The CData Sync App provides a straightforward way to continuously pipeline your SAP ERP data to any database, data lake, or data warehouse, making it easily available for Analytics, Reporting, AI, and Machine Learning.
The SAP ERP connector can be used from the CData Sync application to pull data from SAP ERP and move it to any of the supported destinations.
Create a connection to SAP ERP by navigating to the Connections page in the Sync App application and selecting the corresponding icon in the Add Connections panel. If the SAP ERP icon is not available, click the Add More icon to download and install the SAP ERP connector from the CData site.
Required properties are listed under the Settings tab. The Advanced tab lists connection properties that are not typically required.
The CData Sync App uses the SAP RFC interface to connect to an SAP system. The ConnectionType specifies the RFC API you want to use to connect.
Obtaining the SAP libraries corresponding to your RFC API is required to connect.
To use the Classic RFC SDK without Unicode support provided with the library librfc32.dll, set ConnectionType to Classic. Simply place the assembly in a location where it will be accessible at run time, such as the system32 or bin folder or your path.
To use the Classic RFC SDK provided with the Unicode-supported library librfc32u.dll, set ConnectionType to Classic_Unicode. The following libraries from the RFC SDK must also be available at run time, in addition to librfc32u.dll:
The NetWeaver RFC SDK sapnwrfc.dll can instead be used by setting ConnectionType to NetWeaver. The following libraries from the RFC SDK must be available at run time in addition to use sapnwrfc.dll:
The SAP JCo (Java Connector) JAR file can be used in order to access the RFC SDK used to communicate with SAP. You will need to include the sapjco3.jar in your build path and make sure the native library location for the JAR is set to the folder containing the sapjco3 library. On Windows machines this can simply be your system32 or syswow64 folder. On Linux, this will be the libsapjco3.so file. On Mac OS X, this will be the libsapjco3.jnilib file.
Note: Ensure that you download libraries that match the bitness of your platform.
To connect using the SOAP interface, set the following:
The SOAP service must be enabled in your SAP system for this type of connection to work properly.
The RFCs used by the CData Sync App are listed as follows. If any listed below are not available, some or all functionality may not work. T-Code SE37 may be used to view available function modules in SAP.
Set the following to connect:
To connect to a machine different from the Host machine, substitute Host with the following:
To connect to a distributed system or systems with other configurations, see Fine-Tuning Data Access.
In addition to User and Password, the CData Sync App also supports certificate authentication. To use certificate authentication, set the X509Certificate connection property to either point to a file that contains an X509 certificate in PEM format, or the PEM blob directly used for authentication during SAP Logon. In addition to setting X509Certificate, you will need to specify the appropriate SNC connection properties. The SNC connection properties are described under Fine-Tuning Data Access.
The CData Sync App can communicate with SAP R/3 systems using the following methods:
SAP: The term SAP is an umbrella term for all supported SAP editions. This in general indicates SAP ECC version 6+ and SAP S/4 Hana on-premise, but includes other editions that also support the RFC SDK. For the CData Sync App to work, it requires a connection to an edition of SAP that supports the RFC SDK.
Function Module: A function module is a type of program or function in SAP that can be used to execute almost any operation. These modules can be tested and written in SAP via the SE37 TCode.
RFC: An RFC (Remote Function Call) is a type of function module that has been modeled as an API call that may be executed by external applications. This includes using libraries distributed by SAP that will be installed on the SAP server, and may also be downloaded from sap.com. Specific RFCs may or may not be maintained across SAP upgrades. There are standard RFCs supplied by SAP, and thus may have differences or may not exist in older editions. Custom RFCs can (and frequently are) built to support integrations, and must be maintained by the SAP customer. By convention, custom RFCs begin with the letter Z.
BAPI: A Business API (BAPI) is a type of RFC distributed and maintained by SAP to give access to business locic operations. BAPIs have methods that are specific to a type of business object. For example, there are about 60 BAPIs related solely to the Customer object. In practice, only a few are typically used.
SAP Table: An SAP table is a table that stores data in SAP. These are not the same as business objects. For instance, there is no Purchase Order table in SAP. Instead, there are many tables that will include purchase order data in them such as EBAN, EBKN, EINA, EKPO, etc. Custom tables by convention will begin with the letter Z.
SAP Queries: An SAP Query is a saved object in SAP that details information to retrieve from one or more tables. These are typically used for reporting purposes.
Our support for RFC connections means any edition of SAP that supports an RFC connection and the specific RFCs we require for the connection will work. Specifically we support connections to the following:
Other editions may also be supported if they support RFC connections.
The following SAP content is accessible from the CData Sync App.
SAP Tables: SAP Tables are exposed as views automatically via the TableMode connection property. If you know exactly which SAP Tables you want to work with, they can be specified via the Views connection property which will override TableMode. Because they contain pieces of the business objects, SAP discourages directly modifying the tables themselves. Instead, it recommends using BAPIs to modify any tablular data. For this reason, our tools do not support direct modification of SAP Tables.
BAPIs and RFCs: BAPIs and RFCs are exposed directly as stored procedures. By default, all RFCs starting with the keyword BAPI will be displayed as an available stored procedure. This behavior can be modified by changing the StoredProcedureFilter connection property.
SAP Queries: SAP Queries are also exposed as views, but they are turned off by default. They are less commonly required than SAP Tables and BAPIs. If you want to expose SAP Queries, change the QueryMode connection property.
See Provider Schema for more information on how to use previously mentioned objects.
The number of entities in an SAP system can make it difficult to work with when all the entities are surfaced at the same time. The following sections provide an overview of how to choose the SAP entities you want to work with.
See Provider Schema for more information on working with SAP entities.
The following connection properties provide basic functionality to select the entities you need:
The Sync App uses the SAP RFC_READ_TABLE function to get data from SAP tables. RFC_READ_TABLE is well documented and has certain limitations.
