This Space has blogs on various topics in the field of SAP. These blogs point out solutions to various technical and functional issues that consultants face during implementation or support of SAP Projects. Readers/followers are welcome to contribute to this space by emailing your content at bohra.mohammadi@gmail.com. You will be rewarded according to the topic/number of words/complexity of the topic/issue which are you addressing in your blog.
Sunday, July 31
Slut Walk - Besharmi Morcha
Thursday, July 28
Rains in Mumbai
Things that we use to save ourselves from rain like umbrellas and raincoats and wind protectors etc are useless in mumbai rains because mumbai rains and massive and continuous. Also they start suddenly, no indication like cloud acculating for few minutes or so and cool winds blowing before the rains etc.
I travel by bus mostly to reach my office. Generally it takes one hour to reach office given that there is no traffic. But during rainy seasons, the commute time increases by 100% and sometimes more than that. My office is located in Navi Mumbai and my home in Kalyan(W). The bus does well till kalyan bypass. But after that the problem begins due to trucks and busses trying to occupy a single lane. The busses and trucks coming and those going take the same lane. The Municipal corporation should look into this matter seriously. The road from Kalyan Bypass to Mahape Circle is full of pits and rainwater accumulate in the pits and it becomes near to impossible to commute on such a road.
So the bus stops and moves like a bullock cart between kalyan bypass and mahape circle. It is really frustrating sometimes especially when it is extremely necessary to reach office on time for a meeting or training etc.
I just step out of the bus and walk towards my office. So on an average I walk 2 kilometres daily in rainy season and that also under heavy rains. I wish I could work from home during rainy seasons. Also this is a loss for the company I work for. I am not able to give my 100% as I am already tired commuting. Same is the case when I have to travel back to home. It is very necessary for me to leave early from the office during rainy season to avoid the rush hours of the bus.
So in all I have 2 wishes. The pits get filled(Municipal Corporation help !) and I get a laptop to work from home during rainy seasons (Project Manager Help !).
Tuesday, July 12
SAP Web Dynpro Terminology
SAP Web Dynpro Component Concept
So each component has its interface. Data and Functionality of a component can be accessed through this Interface.
For this communication to take place, components need to be enbedded. For example, In a Component called TravelComp, there is a method called Speed(). If you another Component called MainComp wants t ouse the method Speed(), It has to enbed the TravelComp first. Then Through the Interface of the TravelComp, MainComp can call the method called Speed() Provided that method is Public in TravelComp.
Related Posts :
SAP Web Dynpro Component Concept
SAP's Standard UI technology Web Dynpro for ABAP
SAP Web Dynpro Terminology
Sunday, July 10
SAP NetWeaver - an Ambitious Vision
Everbody has got to have a vision in life. In Columbus’ case it was finding a better route to Asia by the way of sailing west. (Viola! there was a new world on his way.) For Galileo it was invention of a telescope for viewing of the planets and discovery of satellites around Jupiter. For you, it can be just making sense of all the technical things your company has to deal with daily so that you and your IT people don’t end up being old for their time.
In such a case, you’ll be glad to hear that SAP NetWeaver is an ambitious vision at its core, for improving Information Technology,that includes the software and hardware running the world of business. But SAP NetWeaver is not just a vision but a set of tools and methodologies that has the ability to take your company to higher places.
Frankly, SAP NetWeaver is not any normal topic for a book. It’s not any kind of hobby like yoga, sailing, or personal finance. It’s not a programming language nor even a word processor. SAP NetWeaver is a super-sized serving of technology and tools that is made up of products and which are useful to the corporate decision maker and also to the technologists who work together for solving huge information challenges.
You can do the following with SAP NetWeaver:
Make a portal which gives each user exactly that which he needs from your applications.
Providing a single view of information from every part of your company and delivering it to employees how and when they need it.
Knitting together into one streamlined interface processes which are distributed in bits across many applications.
Since it is based on the latest technology and approaches the business processes, SAP NetWeaver increases the flexibility and allows change throughout your enterprise. Not bad, right?
Though SAP NetWeaver isn’t a typical topic, SAP and its customers and partners know that it’s a topic which needs the right approach, that puts up complex ideas and processes into terms in such a way that everybody can understand. The world of Information Technology has become complex and vast and hence it’s hard to keep track of all the technical terms and acronyms and how they are related. Enterprise application integration, enterprise portals, data warehouses, model-driven development, business process management, and service-oriented architecture all come under SAP NetWeaver. How does any average guy or girl go to even start to make sense of it?
This article gives you an idea of plowing through the conceptual algebra that you usually get to read in the the McKinsey Quarterly and Harvard Business Review. This book helps you in avoiding the deep complexity of the technology which makes enterprise applications work. On the other hand, it provides a clear and simple explanation for the entire landscape of Information Technology by explaining how this SAP NetWeaver can help you master the complexity of it and helps you to get more value from your investment.
