 from the desktop shortcut
• Select File | New | File.
• Select XML File and click Open

• Select File | Save XMLFile1.xml As… (make sure XMLFile1.xml is the active
tab)
• Save the file to C:\HOL\BDC\BDCAWDW.xml
• Use Ctrl-A to select all the default text
• Right-click in the window and choose Insert Snippet…

• From the selection box, choose BDC > LOB XML

 • Select File | Save BDCAWDW.xml

Exercise 2 – Define Entities, Methods, and Filters

A LOB application registered in the Business Data Catalog defines the

entities, the methods that can be executed on the entities and filters to enable
end user filtering. An entity is a business object, such as Customer or
Product, in an LOB application. Methods are the operations related to an
entity and filters help limit the entity instances returned from the method.
In Business Data Catalog, an entity belongs to a single LOB system and
must have a unique name. Entities contain identifiers, methods, filters and
actions.

Here you define seven entities – Product, SupportCase, Contact, • Highlight the line <!-- BDC Entities here -->
SupportPerson, ProductSubCategory, ProductCategory, and Reseller. These • Right-click and choose Insert Snippet…
entities represent the high-level business objects in the AdventureWorksDW • Choose BDC > Entities
database.

For the remainder of the lab we’ll be primarily focused on the Reseller entity.
This entity has a “ResellerFinder” method to get a list of resellers which
includes Wildcard and ExactMatch filters to enable end-user filtering on the
Key and Name fields.

• Select File | Save BDCAWDW.xml

Exercise 3 – Define an IDEnumerator

To enable business data search, you need to define a SpecificFinder and a
special type of MethodInstance called IDEnumerator in your metadata.

Since you have already defined a SpecificFinder for the Reseller entity in
Exercise 2, you will define an IDEnumerator method now. An IDEnumerator
method is a simple method that returns the list of IDs (unique keys) for an
entity that should be searchable. This enables indexing of the entities for the
IDs the IDEnumerator method returns.

Entities have zero or one IDEnumerator. The definition for an IDEnumerator

is exactly like a Finder method, except that it has zero filters and returns only
the ID field or the ID and LastModifiedDate fields.

You now define an IDEnumerator to index and search for resellers in the • Scroll to the bottom of the BDCAWDW.xml file
AdventureWorksDW database. • Highlight the line <!--BDC ResellerIDEnumerator Here -->
• Right-click and choose Insert Snippet…
Note: • Choose BDC > ResellerIDEnumerator
If you require incremental crawl, then you must also make sure the
LastModifiedDate property is one of the return fields in the SpecificFinder
for the entity from the LOB application.

Note:
This example uses a Microsoft SQL Server 2005 database which supports
streaming of data. For Web services and other non-streaming backends, you
should use the LastIdSeen filter in your IDEnumerator as shown below to
improve performance. For example:
SELECT TOP 100 Id FROM Customers WHERE Id>=@LastIdSeen
ORDER BY Id

• Select File | Save BDCAWDW.xml

Exercise 4 – Define Actions

Entities can have actions in the Business Data Catalog. Actions bridge the
gap between SharePoint Server 2007 and a native application user interface
by providing a link back to the backend data source. You can use Business
Data Actions to build applications with write-back scenarios, such as a
Customer Profile view that allows a user to update profile information directly
in SAP. Actions are implemented as links, so you can also use actions to
perform simple actions such as send e-mail or open a customer’s home
page.
Actions travel everywhere with an entity. That is, once you define an action
for an entity, the action will show up everywhere you display that entity - be it
in a Business Data Web Part or in a Business Data column.

You now add an action to the Reseller entity called 'Search product on • Highlight the line <!--BDC Reseller Actions Here -->
Portal'. As the name implies, this action will open up a browser and search for • Right-click and choose Insert Snippet…
the product name using Search Center in our SharePoint Server 2007 portal. • Choose BDC > Reseller Actions

• Select File | Save BDCAWDW.xml.

Exercise 5 – Define Associations

Entities can have associations in the Business Data Catalog. Associations

allow Business Data Catalog entities to have a hierarchical relationship, by
defining the parent-child relationship and the method used to query for this
relationship.

You now add a pair of associations which refine the relationship between the • Highlight the line <!--BDC Associations Here -->
Product, ProductCategory, and ProductSubCategory entities • Right-click and choose Insert Snippet…
• Choose BDC > Associations

• Select File | Save BDCAWDW.xml

• Close Visual Studio 2005.
Exercise 6 – Register AdventureWorksDW in the Business Data Catalog

In this exercise, you will register the AdventureWorksDW database in

SharePoint Server 2007’s Business Data Catalog using the metadata file
created in the previous exercises.

Once you register AdventureWorksDW, you can use its data throughout the
portal – in lists, web parts, search, and user profiles. You’ll explore some of
these features in later exercises.

In addition, each entity defined in a Business Data Catalog Application can be

permissioned separately.

Create a Business Data Catalog Application • Open SharePoint 3.0 Central Administration from the Start Menu ->
Administrative Tools.
• Navigate to the Application Management page.

• In the Office SharePoint Server Shared Services section of the Application

Management page, click Create or configure this farm’s shared services.

