Connecting to SAP

SAP is an enterprise-wide business suite for managing a broad range of business processes. Use the ACL Connector for SAP to import your organization's SAP data.

Compatible SAP systems

The ACL Connector for SAP can be used with the following SAP systems:

• S/4HANA
• all enhancement levels of the following systems, running on all supported database platforms including SAP HANA:
  • SAP ERP 6.0 (ECC 6.0)
  • SAP CRM 7.0
  • SAP SRM 7.0
  • SAP SCM 7.0
  • SAP EWM 7.0

Create an SAP connection

1. From the Analytics main menu, select Import > Database and application.
2. From the New Connections tab, in the ACL Connectors section, select SAP.

   Tip

   You can filter the list of available connectors by entering a search string in the Filter connections box. Connectors are listed alphabetically.

3. In the Data Connection Settings panel, enter the connection settings and at the bottom of the panel, click Save and Connect.

   You can accept the default Connection Name, or enter a new one.

The connection for SAP is saved to the Existing Connections tab. In the future, you can reconnect to SAP from the saved connection.

Once the connection is established, the Data Access window opens to the Staging Area and you can begin importing data. For help importing data from SAP, see Working with the Data Access window.

Connection settings

SAP systems with Secure Network Communications (SNC)

Your organization's SAP system may have Secure Network Communications (SNC) enabled, which allows encrypted communication between the different components of an SAP system, and user authentication with Single Sign-on.

SNC is a software layer in the SAP system that allows you to extend basic SAP security by integrating with an external security product.

Additional settings are required in the ACL Connector for SAP if you are using SNC, with or without Single Sign-on.

Basic settings

Setting	Description	Example
Preloaded SAP Systems optional	The name of an SAP system with connection settings specified in one of the following SAP GUI configuration files: SAPUILandscape.xml saplogon.ini If you select a preloaded SAP system, values from the SAP GUI configuration file automatically populate a number of the other SAP connection settings for you. Default location of the SAP GUI configuration file: C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\SAP\Common If both configuration files are present in the ..\SAP\Common folder, SAPUILandscape.xml takes precedence.	PHR - Production Human Resources
Server	The host name or IP address of the SAP system.	phr-1.example.com 52.202.133.148
Client	The three-digit code identifying a client within the SAP system. A client is a sub-partition of an SAP system.	800
Language	The language of the SAP system.	EN
Server Type	The configuration of servers in the SAP system: NORMAL a single server LOAD BALANCE a load-balanced group of servers	NORMAL LOAD BALANCE
Instance Number [ Server Type = NORMAL ]	The two-digit instance number of the SAP system. The instance number forms the last two digits of the port numbers used for inbound and outbound communication between the SAP connector and the SAP system. For more information, see SAP port configuration.	01
Logon Group [ Server Type = LOAD BALANCE ]	The name of a load-balanced group of servers in the SAP system.	ACL Production
System Id [ Server Type = LOAD BALANCE ]	The three-character identifier of the SAP system.	PHR
Authentication Method	The method of user authentication used by the SAP system: Username and Password Standard SAP authentication method Secure Network Communications (SNC) not enabled Single Sign On SNC with single sign-on SNC without Single Sign On SNC without single sign-on
Authentication Method = Username and Password
User	User's SAP user ID.
Password	User's SAP password.
Authentication Method = SNC without Single Sign On
SNC User Name	User's SAP SNC user ID.
SNC Password	User's SAP SNC password.
Authentication Method = Single Sign On or Authentication Method = SNC without Single Sign On
Partner Name	The SNC name of the communication partner (the target name).	"p:CN=sap01.host1, OU=Administration, O=myCompany, C=US" p:CN=SAPService@myCompany.com Note Enclose the SNC name in quotation marks if it contains any spaces.
Quality of Protection	The level of security protection applied by Secure Network Communications (SNC): Authentication Verification of the identity of communication partners. No additional data protection. Integrity Detection of any changes or manipulation of data in transit. (Includes Authentication) PrivacyEncryption of messages in transit. The maximum level of security protection provided by SNC. (Includes Integrity and Authentication) Maximum Available When connecting to the SAP system, the highest level of security protection available is used.
Mechanism	The authentication protocol used by the SAP system: Kerberos NTLM Individual
Mechanism = Individual
Library Path	Network path to the external security product's cryptographic library.	C:\SNC_Cryptolib\sapcrypto.dll "C:\Security Product\library.dll" Note Enclose the network path in quotation marks if it contains any spaces.