Related Posts:
Major Facts on SAP NetWeaver Portal Implementation
Friday, July 8
Major Facts on SAP NetWeaver Portal Implementation
Whenever you start your work on end-to-end SAP Netweaver Portal Implementation project, there is one question you will. What is that which takes in the Whenever you start your work on end-to-end SAP Netweaver Portal Implementation project, there is one question you will. What is that which takes in the making of a successful SAP NetWeaver Implementation? The required things for successful SAP NetWeaver Implementation would be Usable screens, security, landing pages, rich user experience, stable server landscape etc...
Monday, July 4
Delta Links and Chained Objects
Using the delta link, you can protect your objects and the objects provided by SAP and other vendors from being modified.
Chained objects can be created using the delta link concept. So depending on its position in the chain, an object can be a source object as well as a target object.
Related Posts:
SAP EP Page Builder
SAP EP Knowledge Management
SAP EP CM Components
SAP EP TREX Components
SAP EP Connectors
SAP EP Personalizing Your Portal
SAP EP Delegated Administration
SAP EP Super Administration
SAP EP User Administration
SAP EP Content Administration
Saturday, July 2
System Administration
Content Management Components to be Configured are
Where is Configuration Data Stored It is stored on the portal server:
Central Configuration Data
Content Administration
Content Administration
iViews are major part of Portal content. Each iView brings to the portal desktop specified data from an information resource such as a ERP system, relational database, CRM system, collaboration tool, enterprise application, e-mail exchange system, World Wide Web, intranet etc. Each time iViews are launched, they bring latest information.
From iViewStudio (www.iviewstudio.com), iViews can be imported into the portal environment Yahoo! content modules also can be integrated into the portal as iViews, There are few templates provided with portal installation; those can be used to create iviews. Also Enterprise Portal administration tools, can be used to create custom iviews.
So where are the iviews displayed ? Generally in portal pages. Again, pages can be created or imported . The page would contain a list of iViews and layout specifications. Also worksets and business packages can be imported. Worksets bring together the pages, iViews and roles. Business packages are groups of worksets. These worksets are related with each other.
Which content will accessed by which user is defined by role definitions. task-oriented content is what a portal contains. Also, role determines the navigation structure in the SAP EP. The navigation structure contain top-level navigation and detailed navigation tree. A user can navigate in the SAP Enterprise portal content by clicking tabs in top-level and detailed navigation.
Unifier projects are part of Additional content. A Unifier project can integrates an external application such as a database, enterprise application, legacy system into the SAP Enterprise Portal. For example, a Unifier project can launch SAP system transactions and enable end-user t use it. Also Drag&Relate can be used to interrelate data from the SAP system transactions and various other portal information resources. You can integrate various Unifier projects into SAP Enterprise portal environment.
Delta Links and Chained Objects
Related Posts:
Delegated Administration
Super Administration
User Administration
System Administration
User Administration
Portal Content Directory (PCD) manages the Roles.
In this post we will discuss about the tasks that a user administrator performs. These tasks are mostly routine tasks such as:
Unlocking users, searching for users, creating users etc. User Management Administration Console is used to perform these tasks.
Assigning roles to users and groups
Mapping users
Replication of user data into external systems.
Importing user data
Assigning roles to users and groups
SAP enterprise portal provides a user interface for each user according to the roles allocated to him or her. Things in the top-level navigation and in the portal pages are determined from his or her roles. So based on their function in the company, it is very important to assign users and groups to specific roles.
Prerequisites
To do this, administrator must have following roles: pcd:portal_content/administrator/super_admin/super_admin_role pcd:portal_content/administrator/content_admin/content_admin_role pcd:portal_content/administrator/system_admin/system_admin_role pcd:portal_content/administrator/user_admin/user_admin_role
Procedure
Select user or group to which you wnat to assign a role.
Select Edit in the right column.
Select one or more roles if you want to assign one or more roles to the user or group. select Add. Similarly you can remove one or more roles chosen by you.
Choose Save.
the same procedure is followed to assign users and groups to roles as is followed for assigning roles to users and groups except that Edit needed to chosen for a role in the first screen. And in the second screen, users and groups are chosen.
The user's portal user ID is stored in the user repository for the enterprise portal. To enable Single Sign-On, a user's portal user ID and password must be mapped to the corresponding user ID for each system in which the user ID is different.
Mapping Users
There are two methods of Single Sign-On for which User mapping is required:
SSO using user ID and password:
here, it is necessary to map the portal user ID and password to the user ID and password in component system.
Using SAP logon tickets for Single Sign-On:
If the SAP user IDs are the same as the portal user IDs, user mapping is not needed. If not, we must define a SAP reference system. This system is used for user mapping. In the user's SAP logon ticket, a user's portal user ID and the SAP user ID is stored. When a logon attempt to the component system is made, the system extracts the user ID from the logon ticket.
