It's related to IR reversal of planned delivery cost of Custom, that if we post multiple IR and if there is difference in the posting amounts against the duties then PRD accounts comes in picture.

I will explain this using below example,

We have created Import Purchase Order of 100 TO in which we maintained condition types for Custom duties JCDB, JCV1, JECS, JSDB and JADC and with other required details like quantity, net price, tax code etc. and finally released this document.

Now, we do IR for Planned deliveries for Custom duties and during first consignment say suppose the quantity is 10 TO and hence the same is mentioned there in the Bill of Entry number REF001,

Pl concentrate on the accounting entries to be captured by the system.

Now, these values against all respective Custom duties will save against Material, Chapter ID, Custom Vendor, Purchase Order and it's line item.

And after this say in second consignment the quantity is 10 TO again,

We again Post the IR with following details,

Till now everything is OK and suppose if we will reverse this document with REF002 using MR8M T.code,

then the account entries captured by system are as,

Now, if we will see, accounting entries captured by this Credit memo are exactly opposite to that of with IR,

Again say suppose we post the IR but with different values then the earlier happened IR's, Pl check the amount carefully,

Now, if we reverse this IR using MR8M T.code, then system will hit PRD account,

If we will do various planned delivery IR's for same PO line item but with different duty amounts then during reversal it will give such incorrect accounting entries.

Price differences can also arise in the case of materials with moving average price if there is not enough stock to cover the invoiced quantity. In the case of goods movements in the negative range, the moving average price is not changed. Instead, any price differences arising are posted to a price difference account.

But if we see in this case we have enough stock coverage also and there is no difference in exchange rate also.

Pl also ref:

Postings for Credit Memo (MR8M)

Hello SCN members....

You want to upgrade SAP Solution Manager from 7.1 to 7.2. Lets get system ready to upgrade

Note: In this scenario My SAP Solution Manager version is 7.1 Support Pack stack 13

Prior start upgrade please look through : SAP Solution Manager 7.2 Content Activation - Solution Manager - SCN Wiki

Lets get ready....

1. Make sure you have uploaded your existing SAP Solution Manager system data to SAP Maintenance Planner

Please go through SAP note below

2002546 CP Direct Upload of Landscape data to customer profile

2. Once you have updated your system make sure you have run SAP Maintenance Planner on the system

Please go through SAP note below

2271807 MOPZ The Installation Upgrade Package For Add-On SAP_UO rel. 750 is not available

Note: Make sure you added JAVA patches as per SAP note: 2229953 and select Stack 01

3. Download all required files what you added through SAP Maintenance Planner

4. Uninstall ST-SPA and ST-QCA if they are installed (SAP Note : 2227300 For reference)

5. Pre steps and SAP notes to follow before you start upgrade

          Run SQL SCRIPT (SQL DB only) - sp_addsrvrolemember 'SAP<SID>DB' , 'securityadmin'

          Follow SAP Notes:

          1872729 CRM Upgrade Fails with error
          1879618 Pre-upgrade measures

          1983745 Error in RSD_PREXPRA_TO_740

          2039938 Error CL_RSR_GET_CHANMID-02

          2176977 - Pre-upgrade measures for upgrade/update to 7.4

          1872722 - Additional information for installation/upgrade of CPRXRPM 600_740

           2228062 - Update of Introscope JAVA Agent ISAGENT 9.5.6 Patch 0 fails 'Component sap.com/ISAGENT_MIN_J5 cannot be downgraded' -

6. Request Technical - User as per SAP note: 2174416 Technical User for Data Transfer with SAP Backbone System

     Note: Make sure you have assigned Super Administrator role to user

After following five steps you will be ready to start actual upgrade work on SAP solution manager 7.1. Once you have done all activities follow my next document to run upgrade.

Feel free to post comments and suggestions

Thank you for reading

Yogesh

Solution Manager 7.2 - Upgrade - I - Technical Checks and Preparations

Solution Manager 7.2 - Upgrade - II - Actual Upgrade Process

Solution Manager 7.2 - Upgrade - III - Dual Stack Split

Solution Manager 7.2 - Upgrade - IV - Correction After Dual Stack Split

Solution Manager 7.2 - Upgrade - V - SolMan Support Pack Stack 01 Correction

Recap of Part 6

In Part 6 of this document series, we were introduced to the idea of API Policies.

An API Policy is a container for some specific unit of functionality such as a Quota Check, or a Spike Arrest (prevents a Denial of Service attack) or some script containing custom written JavaScript or Python.  However, to be of any effect, these policies must be assigned to different processing stages in the request/response cycle.

The Agigee Edge software that powers SAP API Management divides the request/response cycle into two main segments, the Proxy Endpoint segment and the Target Endpoint Segment.  Then within each of these segments, there is the same set of two (and optionally three) processing stages.

Once you have created an instance of an API Policy and placed within it the details of your own functionality, that policy instance must then be assigned to a specific processing stage of a specific segment.

What we will look at here is how the entire request/response cycle is divided up, first into segments, then within each segment, into processing stages.

Overview of API Policy Flow Routing

The easiest way to understand the processing stages into which the request/Response cycle is divided, is by means of the diagram below.  As we move through this explanation, more and more detail will be added to the diagram; but to start with, we will simply take a high-level overview.

The incoming request originates with the client on the left hand side of the diagram.  It then follows the green arrow in a clockwise path across the top of the diagram, eventually arriving at the backend system.  The response generated by the backend system then follows the grey arrow, still moving in a clockwise direction and is passed back to the client.

During this cycle, the incoming request moves first through the processing segment called the "Proxy Endpoint", then on to the "Target Endpoint" segment.  On the way back, the outbound response moves through exactly the same processing segments, but in reverse order.

The first segment is called the Proxy Endpoint segment and it contains all the processing needed either for preparing or rejecting the incoming request.  Within this segment are at least two (often three) processing stages.

The first of these stages is called "Preflow".

Preflow is always the very first stage to be processed in any segment.  Any policies assigned to the Preflow stage are run unconditionally and are always run first.  This is where we perform the most fundamental checks on the incoming request - for instance, checking that the request contains an API Key.

If all the policies assigned to the Preflow stage run successfully (I.E. they find no reason to reject the request), then we move onto the next stage called Condition Flows.

It is possible for there to be multiple Condition Flow stages.  In fact, if you are consuming an OData service, then you will see that for every collection in the OData service, a specific Condition Flow stage has been generated.

On the inbound request side, the purpose of a Condition Flow stage it to associate a specific set of API Policies with a particular pattern in the URL.

So taking the case of an OData collection, when you perform a READ or GET operation against a collection, the URL contains first the OData service's base URL, followed by the name of the collection.  This forms a recognisable "signature" in the URL that identifies this request as being targetted to a specific collection.  The name of the collection can then be tested for in the condition string assigned to this Condition Flow.

