SAP Table Connector is a tool that fetches Metadata from
- SAP ERP Central Component (SAP ECC)
- SAP Business Warehouse (SAP BW)
- SAP S/4 HANA
- Other products in SAP Business Suite systems.
- Copying data from SAP Transparent Table, Cluster Table, and Pooled Tables
- Copying data by using Basic Authentication or Secure Network Communication (SNC)
- Connecting to SAP Application Server or SAP Message Server
- Retrieving data via default or Custom RFC
Connector Capabilities
The following is the list of objects supported by the SAP Table connector.
Functionality |
Descriptions |
---|---|
Crawling |
|
Profiling |
|
Query Execution |
|
Search Tables |
|
Prerequisites
This section lists the prerequisites to establish a connection between the connector and the OvalEdge application.
- Driver Details
- Service Account Permission
Driver Details
SAP Java Connector is an application library provided by SAP for integrating Java-developed applications. OvalEdge used this library for its integration with the SAP Business suite systems.
Driver |
Version |
Details |
sapjco3.jar |
3.0 |
This Jar is available at the SAP Service marketplace. |
sapjco3.dll |
- |
The specified dll should be placed in the /home/ovaledge/jarpath |
In case it needs to be changed, add SAP Table drivers into the OvalEdge Jar path (/home/ovaledge/jarpath) to communicate with the SAP Table database.
Integration Approach – Via RFC (BAPI)
BAPIs used in OvalEdge Application
S. No |
BAPI Name |
Connection Type |
Usage Description |
1 |
RFC_READ_TABAL |
Basic |
Reading and Querying a Table (Basic) |
2 |
EM_GET_NUMBER_OF_ENTRIES |
Basic/Extended |
Searching a Table |
3 |
Z_RFC_READ_TABLE |
Extended |
Reading and Querying a Table |
4 |
Z_RFC_PROFILE_TABLE |
Extended |
Profiling a Table |
Service Account Permissions
The minimum privileges required for a service account to crawl and profile the data are as follows:
Operations |
Permission |
---|---|
Connection Validation |
READ |
Crawl/Profile Tables |
READ |
The SAP User who is being used in the OvalEdge application while making a new connection to the SAP system must have the following permissions:
- Authorization for using Remote Function call (RFC) destinations.
- Permissions to Execute activity of the S_SDAUTH authorization object.
Establish a connection
To establish the SAP Table Connection, fill out the required fields with the relevant information in the Manage Connector pop-up window.
- Log into the OvalEdge application.
- In the left menu, click on the Administration module and then on the Connectors sub-module. The Connectors Information page will then be displayed.
- Click on + New Connector. The Add Connector pop-up window is displayed.
- Select the connection type SAP Table. The Add Connector with SAP Table details is displayed.
Fields |
Details |
|
---|---|---|
Connector Type |
The selected connection type, ‘SAP Table,’ is displayed by default. The drop-down list allows the user to change the connector type if necessary. |
|
Credentials Manager* |
N/A |
|
License Add-Ons |
N/A |
|
Connector Name* |
Select the connection name for the SAP Table database. Users can specify a reference name to identify the SAP Table database connection in OvalEdge. Example: OvalEdge_SAP Table_Connection |
|
Connector Environment |
The OvalEdge Environment dropdown menu is used to select the environment for crawling, such as PROD, STG, or Temporary, and may also include QA or other environments. |
|
Type* |
Select from the drop-down list.
