SAP Portal Certification

Sunday, December 21, 2008

here is my reply for that question.... "how do I get certified on Portal and where can I find the right information ? "

SAP Consultant Certification Development Consultant


SAP Consultant Certification Technology Consultant

SAP Nerds !

Thursday, December 11, 2008















Dear Folks,
I just wanted to thank everyone for their relentless contributions and questions which has made this site pretty useful in learning SAP. As we get deeper in this insane recession I think we need to collaborate and learn more and focus less on all the worries. with that said, I will try to post some beginners course materials which will help some folks who are starting a new career or redefining their interest and hopefully turn out to be bigger nerds in the field of SAP.
We hit a massive 22,000 hits in the past 6 months; including 8320 first time visitors, 4 dedicated companies, and users from 18 different countries who have given their feedback on maintaining this site.

thank you so much.....

SAP Web Dispatcher and Enterprise Portal (part-1)

Sunday, November 9, 2008

This is one of the most heated topics people discuss in the world of EP. this is the first of the series of discussions ...and in this one lets figure out how to Configure SAP Web Dispatcher for SAP Enterprise Portal.


CLICK HERE TO READ MORE......


In the next post lets figure out how to set up SSL for the SAP Web Dispatcher !
subscribe this blog or keep checking everyday to learn more....

Patch the Netweaver Platform

This is the first time I am linking a blog that I read on SDN as it is seriously worth reading it..this blog talks about the concept of patching on the Netweaver Platform....

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE.....

If you folks plan on patching the portal server always use JSPM and avoid the SDM ....(personal experience says its not worth going the SDM route)

SAP Portal Browser Settings- Portal Performance -I

I am pretty sure this is one of the few blog posts where I've spent a ton of time researching and compiling the ultimate list of browser settings for anybody working on SAP Netweaver Enterprise Portal and FINALLY !! I am sharing this with my dear readers/blog maniacs/fans....

here are some of the browser settings which will help you run portal without any issues in your company.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE.........

SAP KM File system repository manager (tips/tricks)

Mapping a file server to your hard drive has always been a simple task...how about doing the same on the portal and then enjoying the benefits of TREX, KM properties...etc For beginners read this link to understand better (KM FSRM)

Allrite...for the wonder geeks here are some tricks ..

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE.....

SAP Portal System Object (tips/tricks)

For a beginner read this link to understand the idea of creating a system object

For you geeks/semi-geeks out there here are some tips that I have found which has helped me a lot in creating a system object easily !!!
lets consider 4 major elements in the system object:

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE.........

Poor BI Performance HURTS portal??? part - 1

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

The answer is Yes!

In the future or let’s say present future Business Objects have promised that their plethora of user interface tools provides tremendous performance compared to the challenges we face with BEX.
In one of my blogs written on SDN (BI-Portal Connectivity)the architecture of the BI-Portal describes the interaction of ABAP and the JAVA servers which directly affects the performance of the user interface which is the Portal. I gathered some info on how we can enhance the performance...

Business Intelligence Performance Tuning
https://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/sdn/bi?rid=/webcontent/uuid/338ed75d-0501-0010-f0b4-b2561a55f9f1
More to come on the concept of performance on BI and Portal based on my personal experience in the next few blogs....so watch out !!

Portal Cache

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Portal cache helps to store content in the memory for a certain amount of time that has been retrieved by a request from an iView. Hence, when you request successively the request will first look at the cache rather than asking the portal server to deliver the content………simple enough…let’s move on now......

For better cache performance use the below settings in your browser..

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ......

Hide KM Content in Content Administrator role

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

A common question is asked by the business to remove the KM Content workset in the
standard Content Administrator role.. lets see how we can do this..

1) create a delta link copy of the role pcd:portal_content/com.sap.pct/administrator/content_admin/
com.sap.portal.content_admin_role
2) open the role and remove the Workset KM-Content
3) assign your user to the new role
4) check the thrown exception via LogViewer.
5) Go to System Administration -> Permissions and add your new role to the object:
Security Zones / sap.com / NetWeaver.Portal / medium_safety / com.sap.portal.appdesigner.contentcatalog / components / Framework
6) Give Read Permission and set the End User flag
7) login with your user added in step 3)

Mean People SUCK !

This is a perfect example to show how some people are a bunch of MONEY sucking vendors who are out there fooling you people and running their FAKE business...
by selling SAP documents for a HUGE prize ....my blog written yesterday should tell you how important it is to SHARE knowledge and not EXPLOIT people by stealing all their money when they can get all they want to learn for FREE on my blogspot...

Its a SHAME to know some people can do this for MONEY !!!
check this link.. BW305


This site is selling BW305 for close to $150 when you can get it for FREE on my yesterdays blog post...PITY you MORONS !!




