Before installing, configuring, and using the adapter, you must understand its environment requirements. This section contains the following topics:
This adapter is compatible with the integration broker, InterChange Server Express.
In addition to a broker, this adapter requires one of the following operating systems:
Prior to installing the connector:
SAP delivers Support Packages for: Basis, the R/3 application, ABAP, and HR. They provide bug fixes for the ABAP code in the SAP application. Use an updated SAP kernel. The kernel is the executables, written in C++, that carry out transports, interface with the operating system, communicate with the database, and run the system.
For example, if the connector must perform certain SAP business transactions, the connector's account in the SAP application must have the permissions to perform these transactions. You must set the connector-specific configuration properties ApplicationUserName and ApplicationPassword using this account information. For more information on how to set these properties, see Configuring the connector and Appendix C. Connector-specific configuration properties.
After installing the connector:
SAP calls their Java API the Java Connector (SAP JCo). The SAP adapter currently supports SAPJCo V.2.1.3 and 2.1.4. If the SAPJCo version mentioned in this document is not available for download from SAP Service Marketplace, please contact your IBM representative.
SAP JCo pools connections and communicates to the adapter which connection to use to execute the request. All connection properties of the adapter are set in the Connector Configuration file. The JCo.PoolManager manages all configurations for connection pooling in the SAP application.
For details about installing this connector dependency, see Installing the SAP's Java Connector (SAPJCo)
For details about connector properties, see Configuring the connector, Appendix B. Standard configuration properties, andAppendix C. Connector-specific configuration properties.
The connector has been internationalized so that it can support multi-byte character sets for non-Unicode SAP systems. Note that the information in this section does not apply to Unicode-based SAP systems.
This adapter supports the processing of bidirectional script data for languages such as Arabic, Hebrew, Urdu, Farsi, and Yiddish. To use the bidirectional capacity, you must configure the bidirectional standard properties. For more information, you must configure the bidirectional standard properties. For more information, refer to the standard configuration properties for connectors in Appendix B. Standard configuration properties.
When the connector transfers data from a location that uses one character code set to a location that uses a different code set, it performs character conversion to preserve the meaning of the data.
The Java runtime environment within the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) represents data in the Unicode character code set. Unicode contains encodings for characters in most known character code sets (both single-byte and multibyte). Most components in the IBM WebSphere business integration system are written in Java. Therefore, when data is transferred between most IBM WebSphere business integration components, there is no need for character conversion.
Because this connector is written in Java, it does not need to convert application data (including data in an IDoc file) written in native encoding. The SAP JCo library converts such application data to Unicode before the connector processes it. Figure 1 illustrates the components involved in data conversion.
To log error and informational messages in the appropriate language and for the appropriate country or territory, configure the Locale standard configuration property for your environment. For more information on these properties, see Appendix B. Standard configuration properties.