Blog Series – SAP API Management – API Providers: Part 1: Accelerating connectivity through APIs and SAP API Management
Customers want to expose data, processes and services from their backend systems as managed APIs using SAP Cloud Platform, API Management. In order to accelerate this, there needs to be an easy way to connect to a variety of backend systems (cloud/on premise, SAP/non-SAP), discover services/APIs and easily expose them.
In SAP Cloud Platform, API Management, we support the concept of API Providers which help to accelerate connectivity to different back ends, discover services and expose them as managed APIs
In this part1 of 8 part blog series, I will explain API providers, its advantages and API provider’s connectivity to On-premise and cloud solutions.
What are API Providers
An API provider is a concept in SAP Cloud Platform, API Management which defines the connection details for services running on specific hosts whose details you want to access. You use an API provider to define not only the details of the host you want an application to reach, but also to define any further details that are necessary to establish the connection, for example, proxy settings.
API Providers connecting to backend system.
If you want to configure the API Management solution to access data from a server that offers a specific service, for example, an SAP Gateway service, SAP HANA, SAP Process Integration/Process Orchestration, SAP S/4 HANA etc. or any 3rd party cloud solutions, it is recommended to manifest and expose the connection parameters as an API provider and API Provider shall connect through cloud connector to backend(on premise) system.
Advantages (of creating API providers in SAP Cloud Platform, API Management):
- Connect to different backend on premise/cloud system
- Discover services/interfaces
- Simplifies on premise connectivity
- Simplifies configuration incase Backend changes
Architecture Diagram
Legends
You can see the other parts of the blog series below:
Part 2: Connecting and exposing APIs from SAP Gateway
Part 3: Connecting and exposing Interfaces from SAP Process Integration/Process Orchestration(PI/PO)
Part 4: Connecting and exposing APIs from SAP HANA
Part 5: Connecting and exposing APIs from SAP S/4 HANA
Part 6: Connecting and exposing APIs from SAP Success Factor
Part 7: Connecting and exposing APIs from SAP Cloud Platform Integration
Part 8: Connecting and exposing APIs from 3rd Party Here Maps
In subsequent blogs of this series, you shall find step-by-step explanation on how SAP Cloud Platform, API management can be easily connected to different backend cloud and on premise systems through different API Providers.
Thanks for stopping by! If you have a question or comment leave them below.
Shilpa
Hi Shilpa,
thanks for this recap on API Providers and for the valuable other blog posts!
one comment though: in your diagram, it looks like that only SAP Systems can be accessed through the SAP Cloud Connector. However, any on-premises REST API or SOAP WebService can be accessed through the SAP Cloud Connector since it talks HTTP and is not bound to any specific SAP protocol (even though it can also talk RFC).
Cheers!
Sven
Hello Sven,
Thanks for the feedback. I will incorporate.
Though in this blog series I tried connecting only SAP On-Premise Systems.
Regards
Shilpa
Hello Sven,
Yes, any third party on-premise REST API or SOAP Web Service can be accessed through SAP Cloud connector.
I have corrected the same in the above diagram.
Regards
Shilpa
Hi Shilpa ,
Thanks for the informative blog.
My question is towards consuming the APIs.
Can a third party Software application ( not hosted in SAP CP ) consume the APIs hosted on SAP CP ?
Thanks
Manish
Hello Manish,
Yes, a third party software application(not hosted in SAP CP) can consume the APIs hosted on SAP CP
Regards
Shilpa
Hi Shilpa,
Usually which API we will be use to Pull the data from SF EC to SAP HCI, Can you please elaborate.
Regards,
Murali
Hi Shilpa,
Actually i dont know SAP. I have SAP Hana trial account. Can we consume these APIs in .Net code? Basically, i need too access data from SAP database(Cloud/OnPremise) and update into Azure Table Storage. Please help.
Hello Thilo,
Can you please explain your usecase in details as to which SAP Database you are using?
Regards
Shilpa
Hey I have tried all the steps given in PART 4 of the blog series but while testing the API I am getting below error
{
“fault”:{
“faultstring”:“Unable to identify proxy for host: default and url: \/p1587966425trial\/s3”,
“detail”:{
“errorcode”:“messaging.adaptors.http.flow.ApplicationNotFound”
}
}
}
Please help me understand , I am able to run the service in Browser using URL
https://apitestp1587966425trial.hanatrial.ondemand.com/sap/hana/democontent/epm/services/businessPartners.xsodata/BusinessPartners
Is it something related to Roles or Privileges or setting at my HANA Workbench side.
Thanks for sharing
Did anyone went through API_NOT_FOUND error while accessing API Portal through your API management service ? Hana trial account is fine but I am receiving error in my original sub account.