FREE SAP BI & Portal Training

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

I’ve been waiting for a long time to write this Blog and it’s finally here…As SAP Professionals we know the difficulties of being an expert in any module...Let it be functional or technical we all had to go the hard way..Some sneaked out easy but we struggled to grab the knowledge we always wanted…the difficulty was the COST of training and the OPPORTUNITY….Now, I am not going to promise you an opportunity like some of our commission HUNGRY marketing folks who really hope we do well so they can have their bread and butter everyday… ..OR not to mention some people who think Knowledge Capitol is the only thing that can make them superior to their competitors and sharing knowledge is considered a SIN. Let alone these crazy people who make money by hiding the training documents in their attic and conduct training sessions to some ignorant naïve young students who spend a lot of money trying to learn this software OR some people whom I hate the most as they sell these priceless documents on eBay or some of their own websites and make money….Now this blog will change the way things will work and I am here to give you all I have for FREE!!
After scanning many many websites I found RAPIDSHARE as my good neighbor who gave me all that I wanted…Since this BlogSpot is totally dedicated to Portal and a little bit of BI I am giving this for FREE !!
Here you go and please please do me a favor by sharing this with as many people as possible as the world can never a better place unless we share and learn.

Business Intelligence


CLICK HERE TO READ MORE.........

SAP Portal TREX Index Management Crawler

Monday, July 28, 2008

Is it possible to configure incremental updates which start automatically? In my opinion it is far too much trouble if the administrator has to start this manually...
The answer is yes and you only need to use the Index Management Crawler… reminds me of my yesteryears jamming Judas Priest's Night Crawler with my good old metal band.....You can configure this either in the properties section which would cater all the folders within the Index or you can choose to have this on the data sources section as well…..By default KM comes with a standard Crawler and the following properties can determine the rules of the crawler to search for any documents that is updated in the folders either manually or by the classification methods (example based –trainer taxonomy and the query based taxonomy)

"Verify Modification Using Checksum"
"Verify Modification Using ETag"
"Condition for Treating a Document as Modified"


CLICK HERE TO READ MORE...........

SAP Portal Post-Installation Errors

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Common Errors most people witness when they try to install Portal....

Scene 1:
A brand new installation without applying the patches will throw a dirty error like the one below :

(Click on the image to see a full blown error)
When you right click on the folders in the PCD the below error is seen..













This error is for people who have just read the meaning of the word PORTAL ...in other words when you access the portal with the IP address which should not be the approach...Use FQDN instead ...Fully Qualified Domain Name i.e hostname.domain.com:portnumber

the PCD in system administration will not run for this error..



SAP Diagnostics and Support Desktop Tool

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

With SP15 the Diagnostics and Support desktop tool can now be accessed directly via the below link...
http://hostname.domain.com:port/irj/servlet/prt
/portal/prtroot/com.sap.ip.bi.supportdesk.default

Remember to belong to the Administrators group depending on your installation type..

below is an example of how this tool can help BI folks understand errors in their Reports displayed in the Portal...







AccApp Delivery

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Finally we hear the scream of relief for running web dynpros and heavy HTML objects for a global implementation...
Accelerated application delivery is finally here after years of people talking about how this would change the way portal can be efficient outside your LAN.

Check this video

Thank you once again SAP !

Wednesday, May 21, 2008










Thank you for bringing my article on the home page again...
To read the second part click here..

Themes for Anonymous KM iViews

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Follow the below rules to display the themes for KM anonymous iViews..
I figure this is one concept not mentioned as a document in any of the sites sdn,help or even service market place .... woohoo !!

1.Assign the default Portal desktop in Portal Content > Portal users > standard portal users > default portal desktop the everyone user group permissions.
2.Create a folder called desktops in the portal content of Content administration.
3.System administration > Portal display > desktops and display rules > portal content > right click on the desktops folder and create a portal desktop >
4.Add the framework page after modifying it in the content administration.
5.Add the theme to the desktop as well.
6.Check permissions on the newly created desktop and assign the everyone user group permissions.
7.Check for permissions in the system administration > permissions > portal content > portal users > standard portal users > default portal desktop > check for everyone permissions.
8.Under themes in the portal content catalog check for the theme and its permissions.
9.Check for permissions on the newly created portal desktop and assign the everyone permissions.
10.Make sure that the framework page that is included in the portal desktop has the everyone user group permissions with end user ticked.
11.Any change in the framework page has to be done in the content administration and not in system administration.
12.For the rule collection use the following expressions:
If URL Alias = portal/anonymous
THEN Portal Desktop = (the portal desktop that you created).
13. Test it and it has to work!!