It is possible to map a user, a group, or a role to a user ID in a system which is connected to the SAP Enterprise portal. But in case of the SAP Systems connected to SAP EP, we cannot map roles or groups to a user in a SAP System. Only a user can be mapped to a user. When a iView that needs data from a connected system is accessed, SAP logon tickets are not supported, the procedure is that SAP Enterprise portal checks whether the user is mapped to a user in the corresponding system and if yes then SAP EP logs on using the mapped user data. If not, it checks for the group to which the user belongs whether the group is mapped in the component system or not. If yes, SAP EP logs on using the mapping. If not, it checks for roles. If not, the iView will prompt the user to enter mapping data but foe this, iView needs to be Programmed.
Related Posts:
Delegated Administration
Super Administration
Content Administration
System Administration
Super Administration
This role holds the permissions given to all the other three administrator roles which include the user administrator, content administrator, and system administrator. For in depth details of the pre-framed administrative roles, I shall write an article for pre-configured roles. The super administrator can access the entire set of tools in this portal administration environment.
Following the installation,the super administrator is the first one to be entering the portal. SAP Enterprise Portal comes with a tough-coded username and also a password for the use of the super administrator. After the installation process, the super administrator can log on to the portal with the help of his user ID. When you go beyond the initial configuration stage, it is better to change the initial user IDs and passwords or disable the super user itself.
The main tasks of the super administrator after logging on to the portal and after qualifying the basic functionality are as follows:
Connecting to the base of users who will be working in the portal so that the super administrator sets up at least the minimal user management configuration. We should know configuration of user management in the Enterprise portal for further information.
The end user and the administrative roles needed for the organization should be planned out carefully. The role structure can be put in gradually, starting with a test environment in mind set up and later on gradually moving towards a live production portal with the primary target audience being the end users.
At this point, the super administrator assigns users for the other administrator roles, thereby distributing the responsibilitiesof administration. The super administrator can modify the pre-configured administration roles when they do not fit the needs of the company,and in turn extend them as needed.Before you begin the modification of the pre-configured roles, delta links and SAP Content objects should be well known.
Now the super administrator distributes the default initial content to relevant system administrators and content administrators in the company by assigning permissions for these users. Initial content has objects and templates and portal components, which can be used as a base for creating portal content.
Once delegating the administrative tasks is done by the super adminostrator, the assigned content managers start the process of importing content and roles which can be from their own sources and iViewStudio, and also in-house content developers can parellally start developing content which is specific to the organization. Needs
One optional thing is that parellal to the steps above , the process of setting up and configuring the Knowledge Management platform in the portal should also be done.
Related Posts:
Delegated Administration
Super Administration
User Administration
Content Administration
Delegated Administration
Delegated administration allows you to do the following:
organizing of the administration framework totally according to your business scenario.
controlling the distribution of portal-related administrative tasks,hence reduces the total cost of ownership (TCO) significantly which is a key function for the "global portal" scenario.
managing large scale portal implementations.
SAP Enterprise Portal offers delegated administration that is fully customisable with user permissions, at these levels:
work sets and Portal roles , and the services (tools) provided by them.
Portal objects like content of the Portal Catalog
Features
1. Administrative Tasks delegation:
All administrative tools available in the portal are in effect iViews, that are integrated subsequently for task-oriented worksets. These worksets are assigned to a predefined sub-administration role in an off-the-shelf installation of SAP Enterprise Portal.
The worksets and pre-configured administration roles serve the purposes of:
Delivering the portal administration like modular building blocks, and hence providing the flexibility of addressing variations in administrative tasks that are performed by one administrator or a group of them.
Providing an example that resembles how one should structure the delegation of administration tasks.
Since the standard SAP role concept is followed by the the pre-configured administration roles you can easily adapt the pre-configured task delegation according to your own admininistration roles or vice versa to suit your environment.
2. Delegating Administration on the Portal Catalog
SAP Enterprise Portal allows the assigning of delegated administration at the level of the Portal Catalog.
The Portal Catalog may include the following objects:
System Landscape objects
Content Objects (iViews, pages, layouts, roles, worksets, packages)
Unification presentation components
KM Objects (resource, taxonomy)
The Portal Catalog does the organization of portal objects, that include the content objects, in a hierarchy. You can set permissions to a node, like a folder containing a group of iViews, or for one object. When objects are below a given node Permissions are inherited to the child . Permissions are editing and reading capabilities of the objects.
You assign permission to folders and objects per role, or user or user group; and hence define who is responsible for customization of object and who is able to just see the objects. After the initial deployment process, the first task of the super administrator is being assignment of default initial content given in the portal, to the which have been defined in the system.