As an example, consider the DATA_BUFFER_EXCEEDED exception. The SAP RFC_READ_TABLE has a fixed size of 512 bytes it can buffer for each row of data, and thus you cannot select more columns than what would fit in this buffer. If you select more than 512 bytes, an exception will occur indicating that you have exceeded the maximum buffer size allowed per row and need to select fewer columns.
The Sync App includes the code for a custom read-table RFC that is similar to the SAP RFC_READ_TABLE but has a larger buffer that can address the DATA_BUFFER_EXCEEDED problem as well as solve other RFC_READ_TABLE limitations.
Follow the steps below to use the included custom read-table RFC to bypass limitations with the default RFC_READ_TABLE.
Along with Z_CUSTOM_READ_TABLE.txt, there is also a Z_CUSTOM_READ_TABLE_752.txt file. This one is designed for ABAP version 7.52 and above. It is mostly the same as Z_CUSTOM_READ_TABLE, but it takes advantage of newly available keywords in ABAP 7.52 to perform paging within the database instead of in the ABAP script itself. This makes paging far more efficient and will give a very noticeable performance boost when working with large tables. It is recommended to use the Z_CUSTOM_READ_TABLE_752 RFC if at all possible.
If you are connecting to a distributed SAP system, such as a system using load balancing, you must set the following additional properties. An administrator can obtain these connection properties on the Connection tab of the System Entry Properties dialog.
SystemId: Set this property to the value in the System Id box.
The SystemId property is the System Id or R3Name of the SAP system. The system Id is a string with a maximum of three characters.
MessageServer: Set this property to the value in the Message Server box. If a value is specified in the SAProuter box, prepend the value in the SAProuter box onto the value for the MessageServer connection string property.
The MessageServer property must be specified when connecting to an SAP system using load balancing.
Group: If a value is specified, set this property to the value in the Group/Server box.
The Group property specifies the logon group being used. The default in most SAP systems will be PUBLIC.
If you are connecting to an SAP system with a dedicated application server or a custom application server, you can obtain the following connection properties on the Connection tab of the System Entry Properties dialog.
SystemId: Set this property to the value in the System Id box.
The SystemId property is the System Id or R3Name of the SAP system. The system Id is a string with a maximum of three characters.
Host: Set this property to the value in the Application Server box.
The Host property specifies the host name of the target system. This value can be a regular host name, IP address, or SAProuter address.
SystemNumber: Set this property to the value in the SystemNumber box.
The SystemNumber property defines the target system.
If the administrator has configured Secure Network Communication (SNC), you need to set the following additional properties. You can obtain the following SNC connection string properties on the Network tab of the System Entry Properties dialog.
SNCMode: If the "Activate Secure Network Connections" checkbox is enabled, set the SNCMode connection string property to True. If this checkbox is disabled, set the SNCMode connection property to False.
The SNCMode connection property is a boolean value determining if you are using SNC. The default value is False.
SNCPartnerName: Set this property to the value in the SNC Name box.
The SNCPartnerName property specifies the application server's SNC name. For example: p:CN=IDS, OU=IT, O=CSW, C=DE
SNCName: Optional. Set this property to the value in the SNC Name box.
The SNCName property specifies the name of the SNC connection. Set this property to make sure that the correct SNC name is used for the connection.
SNCQop: Set this property to the selected option in the Secure Network Settings section. For example, if the Integrity option is selected, set the SNCQop property to 3.
The SNCQop property specifies the level (or quality) of data protection. If this property is not specified, the integer -1 is set for this property. Valid values are 1, 2, 3, 8, or 9, which correspond to the following protection levels:
| 1 | Apply authentication only. The identities of communication partners are verified. |
| 2 | Apply integrity protection. The SAP system detects any changes or manipulation of the data exchanged. |
| 3 | Apply privacy protection. This level provides integrity and authentication. The SAP system encrypts the messages being transferred. No one but the two communication partners can read or tamper with the data. This is the maximum level of protection. |
| 8 | Apply the default protection. |
| 9 | Apply the maximum protection. |
SNCLibPath: Set this property to the path and filename of your SNC library.
The SNCLibPath property specifies the full path to the security library you are using. For example, C:\Secude\secude.xll.
This section details a selection of advanced features of the SAP ERP Sync App.
The Sync App allows you to define virtual tables, called user defined views, whose contents are decided by a pre-configured query. These views are useful when you cannot directly control queries being issued to the drivers. See User Defined Views for an overview of creating and configuring custom views.
Use SSL Configuration to adjust how Sync App handles TLS/SSL certificate negotiations. You can choose from various certificate formats; see the SSLServerCert property under "Connection String Options" for more information.
Configure the Sync App for compliance with Firewall and Proxy, including Windows proxies and HTTP proxies. You can also set up tunnel connections.
The Sync App offloads as much of the SELECT statement processing as possible to SAP ERP and then processes the rest of the query in memory (client-side).
See Query Processing for more information.
See Logging for an overview of configuration settings that can be used to refine CData logging. For basic logging, you only need to set two connection properties, but there are numerous features that support more refined logging, where you can select subsets of information to be logged using the LogModules connection property.
By default, the Sync App attempts to negotiate SSL/TLS by checking the server's certificate against the system's trusted certificate store.
To specify another certificate, see the SSLServerCert property for the available formats to do so.
To connect through the Windows system proxy, you do not need to set any additional connection properties. To connect to other proxies, set ProxyAutoDetect to false.
In addition, to authenticate to an HTTP proxy, set ProxyAuthScheme, ProxyUser, and ProxyPassword, in addition to ProxyServer and ProxyPort.
Set the following properties:
The CData Sync App dynamically retrieves schemas for SAP tables, queries, and function modules at run time. However, since it can be inefficient to retrieve the metadata for the entire SAP system, the Sync App also applies default filters to represent only a slice of your SAP system.
Below is an explanation of how the Sync App models each type of SAP object. How the Sync App determines what to display is highly customizable; see Accessing SAP Entities for more information on selecting the SAP objects you want.