Everyone User Group

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

A user accessing the backend SAP system requires the “everyone” permissions on the system object connecting the SAP system. The end user permission has to be granted which will open the doors for the portal to access transactions in SAP. The everyone user group contains 2 types of users: Authenticated users and Anonymous users.












Any user accessing the Portal belongs to the authenticated user group by default since he is authenticated to access the portal. If the permissions don’t list the everyone user group in the system object the user being authenticated cannot access the SAP system. This is a very logical explanation for many folks struggling to connect Portal to a SAP system without giving the super admin role or belonging to the administrator’s user group. When a user is granted the super admin role or belongs to the administrator’s user group he/she can access anything on the backend SAP system. If the super admin role is removed or removed from the administrators user group the user is unable to access the backend system. This is a very common issue and learning more about this everyone user group can give you a logical explanation for this problem.

Check List

Monday, April 28, 2008

Consider the below as the possible items to check before completing the user access
to backend SAP System.

End user access consideration:

Check if the user ID is the same in the backend ECC and Portal.
If the user ID is different perform User mapping.
Check the backend ECC role and access the transaction in ECC.
If it fails check for authorization Issues in SU53.
Check the right role in the portal that has been assigned to the end user.
Check if the user is assigned to a user group which has the right Portal Role
that the user is accessing.
Check for permissions in the system object that is connecting the ECC system.
Check if everyone user group has end user permissions for the system object.
Check if the user group has the end user access assigned in the system object permissions.
Check for the language in the user ID in identity management of the user administration in Portal.
Check for the iView properties to determine the right client name and the system number of ECC.
Check for browser issues such as popup blocker.
For iViews broadcasted from WAD determine the type of alias to be mentioned in the system object properties of the iView.
Try SAP_LocalSystem or delete it completely (Depends on the SP)

Business Explorer Explored !

Friday, April 25, 2008

read more on SDN Wiki
https://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/sdn/wiki?path=/display/EP/Business+Explorer+Explored+with+a+Fleaxible+KM+User+Interface











BI WAD common error

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

This is one of the most common errors with Broacasting Reports to the portal from the WAD tool...
depending on the SP level modifying the system alias on your broadcasted iView can help
you fix this confusing scenario...







CLICK HERE TO READ MORE.......

Commonly used Portal Development files

Tuesday, April 22, 2008















For most Portal landscapes the above picture should summarize all the possible
files that can be possibly used...

Visual Composer for Dummies part 2

Friday, March 28, 2008

Load Balancing the Portal Server

Thursday, March 27, 2008
















C 2 concepts in load balancing:
Scenario 1:
You can start a system with many Java dispatchers, for which the SAP Web Dispatcher or a different load balancer is already activated as a Web switch.
Scenario 2:
In the Java Instance the Java Dispatcher distributes the inbound requests to the server processes to which it is connected. The Java dispatcher runs the load balancing when the first session request arrives. The dispatcher ensures that subsequent requests get to the server process that is processing this session.


Now consider a scenario where the CI or the central instance and the dialog instance are in different Operating systems, the portal needs some work and I think this is a very rare scenario where not many clients would adopt this system landscape.
lets consider the possible issues faced on the Portal in this heterogeneous system landscape and provide solutions.
Problems and solutions:
The KM iViews are severely affected and the solution is mentioned below :
Make sure the settings for the cluster environment is not deselected. System Administration > System Configuration > Knowledge Management > Content Management > Global Services > system landscape services.

the secret is here...

· In the portal, choose System Administration ® System Configuration ® Knowledge Management ® Content Management ® Repository Managers ® File System Repository.

· Open the etc entry, and then choose Edit.

· In the Root Directory parameter, enter the following value:

· $(sys.global.dir)/config/cm/etc

· Save your changes by choosing OK.

· To check the changes, open the configuration of the /etc file system repository again. The new operating system-specific path is displayed below the Root Directory parameter.

Restart the portal.







From PCD to KM and finally to PD

Wednesday, March 26, 2008










The Content in the Portal Catalog easily accessible in Knowledge Management and the same accessed on a Windows Explorer !!

This is a reality and only makes content management more accessible...
The above picture shows a description of how content in the portal catalog can be easily accessible as documents in Knowledge Management. But the interesting fact is that documents can now be handled easily on a windows explorer using the Portal Drive.
Knowledge Management is so much fun working with the Windows explorer. gone are those days when it took several minutes just to copy and move documents around the KM Content.Its so much faster and easy to work with the drive and makes the KM a server rather that using this as a client.
Below are some screen prints captured on my laptop for using the Portal Drive...





