Using the example of the BusinessPartnerSet collection in the GWSAMPLE_BASIC OData service, the Condition Flow for this OData collection has had the following condition string generated for it.  (This string has been indented and formatted for clarity.  The OData collection name is highlighted in red)

In other words if the above condition evaluates to true, then however many policies have been assigned to this processing stage will be executed.  Think of the condition string acting as a guard clause for a set of policies.  The policies will only be executed if the guard clause evaluates to true.

If the condition string attached to a Condition Flow evaluates to false, then the request processing continues on to the next Condition Flow.  If there are no subsequent Condition Flows, then we proceed to the third and final processing stage of the Proxy Endpoint segment.

If any policies are assigned to the Post Flow stage, then these are run as the last stage of processing in this segment, and are always run unconditionally.

At this point, all the processing stages of the Proxy Endpoint segment are complete and we must now decide whether or not to pass the request on to the backend system.  This is where the Route Rules come in.

The Route Rules are where must make the Go/No Go decision for routing the request to the backend system.

For instance, it is often the case that we do not want to send HTTP requests to the backend system that were made using the HTTP verb HEAD.  The HTTP verb HEAD behaves exactly like GET (in that it makes a request to the backend system for some data) except that in a HEAD request, only the HTTP headers are returned - there is no response body.  So as far as a business backend system is concerned, its usually a big waste of processing time to allow HEAD requests to hit the system.

Here's where we can filter out such requests.

The route rules are a simple set of conditions that are processed in strict sequential order.  If any route rule evaluates to false, then it is ignored and the next route rule is processed. The first matching rule wins and the rest are not processed.  Therefore, you should always place the most specific route rules first, and have the more generic one last.

If we make it through the route rules, then we can be certain that we want this request to pass through to the backend system.

Now we come to the Target Endpoint Segment.  At this point in the request/response cycle we know that the incoming request is to be passed on to the backend system, so here we perform any processing needed to prepare the request for the specific requirements of the backend system - for instance, converting the request from a set of URL parameters into an XML SOAP request body.

Here we see the same set of processing stages as are present in the Proxy Endpoint segment.

The backend system now processes the request and generates a response.  This response is picked up by API Management and again we run through the same set of processing stages as we've seen before.

Since we are now dealing with an outbound response, it makes no sense to talk about Route Rules.  Route Rules apply only to the inbound request, not the outbound response.

Finally, the response passes from the Target Endpoint segment to the Proxy Endpoint segment, and the same set of three processing stages are performed.

As you can see, the possibility exists for you to implement some very comprehensive processing within an API Proxy.

In the next document, we will look at the specific details of the individual API Policies and how they can be assigned to different processing stages in order to implement the desired functionality.

Chris W

This list is maintained and updated by the community team. If you want to raise our attention to a bug that isn't listed below, please create a discussion. Once your bug is confirmed, it will be added to this list so you can follow-up on its status.

For the list of bugs that were already fixed please click here

[Click on the relevant category to see related bugs.]

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Events and Replays

SAP TechEd Upcoming Events

Las Vegas September 19–23, 2016

Bangalore, October 5–7, 2016

Barcelona, November 8–10, 2016

SAPPHIRE Now and ASUG Annual Conference
View Replays

News from Digital Business Services

Video Focused Solutions for SAP Solution Manager

Revised SAP Standards in SAP Support Portal: E2E Support Standards

SAP's Prolonged Commitments: SAP Maintenance 2025

Follow SAP Digital Business Services @SAPServices

Follow SAP Product Support @SAPSupportHelp.

_______________________________________________________________

Blogs and Documents

Expert Insights on the Future of Support in an Era of Cloud and the Internet of Things

Read this blog by Fred Isbell, select a very informative webcast and join our expert panelists as they discuss the role of support in the digital economy and the opportunities and implications to consider. June, 2016

New Webinar Series: Learn How to Implement SAP SuccessFactors Integration Scenarios

The latest blog by Gerd Stumm about a new series of webinars offered by the SAP Enterprise Support Academy. June, 2016

Get Faster Answers to Your Support Questions with Chat

The Chat program is built right into the incident form for your convenience. Learn more in this blog by Jamie Cantrell and go for it. June, 2016

Business process variants and change impact analysis with BPCA, Part 1, Part 2

In two new blogs Ewa Goslawska-Goedecke again provides valuable information. June, 2016

Recap the SAP Digital Business Services Campus Experience at SAPPHIRE NOW 2016

Collection of SAP Digital Business Services Blogs & Videos for SAPPHIRE NOW 2016

Enjoy these 2 postings by Benjamin Wilk about 3 busy but very successful days. June, 2016

Recently Featured Content

Events and Replays

SAP TechEd Upcoming Events

Las Vegas September 19–23, 2016

Bangalore, October 5–7, 2016

Barcelona, November 8–10, 2016

SAPPHIRE Now and ASUG Annual Conference
View Replays

SAP Solution Manager - Latest Information

Video Focused Solutions for SAP Solution Manager

Video Transition to SAP S/4HANA with the help of SAP Solution Manager 7.2

Deep Dive Session SAP Solution Manager 7.2 is perfect for SAP S/4HANA (Matthias Melich)

Deep Dive Session How to best prepare for SAP Solution Manager 7.2 today! (Matthias Melich)

Early Knowledge Transfer - EKT SAP Solution Manager 7.2 Learning Maps

Application Help SAP Solution Manager 7.2

News from Digital Business Services

Renewed Quick Sizer release for SAP Solution Manager 7.1 is productive: Quick Sizer

Newly-created Service: SAP Solution Manager Delivery Partner InfoHub

_______________________________________________________________

Blogs and Documents

Cross Database Comparison now supports OData as a source

The blog by Royce Pinto explains how to check consistency between your onPremise and cloud systems and also between two cloud systems. Try it out and let us know what you think! June, 2016

Focused Insights: How to build an OCC Dashboard (Part 1)  (Part 2)   (Part 3)   (Part 4)

Operation Control Center Dashboard of SAP Focused Insights provides a direct access to key metrics stored inside SAP Solution Manager. Learn more in this new blog series by Cyril MACHETTI. June, 2016

SAP Solution Manager 7.2: Simplified Upgrade and Migration to SAP HANA

In his blog Stefan Mueller introduces a new, simplified upgrade and migration procedure for customers upgrading from SAP Solution Manager 7.1 to SAP Solution Manager 7.2.  May, 2016

Solution Manager 7.2 - Installation and Configuration - I - Installations

Yüksel Akçinar created an informative blog series complemented by Part II, Part III, Part IV and Part V. May, 2016

Big News About SAP Solution Manager: Announcing Focused Solutions

Standard software tailored to you and available for purchase on SAPStore.com. The idea is to be simple, lightweight, user-based, and affordable. Read the full high-level story in this blog by Marc Oliver Schaefer. April, 2016