SAP tables are listed as views. This is because SAP strongly discourages directly making changes to SAP tables. Instead, function modules such as BAPIs should be used for making changes to table data. See Function Modules below for more on that.
Table data is retrieved from SAP using either the RFC_READ_TABLE or Z_CUSTOM_READ_TABLE function module if you have it installed. These give access to basic SQL support, but more complex queries such as joins and group by must be handled locally. More complex queries will be handled automatically by the Sync App as long as SupportEnhancedSQL is set to true.
See Using a Custom Read Table Function for more information on circumventing limitations with RFC_READ_TABLE.
Just like tables, you can also work with SAP queries as relational views. By default they are turned off to try and avoid cluttering the Sync App with too many options. They can be turned on by using the QueryMode connection property.
Unlike tables, SAP queries may require certain values to be specified as inputs. You can specify these query inputs as part of the predicate in the SQL. For instance:
SELECT * FROM Z_SAP_QUERY WHERE InputName='x' All SAP query views will include a Variant column that you can also input as part of the projection.
Be aware that values that are only inputs in an SAP query will be reflected back in the results as the same value that was specified. This does not actually indicate that SAP returned the value that way. It is just something that is required to keep the SQL statement valid.
Function modules in SAP can be used for almost any task. These include the very RFC calls that the Sync App makes such as RFC_READ_TABLE and function modules that modify data such as BAPI_PO_CREATE.
You can execute a function module directly as a stored procedure. SAP function modules accept and return primitive values and complex structures; the corresponding stored procedures accept and return SQL types and tables. For instance:
EXEC STFC_CONNECTION
For a more complex example, try RFC_READ_TABLE:
EXEC RFC_READ_TABLE @QUERY_TABLE='MARA', @FIELDS='FIELDS#TEMP', @ROWCOUNT=1
In the above example, the RFC_READ_TABLE function module is executed to return the MARA table. The QUERY_TABLE and ROWCOUNT parameters are passed in as primitive values. In this function module, FIELDS is an input table. To provide this input, you can populate a temporary table with the #TEMP syntax and INSERT statements. For example:
INSERT INTO FIELDS#TEMP (FIELDNAME) VALUES ('MANDT');
INSERT INTO FIELDS#TEMP (FIELDNAME) VALUES ('MATNR');
INSERT INTO FIELDS#TEMP (FIELDNAME) VALUES ('ERSDA');
INSERT INTO FIELDS#TEMP (FIELDNAME) VALUES ('ERNAM');
Alternatively, JSON or XML can be used to submit tabular data for environments where the #TEMP tables would be difficult to use. For example:
EXEC RFC_READ_TABLE OPTIONS='{ \"TEXT\": \"TABNAME LIKE ''MARA%''\" }', QUERY_TABLE='DD02L', ROWCOUNT='1', ReturnTables='DATA'
Instead of using the dynamic, in-memory schemas, you can use GenerateSchemaFiles to save static schema files that are easy to customize. A common use case is to remove extra unwanted inputs and outputs that the Sync App may report for a stored procedure.
In SAP, there is nothing in the metadata that distinguishes tables in function modules as either inputs or outputs. Since there is no way to know which tables are actually used for inputs and which are used for outputs, the Sync App reports the tables as being available for both inputs and outputs.
To generate the schema file, set GenerateSchemaFiles to "OnUse" and call the stored procedure. Also, set the Location property to the folder where you want the schema to be output.
To modify the schema file, open the generated schema file in the Location folder with any text editor. Then find the <input> or <output> tags that are not needed and remove them. Refresh the connection in the Sync App to pick up the schema and your changes.
Views are composed of columns and pseudo columns. Views are similar to tables in the way that data is represented; however, views do not support updates. Entities that are represented as views are typically read-only entities. Often, a stored procedure is available to update the data if such functionality is applicable to the data source.
Queries can be executed against a view as if it were a normal table, and the data that comes back is similar in that regard.
Dynamic views, such as queries exposed as views, and views for looking up specific combinations of project_team work items are supported.
| Name | Description |
| SearchFunctions | A list of SAP functions available in your system. |
A list of SAP functions available in your system.
| Name | Type | Description |
| Name | String | The name of the function. |
| Group | String | The group name for the function. |
| Filter | String | The filter you are using to search for functions with.
The default value is RFC*. |
The connection string properties are the various options that can be used to establish a connection. This section provides a complete list of the options you can configure in the connection string for this provider. Click the links for further details.
For more information on establishing a connection, see Establishing a Connection.