Yes !! that is my cool Matrix desktop and the white oval is the symbol for the Portal drive that can be installed from the service marketplace link PDrive4400_5-10003555.ZIP
The matrix path to find this zip file is shown below:

Support Packages and Patches >SAP Netweaver >SAP NETWEAVER >SAP NETWEAVER 7.0> Entry by Component > Frontend







































In the above picture the " synchronization " is the coolest part of this software. If you work offline or online the documents that are edited on the explorer are automatically synchronized in Knolwledge Management. You can also manually synchronize documents by clicking the synchronize now button.....

Visual Composer for Dummies part -1

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Lets consider the below scenario:





































Yes !! Its possible using Visual Composer ...learn more

Portal Drive - An easy way to access documents


Check this Video

Do the Evolution

Monday, March 24, 2008

We know how human beings evolved ....



















I guess its important to keep a track of how SAP is evolving ???




















UNCAR a CAR file ...

Friday, March 7, 2008

This blog is related to one of the requirements from the GRC team who wanted to UNCAR a CAR file for the installation of the Compliance Calibrator which had a CAR file. here we go..


How to UNCAR a CAR or UNSAR a SAR file.

SAPCAR is an application which can unzip the CAR files

Search for the location where the SAPCAR.exe is located.

Place the SAR or CAR files in this folder.

SAPCAR is an application which can unzip the CAR files.
To do this:
1. Start CMD (Dos Console)
2. Place the CAR file and SAPCAR file in the same directory
3. In your dos console navigate to the above folder
4. Run command: SAPCAR -xvf "*.sar" or SAPCAR -xvf JIDE19_0-10002804.sar

This will extract the CAR file, then go into the extracted dir and run setup file.

You can then deploy them by the SDM tool of Netweaver or use the JSPM to deploy it to the J2ee server.


Thank You SAP !!

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

A special thanks to the editors of SDN for picking my blog to be published on the homepage of the BPX Community. I will try my best to post as many blogs as possible and help people in this insane challenging field of SAP Netweaver.

Someone must react immediately!

The concept of delivering highly important critical information has always been a key part in any project.
Alert Management helps prevent delays in the processing of critical situations, because the time between discovering and responding to such situations is reduced considerably.

Just like 6Sigma has the DMAIC and the DMADV rules I would like to define it by calling it DDA rule.



















DDA rule: Define-Detect-Analyze


Define: Alerts are defined in the alert category using transaction ALRTCATDEF.


Detect: Alerts are detected by defining the the key metrics which affect the daily business. Business Objects in the Business object repository have events which can be defined in the Alert Category and notified to the users via the Portal, Email or even SMS. For example, Purchase Order which is a business object when specified in the alert category with the event “cancelled” is notified immediately in the Portal, email or SMS.


Analyze: The optional subsequent activities in the Alert Categories provide innovative means of solving critical Issues in the system. A URL which contains the roadmap for the solution can be linked to solve the Alert displayed on the Portal. The Portal Solution has an option of displaying a link to the Business Object which directly takes you to the respective transaction n SAP to solve the issue. Other Innovative solutions can be used, for example providing the amazon.com link as a solution when the books in the inventory fall below a specified threshold.
Critical scenarios:
> Insufficient system resources, system administration (mySAP Technology, CCMS)
> Delivery problems for an important order (mySAP SCM)
> Drastic decline in revenue (mySAP BI)
> An important customer terminating a contract. (mySAP CRM)
> An unplanned stoppage in production occurs, such as may be caused by machine damage or there being an insufficient number of employees (production alert)
> The free capacity on your SAP system's database is running low (technical alert).
> Incoming purchase orders, out of stock situations, and ASN past due.
These detective Controls will trigger an alert notification which will be displayed in the Portal and also via e-mail, fax, or even SMS. The key importance is the fact that Business users need not log into their systems every time to inspect for errors.

The Alerts from an Alert Management System can be received by the following ways:
In the Universal Work List (UWL of the Enterprise Portal) as of SAP Netweaver ’04
In an application that accesses the alerts using an API
In your email inbox
In the Alert Inbox. The Alert Inbox is an application based on Business Server Pages (BSP),
which can be called using the transaction ALRTINBOX or the corresponding URL
(http ://:/sap/bc/bsp/sap/alertinbox)

However there are concerns most business users raise and that involves crowding of emails and unable to track the alerts that are received in their inbox. Several times employees leave the firm and some important past alerts are passed away in your exchange server. I’ve heard some folks telling me that the perfect way to organize or store all the alerts is to involve the UWL as this is stored in the Portal and one way or the other they can always be retrieved.

Graphical Description of Portal BI Connectivity

Saturday, February 9, 2008

The communication always starts with the Portal talking to the AS ABAP and then AS ABAP communicates with AS JAVA and the AS JAVA communicates with AS ABAP if necessary. The AS JAVA then communicates with BEx tools to execute the template or report back on the Portal. Follow these steps to analyze your current situation and based on that, research on these Notes to fix your connectivity issues: 989525,573284, 917950, 937697, 944370, and 916090.