Advanced settings

Setting	Description	Example
Apply Currency Conversion optional	Enables auto-conversion of currency fields during import of SAP data to Analytics. For more information, see Converting currencies during import of SAP data.
Maximum Number of Records Per Request optional	Specifies the maximum number of records in each portion of a query. You can specify a number from 5000 to 1,000,000. In most cases, you should leave the default of 15,000 records. When the connector queries the SAP system, it makes multiple requests and returns records in batches until all records are returned. It then assembles the batches into a complete table. On slower networks, you may be able to improve the performance of the SAP connector by increasing the number of records per request, which reduces the number of times the connector must reconnect.	100000
Variable String Length optional	The number of characters that are imported from the start of SAP fields with a data type of STRING or RAWSTRING. Large amounts of system information can sometimes be present as trailing characters in fields of these types. You can use this setting to limit the number of characters that are imported. If you omit this setting, the default of 256 characters is used.	6 You know that only the first 6 characters in a STRING field contain information of interest.
Temporary Working Directory	The path for a directory that temporarily stores SAP data. When the SAP connector retrieves data it is temporarily stored locally. Large tables can cause an overflow error if they cannot be accommodated by the Analytics project folder, which is the default storage location. This setting allows you to specify a different temporary storage location, one with enough space for large files. If you leave the prefilled setting of Default, the data is temporary stored in the Analytics project folder.	D:\SAP_temp_storage
SAP Router optional	If the SAP system is using an SAProuter, the connection string for the router. The general form of the connection string is: /H/host name/S/port number/W/password (if used)	/H/saprouter.mycompany.com/S/3299 /H/saprouter.mycompany.com/S/3299/W/password Note H , S , and W must be uppercase. The specific form of your SAProuter connection string may differ.
RFC Function Module optional	The name of the RFC Function Module that forms the basis of the SAP connector. Leave this field blank. The value is automatically provided in the background. The field exists in the event that the module is renamed in the future, and the new name must be manually specified.

Searching for SAP tables

After you create a new connection to an SAP system, Analytics lists 200 common SAP tables in the Available Tables list in the Data Access window. You can scroll through the list and click any table name to add the table to the Staging Area.

Search the Available Tables list

Instead of scrolling through the list, you may find it easier to search for a table name or table description. You can enter a search string in the Search tables box above the list. The search string can contain both literal characters and wildcard characters.

The search extends beyond the list to also search any undisplayed names stored in the local cache of table names.

For detailed information about searching the Available Tables list, see Add one or more tables to the Staging Area.

What if the table I searched for is not found?

If the table you searched for is not in the Available Tables list, or in the table name cache, you can search and retrieve additional table names from the SAP system.

1. Enter a search string in the Search tables box.

   If the table is not found, the Search table name in database button appears.

2. Click Search table name in database.

   Any table name in the SAP system that matches the search string is added to the Available Tables list. The table name or names are also added to the table name cache so that they are more immediately available in the future.

   Note

   Searches in the SAP database are on the short SAP table name only (ANAT, BNKA, and so on). Table descriptions are not searched.

   Tip

   You cannot selectively remove table names from the Available Tables list or the table name cache. To clean up the list of tables, delete and recreate the SAP connection. The list reverts to containing only the common SAP tables.

Joining SAP tables

You can join SAP tables in the Staging Area in the Data Access window. Joining SAP tables has the following limitations:

• Eight tables can be joined, unlike other Analytics connectors, which allow joining up to ten tables.
• Inner joins, and left joins, are supported. Outer joins, and right joins, are not supported.

For more information, see Joining tables in the Data Access window.

Key field icon

The key field icon identifies key fields in SAP tables added to the Staging Area. The purpose of the key field icon is to identify fields that you can use for joining SAP tables.

SAP data type

The Type displayed with field names in SAP tables added to the Staging Area is the SAP data type. Other Analytics connectors display the Analytics data type. SAP data types are converted to Analytics data types upon import.

Language of the SAP system

In the Data Connection Settings panel, you can specify the language of the SAP system that you are connecting to.

Languages supported by Analytics

If the language of the SAP system is one of the languages supported by Analytics, the Available Tables list displays table descriptions in the supported language.

The languages supported by Analytics:

English	German	Spanish	French
Chinese	Japanese	Portuguese

Languages not supported by Analytics

If the language of the SAP system is not one of the languages supported by Analytics, the Available Tables list displays the initial list of table descriptions in English. Any tables that you subsequently search and retrieve from the SAP system appear in the language of the system. The result is that table descriptions in the Available Tables list are a mix of English and the language of the SAP system.

Converting currencies during import of SAP data

You have the option of automatically converting currency amounts in SAP data during the import of the data to Analytics.

Enable the currency conversion setting

1. Create an SAP connection, or open an existing SAP connection.

   For more information, see Create an SAP connection.

2. In the Data Connection Settings panel, click Show Advanced Options.

3. Select Apply Currency Conversion.

4. Specify any other required connection settings and click Save and Connect or Connect.

Join data tables with the currency key

1. Add an SAP table with currency data to the Staging Area.

   For detailed information about working with tables in the Staging Area, see Working with the Data Access window.

2. Optional. If you know in advance that there are certain currency fields in the table that you do not need to import, deselect them now.

3. In the Import Preview panel, click Refresh.

   If the SAP table contains selected fields with currency data the requires conversion, a message appears with instructions for joining the table to another table containing a currency key. For example:

   Field 'DMBTR' in table 'BSEG' needs a join to table 'T001' with field 'WAERS' for currency decimal adjustment

4. Add the second table and create the join according to the instructions in the message.

   Important

   Select a Left join when you create the join.

   For detailed information about joining tables in the Staging Area, see Joining tables in the Data Access window.

5. In the Import Preview panel, click Refresh again.

   If the SAP table contains an additional field with currency data the requires conversion, another message appears with join instructions.

6. Create the new join according to the instructions.

7. Repeat this process until clicking Refresh no longer generates messages and instead displays the joined data.

8. Perform any other necessary configuration of the SAP import and then save the data to Analytics.

   For more information, see Working with the Data Access window.