Using the BEx Broadcaster, one can precalculate and distribute Web templates, queries and workbooks. You can distribute these reporting objects either in precalculated form or as an online link. Your distribution options include sending by e-mail or exporting into the (SAP) Enterprise Portal.
There is no way to broadcast directly on third part tolls such as third-party file server, Web server or document management systems. In this white paper we will discuss how to broadcast file to non SAP portal/Share point site.
Executive Summary
There was a requirement to broadcast to non SAP portal using standards SAP BEx broadcasting features. As per BEx broadcasting, it support either email broadcasting or broadcast to connected (SAP) portal. Client wants to use their own share point site/non SAP portal to store the daily broadcasted file, so that everyone in organization can have access to those broadcasted reports. They don't want to use the SAP portal to store the file as they are not going to maintain user at SAP portal side. All users (including SAP users) need to get the broadcasted file from share point/non SAP portal only. The file storage is going to happens at share point in addition to the user maintenance. So from SAP side, it needs to broadcast the file on daily basis to share point using process chain and make sure there is no error while sending. We can use Knowledge management (KM) as either a WebDAV client or a WebDAV server. As a WebDAV client you can use KM to access documents which are stored on other WebDAV enabled servers. You need to configure a WebDAV Repository Manager to do this. For example you could configure a WebDAV Repository Manager which points to a repository on another portal server.
Challenges:
There is no standard/direct way to broadcast to non SAP portal, the only way to go for it via SAP portal i.e. first broadcast it to SAP Portal and then try to move the file from SAP portal to non SAP portal. There is option to use Federated Network to manage all portals (SAP & Non SAP) under one umbrella and manage above scenario. But again it’s depends upon total cost of investment for federated network and it’s requirements.
Solution Description
After analysis, it has been decided to use WebDAV repository to broadcast directly to Non SAP Portal. Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV) is an extension of the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) that facilitates collaboration between users in editing and managing documents and files stored on World Wide Web servers. We used the option of Information broadcasting by storing the documents in the consumer portal (Non SAP Portal).
With this option, the documents are stored in the consumer portal. The producer portals (SAP Portal) access this storage using WebDAV repository managers. In the producer portals, you define an entry point to the respective folders so that users can broadcast the documents from the BEx Broadcaster to the producer portals.
Since the file has been broadcasted to consumer portal, the required security and access for broadcasted file needs to be maintained at non SAP Portal side. SAP security/analysis authorization will take care of data in the workbook which is ultimately broadcasted.
- Create a CM repository manager in the consumer portal. The documents are physically stored in a database, a file system, and so on.
More information: CM Repository Manager
2. Create a WebDAV repository manager in the producer portal. This facilitates virtual access to the documents in the CM repository manager in the consumer portal.
More information: Integration and Configuration of WebDAV Repository Managers
3. Define a folder or subfolder of the WebDAV repository manager in the producer portal as the entry point.
More information: Entry Points and SAP Note 827994
Benefits
The advantage of storing documents in the consumer portal is that read access is faster than write access. Users normally access documents using read access more often than write access. Users normally only use write access once, when they are creating the document. In our scenario, users are not authorized to modify or change the broadcasted report; they will get only read access. Storage in the consumer portal marginally slows down the creation of documents using the WebDAV protocol. This negative performance impact should hardly be noticeable. As test shows broadcasting to consumer portal are faster than broadcasting via email.
Technical Specifications
Log in to portal using administrator access and navigate as below
Under Repository manager navigate to
A WebDAV repository manager stores documents on a WebDAV server. If you want access control setting to be mapped from/to the server, you have to use the WDAclSecurityManager. In this case, the WebDAV server has to be in the same user domain as the portal server. Unless specified otherwise, the proxy settings of the Java virtual machine are used. You can specify a proxy host and port, or a proxy system of the system landscape service. The latter is required to apply user mapping.
WebDAV Repository Manager
We will take the scenario of creating a WebDAV repository which points to a repository on another portal server. The first step is to create a HTTP system.
- Navigate to System Administration > System Configuration > Knowledge Management > Content Management > Global Services > System Landscape Definitions > Systems > HTTP System
- Create a new HTTP system
The Server-URL parameter will point to the remote WebDAV server. If you want all portal users to access the remote WebDAV server with the same user then enter this user and password here. If you intend to use user mapping then leave user and password blank. See HTTP System SAP Documentation for more details.
3. Create a cache for your WebDAV repository at System Administration > System Configuration > Knowledge Management > Content Management > Utilities > Caches. See Caches SAP Help Documentation for more details
4. Navigate to System Administration > System Configuration > Knowledge Management > Content Management > Repository Managers > WebDAV Repository
5. Create a new WebDAV repository manager
6. The System ID parameter must be the ID of your HTTP system created in step 2 above. The System Path parameter can be used to specify a suffix to the HTTP system. For example, if you had a HTTP system pointing to http://hostname:port you could specify a System Path as /irj/go/km/docs/documents. This allows you to use the same HTTP system more than once. The Server Type parameter should be Generic WebDAV Server unless you are addressing an IIS or Apache moddav server with this repository manager
Summary
You have set up information broadcasting using WebDAV repository managers.
In the BEx Broadcaster, users can now choose a folder of the WebDAV repository manager or of the CM repository manager as a storage location for the document that is to be broadcast. The folder appears in the input help in the CM Repository View during broadcasting to Any Folder. Depending on the setting the user makes here, the system physically stores the created document either in the CM repository manager of the consumer portal or in the CM repository manager of the producer portal. In our case it stored the document on consumer portal.
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