| Property | Description |
| ConnectionType | The type of connection you are making. |
| ConnectionScheme | Specifies whether you are connecting to a SAP system with a message server (GroupServer) or without one (ApplicationServer). |
| Host | Host name of the target system. |
| SystemNumber | The number by which the target system is defined. Used when setting the Host connection property. |
| User | The user that is authenticating to the SAP system. |
| Password | The password used to authenticate to the SAP system. |
| Client | The client authenticating to the SAP system. |
| X509Certificate | The X509 certificate used for login as an alternative to User , and Password . |
| MessageServer | The message server must be specified when connecting to an SAP system that uses load balancing. |
| Group | The Logon Group being used. This typically only needs to be specified when connecting to an SAP system that uses load balancing. |
| SystemId | The System Id or R3Name of the SAP System is a string with a maximum of three characters. It is often used in load balancing connections. |
| RFCURL | The URL of the SOAP interface to connect with SAP. |
| MessageServerService | The message server service you wish to connect to. |
| Property | Description |
| SNCMode | A boolean determining if you are using SNC. Set this to true to use SNC. |
| SNCName | An optional input with the name of your SNC connection. |
| SNCQop | The quality of protection for your SNC connection. |
| SNCPartnerName | The application server's SNC name. This is a required input when using SNC. |
| SNCLibPath | An optional input detailing the path and file name of the external library. |
| Property | Description |
| SSLServerCert | The certificate to be accepted from the server when connecting using TLS/SSL. |
| Property | Description |
| FirewallType | The protocol used by a proxy-based firewall. |
| FirewallServer | The name or IP address of a proxy-based firewall. |
| FirewallPort | The TCP port for a proxy-based firewall. |
| FirewallUser | The user name to use to authenticate with a proxy-based firewall. |
| FirewallPassword | A password used to authenticate to a proxy-based firewall. |
| Property | Description |
| ProxyAutoDetect | This indicates whether to use the system proxy settings or not. This takes precedence over other proxy settings, so you'll need to set ProxyAutoDetect to FALSE in order use custom proxy settings. |
| ProxyServer | The hostname or IP address of a proxy to route HTTP traffic through. |
| ProxyPort | The TCP port the ProxyServer proxy is running on. |
| ProxyAuthScheme | The authentication type to use to authenticate to the ProxyServer proxy. |
| ProxyUser | A user name to be used to authenticate to the ProxyServer proxy. |
| ProxyPassword | A password to be used to authenticate to the ProxyServer proxy. |
| ProxySSLType | The SSL type to use when connecting to the ProxyServer proxy. |
| ProxyExceptions | A semicolon separated list of destination hostnames or IPs that are exempt from connecting through the ProxyServer . |
| Property | Description |
| LogModules | Core modules to be included in the log file. |
| Property | Description |
| BrowsableSchemas | This property restricts the schemas reported to a subset of the available schemas. For example, BrowsableSchemas=SchemaA,SchemaB,SchemaC. |
| Tables | This property restricts the tables reported to a subset of the available tables. For example, Tables=TableA,TableB,TableC. |
| Views | Restricts the views reported to a subset of the available tables. For example, Views=ViewA,ViewB,ViewC. |
| Property | Description |
| Charset | The system code page used for Unicode to multibyte translations. |
| Destination | Reference to an existing destination that is specified in a local saprfc.ini or sapnwrfc.ini file. |
| EndianType | The endian type for the SAP server. Enter either Big or Little. |
| GatewayHost | The gateway host you wish to connect to. |
| GatewayService | The gateway service you wish to connect to. |
| GenerateSchemaFiles | Determines how schema files should be generated. |
| InitialValueMode | How to treat initial values in SAP. |
| Language | The language value to be used when connecting to the SAP system. |
| Location | A path to the directory that contains the schema files defining tables, views, and stored procedures to work with your chosen data source. This must be set in order to add new tables to provider. |
| MaxRows | Limits the number of rows returned rows when no aggregation or group by is used in the query. This helps avoid performance issues at design time. |
| Other | These hidden properties are used only in specific use cases. |
| Pagesize | The number of results to return per page from SAP. Only used for SAP tables. |
| PseudoColumns | This property indicates whether or not to include pseudo columns as columns to the table. |
| QueryMode | Determines which SAP queries will be displayed as views, if any. |
| ReadTableFunction | The function to use for reading table data. |
| ServerTimeZone | The timezone by which the server is expected to report date and times values. |
| StoredProcedureFilter | A filter indicating which function modules to report as stored procedures. |
| TableMode | Determines which SAP tables will be displayed as views if any. |
| Timeout | The value in seconds until the timeout error is thrown, canceling the operation. |
| UseAdvancedReplication | Indicates if advanced replication features should be used when caching data. |
| UseInternalNames | Specifies the whether to use the internalName of columns. |
| UseLabels | Set this property to determine if labels should be used for table and column names. |
| UserDefinedViews | A filepath pointing to the JSON configuration file containing your custom views. |
| UseSimpleNames | Boolean determining if simple names should be used for tables and columns. |
| UseUnicodeRFC | A boolean indicating if you want to use RFC_GET_UNICODE_STRUCTURE to get structure information. |
This section provides a complete list of the Authentication properties you can configure in the connection string for this provider.
| Property | Description |
| ConnectionType | The type of connection you are making. |
| ConnectionScheme | Specifies whether you are connecting to a SAP system with a message server (GroupServer) or without one (ApplicationServer). |
| Host | Host name of the target system. |
| SystemNumber | The number by which the target system is defined. Used when setting the Host connection property. |
| User | The user that is authenticating to the SAP system. |
| Password | The password used to authenticate to the SAP system. |
| Client | The client authenticating to the SAP system. |
| X509Certificate | The X509 certificate used for login as an alternative to User , and Password . |
| MessageServer | The message server must be specified when connecting to an SAP system that uses load balancing. |
| Group | The Logon Group being used. This typically only needs to be specified when connecting to an SAP system that uses load balancing. |
| SystemId | The System Id or R3Name of the SAP System is a string with a maximum of three characters. It is often used in load balancing connections. |
| RFCURL | The URL of the SOAP interface to connect with SAP. |
| MessageServerService | The message server service you wish to connect to. |
The type of connection you are making.
The type of connection you are making to SAP.
Use CLASSIC for the librfc32.dll.
Use CLASSIC_UNICODE for the librfc32u.dll.
Use NETWEAVER to indicate you are using the sapnwrfc.dll.
Use JCO to indicate you are using the sapjco.jar.
Use SOAP to indicate you are using SOAP and setting the RFC URL.
Specifies whether you are connecting to a SAP system with a message server (GroupServer) or without one (ApplicationServer).
Choose the connection scheme and change the required system properties:
| GroupServer | The connection to the SAP system is set up using a message server. In this case, load balancing can take place. |
| ApplicationServer (default) | The connection to the SAP system is set up directly without using a message server. |
Host name of the target system.
Host names can be regular host names defined in a hosts file, an IP address like 123.123.123.123, or an SAProuter address such as "/H/hostname/S/port/H/host/S/port/ ..."
This property is required when connecting through the SAP librfc32.dll interface. The "librfc32.dll" is included in R/3 (NetWeaver) and RFC API installations, or may be acquired directly from SAP.
This property is necessary only when not using the RFCUrl property to connect with SAP.
The number by which the target system is defined. Used when setting the Host connection property.