Recently Featured Content

New documentation Published for UI Add-On, SAP_UI and SAP Visual Business

The product documentation for the following releases is now available for User interface add-on 2.0 SPS04 for SAP NetWeaver, SAP_UI 750 SP04 and SAP Visual Business 2.1 SP12. Andreas Hirche, June 23, 2016

SAP Fiori Launchpad - Simplification of Target Mapping Configuration without LPD_CUST

With SAP UI Add-On 2.0 for SAP Netweaver navigation targets for the application types SAPUI5 Fiori apps, transactions, Web Dynpro applications and URLs can be defined completely within the SAP Fiori launchpad designerwithout using transaction LPD_CUST. Carola Steinmaier, June 9, 2016

Top 220 Apps Created from the SAP Fiori Develop Challenge – Now on SCN

More than 30,000 learners enrolled and thousands upon thousands submitted app prototypes, each including a story, persona, user experience journey, mock-up, app prototype, and sometimes more! Bob Caswell, June 2, 2016

UX for Optimal User Performance – Accessibility & Fiori

While user research and role-based design are essential to a good user experience, accessibility gives us a range of simple and effective ways we can lift user experience from good to great. Jocelyn Dart,April 26, 2016

Get Involved: Impact SAP’s Solution for UI Adaptation by Sharing Your Needs

Help us to understand how you’re currently dealing with UI adaptation. What do your processes look like? What challenges do you face? And how should it work for you ideally? Whether you’re a key user, a partner, or a rapid developer: share your views with us and be part of shaping Runtime Adaptation. Thomas Niederbuehl, December 10, 2015

Below document is based on the question I have seen in SCN regarding excluding incoming intercompany PO from MRP.

When we set the MRP Dep. Requirement as 1 in MRP 4 view,  it will not consider that particulardependentItem in MRP and will not propose any requirement for that item.

Suppose if we have enough stock of any particular Item in BOM of any finished product and we don’t want that item to be planned in MRP we can exclude it by using below settings.

The above case is one where we can use this setting, but I found this setting useful in below mentioned case also, where we can exclude any particular incoming demand, especially in an MTS scenario .

Let say we have Make to Stock intercompany scenario with same company code and two different plants, where one is manufacturing and the other is the trading plant. Where we manufacture the product in one plant and sell it to another plant within same company code.

In this case, we need to create STO from receiving a plant to supplying plant, i.e. from trading to the manufacturing plant.

For Example :  Material Number: 5009, Planning strategy used 10 (MTS).

Plants  : Manufacturing Plant - 1000 and Trading Plant is 1100.

In this case we are manufacturing 5009 finished product in 1000 and supplying it to 1100 against STO or sales order raised.

PIR created for production using MD61 in 1000 plant

MD04 View for the above requirement.

Once we run the planning it will create planned order for the above requirements

Now let say we have requirement order from 1100 plant,

Below screen shot shows the planned order created for incoming order 4500001266.

But , as in this case, we don’t want MRP to consider this incoming order (should be excluded during MRP run).

In MRP 4 Set option 1 in  MRP dep. requirement field for planning plant in 1000.

Now if we run the MRP for the same the material , we can see in below screenshot the requirement which is generated earlier is not there. Which has been excluded from MRP.

Thanks,

Vishal

Performance has always been a key aspect of any kind of application. As we are moving towards complex application stack, involving multiple technologies, performance analysis has become inevitable and rather a mainstream topic. Every good technology comes with its own mechanism to capture the performance statistics and the ability to run some kind of analysis on top of it.

SAP Gateway is no exception and it offers Performance Trace tools (transaction /IWBEP/TRACES and /IWFND/TRACES), which enables developers, administrators, support consultants and end users to monitor system performance at service call level. This is great.

We have an amazing blog by Carlos Rogganhttp://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-70335, which explains the performance statistics for SAP Gateway.

Today, applications comprise of multiple layers. These layers interact with each other to achieve a common goal. For example behind a simple looking application there may exist a validation layer, an authorization layer, a data access layer, a third party interaction layer and any more. In the orchestration of multiple layers, performance factor becomes very important, so becomes the “tracing”.

Today in this blog, I shall speak about a little known API of SAP Gateway that helps to enable performance trace. From SAP Gateway 2.0 SP9 onwards, SAP Gateway offers API defined in class /IWBEP/CL_DIAGNOSTICS_FACADE to enable a data provider to measure the performance when calling external or internal components during the request processing in the same way as the gateway framework.

Refer to Performance Trace - SAP NetWeaver Gateway - SAP Library for details.

This blog talks about this API and its use through a simple example.

Scenario

In this scenario, I have an OData service, which is used to create a Business Partner. Internally the service will perform authorization check, validation of data, creation of Business Partner and creation of partner account in Salesforce using a wrapper class.

Gateway Project

The following project is created keeping the above scenario in mind. Internally within Data Provider class,  I am calling function module SEPM_GWS_BP_CREATE to create the BusinessPartner.

Here is the Model Definition in SEGW

Backend Classes

To keep the DPC logic clutter free and modularised, I have created a class ZCL_BP_WRAPPER that has all the methods required in the scenario. This class has a public static method BUSINESS_PARTNER_CREATE, which is called by the CREATE_ENTITY method of the Data Provider Class.

Method BUSINESS_PARTNER_CREATE internally calls other private methods from the same class.This picture shows the list of methods in the class.

Execution

Now we want to analyze the performance of Business Partner creation process.

First, we enable the trace in transaction /IWBEP/TRACES by selecting Performance Trace checkbox.

Then we fire the call to create a Business Partner from Gateway Client (transaction /IWFND/GW_CLIENT).

Next, to see the trace, we go back to transaction /IWBEP/TRACES and select the Performance Tab.

Then double click on the first line to drill down to more details.

Now this is what we are looking for. Gateway framework traces the backend calls. Line no 15 is something which is interesting for us. From line no 15, we can derive the following critical information.

• This is the trace of the CREATE_ENTITY method of DPC
• It is 3^rd level in the call stack
• It is not making any additional Sub calls ( at least at this moment )
• This method takes 9104 milliseconds which is pretty high.

So far so good except the Duration and Net time. 9104 milliseconds seems to be an expensive figure in terms of performance. We would like to analyze it further, but the Question is HOW ?

Analyzing the Issue

The screenshot from /IWBEP/TRACES is something to think back

In my project, I am using methods of class ZCL_BP_WRAPPER to do my work beyond DPC. The following picture shows the flow diagram beyond the CREATE_ENTITY method of Data Provider Class.

                                                                 [Control Flow]

Here, I would like to capture the performance trace at every individual method level, which is beyond the obvious CREATE_ENTITY call.

SAP Gateway framework does not capture trace beyond DPC calls by default, so everything is aggregated at CREATE_ENTITY level without pointing to the actual time consuming method.

Performance Trace API comes handy in this case and helps us to address this issue.

Performance Trace API for Applications

Class /iwbep/cl_diagnostics_facadeoffers two useful methods for tracing 

performance_start: This method needs to be called before every method or function module call that needs to be captured in the trace. This will initiate the trace related calculations.

