Executing RFCs in an ABAP backend system from a NetWeaver Cloud Application

[Ulrich_Schmidt]

Hi,

I wrote a little tutorial explaining how to execute remote-enabled function modules (RFMs) from within a Java application running on the NetWeaver Cloud:

Executing RFC Calls from a  NetWeaver Cloud Application

Currently the SAP Cloud Connector does not yet support the RFC protocol, but with the workaround described in the above document, it should be possible to call any ABAP function module in an on-premise R/3 system in a secure and effortless way. The workaround leverages an internally installed SAP Business Connector, which can be set up in half an hour, if not yet installed.

The above mechanism is not limited to calling RFMs: the Business Connector provides much more functionality, and the referenced jar file allows executing any SAP BC Service very easily, so you could for example access an on-premise database using the Business Connector's WmDB package, put/get files onto/from an internal FTP server, etc.

In this thread please report your experiences with the above procedure or any problems you encounter.

Ulrich

[Ulrich_Schmidt · Accepted solution]

Document updated to reflect the changes in the HTTP Destination API. (Moved from deprecated API to JNDI based API.)

[tobiasz_topyla · Accepted solution]

Hi Ulrich,

Thank you for the very detailed documentation!

I'm looking for a scenario where the SAP Business Connector is taken out and not required.

Is it possible to establish access to RFCs in an ABAP backend by using only SAP Cloud Connector?

Kind regards

Tobias

[MarkusTolksdorf · Accepted solution]

Hi Tobias,

this is not yet possible.

Best regards,

Markus

[former_member193040 · Accepted solution]

Hello,

is it possible to consume WSDL files instead of RFCs by using SAP Cloud Connector?

Kind regards,

Anne

[Ulrich_Schmidt · Accepted solution]

Hi Anne,

sure. You would have to import the WSDL into your application on the Neo server.

(The SAP Cloud Connector only performs the technical HTTP communication, it doesn't care or even notice, whether it is a WebService call or a simple GET for a gif file or a special HTTP body that translates to an RFC call on the Business Connector...)

But in most cases the RFC will be simpler, faster and more robust than the WebService call.

Best Regards, Ulrich

[szymon_glapiak · Accepted solution]

Is something was changed with "native" RFC in SAP Cloud Connector? Is connector 2.1 allow to call RFC ?

Best Regards

Szymon Glapiak

[MarkusTolksdorf · Accepted solution]

Hi Szymon,

yes, that's right. starting with SCC 1.3.0, RFC was natively supported, which means that you can simply use JCo directly in SAP HANA Cloud Platform in order to invoke function modules in an ABAP system. Info is available under https://help.hana.ondemand.com/help/frameset.htm?628bae0298e6451b998127830975a7f3.html

Best regards,

Markus

[Vlado · Accepted solution]

Yep. RFC protocol has been supported with SCC 1.x (which has been deprecated now) since June, and SCC 2.x supports it from the very beginning. You might want to follow the

Cheers,

--Vlado

[szymon_glapiak · Accepted solution]

Many thanks for the replay. I have a problem with RFC connection and I wondered if it was because SCC did not support RFC but not. I'm traying to create link to ABAP system (RFC  - non RFC SNC) and when I'm checking it i get "message.error.localHostNotReachableDueToTimeOut". I set correctly internal host and port. There is no other logs.

Do You know where should I looking for the reason of the issue?

[MarkusTolksdorf · Accepted solution]

Hi Szymon,

according to that message, the internal host you try to access is in principle known, but does not respond on that port. The physical port for sapgw00 can be seen in /etc/services (on Windows <WINDOWS>\system32\drivers\etc\services). Typically, it's port 3300 for this logical port. Try accessing the location with niping from your SAP HANA Cloud connector machine.

Best regards,

Markus

[Ulrich_Schmidt]

Ok, everybody: the real document is now uploaded! Thanks to Matthias for updating the link in the first post; I tried and failed bitterly...

Let the fun begin...

[matt_steiner]

Hi Ulrich,

the link you posted refers to an image. You may want to double-check...

BTW, there's already a document describing how-to execute RFCs here:

BR, Matthias

[Ulrich_Schmidt]

Hi Matthias,

I know...

When I tried uploading my document, for some strange reason the system accepted only extensions like .jpg, .gif, .png etc. It rejected my .pdf document! So I uploaded some picture I happened to have at hand as a "placeholder" and asked an administrator to replace it with the real pdf document. Unfortunately there seem to be technical problems getting the real pdf document in place...

The link you mention above is a copy of the first version of my document from an SAP-internal discussion forum, which Steven Thorne for some reason duplicated here on SCN. I will have to ask him to delete it, as it is a bit out-dated by now.

Best Regards, Ulrich