The ERP MA Configuration Tool facilitates configuring the ERP MA to support any object type-operation-function combination provided the appropriate BAPIS have been exposed via RFC. The ERP MA Configuration Tool creates the files necessary to configure a fully functional ERP MA, this includes a cs-schema file, a ERP MA configuration file (xml), and a SAP .NET Connector generated proxy assemblies. The ERP MA configuration file includes information about the following:
- The functions (BAPIs) used by the ERP MA and
information about the function parameters.
- The structures (Infotypes) used by the BAPIs
and information about the fields for a structure.
- The object types managed by the ERP MA and
details about the operations and attributes associated with an
object type. Each operation includes references to one or more
functions (BAPIs) and\or other operations, structures, and
attributes.
Note |
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To successfully use the ERP MA Configuration Tool, you require knowledge of the BAPIs and Infotypes that are available in your SAP environment. You will likely need to work with someone from your SAP team to determine the functions and structures to be used by the ERP MA. It may also be helpful to start with the default configuration files that ship with the ERP MA. |
Prepare for using the ERP MA Configuration Tool
You need to carry out the following steps before you can use the ERP MA configuration tool.
- Identify the connection string and credentials required to
connect to your SAP environment. You need to use credentials that
have permission to call the BAPIs configured for your ERP MA.
- Identify what object types will be managed by the ERP MA.
- For each object type, identify which operations will be
supported. Operations include standard FIM operations (full import,
delta import, password set, etc) and custom operations. Custom
operations (such as GetDetails) are sub-operations which can be
called from the FIM standard operations.
- For each operation, identify the functions to be called as a
part of the operation. For the ERP MA, functions correspond to the
BAPIs that are exposed via RFC in your environment. You can use the
Search feature on the Select Functions screen to see what BAPIs are
available in your environment.
- For each function included in the configuration, you will need
to specify additional information about the function parameters.
Specifically:
- Alias\Reference: Each function may
have input and output parameters. If an operation includes multiple
functions, the output of the first function may be the input to the
second function. The referenced value indicates from where an input
parameter is populated. The alias value indicates where the out
parameter for a function is used in a subsequent operation.
- Definition attribute: Each object type
contains a definition attribute\anchor. The definition attribute is
used to indicate which parameter for a function defines the object
type. There may be a single definition attribute per operation. Not
every operation requires a definition attribute.
- Pagination attribute: If an input
parameter is used as an input for a wildcard search, you may need
to break up the search into multiple calls. In this case, you need
to indicate that the attribute will be used for pagination. See
How To Configure
Paginated Imports for more details.
- Error attribute: If an output
parameter is used to indicate an error, the parameter indicates
error setting should be selected. See How To Configure Error
Handling for more details.
- Change refs structures: For each info
type for which data is updated, there is a corresponding change-ref
needs to be identified.
- Alias\Reference: Each function may
have input and output parameters. If an operation includes multiple
functions, the output of the first function may be the input to the
second function. The referenced value indicates from where an input
parameter is populated. The alias value indicates where the out
parameter for a function is used in a subsequent operation.
- Identity information about your SAP implementation including
the code page for your SAP environment, the Date-Time format for
your SAP environment, and the password policy for your SAP
environment. A password policy only needs to be specified if you
are using the ERP MA to create users.
The first time you connect to a SAPR3 server, a discovery cache file will be created, after which all subsequent configuration will rely on this cache file for saving and generating the output files needed to configure and run the ERP MA.
Process for creating a configuration
The typical process for creating a configuration is the following five steps:
- Creating the CS object type to be managed.
- Identifying, adding and configuring the functions needed to
execute an operation. This includes defining any alias that may be
needed.
- Defining and mapping the CS attributes being manage to the
proper function/parameter(s).
- Setting an anchor for each CS object type in your
configuration. This can only be done after the object types and
attribute have been configured.
- Setting any server specific settings the MA needs to know, such
as date formatting and tim zones.
Parameter configuration options
When you configure a parameter, you will need to specify if the parameter is a definition attribute, if the parameter is a return value (used to indicate errors), and\or if the parameter requires paginated values. Paginated values may be required as part of the configuration for Full Import of data from SAP HR. Typically a BAPI is used to return all the active employees. If a wildcard is used as a filter when retrieving data from SAP, the BAPI may time-out before returning any data. To prevent this error, a pagination search is used you use used paginated imports. See How To Configure Paginated Imports for more information.
Supported default configuration
The ERP MA ships with a sample ERP MA configuration file that works with SAP 4.7. The sample configuration file supports the following operations for users and employees: Full Import, Export-Add, Export-Update, and Export-Delete. In addition, it supports Password Set for users.
User defined operations
The ERP Configuration Tool supports the creation of user-defined operations. User defined operation cannot be called directly from FIM, but must be called from one of the FIM operations (add, replace, delete, full). You may also save and re-use these pre-configured functions via the Configuration Tool.