This method returns a HANDLE which is nothing but an integer.

performance_stop : This method needs to be called for a methods/function module when the call is finished. This will complete the trace related calculations for the method/function under consideration.

Now I shall make use of these APIs for every method/function module call from method CREATE_ENTITY of DPC and all further calls beyond DPC.

The following snippet shows the coding in CREATE_ENTITY method. We are starting the performance start before calling ZCL_BP_WRAPPER=>BUSINESS_PARTNER_CREATE and stopping the trace after the call.

DATA lv_perf_handle TYPE i.
lv_perf_handle = /iwbep/cl_diagnostics_facade=>performance_start( iv_class_name  = 'ZCL_BP_WRAPPER'                                                                   iv_method_name = 'BUSINESS_PARTNER_CREATE' ).     zcl_bp_wrapper=>business_partner_create(      IMPORTING        et_return               = et_return      CHANGING        cs_businesspartner_data = cs_bp_header      ).   /iwbep/cl_diagnostics_facade=>performance_stop( lv_perf_handle ).

We shall do the same within ZCL_BP_WRAPPER=>BUSINESS_PARTNER_CREATE and further down the line.

Re-visiting Trace

Now we re-run the test from Gateway Client (transaction /IWFND/GW_CLIENT) and revisit the trace (transaction /IWBEP/TRACES). The latest trace looks like

The difference between the current trace and the previous trace is highlighted above. We can see Trace for individual methods and function module even beyond method CREATE_ENTITY of DPC.

Let’s revisit the flow diagram once again in the context of the new trace. The previous flow diagram can be interpreted as the below diagram. This shares the very same information with respect to Subcalls, Level, Class and Method columns of the captured trace.

Now if we focus on Line 17(from the current trace), we see method BP_VALIDATE takes 5000 milliseconds (Net time). Which is the maximum net time taken by any method / function in this flow.

Let’s look into the code of BP_VALIDATE.

We can see that there is a WAIT statement in the code. This line is the reason behind the performance bottleneck.

This is how you can trace the performance of your custom modules using the Gateway trace APIs.

<- back to the table of contents

CAL FAQ - Specific Questions for Microsoft Azure

How to create a Microsoft Azure account?

As a prerequisite to create a Microsoft Azure account you must have a Microsoft account. To create a Microsoft Azure account, you have to navigate in your Web browser to this Microsoft Azure portal.

How to create a subscription in my Microsoft Azure account?

Login to your Microsoft Azure account using the credentials for your Microsoft account and then choose Add Subscription.

What is the difference between a Microsoft Azure account and a subscription?

A Microsoft Azure account determines how Microsoft Azure usage is reported and who the Account Administrator is. Each account contains as few as one or up to 50 subscriptions.

Subscriptions help you organize access to cloud service resources. They also help you control how resource usage is reported, billed, and paid for. Each subscription can have a different billing and payment setup, so you can have different subscriptions and different plans by department, project, regional office, and so on. Every cloud service belongs to a subscription, and the subscription ID may be required for programmatic operations.

Accounts and subscriptions are created at the Account Center. The person who creates the account is the Account Administrator for all subscriptions created in that account. That person is also the default Service Administrator for the subscription.

For more information, see the Microsoft Azure documentation.

How do I get the subscription ID of the subscription in my Microsoft Azure account?

1. Sing in to the Microsoft Azure Classic Management Portal.
2. In the navigation pane, choose Setting.
3. Select the Subscriptions tab. For your subscription, you can get the Subscription ID in the table:

How to upload the management certificate for my subscription in the Microsoft Azure account?

When you have a management certificate for your subscription, you have to upload it to your subscription in Microsoft Azure. Management certificates are public key certificates based on the X.509 standard. If the validation is successful, access is allowed. Management certificates may be used in addition to or instead of signing in with a Microsoft account or organizational account. Each management certificate is associated with a Microsoft Azure subscription, so the subscription name and ID are shown along with the certificate thumbprint. Certificates and certificate information can be exploited by malicious users. Use these files only when necessary and carefully safeguard the files and information.

1. Sing in to the Microsoft Azure Classic Management Portal.
2. In the navigation pane, choose Setting.
3. Select the Management Certificates tab.

4. Choose Upload and in the Upload a management certificate dialog box, browse to the certificate file. Then choose OK.

How to connect to a running instance in Microsoft Azure via the secure shell protocol (SSH)?

You can use the following procedure to connect to the running instance in AWS:

1. You have to use your private key generated in the last step of Create Instance wizard from SAP Cloud Appliance Library.

   Note that the system does not keep the private key. If you do not save it locally, you lose the data and cannot access your solution instance.

2. You can choose how to connect to your instance with:

• SSH client for Linux operating systems
• PuTTY client or mobaxterm for Windows operating systems. Mobaxterm provides a native SSH shell on Windows operating system.

          If you use the PuTTY client to connect to your instance, you have to download and install the following PuTTY executable files:

• PuTTY client: putty.exe
• PuTTY key generator: puttygen.exe

          Use the following steps to generate the private key from PuTTYgen:

1. Log into your Windows operating system.
2. Run the putty.exe client file.
3. From the Category tree in the PuTTY Configuration dialog box, navigate to Connection -> SSH.
4. Choose Auth and then choose Browse... to select the generated PuTTY private key from your local computer (see step 3).
5. Choose Open.
6. In the Category tree, navigate to Session.
7. In the Host Name (or IP address) field, specify the IP address of your instance created in SAP Cloud Appliance Library.
8. Choose Open. When the log on prompt screen is displayed, enter root.

If you use the SSH client or mobaxterm, use the following steps to log into your instance:

1. Open a command shell or mobaxterm and enter the following string:

          ssh -i <PEM_file_name> root@<instance_IP_address>

      For example, ssh -i privatekey.pem root@10.79.247.67

          2. When the log on prompt screen is displayed, enter root.

How to access to backend servers on the Operating System (OS) level?

Depending on the overall requirements your solution may consist of one or more servers running either on a Linux OS and/or on a Windows OS.

Access to Linux OS on Backend

If you need OS access, you can use SSH connectivity:

Access to Windows OS on Backend

If you need OS access, you can use RDP connectivity:

• Microsoft Windows: Start the Remote Desktop Connection using the Start Menu (All Programs > Accessories) or executing mstsc.exe.
• Apple Mac OS XUse the free Microsoft Remote Desktop app available in the Mac App Store to connect to your frontend.
• Linux: Use your preferred RDP client.

This document proposes a framework for adding an Apache web server to your deployment of SAP BI Platform 4.0.  By using Apache in conjunction with the WDeploy web application deployment tool, significant performance improvements become possible.  These modifications reduce the server footprint of the web applications, and speed delivery of web content to client browsers.

View Document

Story

1. General Introdction
First, as a common representative of the target user group for my Fiori Application I like to

introduce to you John Mustermann. He is 42 years old and married. His main responsibility is to advise farmers and he work as a State advisor for farmers.

