OData Adapter and SFSF Adapter (extensions) for SAP Process Integration

[finny_babu]

Update: New blog on how to configure SFSF adapter with REST Protocol: HowTo: Configure Communication Channel with SFSF Adapter (with REST Message Protocol) for SAP Proces...

I am pleased to announce that today we released SP1 of the “SAP Process Integration, connectivity add-on 1.0”. This release of the add-on consists of

• a new "OData Adapter"
• and extensions to the existing "SFSF Adapter"

Overview

The OData adapter enables integration with OData service providers. It currently focuses on the consumption of OData services. It supports synchronous as well as asynchronous modes of operations. All OData operations are supported and you can choose the desired operation within the channel configuration itself.

The SFSF Adapter has been extended to support SuccessFactors Adhoc and OData API's along with several other features. Within the channel configuration, by switching the message protocol from SOAP to ODATA, you can communicate with the OData API's exposed by the SuccessFactors system.

For your reference, here are some example scenarios of OData API integration between SAP ERP HCM and SuccessFactors Employee Central using the SFSF Adapter:

1. Employee Central Employee Data Replication to ERP HCM Employee Replication                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         2. ERP HCM Employee Replication to Employee Central Employee Data Replication     

        3. ERP Employee Data Replication Confirmation to EC Employee Data Replication Confirmation

Capabilities of OData Adapter

1. OData Operations - The OData adapter provides Query, Read, Create, Update, Merge & Delete operations.
2. Authentication Methods - The adapter supports Basic Authentication (Username & Password) and Client Certificate based authentication.
3. HTTP Proxy Settings - The OData adapter supports the usage of HTTP proxies.
4. HTTPS Communication - OData adapter supports secure communication by using SSL certificates.
5. Using HTTP Destinations - The adapter supports use of HTTP destinations created in NetWeaver Administrator, within the channel configuration. This reduces the effort of manually entering HTTP connection details during channel configuration.
6. Pagination - The OData adapter handles server side pagination. It merges the response from the server in the form of multiple pages into one single payload. It also supports client side pagination using query parameters.
7. Integration with Channel Ping - The adapter is integrated with channel ping, which enables validation of channel configuration.

Capabilities of SFSF Adapter

1. OData API - The SFSF adapter can now be used to communicate with the SuccessFactors OData API's. The OData operations supported by the SFSF adapter are Query, Read, Create, Update, Merge & Delete.
2. Adhoc Entities - The adapter enables querying Adhoc entities from SuccessFactors system. You can also specify the maximum time the adapter should wait for the query results (timeout).
3. HTTP Proxy Settings - The adapter supports the usage of HTTP proxies.
4. HTTPS Communication - SFSF adapter supports secure communication using SSL certificates.
5. Using HTTP Destinations - The adapter supports use of HTTP destinations created in NetWeaver Administrator, within the channel configuration. This reduces the effort of manually entering HTTP connection details during channel configuration.
6. Optimized Message Processing - The adapter enables optimized message processing by packaging the SuccessFactors query results into less number of XI messages.
7. Integration with Channel Ping - The adapter is integrated with channel ping, which enables validation of channel configuration.
8. Integration with Alerting - The adapter is integrated with alerting and can raise alerts for these error situations; Inactive channel, Error during channel initialization, Authentication failure and Message processing failure.
9. Operate Sender Channel using Web Services - The adapter supports usage of web services for controlling the sender channel.

Compatibility Matrix

SAP NetWeaver Process Integration, connectivity add-on 1.0, SP1 is compatible with:

• SAP NW PI 711 >=SP12
• SAP NW PI 730 >=SP10
• SAP NW PI 731 >=SP09
• SAP NW PI 740 >=SP04

The connectivity add-on runs fully in the Java stack and supports all valid deployment options of SAP NetWeaver Process Integration (ABAP + Java, Java only). The add-on  is included in your SAP Process Integration license and you do not need any further license to use the adapters.

Documentation & Download Link

1. Help Documentation: http://help.sap.com/nw-connectivity-addon101/
2. FAQ's Note - 1964868
3. Software Download Link: Software Downloads | SAP Support Portal  > Support Packages and Patches  > Browse our Download Catalog > SAP NetWeaver and complementary products > SAP NW PI CONNECTIVITY ADDON > PI CONNECTIVITY ADDON 1.0

Additional Resources

1. For information on SP0 of the add-on, refer the blog: SuccessFactors (SFSF) Adapter for SAP NetWeaver Process Integration
2. HowTo: Configure Communication Channel with SFSF Adapter for SAP Process Integration (PI)
3. HowTo: Configure Communication Channel with SFSF Adapter (with REST Message Protocol) for SAP Proces...