The valid range is 0 to 99. In general, this value is 0.
The X509 certificate used for login as an alternative to User , and Password .
Using an X509 certificate for login requires also setting the SNC connection properties. The X509 certificate may be specified using a file path pointing to a file containing an X509 certificate in PEM format, a PEM blob beginning with the "-----BEGIN ..." header, or a PEM blob without the "-----BEGIN ..." header.
The message server must be specified when connecting to an SAP system that uses load balancing.
The message server is used instead of an individual application server when connecting to an SAP system using load balancing. The load is balanced between several application servers and clients only need to know the name of the message server to connect.
The Logon Group being used. This typically only needs to be specified when connecting to an SAP system that uses load balancing.
The default in most SAP systems will be PUBLIC.
The System Id or R3Name of the SAP System is a string with a maximum of three characters. It is often used in load balancing connections.
The System Id is a string with a maximum of three characters. It often used in connections to SAP systems with load balancing, but may also be used in SAP systems with a dedicated application server.
The URL of the SOAP interface to connect with SAP.
If connecting to SAP through the SOAP interface, this property must be set to the SOAP URL of your SAP system.
An example of this is http://localhost:8000/sap/bc/soap/rfc.
The SOAP service must be enabled in your SAP system for this type of connection to work properly.
The message server service you wish to connect to.
If not specified, http will be used. On windows machines, these services to their port mappings are stored on C:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\services.
This section provides a complete list of the Security properties you can configure in the connection string for this provider.
| Property | Description |
| SNCMode | A boolean determining if you are using SNC. Set this to true to use SNC. |
| SNCName | An optional input with the name of your SNC connection. |
| SNCQop | The quality of protection for your SNC connection. |
| SNCPartnerName | The application server's SNC name. This is a required input when using SNC. |
| SNCLibPath | An optional input detailing the path and file name of the external library. |
A boolean determining if you are using SNC. Set this to true to use SNC.
SNC security will only be used when you establish a connection to SAP using one of the RFC SDKs outlined in the ConnectionType. You should be able to find the values you need to specify by going to your SAP Logon, right-clicking your connection and opening Properties. On the System Entry Properties dialog, open the Network --> Secure Network Settings window. This window should have the information you need to specify for the SNC properties.
An optional input with the name of your SNC connection.
Although this parameter is optional, we recommend setting it to make sure that the correct SNC name is used for the connection.
The quality of protection for your SNC connection.
This is an integer that will be -1 if unspecified and can potentially go to a maximum of 9 depending on your application server. Valid values are 1, 2, 3, 8, or 9, which correspond to the following protection levels:
| 1 | Apply authentication only. |
| 2 | Apply integrity protection (authentication). |
| 3 | Apply privacy protection (integrity and authentication). |
| 8 | Apply the default protection. |
| 9 | Apply the maximum protection. |
The application server's SNC name. This is a required input when using SNC.
The application server's SNC name.
An optional input detailing the path and file name of the external library.
The default is the system-defined library as defined in the environment variable SNC_LIB.
This section provides a complete list of the SSL properties you can configure in the connection string for this provider.
| Property | Description |
| SSLServerCert | The certificate to be accepted from the server when connecting using TLS/SSL. |
The certificate to be accepted from the server when connecting using TLS/SSL.
If using a TLS/SSL connection, this property can be used to specify the TLS/SSL certificate to be accepted from the server. Any other certificate that is not trusted by the machine is rejected.
This property can take the following forms:
| Description | Example |
| A full PEM Certificate (example shortened for brevity) | -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE----- MIIChTCCAe4CAQAwDQYJKoZIhv......Qw== -----END CERTIFICATE----- |
| A path to a local file containing the certificate | C:\cert.cer |
| The public key (example shortened for brevity) | -----BEGIN RSA PUBLIC KEY----- MIGfMA0GCSq......AQAB -----END RSA PUBLIC KEY----- |
| The MD5 Thumbprint (hex values can also be either space or colon separated) | ecadbdda5a1529c58a1e9e09828d70e4 |
| The SHA1 Thumbprint (hex values can also be either space or colon separated) | 34a929226ae0819f2ec14b4a3d904f801cbb150d |
If not specified, any certificate trusted by the machine is accepted.
Use '*' to signify to accept all certificates. Note that this is not recommended due to security concerns.
This section provides a complete list of the Firewall properties you can configure in the connection string for this provider.
| Property | Description |
| FirewallType | The protocol used by a proxy-based firewall. |
| FirewallServer | The name or IP address of a proxy-based firewall. |
| FirewallPort | The TCP port for a proxy-based firewall. |
| FirewallUser | The user name to use to authenticate with a proxy-based firewall. |
| FirewallPassword | A password used to authenticate to a proxy-based firewall. |
The protocol used by a proxy-based firewall.
This property specifies the protocol that the Sync App will use to tunnel traffic through the FirewallServer proxy. Note that by default, the Sync App connects to the system proxy; to disable this behavior and connect to one of the following proxy types, set ProxyAutoDetect to false.
| Type | Default Port | Description |
| TUNNEL | 80 | When this is set, the Sync App opens a connection to SAP ERP and traffic flows back and forth through the proxy. |
| SOCKS4 | 1080 | When this is set, the Sync App sends data through the SOCKS 4 proxy specified by FirewallServer and FirewallPort and passes the FirewallUser value to the proxy, which determines if the connection request should be granted. |
| SOCKS5 | 1080 | When this is set, the Sync App sends data through the SOCKS 5 proxy specified by FirewallServer and FirewallPort. If your proxy requires authentication, set FirewallUser and FirewallPassword to credentials the proxy recognizes. |
To connect to HTTP proxies, use ProxyServer and ProxyPort. To authenticate to HTTP proxies, use ProxyAuthScheme, ProxyUser, and ProxyPassword.
The name or IP address of a proxy-based firewall.
