SAP Enable Now: Web Assistant Set up for SAP S/4HANA On Premise

Purpose

It takes more than software to transform a business. Your enterprise software is a powerful tool, but to harness that power, your workforce must use the software accurately and intelligently. Whether you have a new implementation or solutions already in production, it’s essential that employees keep their skill levels high and their knowledge current to increase productivity. The SAP Enable Now solution helps companies manage all aspects of modern corporate learning such as roll out and performance support, change management, compliance, and soft skills training.

This blog serves as a guidelines on how to integrate SAP Enable Now web assistant with S/4HANA On Premise edition. Web Assistant is available for several SAP Fiori apps delivered with SAP S/4HANA On-Premise. To make it available, you must set it up for the SAP Fiori launchpad and for the back-end system.

Overview

The Web Assistant supports different scenarios for providing help content for your apps and needs. The scenarios are:

Source: SAP

Standard Content Scenario: SAP provides Web Assistant content for your SAP applications by default, which includes context help and guided tours as well as tutorials for the learning app. This content is available for free, the end user consumption does not require an SAP Enable Now instance

NOTE: The standard content scenario provides standard SAP help content. It is not possible to customize the content.

Source: SAP

Extended Content Scenario: In addition, SAP Enable Now provides the possibility to customize standard SAP content and to create user-defined content which can be played back in parallel to the SAP content. The extended content scenario is based on the standard content scenario.

For the extended content scenario, an SAP Enable Now instance is required to edit and store the custom content on the SAP Enable Now Manager

Source: SAP

Custom Content Scenario: SAP Enable Now provides the possibility to create user-defined content, which includes context help and guided tours as well as tutorials for the learning app.

For the custom content scenario, an SAP Enable Now instance is required to edit and store the content on the SAP Enable Now Manager

Source: SAP

The most common scenario adopted by customer is Extended Content Scenario where business can leverage the flexibility to create user-defined content for their customized fiori apps or processes.

Prerequisites

Web Assistant is not pre-configured and must be configured for each SAP S/4HANA system. Standard content created by SAP can be consumed directly.

For SAP S/4HANA-based SAP Fiori apps, Web Assistant requires the following:

• SAP S/4HANA application server
• SAP Web Dispatcher
• Web Assistant Server (hosted by SAP)
• SAP Content Server (hosted by SAP)

IMPORTANT NOTE: SAP Web Dispatcher is mandatory. No Question asked.

Below high level overview shows all the steps required for setting up Web Assistant for SAP S/4HANA, on-premise. This helps you to plan your setup with all steps and roles.

Setup of SAP Web Dispatcher

• Download and install SAP Web Dispatcher
• Get and import SSL certificate for SAP components (for example, for SAP content server)
• Create redirect file
• Create SAP Web Dispatcher profile

Setup SAP Fiori Catalog

• Create a catalog in SAP Fiori launchpad designer
• Create a Web Assistant role
• Assign role to all relevant users

Test Implementation

• Playback for end users

Setting up Web Dispatcher

To make Web Assistant available for the SAP Fiori launchpad, configure SAP Web Dispatcher. SAP Web Dispatcher is used as reverse proxy and redirects the URLs of the SAP S/4HANA application server, the SAP content server, and the Web Assistant server.

I’m using integrated Web Dispatcher with message server but if you have separate web dispatcher then also steps remain the same.

Getting the Certificate

Get the root certificate of https://cp.hana.ondemand.com so that SAP Web Dispatcher recognizes the SSL certificates.

Open “Developer Tools” or Press F12 in Chrome browser and navigate to “Security” section. Click on “View Certificate” > Certification Path > Click on root certificate and press “View Certificate” > Press on “Details” on next popped up certificate.

Click on “Copy to File” and select “Base-64 encoded X.509 (.CER)” export it to your local desktop

Importing the Certificate

Import the exported certificate into your SAP Web Dispatcher. Open web dispatcher URL

https://<wd_servername>:<wd_port>/sap/wdisp/admin/public/default.html

Login with administrator account. Default web dispatcher administrator account is “webadm”

Navigate to “PSE Management” > Select “SAPSSLC.pse” and click on “Import Certificate”

Open the import root certificate in notepad and paste the certificate here. Click on “Import”

Creating the redirect URL

A redirect file is used to redirect to the URLs of the SAP content server and the Web Assistant server. Create a text file with the name redirect.txt by using a text editor and enter the following:

# User Assistance Content Platform - rewrite rule
if %{SID} = WA1
begin
SetHeader HOST cp.hana.ondemand.com
RegRewriteRawUrl ^/sap/dfa/help/(.*) /dps/$1
end
# Script Server - rewrite rule
if %{SID} = WA2
begin
SetHeader HOST xray.hana.ondemand.com
RegRewriteRawUrl ^/resources/sap/dfa/help/(.*) /xRayControls/resources/sap/dfa/help/$1
end

NOTE: WA1/WA2 SIDs which are used here are dummy SIDs, you can use any SID. It doesn’t matter. 

