Establishing a Connection
The CData MCP Server for SAP BusinessObjects BI defines each connection to SAP BusinessObjects BI as a named configuration that Claude can use when sending natural language queries.
You create and manage these configurations using the MCP Configuration Tool. The tool automatically handles formatting, storage, and registration with Claude Desktop.
Understanding Connection Configurations
Each connection configuration is stored in a .mcp file. This file includes the details needed to initialize the connector when Claude starts a session.
- On Windows, configuration files are stored in "~/AppData/Roaming/CData/SAP BusinessObjects BI Data Provider/".
- On macOS, configuration files are stored in "~/Library/Application Support/CData/SAP BusinessObjects BI Data Provider/".
The .mcp file is a text file that contains a list of connection properties and a timestamp. For example:
#Tue May 20 15:48:40 EDT 2025 AuthScheme=Basic User=myUser Password=myPassword Security Token=myToken
The configuration tool handles these settings automatically. Each saved configuration enables Claude to launch a dedicated MCP Server instance with the correct connector and options. Manual file editing is not required.
Connecting to SAPBusinessObjectsBI
To connect to your SAP BusinessObjects BI instance, you must set the following:
- URL: The SAP BusinessObjects BI REST API URL. To discover this:
- Log into the Central Management Console.
- Choose Applications from the combo box.
- Select RESTful Web Service. The Central Management Console displays the access URL, which is http://{Server-Name}:6405/biprws by default.
- AuthScheme: Set this to the type of authentication to use when connecting to SAP BusinessObjects BI.
Basic
To connect to SAP BusinessObjects BI using the default Basic authentication mechanism, set the AuthScheme to Basic, and set these properties:
Enterprise
To connect to SAP BusinessObjects BI using Enterprise authentication, set the AuthScheme to Enterprise, and set these properties:
LDAP
To connect to SAP BusinessObjects BI using LDAP authentication, set the AuthScheme to LDAP, and set these properties:
WinAD
To connect to SAP BusinessObjects BI using Windows AD authentication, set the AuthScheme to WinAD, and set these properties:
CyberArk
To connect to CyberArk, set the AuthScheme to CyberArk, and set these properties:
- User: The CyberArk login name (user@domain).
- Password: The CyberArk user's password.
- SSOLoginURL: The app's single sign on URL.
- SSOExchangeURL: The url used for the exchange of the SAML token for SAP BusinessObjects BI credentials.
If you have configured MFA, you must use combinations of SSOProperties to authenticate using CyberArk. Set any of the following, as applicable:
- MFAType: If you have configured MFA, set this to the name of the mechanism that should be selected during authentication.
- MFAPassCode: If you have configured MFA, set this to a valid answer for the selected mechanism.
If you set this to an empty or an invalid value, the server initiates the out-of-band mechanism. The server polls the API until the challenge is completed through user interaction before deciding on closing the connection. - MFATimeout: If you have configured MFA, set this to the number of seconds the server should continue polling the API until the challenge is completed through user interaction. By default, the server polls the API for 60 seconds before closing the connection.
Example connection string:
AuthScheme=CyberArk;SSOLoginURL='https://abc1234.id.cyberark.cloud/run?appkey=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000&customerId=ABC1234';User=cyberarkUserName;Password=cyberarkPassword;SSOExchangeUrl=http://myserver:8080/biprws/saml/SSO;