This property specifies the IP address, DNS name, or host name of a proxy allowing traversal of a firewall. The protocol is specified by FirewallType: Use FirewallServer with this property to connect through SOCKS or do tunneling. Use ProxyServer to connect to an HTTP proxy.
Note that the Sync App uses the system proxy by default. To use a different proxy, set ProxyAutoDetect to false.
The TCP port for a proxy-based firewall.
This specifies the TCP port for a proxy allowing traversal of a firewall. Use FirewallServer to specify the name or IP address. Specify the protocol with FirewallType.
The user name to use to authenticate with a proxy-based firewall.
The FirewallUser and FirewallPassword properties are used to authenticate against the proxy specified in FirewallServer and FirewallPort, following the authentication method specified in FirewallType.
A password used to authenticate to a proxy-based firewall.
This property is passed to the proxy specified by FirewallServer and FirewallPort, following the authentication method specified by FirewallType.
This section provides a complete list of the Proxy properties you can configure in the connection string for this provider.
| Property | Description |
| ProxyAutoDetect | This indicates whether to use the system proxy settings or not. This takes precedence over other proxy settings, so you'll need to set ProxyAutoDetect to FALSE in order use custom proxy settings. |
| ProxyServer | The hostname or IP address of a proxy to route HTTP traffic through. |
| ProxyPort | The TCP port the ProxyServer proxy is running on. |
| ProxyAuthScheme | The authentication type to use to authenticate to the ProxyServer proxy. |
| ProxyUser | A user name to be used to authenticate to the ProxyServer proxy. |
| ProxyPassword | A password to be used to authenticate to the ProxyServer proxy. |
| ProxySSLType | The SSL type to use when connecting to the ProxyServer proxy. |
| ProxyExceptions | A semicolon separated list of destination hostnames or IPs that are exempt from connecting through the ProxyServer . |
This indicates whether to use the system proxy settings or not. This takes precedence over other proxy settings, so you'll need to set ProxyAutoDetect to FALSE in order use custom proxy settings.
This takes precedence over other proxy settings, so you'll need to set ProxyAutoDetect to FALSE in order use custom proxy settings.
To connect to an HTTP proxy, see ProxyServer. For other proxies, such as SOCKS or tunneling, see FirewallType.
The hostname or IP address of a proxy to route HTTP traffic through.
The hostname or IP address of a proxy to route HTTP traffic through. The Sync App can use the HTTP, Windows (NTLM), or Kerberos authentication types to authenticate to an HTTP proxy.
If you need to connect through a SOCKS proxy or tunnel the connection, see FirewallType.
By default, the Sync App uses the system proxy. If you need to use another proxy, set ProxyAutoDetect to false.
The TCP port the ProxyServer proxy is running on.
The port the HTTP proxy is running on that you want to redirect HTTP traffic through. Specify the HTTP proxy in ProxyServer. For other proxy types, see FirewallType.
The authentication type to use to authenticate to the ProxyServer proxy.
This value specifies the authentication type to use to authenticate to the HTTP proxy specified by ProxyServer and ProxyPort.
Note that the Sync App will use the system proxy settings by default, without further configuration needed; if you want to connect to another proxy, you will need to set ProxyAutoDetect to false, in addition to ProxyServer and ProxyPort. To authenticate, set ProxyAuthScheme and set ProxyUser and ProxyPassword, if needed.
The authentication type can be one of the following:
If you need to use another authentication type, such as SOCKS 5 authentication, see FirewallType.
A user name to be used to authenticate to the ProxyServer proxy.
The ProxyUser and ProxyPassword options are used to connect and authenticate against the HTTP proxy specified in ProxyServer.
You can select one of the available authentication types in ProxyAuthScheme. If you are using HTTP authentication, set this to the user name of a user recognized by the HTTP proxy. If you are using Windows or Kerberos authentication, set this property to a user name in one of the following formats:
user@domain domain\user
A password to be used to authenticate to the ProxyServer proxy.
This property is used to authenticate to an HTTP proxy server that supports NTLM (Windows), Kerberos, or HTTP authentication. To specify the HTTP proxy, you can set ProxyServer and ProxyPort. To specify the authentication type, set ProxyAuthScheme.
If you are using HTTP authentication, additionally set ProxyUser and ProxyPassword to HTTP proxy.
If you are using NTLM authentication, set ProxyUser and ProxyPassword to your Windows password. You may also need these to complete Kerberos authentication.
For SOCKS 5 authentication or tunneling, see FirewallType.
By default, the Sync App uses the system proxy. If you want to connect to another proxy, set ProxyAutoDetect to false.
The SSL type to use when connecting to the ProxyServer proxy.
This property determines when to use SSL for the connection to an HTTP proxy specified by ProxyServer. This value can be AUTO, ALWAYS, NEVER, or TUNNEL. The applicable values are the following:
| AUTO | Default setting. If the URL is an HTTPS URL, the Sync App will use the TUNNEL option. If the URL is an HTTP URL, the component will use the NEVER option. |
| ALWAYS | The connection is always SSL enabled. |
| NEVER | The connection is not SSL enabled. |
| TUNNEL | The connection is through a tunneling proxy. The proxy server opens a connection to the remote host and traffic flows back and forth through the proxy. |
A semicolon separated list of destination hostnames or IPs that are exempt from connecting through the ProxyServer .
The ProxyServer is used for all addresses, except for addresses defined in this property. Use semicolons to separate entries.
Note that the Sync App uses the system proxy settings by default, without further configuration needed; if you want to explicitly configure proxy exceptions for this connection, you need to set ProxyAutoDetect = false, and configure ProxyServer and ProxyPort. To authenticate, set ProxyAuthScheme and set ProxyUser and ProxyPassword, if needed.
This section provides a complete list of the Logging properties you can configure in the connection string for this provider.
| Property | Description |
| LogModules | Core modules to be included in the log file. |
Core modules to be included in the log file.
Only the modules specified (separated by ';') will be included in the log file. By default all modules are included.
See the Logging page for an overview.