• Select SharedServices1 (Default) to access the Shared Service Provider

(SSP).
• In the Business Data Catalog section, click Add Application to open the Add
Application page.

• In the Add Application page, browse to “C:\HOL\BDC\BDCAWDW.xml”, and

click Import.

• Wait for the import to complete – this may take several minutes. You will see
progress screens which load every few seconds.
 • Once the import is complete, you will receive a status page. Ignore any
warnings that may appear and click OK
• The details page for the new Application will be displayed.

Set permissions on the created entities. • Scroll down the page and you will see a list of the defined entities for this
application
• For each entity, we’ll need to add user access, as the default is no access for
anyone other than the administrator. Hover over Contact and choose Manage
Permissions from the dropdown menu

• On the Manage Permissions page, choose Add Users/Groups

• On the Add Users/Groups page, use the following values:

o Users/Groups: NT AUTHORITY\authenticated users
o Choose Permissions: View Items, Selectable in Clients
 • Click Save
• Use the site breadcrumb to return to the Application page

• Repeat the permission setting steps for the rest of the defined entities
• Congratulations, you’ve registered AdventureWorksDW, exposed its data to
SharePoint Server 2007, and allowed user access.

Lab 2: Accessing the Business Data Catalog

Exercise 1 – Create a Reseller Explorer application (with no code)

In this exercise, you’ll use the Business Data Web Parts to create an
AdventureWorksDW Reseller Explorer application with no code. The
application will allow you to search all resellers. By clicking on a reseller
name, you’ll be able to view more details on the reseller profile page.

Create the SharePoint site where you’ll build Reseller Explorer • Click on the home menu button in Internet Explorer to return to the portal
 homepage
• Click Create Site in the Site Actions menu at the top right

• Use the following values

o Title: Reseller Explorer
o URL name: resellerexplorer
o Template Selection: Blank Site
• Click Create

Add a Business Data List Web Part • Click Edit Page in the Site Actions menu. This puts the page in edit mode and
shows controls for adding, removing, and repositioning page elements.
The Business Data List Web Part displays a list of entity instances from a
business application registered in the Business Data Catalog. For example,
you can use a Business Data List Web Part to display the resellers from the
AdventureWorksDW database.

This shows how you can add a Business Data List Web Part to display a list
of resellers from the AdventureWorksDW database with no code.

• Click Add a Web Part in the Left zone.

• The “Add Web Parts - Web Page” dialog is displayed. Check Business Data
List and click Add.
• A Business Data List Web Part has been added. Click Open the tool pane
inside the Business Data List Web part.

• Click the Browse icon which looks like an open book

• Double-click on Reseller from the popup window

• Expand the Appearance section.

• Replace Business Data List in the Title field with Resellers from
 AdventureWorksDW

• Click OK at the bottom of the tool pane.

• You have now created a Business Data List Web Part that displays resellers
from the AdventureWorksDW database.
• Click on Retrieve Data

• Click on the Name of the first item in the list

• You are taken to the Reseller Details page. This page is created automatically
for each Business Data Catalog entity

• Click the browser back button to return to the Reseller Explorer page
• Hover over the first name entry and examine the items in the drop down list

• Notice there are two items, corresponding to the available Actions for the entity.
The default View Profile which takes you to the details page, and the custom
Search product on Portal which we included in our metadata definition.
 Business Data Catalog search is covered in more depth as part of the Search
Center lab.

Exercise 2 – Create a SharePoint list to track reseller feedback

Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services V3 allows you to create custom field

types. Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 uses this feature to provide a
new field type called Business Data that is available to all lists in SharePoint
Server 2007. The Business Data field type enables users to add data from
business applications registered in the Business Data Catalog to lists.

This topic shows how you can add a Reseller column to a SharePoint list.

Create the Reseller Feedback list • Click Create in the Site Actions menu at the top right. The Create Page page
appears.

• Click Custom List in the Custom Lists section. The New page appears.
• Type Reseller Feedback in the Name field and click Create. The Reseller
Feedback list appears.
• Click Settings on the list toolbar and select Create Column. The New Column
page appears.

• Use the following values:

o Column name: Reseller
o The type of information in this column is: Business data
o Type: Reseller (BDCAWDW)
o Add a column to show each of these additional fields: Number
• Click OK. You return to the list, which now contains the Reseller and the related
Reseller: Number columns
• Click New on the list toolbar and select New Item. The New Item page appears.

• Use the following values:

o Title: Can’t withstand rainy Seattle winter
o Reseller: Volume Bike Sellers chosen in one of these ways:
 Type Bike in the Reseller field and click the Check Names
icon. bike is underlined in red and a message is displayed:
No exact match was found. Click bike and choose the
 reseller.

 Click the Browse icon, choose Name in the search

dropdown, type bike in the search box, and click the
magnifying glass button. Select the reseller from the search
results box.

• Click OK. The new list item appears with the reseller name and number. The
reseller name item also includes the drop down menu of all the available
Business Data Catalog actions for the reseller entity.

Conclusion

I. Conclusion

In this lab you learned about some of the available options in the new Business Data Catalog in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server
2007. You walked through the process of creating a new metadata definition, deploying the application, using the provided Business
Data Catalog Web Parts, and including Business Data in SharePoint lists.