Related Posts:
Page Builder
Knowledge Management
More on Administration:
Super Administration
User Administration
Content Administration
System Administration
Personalizing Your Portal
Features
The customization possibilities of the portal are as follows. Complete information can be found in the SAP Enterprise Portal End User Guide.
Page Preferences
For personalizing your page preferences, select the portal page which you need to update,then click the Personalize link that is located in the masthead, and then choose Page.
The following can be done to personalize your page:
Adding Content: Your portal content administrator is the one which defines the iViews to which you have access. The content that is available to you is displayed byThe Portal Catalog. Right-click an iView that you want to display in the page and then choose Add iView to Page. After saving, in the Personalized Page area of the navigation panel and in the content area you can see the added iView.
Arranging the Content: the layout of the content displayed in the page can be rearranged.
Additional Content: A portal administrator can obtain more iViews from iViewStudio, which can later be assigned to you.
Portal Preferences
click the Personalize link in order to personalize your portal preferences, , located in the masthead, and choose Portal. You can personalize the following things:
Portal Theme: for changing the look and feel of the portal by selection of a theme from the portal's theme library. Select the Portal Theme link, from the Detailed Navigation area, and choose the theme you want
from the Set Portal Theme drop-down list.
Portal Language : you can change the language that appears in portal UI strings. Select the Portal Language link, from the Detailed Navigation area, and the language in which you want to work from the Set Portal Language drop-down list.
User Mapping: You can set User Mapping for enabling Single Sign-in which permits the portal to use your portal logon credentials for accessing various systems which require different logon credentials. select the User Mapping link, from the Detailed Navigation area, a data source (system) from the Data Source Settings dialog, and then enter a username and password with which you can connect.
User Password:You can change your login password. Select the User Password link, from the Detailed Navigation area, and enter your old password in the User Password dialog and now enter and confirm a new password, and choose Save and then Close.
User Profile:You can update the user profile that you created when you are first registering. Select the User Profile link, from the Detailed Navigation area, and update or add any necessary information in the Modify My Profile dialog.
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Page Builder
Knowledge Management
Delegated Administration
Connectors and Unification
Connectors are those which allow integration of application servers with Enterprise Information Systems (EIS) and enterprise applications with into the portal platform. The creation and running of connectors is supported by the portal runtime environment. Various services provided by the portal runtime are including a Web service that make connectors available to external clients, and also it allow these clients to access an enterprise system as if they were local. For doing this, the SOAP XML protocol is implemented to pass requests and responses between applications, like specific connectors and iViews.
Also, other portal services serve to making available a wizard framework for the creation of iViews for specific connectors, as an intermediary for user authentication and security, and also for connecting to back-end applications using existing connectors. Offering APIs for creation of local connectors, a software development kit (SDK) is available. This SDK is a part of the Portal Development Kit (PDK) which can be obtained at http://www.iviewstudio.com from the DevZone.
Unification
Unification helps to integrate the enterprise information sources and to provide unified access for its structured data. It is the engine at the back end which drives the union of databases, enterprise applications, and legacy systems in SAP Enterprise Portal. Through a web service, the Portal Framework helps in connecting the Unification Server, and the unifiers that runs over it.
The most important aspect of the Unification Server is the patented Drag & Relate technology. On top of existing data sources (applications and databases), you implement this technology. As such there are no changes needed to the IT infrastructure of your company. To implement this Drag & Relate technology, you make use of the development environment of the Unification Server which helps to create a Database Unifier project, that helps us in retrieving of structured data from the database. Other unifiers can also be installed on the Unification Server, in order to extend the development tools for handling of enterprise applications like SAP R/3, SAP BW, oracle Applications. The unifiers helpful for leveraging the target applications' own architecture, security mechanism, user interfaces and customizations.
At the front end, the user works from project’s Detailed Navigation Panel in the Portal, and queries data sources with the use of Drag & Relate which consists of user dragging the visual elements that represent data and dropping them on other elements, and also interrelating of the data for creating queries dynamically.
Related Posts:
Knowledge Management
Personalizing Your Portal
Delegated Administration
TREX Components
Knowledge Management
Page Builder Component
- a default active layout and list of possible layouts
- iViews that are located in the page
- Inserting the output of the iViews into the HTML for a page while retrieval of these iViews.
- as an alternate, IFRAMES in the page request for the content of iViews which can be from the Portal Framework, or from other sources too which can be the Internet Transaction Server (ITS) or any other Web site too.
- For authentication and Single Sign-On,User management and security tasks,
- Obtaining the requested object from the Portal Content Directory (PCD)
- Objects managing the theme and styles of the portal
- Framework that determines wizards in the portal
- Administration of the iViews.
Related Posts:
Personalizing Your Portal
Delegated Administration
Administrative Aspects of SAP Enterprise Portal
Page Builder
Knowledge Management
CM Components
TREX Components
Unification
Connectors
Personalizing Your Portal
Delegated Administration