2. Initial Situation
John takes phone calls from farmers which having various problems with plants. Because the symptoms they told Johnhe is looking out for a solution.

3. Problem
When John looking for a solution of a problem from a farmer, he have to go in apps for fitilizer, pesticide and general problems. After he found the correct solutions for the farmer he has to search for suitable products in the internet.

4. Solution

John need a app which list all problems, which activities will help and which prodcts are suitable to the activities.

Persona

User Experience

POV

John Mustermann, a state advisor for farmers needs a way to see the several apps in one view with the suitable production to work more effective.

SAP Fiori App

Willkommen zum Juni Update der SAP Learning Hub News. Das Jahr 2016 brachte bisher viele Innovationen im SAP Learning Hub, wie zum Beispiel das Prototyping für ein neues Layout der Lerninhalte und vieles mehr. Wir haben uns dazu verpflichtet, die Innovationen auch in der zweiten Hälfte des Jahres beizubehalten! Sie erfahren hier im Education Newsletter monatlich die Neuigkeiten rund um SAP Learning Hub.

Support Channel Update
Wir haben den technischen Support Channel für Kunden der private Cloud Version vereinfacht - und zwar für die professional, student und user edition von SAP Learning Hub. Es gibt für Sie zwei neue Mailadressen zur Unterstützung. Die Mailadresse: e-learning@sap.com ist ab sofort verfügbar für alle Named User der private Cloud Version! Administratoren können von jetzt an die Adresse learninghub.admin@sap.com für service requests nutzen, für das Anlegen von Nutzern, um eine Nutzerrolle zu ändern, für Reporting, das Zurücksetzen von Passwörtern für Administratoren, oder für alle anderen technischen Fragen, die ein Administrator in Bezug auf SAP Learning Hub hat.

Über 300 Kurse: SAP Live Access
Die Anzahl verfügbarer Kurse in der SAP Live Access Umgebung ist auf 300 gestiegen. Das heißt, es gibt mehr Möglichkeiten als je zuvor auf einem vollständig unterstützten Live-System praktische Übungen zu einem Thema Ihrer Wahl durchzuführen. Erhalten Sie hier alle weiteren Informationen zu SAP Live Access.

Community Video Kanäle jetzt live
Die Lernenden können ab sofort ihre eigenen Videoinhalte in die folgenden SAP Lernräume stellen:

• Digital Transformation Network
• Welcome Learning Room
• SAP Finance Learning Room
• SAP S/4HANA Overview Learning Room
• SAP S/4HANA Configuration and Implementation Learning Room
• SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central HCM Academy Learning Room
• Foundations of SAP SuccessFactors HCM Academy Learning Room

Erfahren Sie hier, wie Sie eigene Demos, Präsentationen oder Vlogs hinzufügen können.

Mehr als 75.000 Teilnehmer in den SAP Lernräumen
Die Anzahl der Teilnehmer in den SAP Lernräumen ist auf mehr als 75.000 gestiegen. Jedes neue Mitglied bedeutet auch eine neue Perspektive und eine einzigartige Quelle, die die Gemeinschaft des SAP Learning Hub Programms ergänzen. Wir bedanken uns für Ihre Teilnahme, wir alle lernen am besten zusammen. Sollten Sie bisher noch keinem Lernraum beigetreten sein, schauen Sie im Welcome Learning Room vorbei, um mit diesem zu starten und um herauszufinden, worum es in diesen sozialen Lerngemeinschaften geht. Sie können außerdem in unserem content catalog eine komplette Auflistung aller SAP® Lernräume finden. Alles was Sie tun müssen, ist nach dem “Delivery Type” zu filtern und “Learning Room” auszuwählen.

Sehen Sie alle SAP Learning Hub News auf einen Blick oder registrieren Sie sich ganz einfach hier für unseren SAP Learning Hub Newsletter um nie wieder etwas zu verpassen!

Unser Schulungsangebot wird regelmäßig aktualisiert und erweitert. Sämtliche aktuellen Informationen über unser komplettes Schulungsangebot (Inhalte, Termine, Preise usw.) finden Sie stets aktuell im Online Trainingskatalog und unter den nachfolgenden Links:

From an input  xml , PI can generate Microsoft Excel using below 3 approaches:

1. 1) Java Mapping
2. 2) XSLT Mapping
3. 3) Adapter module.

Already there are few articles in SCN  which explain using xslt mapping and adapter module.Through this blog I would I like to show how to generate an Excel using java mapping.Its upto one individual to use any of the above approach in which they are comfortable.

I prefer Java Mapping over Adapter module in SAP PI/PO as it is easy to debug the code incase of any issue using trace at the mapping level and also its very easy to deploy a java map using jar or zip file compare to deployment of  entire EAR file onto a  SAP enterprise server.

Pre-Requisites:

1. 1) Idea on Java mapping using DOM.
2. 2) NWDS studio.
3. 3) SAP PI/PO  Java Mapping  Jar file(RMcom.sap.xpi.ib.mapping.lib.zip)

Input  file structure will be as below:

Output  excel file structure will be as below:

Java Map:

package IRIS_JTI_PMI;

importjava.io.BufferedInputStream;

importjava.io.ByteArrayOutputStream;

importjava.io.File;

importjava.io.IOException;

importjava.io.InputStream;

import javax.xml.parsers.DocumentBuilder;

import javax.xml.parsers.DocumentBuilderFactory;

import org.w3c.dom.Document;

import org.w3c.dom.Element;

import org.w3c.dom.NodeList;

import com.sap.aii.mapping.api.AbstractTrace;

import com.sap.aii.mapping.api.AbstractTransformation;

import com.sap.aii.mapping.api.StreamTransformationException;

import com.sap.aii.mapping.api.TransformationInput;

import com.sap.aii.mapping.api.TransformationOutput;

publicclass AddExcelNamespace extends AbstractTransformation{

       String endResult;

       privatestatic AbstractTrace trace =  null;

        publicvoid transform(TransformationInput arg0, TransformationOutput out)

throws StreamTransformationException

{

               try {

                      trace = this.getTrace();

                      String Header;

                           String Trailer;

                           String itemEndResult="";

                           String tempCountString="";

                           Header ="<?xml version=\"1.0\"?>"+

                           "<?mso-application progid=\"Excel.Sheet\"?>"+

                           "<Workbook xmlns=\"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:spreadsheet\" "+

                           " xmlns:o=\"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office\" "+

                           " xmlns:x=\"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:excel\" "+

                           " xmlns:ss=\"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:spreadsheet\" "+

                           " xmlns:html=\"http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40\">"+

                           "<DocumentProperties xmlns=\"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office\">"+

                           "<Author>NEC</Author>"+

                           "</DocumentProperties>"+

                            "<ExcelWorkbook xmlns=\"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:excel\">"+

