I have engaged with a number of customers recently starting out with PowerDesigner. In more than one case the customer acquired PowerDesigner as part of a larger solution such a Data Services Enterprise Edition or Intelligent Business Operations. As a consequence the customers had not investigated PowerDesigner and were unsure of how to get started. Nevertheless the idea of using Power Designer for Enterprise Architecture, Data Modelling or Business Process Modelling was attractive and from there I had a number of discussions on next steps. This blog outlines four key things needed to get started.
As PowerDesigner is installed on a desktop sytems this step is often overlooked. In practice a lot of the value of PowerDesigner is associated with having a central repository available and for enterprise deployments this is esstential. As a consequence it pays to initiate the process of obtaining a server early in your PowerDesigner project. I recommend using a single Windows based server. This simplifies the initial deployment and can be reviewed later if needed. The minimum recommended system in the manual is a dual-core machine, with 2-4GB of RAM. I suggest doubling this – 4 cores and 8 GB RAM. My reasoning is that it is most effective to install all the server components on one system as part of the initial setup.
License keys are obtained via the SAP Support Portal . To access the keys on the portal you will need a login (often called an s-user). Typically the SAP team in many organisations already have these logins; it is possible to create additional users if needed. The Getting Started page provides the instructions for administration of users.
The process for creating a PowerDesigner key is described in the How to Request License Keys - SAP Sybase document. The recommended approach is to use a central license management (sysam) system to provide served licenses. This has two advantages:
Important: The license key is linked to the MAC address of the server. So obtaining the server is a prerequisite to generating the license key.
The installation processes documented on the Help Portal. Installation involves a number of components including:
The diagram below illustrates all of the components.
My recommendation is to install in the following sequence:
PowerDesigner looks simple enough but to get started it really pays get trained. I attended the Data Modelling course nearly ten years ago but it still pays off in productivity every time I create a model. SAP offer the following courses:
Take a serious look at the Virtual Live Classroom delivery option.
If you prefer the self study route there are many resources including:
There is no substitute for a practical experiment to understand where and why PowerDesigner will benefit your efforts. Select a pilot project and get started. A few ideas I recommend that customers focus on in the pilot include:
It’s not a subject that this blog can cover comprehensively but once the pilot is done it is essential to pause and look at standards and structures. At the minimum the standards should include:
If you read this far I’m assuming you are looking at starting and implementation. Good luck and please let the community have some feedback.
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