Note 1: Run Report RSPOR_SETUP which will give a complete story of the connections between the Portal and the AS ABAP. Also create a SAP Transaction iView and test the connectivity.
Note 2: Note 989525 > open WAD > Validate on server function > if no error occurs, then the java connection with the WAD is working fine!
Note 3: run the RS_TEMPLATE_MAINTAIN_70 and a notepad with text should appear. If an empty WordPad appears the JAVA and ABAP are not communicating.

The Concept of SSO




SSO logon ticket Theory

Just for starters the AS ABAP (BI) system as of Feb 1st 2008 is on SP 13 patch 15 and the Portal 7.0 is on SPS13. The latest GUI patch is Patch #5 and the BEx Tools patch is Patch #3.


Rule #1: When a user logs in to the Portal a non –persistent HTTP cookie is generated which holds the SAPlogonticket in the user’s browser. In order to accept this cookie in the browser the internet options settings has to welcome this cookie to sit in the browser. You ask me how to do it?? The answer is below. 'Tools' --> 'Internet Options --> 'Privacy' menu option.


Rule #2: The backend needs to accept the logon ticket from the Portal and for that acceptance the profile parameters of the Instance has to be maintained as follows: login/accept_sso2_ticket= 1 login/create_sso2_ticket= 2 (recommended) or 1. Icm/host needs its name full.
Login to AS-ABAP -> Start T-code RZ10 -> Menu: Utilities -> Import profiles -> Of all active servers Profile: -> Select: Default -> Mark: Extended Maintenance -> Change .Add the both parameter -> Save and Activate the profile -> Restart the system.


Rule #3: To enable the Internet browser accept the SSO2 cookie, you must enter a fully qualified host name in accordance with Notes 434918 and 654982.


Rule #4: The SAPSECULIB / SAPCRYPTOLIB have to be set accordingly.


Rule #5: Transaction STRUST In this transaction, you define which systems are meant to accept logon tickets. This is necessary, for example, if you want to access data from one system of a BW application to another application of another system, without having to log on again.


Rule # 6: A configuration test can be done to ensure that the SSO works on your AS ABAP. Follow the below steps:SAP delivers the sso2test.htm BSP application.You can use this application to check whether an SSO2 cookie can be created.Start Transaction SE80 > ‘SYSTEM’ BSP application > Pages with flow logic > Right-click sso2test.htm > Test > Follow the instructions on the screen.























Rule # 7: You can also execute the following JavaScript command from the address bar of your Internet browser to check whether an SSO2 cookie currently exists: javascript: alert (document. cookie) As a result, all current cookies are issued in an alert box. If an SSO2 cookie exists, an entry would have to exist that begins with 'MYSAPSSO2=....'If you cannot display an SSO2 cookie despite this information, check the logon as described in Note 495911 and if necessary, open a message under the component BC-SEC-SSF


Rule# 8: When exporting certificate from the AS-ABAP (BI) system, the system PSE must be properly configured. To do this Start transaction STRUSTSSO2, if the System PSE does not have a green status, right mouse-click on System PSE, click on Create, accept initial values. Save the changes. If you have problems refer SAP note no. 662340.


Rule#9: When configuring the Webdynpro Jco destination connectivity the configuration of SLD your system is pointing (local or central) should work properly.Logon to the Web Dynpro Welcome page http://host:port/webdynpro/welcome/Welcome.jspand then go to Content Administrator -> Check SLD Connection -> Test Connection.The relevant connection settings will be brought out before. Make sure they are correct. The test result is listed on the bottom of the page.If the test fails, verify and adjust the SLD settings in the visual admin:1. Go to sld data supplier -> tab Run time -> tab(bottom) http settings,adjust all the parameters.2. Go to sld data supplier -> tab Run time -> tab (bottom) CIM Client Generation Settingsadjust all the parameters.3. Go to configuration adapter -> CTC -> Property sheet System Properties,adjust all the SLD relevant settings.4. Retest.


Rule #10: The AS ABAP (BI) system has to be registered in the SLD. If it is not registered in the SLD logon to the SLD: http ://:/sld. (Your configured SLD (central or local SLD))Please check in Home -> Technical Systems -> select type ABAP. This should have configuration of your ABAP (BI) system.If it is missing, logon to your ABAP (BI) system -> goto transaction RZ70. Fill in the SLD bridge: gateway info -> Activate -> Start data collection.If a error message like "ABAP backend doesn't exist in the SLD" pops up while running the template installer, there could be different possibilities for this error. Starting SP14 more detailed error sources will be popped up. For lower SPS the exact reason of the error can be found in the default trace file.