                           "<ProtectStructure>False</ProtectStructure>"+

                           "<ProtectWindows>False</ProtectWindows>"+

                           "</ExcelWorkbook>"+

                           "<Styles>"+

                           "<Style ss:ID=\"Default\" ss:Name=\"Normal\">"+

                           "<Alignment ss:Vertical=\"Bottom\"/>"+

                           "<Borders/>"+

                           "<Font/>"+

                           "<Interior/>"+

                           "<NumberFormat/>"+

                           "<Protection/>"+

                           "</Style>"+

                           "<Style ss:ID=\"1\">"+

                           "<Font ss:Bold=\"1\"/>"+

                           "</Style>"+

                           "</Styles>"+

                           "<Worksheet ss:Name=\"Sheet1\">"+

                           "<Table>"+

                           "<Row ss:StyleID=\"1\">"+

                           "<Cell><Data ss:Type=\"String\">SNO</Data></Cell>"+

                           "<Cell><Data ss:Type=\"String\">DELV_DATE</Data></Cell>"+

                           "<Cell><Data ss:Type=\"String\">DELV_NO</Data></Cell>"+

                           "<Cell><Data ss:Type=\"String\">STORE_CD</Data></Cell>"+

                           "<Cell><Data ss:Type=\"String\">ITEM_CD</Data></Cell>"+

                           "<Cell><Data ss:Type=\"String\">ITEM_LONG_NAME</Data></Cell>"+

                           "<Cell><Data ss:Type=\"String\">BARCODE_NO</Data></Cell>"+

                           "<Cell><Data ss:Type=\"String\">ORD_SLIP_NO</Data></Cell>"+

                           "<Cell><Data ss:Type=\"String\">PSA_CD</Data></Cell>"+

                           "<Cell><Data ss:Type=\"String\">ORDER_QTY</Data></Cell>"+

                           "<Cell><Data ss:Type=\"String\">ITEM_UNIT_COST</Data></Cell>"+

                           "<Cell><Data ss:Type=\"String\">ITEM_UNIT_PRICE</Data></Cell>"+

                           "</Row>";

                           Trailer="</Table><AutoFilter x:Range=\"R1C1:R1C12\" xmlns = \"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:excel\" >"+

                                 "</AutoFilter></Worksheet></Workbook>";

                           //create a document builder factory new instance

       DocumentBuilderFactory dbf=DocumentBuilderFactory.newInstance();

                           //create document builder from document builder factory

       DocumentBuilder db=dbf.newDocumentBuilder();

                           //parse inputstream using document builder

Document doc=db.parse(arg0.getInputPayload().getInputStream());

    NodeList OrdersList= doc.getElementsByTagName("Orders");

                           StringBuffer itemResult=new StringBuffer();

for(int k=0;k<OrdersList.getLength();k++){

NodeList ItemsList= ((Element)OrdersList.item(k)).getElementsByTagName("Item");

for(int j=0;j<ItemsList.getLength();j++){

String SNO=((Element)(ItemsList.item(j))).getElementsByTagName("SNO").item(0).getFirstChild().getTextContent();

                                         String DELV_DATE=((Element)(ItemsList.item(j))).getElementsByTagName("DELV_DATE").item(0).getFirstChild().getTextContent();

                                         String DELV_NO=((Element)(ItemsList.item(j))).getElementsByTagName("DELV_NO").item(0).getFirstChild().getTextContent();

                                         String STORE_CD=((Element)(ItemsList.item(j))).getElementsByTagName("STORE_CD").item(0).getFirstChild().getTextContent();

                                         String ITEM_CD=((Element)(ItemsList.item(j))).getElementsByTagName("ITEM_CD").item(0).getFirstChild().getTextContent();

                                         String ITEM_LONG_NAME=((Element)(ItemsList.item(j))).getElementsByTagName("ITEM_LONG_NAME").item(0).getFirstChild().getTextContent();

                                         String BARCODE_NO=((Element)(ItemsList.item(j))).getElementsByTagName("BARCODE_NO").item(0).getFirstChild().getTextContent();

                                         if(((Element)(ItemsList.item(j))).getElementsByTagName("BARCODE_NO").item(0).getFirstChild()==null){

                                                BARCODE_NO="0";

                                         }else{

                                                BARCODE_NO=((Element)(ItemsList.item(j))).getElementsByTagName("BARCODE_NO").item(0).getFirstChild().getTextContent();

                                         }

                                         String ORD_SLIP_NO=((Element)(ItemsList.item(j))).getElementsByTagName("ORD_SLIP_NO").item(0).getFirstChild().getTextContent();

                                         String PSA_CD=((Element)(ItemsList.item(j))).getElementsByTagName("PSA_CD").item(0).getFirstChild().getTextContent();

                                         String ORD_QTY=((Element)(ItemsList.item(j))).getElementsByTagName("ORD_QTY").item(0).getFirstChild().getTextContent();

                                         String ITEM_UNIT_COST=((Element)(ItemsList.item(j))).getElementsByTagName("ITEM_UNIT_COST").item(0).getFirstChild().getTextContent();

                                         String ITEM_UNIT_PRICE=((Element)(ItemsList.item(j))).getElementsByTagName("ITEM_UNIT_PRICE").item(0).getFirstChild().getTextContent();

                                         //String TOTAL_COST_GST=((Element)(ItemsList.item(j))).getElementsByTagName("TOTAL_COST_GST").item(0).getFirstChild().getTextContent();

                                         String temp="<Row>"+

                                         "<Cell><Data ss:Type=\"String\">"+SNO+"</Data></Cell>"+

                                         "<Cell><Data ss:Type=\"String\">"+DELV_DATE+"</Data></Cell>"+

                                         "<Cell><Data ss:Type=\"String\">"+DELV_NO+"</Data></Cell>"+

                                         "<Cell><Data ss:Type=\"String\">"+STORE_CD+"</Data></Cell>"+

                                         "<Cell><Data ss:Type=\"String\">"+ITEM_CD+"</Data></Cell>"+

                                         "<Cell><Data ss:Type=\"String\">"+ITEM_LONG_NAME+"</Data></Cell>"+

                                         "<Cell><Data ss:Type=\"String\">"+BARCODE_NO+"</Data></Cell>"+

                                         "<Cell><Data ss:Type=\"String\">"+ORD_SLIP_NO+"</Data></Cell>"+

                                         "<Cell><Data ss:Type=\"String\">"+PSA_CD+"</Data></Cell>"+

                                         "<Cell><Data ss:Type=\"Number\">"+ORD_QTY.trim()+"</Data></Cell>"+

                                         "<Cell><Data ss:Type=\"Number\">"+ITEM_UNIT_COST.trim()+"</Data></Cell>"+

                                         "<Cell><Data ss:Type=\"Number\">"+ITEM_UNIT_PRICE.trim()+"</Data></Cell>"+

                                         "</Row>";

                                         itemResult.append(temp);

                                  }

                                  itemEndResult=itemResult.toString();