This section provides a complete list of the Schema properties you can configure in the connection string for this provider.
| Property | Description |
| BrowsableSchemas | This property restricts the schemas reported to a subset of the available schemas. For example, BrowsableSchemas=SchemaA,SchemaB,SchemaC. |
| Tables | This property restricts the tables reported to a subset of the available tables. For example, Tables=TableA,TableB,TableC. |
| Views | Restricts the views reported to a subset of the available tables. For example, Views=ViewA,ViewB,ViewC. |
This property restricts the schemas reported to a subset of the available schemas. For example, BrowsableSchemas=SchemaA,SchemaB,SchemaC.
Listing the schemas from databases can be expensive. Providing a list of schemas in the connection string improves the performance.
This property restricts the tables reported to a subset of the available tables. For example, Tables=TableA,TableB,TableC.
Listing the tables from some databases can be expensive. Providing a list of tables in the connection string improves the performance of the Sync App.
This property can also be used as an alternative to automatically listing views if you already know which ones you want to work with and there would otherwise be too many to work with.
Specify the tables you want in a comma-separated list. Each table should be a valid SQL identifier with any special characters escaped using square brackets, double-quotes or backticks. For example, Tables=TableA,[TableB/WithSlash],WithCatalog.WithSchema.`TableC With Space`.
Note that when connecting to a data source with multiple schemas or catalogs, you will need to provide the fully qualified name of the table in this property, as in the last example here, to avoid ambiguity between tables that exist in multiple catalogs or schemas.
Restricts the views reported to a subset of the available tables. For example, Views=ViewA,ViewB,ViewC.
Listing the views from some databases can be expensive. Providing a list of views in the connection string improves the performance of the Sync App.
This property can also be used as an alternative to automatically listing views if you already know which ones you want to work with and there would otherwise be too many to work with.
Specify the views you want in a comma-separated list. Each view should be a valid SQL identifier with any special characters escaped using square brackets, double-quotes or backticks. For example, Views=ViewA,[ViewB/WithSlash],WithCatalog.WithSchema.`ViewC With Space`.
Note that when connecting to a data source with multiple schemas or catalogs, you will need to provide the fully qualified name of the table in this property, as in the last example here, to avoid ambiguity between tables that exist in multiple catalogs or schemas.
This section provides a complete list of the Miscellaneous properties you can configure in the connection string for this provider.
| Property | Description |
| Charset | The system code page used for Unicode to multibyte translations. |
| Destination | Reference to an existing destination that is specified in a local saprfc.ini or sapnwrfc.ini file. |
| EndianType | The endian type for the SAP server. Enter either Big or Little. |
| GatewayHost | The gateway host you wish to connect to. |
| GatewayService | The gateway service you wish to connect to. |
| GenerateSchemaFiles | Determines how schema files should be generated. |
| InitialValueMode | How to treat initial values in SAP. |
| Language | The language value to be used when connecting to the SAP system. |
| Location | A path to the directory that contains the schema files defining tables, views, and stored procedures to work with your chosen data source. This must be set in order to add new tables to provider. |
| MaxRows | Limits the number of rows returned rows when no aggregation or group by is used in the query. This helps avoid performance issues at design time. |
| Other | These hidden properties are used only in specific use cases. |
| Pagesize | The number of results to return per page from SAP. Only used for SAP tables. |
| PseudoColumns | This property indicates whether or not to include pseudo columns as columns to the table. |
| QueryMode | Determines which SAP queries will be displayed as views, if any. |
| ReadTableFunction | The function to use for reading table data. |
| ServerTimeZone | The timezone by which the server is expected to report date and times values. |
| StoredProcedureFilter | A filter indicating which function modules to report as stored procedures. |
| TableMode | Determines which SAP tables will be displayed as views if any. |
| Timeout | The value in seconds until the timeout error is thrown, canceling the operation. |
| UseAdvancedReplication | Indicates if advanced replication features should be used when caching data. |
| UseInternalNames | Specifies the whether to use the internalName of columns. |
| UseLabels | Set this property to determine if labels should be used for table and column names. |
| UserDefinedViews | A filepath pointing to the JSON configuration file containing your custom views. |
| UseSimpleNames | Boolean determining if simple names should be used for tables and columns. |
| UseUnicodeRFC | A boolean indicating if you want to use RFC_GET_UNICODE_STRUCTURE to get structure information. |
The system code page used for Unicode to multibyte translations.
SAP returns data in byte arrays, which the Sync App converts to a string. This property specifies the code page to use to do the conversion. For example, UTF-8. The Sync App defaults to the machine's code page.
The default can typically be used, but this property can be useful to fix Unicode-to-multibyte encoding problems. For instance, if you are on a U.S. machine and reading from a Japanese SAP server with Japanese characters, you may need to set Charset to shift_jis to get them to display properly.
Reference to an existing destination that is specified in a local saprfc.ini or sapnwrfc.ini file.
If the connection is not described completely by the remaining properties, this property is used as a key into an .ini file where the connection should then be described. The name and the location of the .ini file will vary depending on the ConnectionType specified:
DEST=MYSAPDEST TYPE=A CLIENT=001 LANG=EN ASHOST=10.0.1.123 SYSNR=00
See the SAP RFC SDK for more information about using .ini files with the RFC library.
The endian type for the SAP server. Enter either Big or Little.
If you do not know the endian type for the SAP server, set this value to Auto. The Sync App attempts to automatically detect the endian type. However, if your SAP server does not have the RFC needed to determine this, you can set this property to avoid an error.
The gateway host you wish to connect to.
The gateway host you wish to connect to. If not specified, the Sync App will attempt to connect to the SAP system specified by Host.
The gateway service you wish to connect to.
The gateway service you wish to connect to. This property determines the port the Sync App will use to connect to the GatewayHost server. If not specified, the SAP system will use the default "sapgw##" where the "##" is the SystemNumber.
Determines how schema files should be generated.
Schema files may be used to give the highest degree of control over the CData Sync App.