Rule #11:

The SAP SS02 cookie is a major part of the EP SSO environment. As such, it is
useful to be able to view the contents to assist in problem resolution.

Check for SSO cookies
Use a URL : http://portalserver:port/irj/servlet/prt/portal/prtroot/SSOSupport.default

Rule # 12:
Start transaction SA3 8
Enter RSPFPAR as the Program Name and hit Execute (F8 1 , and
Logon to the SAP System/Client using SAPgui
Execute (F8) on the next screen.
Search for the string login/ using the Search icon.
The parameter should be set as follows:
login/accept-sso2-ticket = 1
If the parameters are not set correctly, they must be changed using
transaction RZ10, whcih requires an SAP system restart.

Rule #13: When configuring the connectivity between the AS-ABAP (BI) and AS-JAVA system, a "Logon Group" must be provided for the user input. Login to AS-ABAP -> Start T-code SMLG -> Create -> Enter Logon Group name (e.g. PUBLIC) and select an Instance -> Copy -> Save


Make sure that the user has authorizations for function group SYST in the SAP Web Application Server ABAP part of your SAP NetWeaver BI system


Rule #14:
Activate the BEx services in the AS ABAP (BI) system: T-code: SICF. Default host / sap / bw -> Mark "bw": Right-Click -> Activate Service -> Press "Y" to activate the whole tree
Additional Notes:
EXECUTION: In the user input part (UI) please specify the application server host name of both Java and backend (ABAP) system with the full domain name in case there is only one field for host (later releases). It should look like "server.company.com". In newer releases (with patch) there are two fields for host and domain separately. In this case please specify host (without the domain name) and domain (without the host name) respectively.
CENTRAL SLD: If you use a central SLD please make sure that the user (including it's appropriate authorization) that you provide for setting up WD JCo destinations exist on both, BI System and central SLD, as well.
TEST WD JCo DESTINATIONS: If you want to check the WD JCo Destinations (http://:/index.html -> Web Dynpro -> Content Administrator -> Maintain Jco Destinations -> In the detailed navigation: System defined Content: BI_METADATA / BI_MODELDATA / WD_ALV_METADATA_DEST /WD_ALV_MODELDATA_DEST) with the "Test" button, make sure that the user with which you login to the Content Administrator page(e.g. j2ee_admin), has the RFC authorization on ABAP side (Role: SAP_BC_JSF_COMMUNICATION, Profile: S_BW_RFC and S_BI-WX_RFCA). Otherwise the test will fail, because SSO is used.


Related Information:
http://help.sap.com/saphelp_webas620/helpdata/en/17/ f8973814eb481fe10000009b38f8cf/frameset.htm
http://service.sap.com/security

If you can’t fix it ask SAP!!

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Many folks have issues with their BI and Portal Configuration and wonder why they cannot see the Java and ABAP talking to each other. SAP has several notes that can guide you through the steps, but there is one Note 917950 - SAP Netweaver 2004s: Setting up BEx Web
This note is unique as there are some files attached at the end of the note.
Problem Analysis.zip WDEBU7_Setting_up_BEx_Web.zip, System_Upgrade_Copy.zip and Checklist.zip.
The problem analysis lets you screen shot those errors and send it to SAP and seek their help!
The checklist will help you to keep a track of your configuration.
Note 937697 "SAP NetWeaver BIDiagnostics & Support Desk Tool" helps to check the configuration of your system and to collect detailed information regarding your SAP NetWeaver BI installation.

To baby feed yourself use this note which has a template installer and does all the work for you !!
Note 983156 - BI configuration w. Template Installer

BEx Web Applications Java - Analysis of Session Management

Monday, February 4, 2008

You want to analyse if sessions are properly released on the J2EE engine
after executing one or more BEx Web Applications Java.

Logon to the following URL to start the session overview: FQDN/irj/servlet/prt/portal/prtroot/com.sap.ip.bi.web.portal.integration.sessionoverview
Note: The user needs to have administrator authorization.
Start transaction SM04 in the ABAP backend.
The session overview shows:
Current date:
Controllers: <# of controllers>
Applications without page: <# of applications without page>
Applications with page: <# of applications with page>
Portal connection pools: <# of portal connection pools>

SM04 shows the RFC connections opened from J2EE engine to ABAP backend.

Execute the session overview twice:
1) Before executing the BEx Web Applications Java
2) After terminating the BEx Web Applications Java

Note: A BEx Web Application session is terminated, e.g. when:
- navigating to another page
- using the logoff button
- closing the browser window

The numbers for <# of controllers>,
<# of applications without page>,
<# of applications with page>, and <# of portal connection pools>
must be the same before and after executing the BEx Web Applications Java. Otherwise there is a problem in the session management that requires further analysis.

