Skip to content

SAP Connection

This page shows how to connect to SAP.
An SAP connection is required to use any Board Connector extraction type.

Warning

Missing Authorization.
To establish a connection to SAP, the access to general authority objects must be available. Adjust the SAP Authority Objects accordingly.

Supported Connection Methods

  • Connection to a single application server
  • Connection to a message server (Load Balancing)
  • Connect to a single application server or public or private cloud instance via RFC over WebSocket.

Note

For information on how to extract data from the SAP Public Cloud, see Knowledge Base Article: Access Data in the SAP Public Cloud.

Supported Authentication Methods

Connect to SAP

Follow the steps below to create a source that connects to SAP:

  1. In the main window of the Designer, navigate to the menu bar and select Server > Manage Sources. The window "Manage Sources" opens.
    Create-Connection
  2. Click [Add] to add a new SAP connection or click [ ] to edit an existing connection. The window "Change Source" opens.
    Create-Connection-2
  3. Enter a name for the SAP connection in the field Name.

  4. In the General tab, select a connection method and enter the system details of your SAP system.
    sap-source-general

    Tip

    Input values for the SAP connection can be found in the Properties of the SAP Logon Pad or they can be requested from the SAP Basis team.

  5. In the Authentication tab, select one of the following authentication methods:

    • Plain uses the SAP username and password.
    • Secure Network communication (SNC) uses an encrypted connection between Board Connector and SAP with an SAP username and password.
    • SAP Logon Ticket uses SAP Logon-Tickets in place of user credentials. This connection is not encrypted.
  6. In the RFC Options tab, select an RFC library for the SAP connection. The default is the NetWeaver RFC library.
  7. Optional: In the Access Control tab, you can restrict read and write access to the SAP source, see Access Management.
  8. Click [Test designer connection] to validate the connection between the Board Connector Designer and the SAP system.
  9. Click [Test server connection] to validate the connection between the Board Connector Server and the SAP system.
  10. Click [OK] to save the SAP source.

For more information on the input options, see Connection Settings.

Assign an SAP Source to Extractions

An SAP source is assigned when creating an extraction.
Follow the steps below to change the SAP source of an existing extraction:

  1. Select an extraction from the list of extractions in the main window of the Designer.
  2. Click [ graph_from icon graph_from icon from the IconExperience.com O-Collection. Copyright by INCORS GmbH (www.incors.com). Source]. The window “Change Source” opens.
    open-sap-source
  3. Select an SAP source from the dropdown list.
    sap-source-change
  4. Click [OK] to confirm your input.

Single-Sign-On (SSO)

BI client tools such as Power BI, Power Pivot, Alteryx, etc. can start extractions in Board Connector. Board Connector loads the extracted data directly into the tools. In this use case, it is often required that the extraction is executed with the SAP credentials of the (Windows AD) user, whose BI client triggered the extraction. This means that the SAP authorizations of the user apply. This is especially important when extracting BW/BEx queries.

The Windows credentials of the user are forwarded to SAP using Board Connector. On the way to SAP or on the SAP side, the Windows user and its SAP credentials are mapped.

Supported SSO Scenarios

Board Connector supports the following procedures for Single Sign-On (SSO):

The authentication method can be selected in the SAP source connection settings.

Connect via Router

If you access the SAP source system (Application server or Message server) via an SAP router, set the router string before the host name. For more information on SAP routers, see SAP Help: SAP-Router.

Example:
If the application server is "hamlet" and the router string is /H/lear.theobald-software.com/H/, set the host property to /H/lear.theobald-software.com/H/hamlet.

Last update: June 24, 2024