Use the SAP Invoke BAPI activity
to call a Business Object Method (BAPI), that is remotely enabled
at the specified SAP Endpoint, during run time.
Adding a SAP Invoke BAPI activity in the orchestration
- Create or
open an orchestration. A graphical representation of the orchestration
is displayed.
- Select the Activities tab and expand the SAP folder.
- Drag the SAP Invoke BAPI activity onto
the orchestration.
- Select the activity. The Checklist is displayed.
Creating, selecting, or editing a SAP endpoint
- Click Pick Endpoint task from the Checklist and
select one of the following actions:
- Select an existing endpoint:
- Select Browse. The Project Explorer is
displayed.
- Select an existing endpoint and click OK.
Go to the Configuring the activity procedure.
- Select an existing endpoint and edit the endpoint:
- Select Browse. The Project Explorer is
displayed.
- Select an existing endpoint and click OK.
- Click Edit. The Edit Endpoint pane
is displayed.
- Create a new endpoint: Select New. The Create
Endpoint panel is displayed.
- Create or Edit a SAP endpoint.
Configuring the activity
- Select the Configure task from the Checklist.
The Configure panel is displayed.
- In the Object Name field click Browse....
The BAPI List dialog box is displayed.
- Search for a Business Object. Click a Business Object in the list
and enter the starting characters of the Business Object name.
- Expand the Business Object to view the associated BAPI methods.
- Select a Business Object and Method and click OK.
- Select one of the following Transaction Options:
- Do Nothing (Transaction handled by BAPI directly) -
During run time, the Integration Appliance calling the BAPI does no
transaction processing. If a transaction is associated with the BAPI,
the BAPI must completely handle the transaction
- Commit transaction after completion - During
run time, the Integration Appliance calls the BAPI and waits for a
return message from the SAP System. The return code of the message
returned from the SAP System determines if the Integration Appliance
sends another message requesting that the SAP System to commit or
rollback the transaction:
- If the return code passed back from the BAPI indicates success,
the Integration Appliance sends another message requesting that the
SAP System commit the transaction and immediately starts processing
the next activity in the orchestration.
- If the return code passed back from the BAPI indicates failure,
the Integration Appliance sends a rollback request to the SAP System
and immediately starts processing the next activity in the orchestration.
- Commit transaction and wait upon completion -
During run time, the Integration Appliance invokes the BAPI and waits
for a return message from the SAP System. The return code of the message
returned from the SAP System determines if the Integration Appliance
sends another message requesting that the SAP System to commit or
rollback the transaction:
- If the return code passed back from the BAPI indicates success,
the Integration Appliance sends another message requesting that the
SAP System commit the transaction. The orchestration waits until the
SAP System sends a second message indicating that the transaction
has been committed before processing the next activity in the orchestration.
- If the return code passed back from the BAPI indicates failure,
the Integration Appliance sends a rollback request to the SAP System.
The orchestration waits until the SAP System sends a second message
indicating that the rollback of the transaction has occurred before
processing the next activity in the orchestration.
Specifying the retry options
- Select the Retry task from the Checklist.
The Retry panel is displayed.
- Configure the retry options for connecting to an SAP System. The
following table describes the retry options for connecting to an SAP
System:
Retry options |
Description |
1) Wait ___ seconds between each retry. |
Specifies the number of seconds that the Integration Appliance
waits before trying to establish a connection to the SAP System. |
2) Try to connect ___ times before failing. |
Specifies the maximum number of times the Integration Appliance
attempts to establish a connection to the SAP System before issuing
an error and stopping the processing of the current orchestration
job. If you deploy an orchestration that contains an SAP
Invoke BAPI activity and the Integration Appliance cannot
connect to the specified SAP System, the Integration Appliance logs
the connections errors as warnings in the system and orchestration
logs until the retry count value is reached. When the retry count
is reached, the Integration Appliance logs an error in the system
and orchestration logs and the stops processing the current orchestration
job. For example, you set the retry count to 3. The first, second,
and third connection errors appear in the system log as warnings.
The Integration Appliance logs the fourth connection error as an error
and stops processing the current orchestration job. |
Mapping the inputs of the activity
- Select the Map Inputs task in the Checklist.
The XML Schemas generated from the input parameters of the BAPI are
displayed as nodes under the request input
parameter in the To Activity panel. In addition
if the BAPI contains tables, the XML Schemas representing the tables
of the BAPI , are displayed as nodes under the request input
parameter in the To Activity panel.
- Create a map between orchestration variables and the BAPI input
parameters and tables. See Creating a map for
general instructions on mapping.
Values must be provided at run
time for any mandatory elements of the BAPI input parameters or tables.
A value can be provided by specifying a default value for element
or by linking the element with input node. During run time if no value
is provided for a mandatory element, the activity throws an exception
during run time which is reported by the Web Management Console (WMC).
If a value is not provided at run time for an optional element of
the BAPI input parameters or tables, no exception is thrown during
run time.
Mapping the outputs of the activity
- Select the Map Outputs task in the Checklist.
The XML Schema generated from return types of the BAPI display as
nodes under the response output parameter in
the From Activity panel. In addition, if the
BAPI contains tables, the XML Schemas representing the tables are
displayed as nodes under the response node
in the From Activity.
- Create a map between the BAPI output parameters and tables and
orchestration variables. See Creating a map for
general instructions on mapping.
Note about deploying a SAP orchestration
Before
you can deploy an orchestration with SAP activities using the WMC,
the Integration Appliance must first be able to establish a connection
to the SAP System. If the Integration Appliance is unable to establish
the connection to the SAP System, the orchestration is not deployed.