SAP Change Data Capture (CDC)

Change Data Capture (CDC) allows identifying and capturing changes made to data within SAP application tables with the SAP system. Those data changes can be then in real-time replicated to other systems or processes. It's a way to keep data synchronized across different environments, enabling real-time analytics, data warehousing, and other data-driven initiatives.

There are different techniques for implementing CDC in SAP environments:

Log-Based CDC: This approach reads the transaction logs of the SAP database to identify changes. It's generally considered the most efficient method with minimal impact on the source system.

Trigger-Based CDC: This method uses database triggers to capture changes as they occur. Triggers are database objects that automatically execute a predefined action in response to a specific event (e.g., an insert, update, or delete operation).

Table-Based CDC: This technique involves comparing snapshots of tables at different points in time to identify changes. It's less efficient than log-based or trigger-based methods but can be used in situations where those options are not available.

SAP has several tools and technologies that leveraging CDC, including:

SAP Data Services: A data integration and data quality platform that includes CDC capabilities.

SAP Landscape Transformation (SLT) Replication Server: A tool for real-time data replication from SAP systems to SAP HANA.

There are many 3^rd party tools that uses SAP CDC as well.

Now when it comes to extracting the data via CDS (Core Data Services) aka ABAP CDS views the trigger-based CDC is used as well. Specific annotation for the CDS view needs to be specified in ABAP Development Tool (ADT Tool). The annotations allow the CDS view to use a trigger-based CDC recording mechanism to load data and record changes to the tables that belong to the view.

PS: Do not confuse SAP CDC (Change Data Capture) with other SAP products like SAP Customer Data Cloud.

Mor information:

Online documentation