Background
For a working SAP Sourcing system you would need to establish an Enterprise Context, a Cluster Configuration that allows accessing said Context via URL and Directory Configuration(s) for enabling external (sellside) and internal (buyside) access.
In general those tasks our outlined in the SAP Sourcing Configuration Guide. However as this, particularly for first implementations, can be a bit overwhelming and/or confusing I`ll try to elaborate a bit more expressedly on this.
What is needed for a working SAP Sourcing system
(once the initial installation (Installation Guide) has been performed)
NOTE: If you hear the terms "Enterprise Manager" remember that the respective password of the enterprise manager is determined by the password given during the Enterprise Context creation in Enterprise Contexts.
If in doubt please read the respective SAP Sourcing Solution Operations and Security Guide(s).
The relationship between these three
So far so good. In general the relationship between the three needs to be understood as follows:
- An Enterprise Context needs to be defined (to attach it to a Directory and Cluster Configuration)
- A Cluster Configuration needs to be defined (to configure the Cluster Members and the URLs, whilst specifying the Enterprise Context it is for)
- The Directory Configuration(s) are for external or internal usage (and can reach from SAML 2.0, to NW UME as well as various LDAPs to flat files (only for testing)) – and are to be attached to the respective Cluster/Context
If doing this manually, particularly during the Cluster Configuration, it is typically the first time around a bit confusing why the SAP Sourcing UI would state that the cluster is inactive (and it can`t be set active).
However if reading the warning precisely you`ll see that it simply requires the above three to be set up properly before :!: being able to activate the actual Cluster Configuration.
To sum up
If performing this activity manually you would:
- a) create your Enterprise Context (System Manager, Setup – Enterprise Contexts)
- b) create your Cluster Configuration (System Manager, Setup – Cluster Configuration)
- c) create your Directory Configuration(s) (System Manager, Setup – Directory Configuration)
- d) then return back to the Cluster Configuration, switch to the inactive clusters, and edit the one you wanted to originally enable. Now, after all prerequisites have been met, the Cluster Configuration can be activated (i.e. the inactive box can be unchecked)
Should you be using the Tenant Configuration (which is ultimately a wizard UI for this process) this is more automated.
In the next post you will find a Context/Cluster/Directory example that also discusses different URLs for external/internal access to the SAP Sourcing application.
Let me know if you have any questions.
Regards,
Joerg Lippmann
References
• SAP Sourcing official documentation and help: http://help.sap.com/sourcing
• SAP Sourcing Configuration Part 1: http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-41777
• SAP Sourcing Configuration -- Part 1 (Cluster and Context): http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-34930