Basic: Used for Table Data (Default) Extended: Used for Large Table Data. (Enhanced feature) |
|
SAP System* |
Select SAP System from the drop-down list.
|
|
Connection Method* |
Select Connection Method from the drop-down list
|
|
Connection Method as Connection via Application Server Refer here for Additional Information |
||
RFC Destination* |
An RFC (Remote Function Call) destination is a configuration that sets the parameters for establishing a communication channel between an SAP system and an external system. Example: XYZ_S |
|
Application Server HOST/IP* |
The hostname or IP address of the SAP application server where the SAP system is running. Example: 12.34.56.789 |
|
System ID/SID* |
A unique identifier for an SAP system. Example: EC1 |
|
Instance Number* |
A two-digit identifier is assigned to an SAP instance (an application server or a central instance) within a specific SAP system. Example: 00 |
|
Client Number* |
Refers to a three-digit identifier that specifies a particular client within an SAP system. Example: 500 |
|
Username* |
User account login credential (only for SAP Table Authentication) |
|
Password* |
Password (only for SAP Table Authentication) |
|
Language |
Enter the language in which you want to get data, i.e., EN for English. Example: EN |
|
SNC Mode |
Refers to the configuration setting that determines how Secure Network Communications is enabled and configured for communication between SAP systems or between SAP systems and external components. For more information, refer Additional Information |
|
Connection Method as Connection via Message Server (Load Balancing) Refer here for Additional Information |
||
RFC Destination* |
An RFC (Remote Function Call) destination is a configuration that sets the parameters for establishing a communication channel between an SAP system and an external system. Example: RFC_OVALEDGE_ERP |
|
Message Server HOST/IP* |
Refers to the hostname or IP address of the SAP message server. |
|
Message Server Port* |
Refers to the port number on which the SAP message server listens for incoming connections. |
|
System ID/SID* |
A unique identifier for an SAP system instance. |
|
Instance Number* |
Refers to a numeric identifier that uniquely identifies an SAP instance within a specific SAP system. |
|
Group/Server Name* |
Refers to the logical or physical name assigned to a group of application servers or a specific application server within an SAP system landscape. |
|
Client Number* |
Refers to a three-digit identifier that uniquely identifies a client within an SAP system. |
|
Username* |
User account login credential |
|
Password* |
Password |
|
Language |
Enter the language in which you want to get data, i.e., EN for English. Example: EN |
|
SNC Mode |
Refers to the configuration setting that determines how Secure Network Communications is enabled and configured for communication between SAP systems or between SAP systems and external components. If yes: user need to provide SNC certificate which is configured with the client’s SAP environment, If No: Will bypass the validation |
|
Default Governance Roles |
||
Steward* |
Select the Steward from the drop-down list options. |
|
Custodian* |
Select the Custodian from the drop-down list options. |
|
Owner* |
Select the Owner from the drop-down list options. |
|
Governance Roles 4, 5, 6* |
Select the respective user from the drop-down options. Note: The drop-down list displays all the configurable roles (for a single user or a team) according to the configurations made in the OvalEdge Security > Governance Roles section. |
|
Admin Roles |
||
Integration Admins* |
To add Integration Admin Roles, search for or select one or more roles from the Integration Admin options, then click the Apply button. |
|
Security and Governance Admins* |
To add Security and Governance Admin roles, search for or select one or more roles from the list and then click the Apply button.
|
|
No of Archive Objects* |
The "Number of archive objects" refers to the number of recent modifications made to the metadata data of a dataset at the remote/source location. This feature is disabled by default. To enable it, toggle the Archive button and enter the desired number of objects to archive. For instance, if a user sets the count to 4 and the connection is crawled, it will retrieve the last 4 changes that occurred in the connector's remote/source. These changes can be observed in the 'version' column of the 'Metadata Changes' module. |
|
Select Bridge |
The OvalEdge Bridge is necessary to enable OvalEdge to function as a SaaS application behind a customer's firewall.
For more information, refer to Bridge Overview |
- Click on the Validate button to validate the connection details.
- Click on the Save button to save the connection. Alternatively, the user can also directly click on the Save & Configure button that displays the Connection Settings pop-up window to configure the settings for the selected Connector. The Save & Configure button is displayed only for the Connectors for which the settings configuration is required.
Note 01: * (asterisk) indicates the mandatory field required to establish a connection. Once the connection is validated and saved, it will be displayed on the Connectors home page.
Note 02: The user decides whether to save the connection details first or validate the connection first and then save it.
