Best Practice for Integrating SAP Applications into the SAP NetWeaver Portal

We would like to share with you the SAP best practice for integrating SAP applications into the SAP NetWeaver Portal 7.0.

Following the SAP NetWeaver Distribution Models by Anthony Dirk, there are various techniques to integrate your business applications into the SAP Portal and we would like to drill down into each one of them.

Let’s start with identifying the use cases of using Application Integration and Federated Portal Network (FPN):

• Application Integration (AI) is the preferred integration solution when integrating a specific application from a remote Portalsystem to the central Portal
• FPN is the preferred integration solution when maintaining the Portal roles with its full hierarchy in a remote Portal and integrating the full role into a central Portal

We will list below the 6 most common Application Integration use cases available today and the recommended solution for each one.

Use case 1: ABAP application
For the traditional SAP (ABAP) applications such as (Web Dynpro ABAP, BSPs, Transactions and BW 3.x) the recommended technique to integrate these applications into the Portal is using a Portal system and the relevant iView template, as described below:

Use case 2: Web Dynpro Java deployed on the centrallocal Portal

For the most common use case of Web Dynpro Java application deployed on the central Portal (note that this is also the recommended scenario by SAP for the Application Portal scenario for the majority of customers) there is a dedicated wizard for creating iViews from locally deployed Web Dynpro Java application (hint: in the Portal Content Directory: New -> iView -> Web Dynpro Java Application -> Local -> and continue according to the wizard).

This solution is available as of SAP NetWeaver Portal 7.0 SP6, SAP NetWeaver 7.0 EhP1 SP2, 7.0 EhP2 SP2.

Wizard step 1:

Wizard step 2:

Use case 3: Web Dynpro Java deployed on a remote Portal

For the use case where you would like to integrate a remote Web Dynpro Java application into the portal (i.e. the application is deployed on a different server than the portal), there are two main integration techniques. You should use each technique according to the technical requirement of your landscape.

1. iView based on basic Application Integration

• When to use: this solution should be used in case you would like to integrate a specific stand-alone Web Dynpro Java application running on a remote server without the need of a portal to be installed on the remote server.
• This solution is available as of SAP NetWeaver Portal 7.0 EhP1 SP6, 7.0 EhP2 SP2 with a new dedicated editor. In older versions it is available through the iView template: SAP Web Dynpro iView.
• iView creation: in the Portal Content Directory: New -> iView -> Web Dynpro Java Application -> Remote -> Select the remote system -> Basic -> and continue according to the wizard
• System template: SAP System

Wizard step 1:

Wizard step 2:

2. Web Dynpro Java Page Integration

• When to use: this is the most common and recommended solution for integrating Web Dynpro Java based pages from a remote Portal to a central portal.
• For example, when the Web Dynpro Java Page should access portal services and APIs and enables the creation of multiple iViews from a single Web Dynpro application.
• This solution is available as of SAP NetWeaver Portal 7.0 EhP1 SP6, 7.0 EhP2 SP2 with a new dedicated wizard.
• iView creation: in the Portal Content Directory: New -> iView -> Web Dynpro Java Application -> Remote -> Select the remote system -> Advanced -> and continue according to the wizard
• System template: SAP System (pointing to the server running the applications). If a Producer portal was already configured, it can be used as well.

Wizard step 1:

Wizard step 2:

3. Possible exception

In case you would like to integrate a full role structure from a remote Portal to a central Portal, the recommended solution is Federated Portal Network with Remote Role Assignment (RRA).

Use case 4: Portal (PRT) applications deployed on the centrallocal Portal

For integrating Portal (PRT) application deployed on the central server, create an iView based on Portal Component: Portal Content Directory: New -> iView -> Portal Component – create an iView from portal component … -> and continue according to the wizard.

Use case 5: Portal (PRT) applications running on a remote Portal

For running Portal (PRT) applications deployed on a remote Portal, the recommended way to do so is via a dedicated iView template. Note that this functionality in available as of SAP NetWeaver Portal version 7.0 EhP 2 SP2.

In case you require to run this scenario and you are running Portal version prior to EhP2 SP2 of SAP NetWeaver 7.0, a fallback solution is to implement a Federated Portal Network solution. 

Use case 6: SAP NetWeaver BI 7.0 applications

• When to use: The most recommended technique for integrating a remote BI 7 reports into the central Portal is to configure a connection (system) between the central Portal and the BI 7 server, and create an iView based on the BI 7 iView template.
• This solution is valid as of the following versions: SAP NetWeaver 7.0 SP13 PL5, NW 7.0 SP14 PL2, NW 7.0 SP15 and up
• iView template: BEx Web Application iView (SAP NetWeaver 7.0 Format)
• System template: SAP System (if a Producer was already configured, it can be used as well)

Possible exception: In case you would like to integrate a full role structure from a remote BI Portal to a central Portal, the recommended solution is Federated Portal Network with Remote Role Assignment (RRA).

Portal Navigation Implication

In some navigation scenarios when a client-side evening is triggered, such as Object Based Navigation and core navigation (using the doNavigate() API ), the navigation target is resolved on the central portal, hence the target iViewPage (PCD content) should be available on the central Portal, while the application running inside the iViewPage can run remotely. 

Note:

Whenever mentioned SAP System, one can use one of the following available system templates:

• SAP System using dedicated application server
• SAP system using load balancer
• SAP system using connection string 

Summary

To summarize the recommendations for integrating SAP applications into SAP NetWeaver Portal, the Application Integration component is the most common and recommended integration solution for consumption of remote application into a central Portal (according to the details listed above). In case you would like to integrate a full role structure from a remote Portal to a central Portal, the Federated Portal Network solution is the recommended solution.

Additional reading material

• Deployment Recommendation for SAP NetWeaver Portal
• How to Combine Web Dynpro Based and Non-Web Dynpro Based Portal Content Using Web Dynpro Pages and Portal Pages
• Integrate Web Dynpro application into your SAP Netweaver portal to create dynamic, flexible applications
• BW Java and SAP Netweaver Integration – AI or FPN
• Implementing a Federated Portal Network overview
• How to Set Up the Landscape for a Federated Portal Network (NW7.0)
• Implicit personalization – Web Dynpro capability to personalize the application on a user and group level. More information is available in the following document
• Split application – the capability of displaying more than one iView on a single Web Dynpro application. More information is available in the following document
• A New Approach to Integrate WebDynpro Java Applications into NetWeaver Portal (Part I)
• A New Approach to Integrate WebDynpro Java Applications into NetWeaver Portal (Part II)
• A New Approach to Integrate WebDynpro Java Applications into NetWeaver Portal (Part III)

Relevant SAP notes

• Note 890314 – Central Note for Application Integration Component
• Note 880482 – Central Note: Federated Portal Network (SAP NetWeaver 7.0)
• Note 1295662 – Interoperability between 2 portals in FPN environment
• Note 1140854 – Integrate remote BI 7.X reports into central portal with AI
• Note 1383062 – AppIntegartor enhancements

For any question and comment, please comment bellow and we will answer as soon as possible.

Aviad Rivlin