Transfer this file to your profile directory

Editing Web Dispatcher Instance Profile

# Additional Steps ----------------------------------------------------------
wdisp/system_conflict_resolution = FIRST_MATCH
icm/HTTP/mod_0=PREFIX=/, FILE=$(DIR_PROFILE)/redirect.txt

# Web Assistant Back-end system configuration -------------------------------
# Added for Web Assistant SID= WA1/WA2 dummy sids

wdisp/system_0 = SID=WA1, EXTSRV=https://cp.hana.ondemand.com, SRCURL=/sap/dfa/help/, STANDARD_COOKIE_FILTER=OFF

wdisp/system_1 = SID=WA2, EXTSRV=https://xray.hana.ondemand.com, SRCURL=/resources/sap/dfa/help/, STANDARD_COOKIE_FILTER=OFF

NOTE: Make sure you use the same SID in web dispatcher parameters as the one used in redirect.txt file. Again this are dummy SIDs, you can use any but just sure to used the same SIDs everywhere. 

IMPORTANT NOTE:

If you are using Web Dispatcher to load balance your back end system, make sure the value of x in the parameter wdisp/system_x should be higher than web assistant back-end system configuration. Always use 0 and 1 for web assistant back-end system configuration and any number after that can be used for your back-end configuration.

Also wdisp/system_conflict_resolution should be set as FIRST_MATCH

Restart Web Dispatcher.

Testing the Redirection

Check whether the redirection is working properly

1 – Test the redirection of the SAP content server

You can check whether the SAP content server is working properly

https://<wd_servername>:<wd_port>/sap/dfa/help/odata.svc/?$format=json

{"d":{"EntitySets":["Product","Transport","Project","DeliverableForReplication","Context","Hotspot","ReplicationTourIssue","TourIssue","TransportHistory","Deliverable","Tile"]}}

If you get above message that means configuration is fine and your web dispatcher is redirecting to SAP Content Server

2 – Test the redirection of the Web Assistant server

https://<wd_servername>:<wd_port>/resources/sap/dfa/help/sap/cfg/XrayBootstrapHelpConfig.json

{
    "description":"This configuration registers the Xray bootstrap plug-in",
    "modulePaths":{
        "sap.dfa.help":"/resources/sap/dfa/help/~201910091223~"
    },
    "bootstrapPlugins":{
        "BootstrapXrayPlugin":{
            "module":"sap.dfa.help.utils.adapters.fiori.Module",
            "config": {
                "serviceLayerVersion": "UACP v1.1",
                "product": "SAP_S4HANA_CLOUD",
                "version": "1503 000"
            }
        }
    }
}

If you get above message that means your web dispatcher is redirecting properly to Web Assistant Server.

Setting up SAP Fiori Catalog

To make the Web Assistant available in the SAP Fiori launchpad, set up the Web Assistant plugin.

Create Catalog

Create a catalog in SAP Fiori launchpad designer. SAP Fiori launchpad designer can be launched with the following URL:

https://<servername>:<port>/sap/bc/ui5_ui5/sap/arsrvc_upb_admn/main.html?scope=CUST&sap-client=100&sap-language=EN

Click on “Create Catalog” on the bottom left + icon

Navigate to “Target Mapping” and click on “Create Target Mapping”. We will be created mapping for Web Assistant Plugin

To display the tiles of the SAP Fiori launchpad with consistent IDs, which will allow to assign hotspots to them, further configurations are required. In the catalog, create a target mapping with the following values:

After you have made these settings, we now create Fiori Role for this catalog and assign it to user

Create a Role

TCODE: PFCG

Role: Z_S4HELP_PLUGIN

Description: Help for Plugin

Open Fiori Launchpad and you will see that “?” icon is now visible and when you click on it, below information will be provided.

References

All SAP Enable Now documents are available in SAP Help Portal

SAP Help Portal: https://help.sap.com/viewer/product/SAP_ENABLE_NOW/

It is advisable to refer latest available “Web Assistant Integration” document whenever you are trying to configure the same in your system.

Quick Fact: SAP Enable Now was earlier known as SAP Workforce Performance Builder. 

Regards,

Dennis Padia