                                  String countString=doc.getElementsByTagName("Count").item(0).getFirstChild().getTextContent();

                                  tempCountString="<Row></Row><Row><Cell><Data ss:Type=\"String\">"+countString+"</Data></Cell></Row>";

                           }

                           endResult=Header+itemEndResult+tempCountString+Trailer;

                           trace.addInfo(endResult);

                           out.getOutputPayload().getOutputStream().write((endResult.getBytes()));

              } catch (Exception e) {

                     // TODO Auto-generated catch block

                     e.printStackTrace();

              }

}

}

Updates in SAP Enterprise Support Value Maps

Matthias provides the latest news around SAP Enterprise Support Value Maps.Jun 2016

Simplicity and the Digital Core

Learn from Michael how to deliver unimaginable digital innovation with the help of SAP S/4HANA service packages.Apr 2016

 

 

Live Business - It's Here & It's Accelerating

Get informed in this blog post from Oliver how you as a customer can support the live business.Jun 2016

SAP HANA Cloud Platform, integration service (SAP HCI) supports end-to-end process integration across cloud-based and on-premise applications (cloud-cloud and cloud-on-premise integration). It provides a set of adapters to meet connectivity needs. For example, the SOAP adapter allows you to exchange SOAP messages through SAP HCI, or the sftp adapter supports the exchange of files with servers. These adapters can be configured in integration flows to enable connectivity between sender and receiver systems.

You develop new SAP HCI adapter types to extend the connectivity with remote systems and services. To further enhance the connectivity options of SAP HCI, you can develop new adapters tailored along specific requirements. Once the adapter development process has been finished, you can open the configuration user interface for the new adapter type in the integration flow editor of Integration Designer.

To develop new adapters, you use Apache Camel. You specify the detailed set of adapter attributes as component metadata.

Please find more details here:

http://help.sap.com/cloudintegration  -> SAP HANA Cloud Integration for process integration -> Developing Adapters

Programming details:

• https://proddps.hana.ondemand.com/dps/d/preview/93810d568bee49c6b3d7b5065a30b0ff/2015.07_CORR/en-US/frameset.html?5638d4a57a7a45e8aac90b95cc3f8521.html
• https://cp.hana.ondemand.com/dps/d/preview/java9f7e0f1e48ef9cb24533ae257970/1.0/en-US/index.html

To ensure a standardized and harmonized development process for the implementation of adapter objects, SAP has initiated a certification program for HCI adapters from ISVs.

Getting Started

The SAP Integration and Certification Center (SAP ICC) highly recommends that ISVs and partners, who are interested in certifying an integration of their product with SAP solutions, begin with our page Getting Started with Integration and Certification that explains the SAP ICC services and describes the process how to obtain them. This page helps you select the correct integration scenario and contains technical information, streaming media presentations, step-by-step guides, and much more.

Technical Documentation

SAP HANA Cloud Platform, integration service

Please check the official SAP help pages for details on SAP HCI for process integration and how to manage and build HCI Adapters.

Test System Recommendation from SAP ICC

HCI Developer Edition:
Make use of this edition to get access to SAP HCI and implement your HCI adapter. The HCI Developer Edition is offered through the SAP PartnerEdge for Application Development program.

SAP RAC Service:
The quickest way to gain access to SAP backend application systems like ERP or CRM, suitable for integration testing, is via the SAP Remote Access and Connectivity Service (SAP RAC), which provides access to shared and exclusive-use hosted systems.

Price List

1. 5.000 Euro Per Certification (Euro currency applicable to all countries).

Promotion fee until December 31, 2016: 3.000 Euro Per Certification!

To understand all services and benefits included in this fee, please refer to the Getting Started Page.

Benefits of Certification

Customers using SAP-certified solutions in their SAP environment, as well as the ISVs and partners offering these, experience great benefits such as shorter implementation times, technical enablement, and marketing assets that certification provides.
Please visit the Certification Benefits overview page for more information.

• After successful certification testing the ISV solution can be advertised with the following logo:

• Certified HCI adapters are listed in the SAP Integration Content Catalog.

Related Content

Important Links:

Apply for ICC Services right away - please fill in the SAP ICC online application form
SAP Application Developer Partner directory: The certified solution is listed in our SAP Application Developer Directory.
Back to ICC Homepage

It is a very common requirement in SAP IP or BPC 10.1 Embedded or IBP project that data entry protection is required based on business requirement. The standard selection type data slice is not at all helpful to fulfill the business requirement. This article will describe how we can create an exit type data slice on the top of planning cube.

We have SAP BW / IP system and we also have SAP BPC 10.1 Embedded version running as EPM tool. In our example, key user will lock the planning data from BPC interface. Once user locks the data, no one can input / edit the locked data in planning cube. The documents will helpful who is using BPC 10.1 Embedded version as EPM tool and he is also using BW HANA PAK. The BW reporting tool is Analysis Office.

System Architecture:

Planning sequence created on top of aggregation level. User interface run the planning sequence via analysis office. Needless to show the below activity, I am assume user can create the same.

Ø  Create a Planning Cube.

Ø  Create an Aggregation Level

Ø  Create Filter, planning Function and Planning Sequence.

Ø  Attached the planning sequence in Analysis office.

BPC can have process template and process template is attached with same as analysis office template which we created in planning application. Once the BPC process template instantiated we can find the work status information as we have created work status during creation of BPC process template. Needless to show the below activity, I am assume user can create the same.

Ø  Create a BPC Process Template from BPC interface.

Ø  Add the Analysis Office Planning Workbook from process Template.

Ø  Instance the BPC process template.

Ø  From BPC My activities user can lock/unlock work status.

Once key user lock the work status via BPC interface then it will store the data in BPC Planning Cube. This is not the same cube where Analysis office planning application created. When Analysis office template run then data slice will check the BPC work status information and the data slice will allow / protect the data for planning via analysis office.

Example:

In our planning Cube, we have Comp Code, Planning Year, Planning Version and Planning Submission besides other info objects. Business requirement is combination of Comp Code, Planning Year, Planning Version and Planning Submission information will be locked by key user or super user. The work status information will be stored in BPC Cube. When planning function will run it will check runtime whether the BPC work status for Comp Code, Planning Year, Planning Version and Planning Submission information is locked or not.

Ø  A Planning Sequence created on the top of planning Cube in BW side which will load the plan data. This Planning Sequence will attach in Analysis Office template.

Ø  An Exit type Data Slice created on the top of planning cube which will check runtime BPC work status information. Then it will decide whether the data will be posted in Planning Cube or not.

Ø  BPC Process Template creation needs to be done. This template contains the Analysis Office Template.

Ø  Lock the work Status from BPC and run the Analysis Office Template.

This will show an error message based on error message selected in data slice exit.

Recap of Part 1

In part 1 of this series, we looked at three things:

1. The origins of why an API Management solution is needed in the first place
2. How SAP has chosen to implement their solution
3. The 4 basic data object that act as the building blocks from which API is exposed to the outside world.

