Introduction
Recently we got a requirement from our client to handle EDI messages using third party solutions available in the market. While doing R & D I got this information and thought of sharing. As per my knowledge it is not advisable to go for third-party EDI solutions by considering its features, compatibility, highly availability, flexibility for the integration and monitoring.
I’m going to discuss some of the third-party EDI solutions available in the market and the common issues while using them in PI landscape. We should get the professional license to use them in SAP NW PI. Some of the third-party vendors taking care of the deployment,maintenance and support if you have the license.
To handle B2B/EDI messages SAP is providing B2B Add-on which contains rich set of generic EDI adapters, we should have separate license to access these features. Some of the third-party tools which provide EDI solutions and support to SAP NW PI are listed below.
Vendor | Solutions | Remarks |
AEDAPTIVe Solutions | EDI Adapter for SAP Net weaver | PI Adapters for EDIFACT,AS2 ,SFTP and PGP |
Axway | ACTIS Automotive Package | PI adapters and content with focus on automotive industry including OFTP support |
Corporate business solutions | cbs PI Industry Solution for EDIFACT | PI adapter and content covering AS2, EDIFACT and subsets |
itelligence (de/en) | it.x-change | PI adapters and content covering AS2, SFTP, FTAM, X.400, EDIFACT and subsets |
Resource Informatik | R-EDI Adapter | PI adapter module for generic EDI conversion including EDIFACT and subsets |
Adaptive Solutions
AS2 Adapter for Netweaver
AEDAPTIVe’s AS2 Adapter for SAP NetWeaver® offers secure and reliable EDIINT AS2 capabilities to exchange EDI, XML or any text message format of choice via the Internet is supported without the need of additional software. The AEDAPTIVe AS2 Adapter for SAP NetWeaver® is certified and “Powered by NetWeaver”.
Features
Support
SFTP Adapter for Netweaver
The AEDAPTIVe SFTP Adapter client for SAP NetWeaver© was originately designed and written for a few industry leaders in the Retail and High Tech industry, to enable SAP Exchange Infrastructure to exchange files securely with other internal applications, as regular FTP did not meet the companies security policies. The adapter is able to push files to other SFTP applications or pull files using a listener mechanism. For authentication, the adapter supports three methods, which should cover basically any common security measure.
Like any other AEDAPTIVe solution, the SFTP Adapter is built on the SAP NetWeaver Adapter Framework. This ensures customers native integration with NetWeaver and existing monitoring tools such as SAP Solution Manager and the underlying CCMS. The adapter can be used in transparent conjunction with other adapters already available in SAP NetWeaver.
SFTP Adapter Features
Feature | Support | Remarks |
SFTP version | Draft version 3 | AEDAPTIVe SFTP supports draft version 3, which is the most commonly implemented |
Supported data streams | SSH2 only | SFTP can be used over several data streams, notably SSH1 and SSH2. AEDAPTIVe SFTP only supports SSH2 which offers several security benefits over SSH1 |
Authentication Methods | PWD, Public Key and Host based | Supports Public Key authentication and Host Based authentication. The following SFTP servers have been tested with these authentication methods: OpenSSH and SSH Communications. |
Proxy | HTTP, SOCKS4, and SOCKS5 proxy authentication | SFTP Sender and Receiver can access SFTP servers via a proxy server; authentication on the proxy server with user name and password is also supported |
Archiving | Supported | Possibility to archive messages on the SFTP server or locally on the PI server |
Setting file permissions on new files | Supported | The SFTP Receiver adapter can set the UNIX file permissions after writing the file to the SFTP server |
SAP NW PI Features
Feature | Support | Remarks |
SAP NetWeaver PI version support | SAP NetWeaver 2004 (XI 3.0), SP 12 or higherSAP NetWeaver 2004s (PI 7.0), SP 8 or higher. SAP NetWeaver 7.3 | |
Adapter specific message attributes | Supported | SFTP Sender Adapter supports: File Name, Directory, File Type, Source File Size, Source File Timestamp, Source SFTP Host. SFTP Receiver Adapter supports: File Name, Directory. |
Control via runtime workbench | Supported | The SFTP Sender and Receiver Adapter can be manipulated via SAP NetWeaver RTW just as any standard SAP Adapter |
Type of Data Stream | Binary | SFTP draft version 3 is a binary only protocol. Inbound and outbound data can still be manipulated as text in SAP NetWeaver PI |
Scheduler | Supported for SFTP sender adapter | In the SFTP Sender Adapter a scheduler is available that allows the configuration of the polling interval and polling times. With this polling mechanism it is possible to restrict polling to specific week days and/or times. |
Variable Substitution | Supported | The SFTP Receiver Adapter support variable substitution options similar to those of the standard File Adapter |
AEDAPTIVe’s EDI Adapter
The AEDAPTIVe EDI Adapter for SAP NetWeaver® is certified and “Powered by NetWeaver”. From an integration perspective native integration with the NetWeaver Adapter Framework (JCA compliant) is guaranteed. Creating the opportunity to use existing monitoring and management applications such as CCMS and SAP Solution Manager® out of the box.
Features
AXWay
Axway Automotive Supply Chain Ready-to-Run Package
The Axway Ready-to-Run package provides pre-configured standard scenarios, processes, and dashboards for all typical business processes in the automotive industry. The package includes typical workflows from order to payment, with connectivity (OFTP, FTP, etc.), ERP extension (e.g. SAP), any-to-any transformation, and mappings based on automotive standards.
Known Issues
Conclusion
Considering all these aspects it is better to go for SAP B2B add-on for SAP NW PI / PO which contains rich set of B2B EDI adapters, converter modules and B2B infrastructure services.
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