Execute the SM04 after terminating the BEx Web Applications Java.
Note: In transaction SM04 you will see a connection of type RFC for each BEx Web Application Java.
Important: Terminating a BEx Web Application will not release the RFC connection in SM04. This behavior is due to the RFC connection pool of the Enterprise Portal. The RFC connection will be returned to the connection pool and will be reused when doing a re-logon. Therefore the proper release of sessions of BEx Web Applications Java cannot be analysed with SM04. SM04 will only show that the memory consumed on the
ABAP stack will be freed after a successful termination.
1) Start the session overview. See the number of controllers












Start the BEx Web Application

















Refresh the session overview. See the number of controllers:



















Start SM04. See the memory consumed in the ABAP backend:






Terminate the BEx Web Application (e.g. by closing the browser window):












Refresh the session overview. See the number of controllers

Java for FOOD ! part-1

Java became popular with the Internet as a language of the World Wide Web. Life was added to the static HTML pages using Java script and with the CGI (Common Interface Gateway) simple databases can be performed and the results are displayed in the browser.
However these technologies are limited in the case of simultaneous accesses from very large number of users who can retrieve with quick response time.
SUN provides a solution to these problems in terms of server side architecture for Internet applications with the Java 2 Platform Enterprise Edition .

J2EE is a vendor standard for a set of software components which are basically created in Java programming language. To create cross platform Java programs a JDK or a Java Devlopment Kit is required which includes the software required to create and test Java applications and applets, the packages with the java classes that are a part of the basic configuration. The software can be accessed via the link http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.4.2/download.html
the software includes the java compiler, the Java runtime environment (Java Virtual Machine) for running the applications , the applet viewer for runnning the applets, a java debugger and other utilities.

The use of J2EE in SAP has several advantages such as :
the open integration architecture SAP Netweaver integrates with the openness of J2EE.
It provides the platform independence and web services technology supported directly by java heavily used in SOA.
The J2EE Connector architecture allows standardized integration of external services.

more on part 2....

Initial settings for the BI folks to run Portal

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

10 times out of 11, the BI Consultants I have met have cumbersome laptops and insane browser settings. Not to forget ... the missing software and constant bickering that Portal Sucks !!

Here I am, helping them feel easy at work by giving them some tips to follow before you constantly scratch those Portal Dudes !!

Add the Portal and BI systems in your browser
Within Internet Explorer, you should make sure that you add your SAP NetWeaver Portal and BI systems to the list of trusted sites within Internet Explorer. This is available through the Tools -> Internet Options -> Security -> Trusted Sites -> Sites area.



















Within Internet Explorer, you should make sure that you add your SAP NetWeaver Portal and BI systems to the list of sites that can always use cookies. This is available through the Tools -> Internet Options -> Privacy -> Sites .







JAVA script settings:
Within Internet Explorer, you should check your advanced tab settings. Also, a requirement is to ensure that JavaScript is enabled for your internet explorer browser. If you disable JavaScript, your page and portal won’t load. See this Microsoft guide on how to enable javascript on your client browser.
On the Tools menu, click Internet Options, and then click the Security tab.
Click the Internet zone.
If you do not have to customize your Internet security settings, click Default Level.
If you have to customize your Internet security settings, follow these steps:a. Click Custom Level.b. In the Security Settings – Internet Zone dialog box, click Enable for Active Scripting in the Scripting section.
Click the Back button to return to the previous page, and then click the Refresh button to run scripts. If it is not, see this Microsoft hotfix page http://support.microsoft.com/kb/871205 for a resolution to this issue.

HTTP Content
If you’re having issues with IE such that it won’t decompress HTTP Content on IE 6 SP2. Ensure that your wininet.dll file is at the following version for IE 6 SP2

Next, add your local domain to your trusted sites in Internet Explorer. If you can’t add the entire domain, add the ABAP and JAVA systems manually. If you’re still having issues with Internet Explorer 6.0 and you’ve followed all these steps, I suggest using HTTP Watch or another http trace program and check your http return codes when loading pages and also use the JavaScript debugger to get a better idea of the types of JavaScript errors you are receiving. Then search Microsoft’s Knowledge Base articles at http://support.microsoft.com/.