In this document, we will build on that knowledge and look in overview at the tools used to create and maintain these data    objects.

In order to help us keep track of where we are in the big scheme of things, I will use the diagram on the right as a roadmap, in which we will start at the bottom, and work our way up using first the API Portal for proxy development, then switch to the API Portal for proxy consumption.

Creating a System

At this point in the development process, we are acting as a Proxy Developer, therefore we must use the API Portal.

From the hamburger menu in the top left, select the Configure option.

In the bottom right corner, there is a Create menu. Click here to create your new System.

All we're doing here is creating a logical name by which a backend system can be identified within the API Management framework.

Another important point to understand here is that perhaps surprisingly, the creation of a System is not mandatory.

If you are wanting to access a backend system that exposes its functionality through OData services, this it is useful to create a System.

The creation of Systems is also useful for reusability. Once you have created a System, you can access any service from that backend system using nothing more than the System name created here, and the relative path to the particular service of interest.

When creating a system, you should supply three different blocks of information:

1. The connection information to the actual server. This includes the host name, port number and an optional path prefix.  For instance, if you are creating a System to represent an ABAP backend, then you will probably want to add the path prefix of "/sap/opu/odata" in order to restrict access to only the resources exposed from this path.
2. Authentication. If supplied, the hard coded userid and password will be used by the API Portal's design time tools when you come to consume services from this backend system.
3. Lastly, the Catalog URL (if supplied), will allow the API Management design-time tools to invoke the special CATALOGSERVICE OData service. This is a special OData service provided as standard with all ABAP systems, and its purpose is to list all the OData services exposed by this ABAP system. Within this service is an OData collection called ServiceCollection that lists all the available OData services.
   
   As was mentioned above, this configuration is optional; however, if you do not supply it, then when we arrive at the next step of creating an API Proxy that points to an OData service, the design time tools will not be able to query the backend system and present you will a list of available services.  In this case, you will need to know the full path name to the OData service yourself.

Creating an API Proxy

We now come to the part where all the work takes place. Creating API Proxies is the heart of API Management, and this is where you will spend the bulk of your time.

From the hamburger menu in the top left, select Manage.

A new API Proxy is created by clicking on the Create menu in the bottom right corner.

At this point, you have the option of either creating an API from scratch, or importing one.

Should you wish to import an API, you must first have exported the API from some other SAP API Management system. (An exported API consists of a ZIP file within which the various parts of the API have been dumped as XML files).

Assuming you want to create an API Proxy from scratch, you will need to provide all the initial details yourself.

Pointing to the Backend System

As was mentioned above, when you create an API Proxy, you can specify that you want to consume a service exposed by some backend system for which you have already created a System. The name of the System is then chosen from the drop-down list called "API Provider". However, this is not the only way of doing it. Alternatively, you can leave the API Provider entry set to NONE, and then enter the full URL to the service. This second approach is sometimes used if you wish to consume something like a public Web Service (SOAP).

Either way, using the information supplied in both the API Provider and URL fields, the tool for creating the API must be able to fully identify the required service.

Also note that if you select a System from the API Provider drop-down list, then a new button will appear to the right of the drop-down called "Discover".

Remember what was mentioned above about the Catalog URL? Well, here's where that configuration is used. If you supplied a Catalog URL when you created the System (or API Provider), then you will now be able to click on the Discover button and see a list of all the OData services available in that System.

Alternatively, if you did not supply a Catalog URL, then the Discover button will not do anything.

It's important to understand that this "Discover" feature is designed only to work against backend systems that provide a specific CatalogService OData service.

Naming the API Proxy

Once the URL of the backend service has been defined, you can now give the API proxy a name and a description.

The API Base Path field is important to understand. This field holds the URL used when the API Proxy is consumed by the external user.

This URL must be unique across all the API Proxies you create. That said, if you wish to create two different API Proxies that both point to the same backend service, then this is perfectly possible as long as you use two different values for the API Base Path.

The point at which we now find ourselves is that although we have created an API Proxy, this proxy is quite passive, providing no additional functionality when invoked. Nonetheless, we will stop here in the discussion of creating API Proxies for two reasons: the first being that this current document is just an overview of the available API Management tools, and the second being that the development of an API Proxy is large and detailed topic that must be discussed    individually.  Such as discussion will follow in due course.

Creating a Product

Now that we have an API Proxy (albeit one that adds no value), we can now add this Proxy to Product in order to expose it to the outside world.

As was said in the first document, the Product is the unit of API Exposure.  In other words, if you want your Proxy to be exposed to the outside world, you must first add it to this data object called a Product.  Although there are no hard and fast rules here, it is typical to create a Product that contains all the API Proxies related to one type of business task or process.

By selecting "Product" from the tab menu in the "Manage" screen, you can add or remove API Proxies from the Product.

Remember that a Product can contain many API Proxies, and that the same API Proxy can belong to many Products.

Since we have added the API Proxy to the Product, this API Proxy is now visible to the outside world. We have now finished all the tasks required of an API Proxy developer, and we must now change hats and look at these proxies from the perspective of a frontend app developer.

Discovering the Available API Proxies

Now that we have switched personas from an API Proxy Developer to a frontend app developer, we are no longer interested so much in the internal workings of the API Proxy, but rather being able to consume that proxy from within the larger scope of an external business application.

In addition to switching personas, we must also switch API Management tools.  Up till now, we have done all the work in the API Portal, but now we need to switch to the Dev Portal.  Return to the API Management service via your HCP account cockpit and select "SAP API Management Dev Portal".

You are now taken to a screen that looks similar to the API Portal, but here you have no ability to create or change API Proxies.

From the hamburger menu, select the Discover option and you will now see a list of all the available Products. By selecting a Product, you can see a list of all the API Proxies it contains, which in turn, takes you to a test tool for each service exposed by the API Proxy.

Consuming API Proxies

When you have found the Product or Products you want, select the Consume option from the hamburger menu. Now by clicking on the Create option in the bottom right of the screen, you can create your own Application.

Remember that the term "Application" is not being used in the normal sense of a unit of software with which a user interacts in order to perform some business task. Instead here, the term Application means the set of Products to which you have subscribed for the purposes of building some client application. So, in one sense the API Management term "Application" does potentially refer to the unit of business software more traditionally referred to as an application, but even if this is true, the reference is only indirect.

Once you have added as many products to your Application as you require and saved it, you will be given an Application Key. This is a randomly generated string that serves to uniquely identify your specific usage of the selected Products.

When you create an Application, you are creating a unit of API Subscription. This unit of subscription is then identified by its Application Key, and this very must typically be supplied each time a call to an API Proxy is made.

In the next document, we will take a look at creating the necessary HCP Destinations in order for you to be able to consume API Management Proxies using the SAP Web IDE.

Part 3 - Preparing HCP Destinations for use by SAP Web IDE

Chris W