Connector Settings
Once the connection is validated successfully, various settings are provided to retrieve and display the information from the data source. The connection settings include Crawler, Profiler, Query Policies, Access Instruction, Business Glossary Settings, and Others.
Connection Settings |
Description |
---|---|
Crawler |
Crawler settings are configured to connect to a data source and collect and catalog all the data elements in the form of metadata. |
Profiler |
Profiling is the process of gathering statistics and informative summaries about the connected data source(s). Statistics can help assess the data source's quality before using it in an analysis. Profiling is always optional; crawling can be run without profiling. |
Query Policies |
The Query Policies in the Crawler setting provide the right access to the Query sheet functions (Join, Union, SUM, or aggregate functions). You can specify the desired roles and permission to deny the usage of the query sheet function. A role that has been denied policy permission will not have access to those functions in the Query Sheet. Example: If the user selects the Role as “OE_HRADMIN,” Query Type as “JOIN,” and the Access Type as “DENY,” then the users associated with the OE_HRADMIN privileges are restricted from using the JOIN function in the Query Sheet page. |
Access Instruction |
It allows the data owner to instruct others on using the objects in the application. |
Business Glossary Settings |
The Business Glossary setting provides flexibility and control over how they view and manage term association within the context of a business glossary at the connector level. |
Others |
The Enable/Disable Metadata Change Notifications option sets the change notification about metadata changes of the data objects.
|
For more information, refer to the Connector Settings.
Crawling a Table
- Navigate to the Connectors page and click Crawl/Profile.
- A search field will be displayed, where you can search the specific tables by entering 3 characters followed by %, based on this all the matched tables will be displayed.
- Select Crawl, Profile, Unprofiled or Scheduled based on the requirment.
- Click on the Run that gathers all metadata from the connected source into the OvalEdge Data Catalog.
Additional Information
SNC Parameters for RFC External Programs AS ABAP
Parameter |
Description |
Required or Optional |
Permitted Values |
Default |
SNC_PARTNERNAME |
SNC name of the communication partner (application server) |
Required |
String value |
None |
SNC_LIB |
Path and file name of the gssapi library |
Required |
String value |
None |
SNC_MODE |
SNC activation indicator |
Required |
0,1 0 = SNC disabled 1= SNC activated |
None |
SNC_QOP |
Quality of protection (protection level) |
Optional |
1,2,3,8,9 |
3 |
SNC_MYNAME |
SNC name of the user sending the RFC |
Optional |
String value |
The name provided by the security product for the logged-on user. |
Connection to SAP Application Server
Connection to SAP Application Server must need all the below properties.
Property |
Description |
Required |
Connection Type |
The property must be set to SAP Table |
Yes |
Application Server |
The name of the server on which the SAP instance is located. Use to connect to an SAP Application server |
Yes |
System Number |
The system number of SAP System. User to connect to an SAP Application server A two-digit decimal number. |
Yes |
System ID |
The ID of the SAP system where SAP Table is located. |
Yes |
Client ID |
The ID of the client in the SAP system A three-digit decimal number. |
Yes |
Username |
The name of the user who has access to the SAP System. |
Yes |
Password |
The password of the user. Encrypted at OvalEdge. |
Yes |
Language |
The Language that SAP system uses. Default value is EN |
No |
Connection to SAP Message Server
Connection to SAP Message Server must need all the below properties.
Property |
Description |
Required |
Connection Type |
The property must be set to SAP Table |
Yes |
Message Server Name |
The Host name of the SAP Message Server |
Yes |
Message Service Name or Port Number |
The Service name or Port Number of the SAP Message Server |
Yes |
Logon Group |
The Logon group for the SAP system |
Yes |
System ID |
The ID of the SAP system where SAP Table is located. |
Yes |
Client ID |
The ID of the client in the SAP system A three-digit decimal number. |
Yes |
Username |
The name of the user who has access to the SAP System. |
Yes |
Password |
The password of the user. Encrypted at OvalEdge. |
Yes |
Language |
The Language that SAP system uses. Default value is EN |
No |