MSHTML.dll
In addition, you need the latest version of the mshtml.dll version for Windows XP SP2. This is mentioned and available in this Microsoft hot fix: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/917425.
Setting up Internet Explorer 7.0
Internet Explorer 7.0 is supported for NetWeaver as of SPS10.
Installing Latest Version of .NET 1.1 framework
Download and install the latest version of Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1. Currently, there is a version 2.0 available, but 1.1 is required. See OSS note 877774 for details. Keep in mind this must be installed BEFORE SAPGUI or the BI Addon is installed. http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=262d25e3-f589-4842-8157-034d1e7cf3a3


Install Microsoft Visual J# .NET
This is a new Prerequisite (Note 964495): You need have installed "Microsoft Visual J# .NET Version 1.1 Redistributable Package" http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=E3CF70A9-84CA-4FEA-9E7D-7D674D2C7CA1&displaylang=en


Installing MSXML Parser
The latest version of Microsoft XML Parser should be installed. MSXML parser comes installed on Windows XP machines, but if you’re using a prior operating system, you may need to install it. Also, you should make sure the version you are using is up to date. MSXML Parser is required for Visual Composer designtime. Currently, the latest version is MSXML Parser 6.0 which is located at: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=993c0bcf-3bcf-4009-be21-27e85e1857b1&DisplayLang=en


Installing Adobe SVG Viewer
Download and run Adobe SVG Viewer 3.0 http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/product.jsp?product=46&platform=Windows Adobe SVG Viewer is required for all users that will use the Visual Composer Designtime. It is not required for any runtime users or for any other BEx tools (at least it isn’t required yet …)


Installing Adobe Flash Player
Download and Install Adobe Flash Player (v7.0+) - plug in for Internet Explorer 6.0 Adobe Flash Player is required for Visual Composer (both designtime and runtime). This is located at: http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash


Verify SAPGUI Settings for BI
In excel, go to Tools -> Macro -> Security -> Trusted Publishers Verify the SAP AG certificate and make sure “Trust Access to Visual Basic Project” and “Trust all installed addins and templates” are checked. Run C:\Program Files\SAP\FrontEnd\Bw\sapbexc350.xla and ensure there are no red files… Run C:\Program Files\SAP\FrontEnd\Bw\sapbexc700.xla and ensure there are no red files…
Server Side Settings
Step 1 – Ensure that your ABAP and JAVA systems are on the same fully qualified domain name. There are numerous cross-domain issues that could occur. Also, ensure that all communication server side is using the fully qualified domain name. Step 2 – You may be missing style elements which could cause incorrect rendering. If you are still having issues, try switching to an SAP Delivered Theme instead of Custom Theme on the Portal.
Hope this blog helps the BI folks and ofcourse the Portal DUDES !!!

Email Connectivity in SAP Netweaver Portal

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Sending Emails from the Portal is a key functionality for Collaboration and certain KM services. Below is a step by step configuration of Email in Portal.

Create the system Object for the Microsoft Exchange Server














Use the SMTP server address












Create the Alias for the system object



















Configure the email service

System Administration > System Configuration > Content Management > Global Services > Mailing Services > check for the tick sign in the Active section.















Creating an Email Transport


System Administration > System Configuration > Collaboration > Transports















System Administration > System Configuration > Collaboration > Transports > Mail Transport > Click New > use the SMTP address











Make sure you have the collaboration link activated on the portal to test this functionality.





















Check your email for the response..










I hope the above configuration was simple enough....

Flavors of EP

One of the hottest topics on SDN is the versions of EP. In this blog I have focussed on 4 different areas:
Running an Enterprise Portal
Collaboration
Knowledge management
Mobilizing Business Processes
(Click on the image to see a larger version)












































URL in SAP Netweaver

Monday, January 28, 2008

Short URL

Easy way:

Step 1:

Click on add to Browser favorites in the page title bar in the right-top corner of the page.

Check the favorites and determine the URL link for the iView.






Hard way:

STEP1: Go to a PCD object in the Portal content directory and determine the path under PCD location properties.

Step 2: Copy the link and go to system administration > navigation > short URL >

Step 3: Type ROLES:// followed by the PCD location and determine your short URL.

Step 4: concatenate the URL (check the below example) For example, the user mapping iView can be displayed with the following URL: http://myServer:50000/irj/portal?NavigationTarget=

ROLES://portal_content/every_user/general/eu_role/

com.sap.portal.portal_personalization/com.sap.portal.persoUserMapping

A short version of the URL might be the following, with the navigation target hashed and shortened: http://myServer:50000/irj/portal?NavigationTarget=navurl:

//b3d6d9ebac16a46574d62757803b05d4

I know it’s goofy to add a hard and easy way to work this but the hard way is for the GEEKS!

And of course the Slackers enjoy the easy one J

URL for Portal Quick Links:

Quick links are shortcuts to iViews and pages. Each quick link is a string that you add to the default portal URL in order to navigate to a specific iView or page. Quick links provide a meaningful name for iViews and pages to which users may want to navigate.

For example, if the base address of the portal is http://myServer:50000/irj/portal and the quick link to the page is email, a URL to the page would be: http://myServer:50000/irj/portal/email