For example, it can be inefficient to retrieve the metadata for the entire SAP system. Or, you may want to only display certain SAP entities. Basic filtering of these entities is possible with the TableMode, QueryMode, and StoredProcedureFilter properties. However, you may need more granular control.
Schema files override the schemas the Sync App generates when you connect. The CData Sync App reports views and stored procedures defined in the folder specified by Location. This enables you to work with individual schemas; for example, you can remove an individual schema by deleting its schema file. Or, you can customize how columns are reported.
Use GenerateSchemaFiles along with Location to specify how files should be generated and where they should be written. Setting GenerateSchemaFiles to OnUse will generate a schema file when a metadata request is made for the specific view. Setting GenerateSchemaFiles to OnStart will attempt to generate schema files for all the views reported on connection open.
Schema files will not be overwritten if they already exist in the Location folder. To pick up changes in the metadata, first delete the schema file.
How to treat initial values in SAP.
Set to Null to treat them as if they were null. Set to InitialValue to return the values exactly as they come back from SAP.
The language value to be used when connecting to the SAP system.
Set this property to the language you specify when you log into SAP. This property is a ISO 639-1 code for the language the SAP system uses. By default, EN will be used.
A path to the directory that contains the schema files defining tables, views, and stored procedures to work with your chosen data source. This must be set in order to add new tables to provider.
The path to a directory which contains the schema files for the Sync App (.rsd files for tables and views; .rsb files for stored procedures). The Location property allows the Sync App to interface with a variety of data sources.
The schema files used in your application must be deployed with other assemblies. You must also ensure that Location points to the folder that contains the schema files. The folder location can be a relative path from the location of the executable.
Limits the number of rows returned rows when no aggregation or group by is used in the query. This helps avoid performance issues at design time.
Limits the number of rows returned rows when no aggregation or group by is used in the query. This helps avoid performance issues at design time.
These hidden properties are used only in specific use cases.
The properties listed below are available for specific use cases. Normal driver use cases and functionality should not require these properties.
Specify multiple properties in a semicolon-separated list.
| DefaultColumnSize | Sets the default length of string fields when the data source does not provide column length in the metadata. The default value is 2000. |
| ConvertDateTimeToGMT | Determines whether to convert date-time values to GMT, instead of the local time of the machine. |
| RecordToFile=filename | Records the underlying socket data transfer to the specified file. |
The number of results to return per page from SAP. Only used for SAP tables.
The number of results to return per page from SAP. Only used for SAP tables. The RFC_READ_TABLE uses the rowcount and rowskips parameters for paging. This can cause unusual behavior if you are paging through data while it is being interacted with. For instance, if a new row is inserted to a table while you are paging through data, you may see a duplicate entry show up. Also, if a row is deleted from a table, the results you get back may be missing a row. This can be avoided by increasing the pagesize to a degree that there is only one page of data returned. However, please note that this can significantly decrease performance for large tables.
This property indicates whether or not to include pseudo columns as columns to the table.
This setting is particularly helpful in Entity Framework, which does not allow you to set a value for a pseudo column unless it is a table column. The value of this connection setting is of the format "Table1=Column1, Table1=Column2, Table2=Column3". You can use the "*" character to include all tables and all columns; for example, "*=*".
Determines which SAP queries will be displayed as views, if any.
Just like tables can be displayed as views, so can SAP queries. Depending on your use case, you may not be planning to use this feature. In that case, set the QueryMode to None so that SAP queries do not display as available views. Otherwise, use the settings Global, Local, or All to specify what workspace to draw SAP queries from.
The function to use for reading table data.
The function to use for reading table data. Change this to a custom function to remove limitations on the buffer size.
The timezone by which the server is expected to report date and times values.
The CData Sync App uses the CDPOS and CDHDR tables to replicate data incrementally. SAP ERP does not actually store a timezone when it returns a date and time to the CData Sync App from these tables. In order to ensure dates can be converted from your local time to SAP ERP, you may specify the ServerTimeZone. For example, EST, JST, PST. The CData Sync App will assume values coming from CDPOS and CDHDR match the specified timezone so that when values are passed to it requesting only the latest results, nothing is skipped over when converting from your local time to the server's.
A filter indicating which function modules to report as stored procedures.
You can execute any function module in SAP through the Sync App as a stored procedure if the stored procedure is remote enabled. There are many function modules that may be useful to execute in SAP, but to try and keep things readable you may choose to only display certain function modules. By default, the Sync App lists only BAPI function modules. Set StoredProcedureFilter to * to list all functon modules.
Note that not all function modules in SAP are remote enabled. If there is a function module you are interested in using that does not display, check the TFDIR system table to verify its FMODE is set to 'R'.
Determines which SAP tables will be displayed as views if any.
There are many tables in SAP that could potentially be displayed. The TableMode property enables you to specify which tables are important to you. The list of tables is retrieved from the DD02L system table, with each mode acting as a different filter on a set of transparent tables. Transparent tables contain your business and application data.
| Setting | Filter | Description |
| TransparentApplication | TABCLASS = 'TRANSP' AND CONTFLAG = 'A' | Master and transaction data. |
| TransparentCustomer | TABCLASS = 'TRANSP' AND ( CONTFLAG = 'C' OR CONTFLAG = 'G' ) | Data maintained by the customer only |
| TransparentSystem | TABCLASS = 'TRANSP' AND ( CONTFLAG = 'E' OR CONTFLAG = 'S' OR CONTFLAG = 'W' ) | Customer namespaces, program status changes, development environment tables, etc. |
| Pooled | TABCLASS = 'POOL' | All pooled tables. |
| Cluster | TABCLASS = 'CLUSTER' | All cluster tables such as BSEG and KONV. |
| All | All tables regardless of type. Warning: This will cause a massive amount of tables to be retrieved and may result in a noticable delay in table listing. | |
| None | No filter. No SAP tables are displayed. This may be useful if you intend to use schema files instead or SAP queries. |
Alternatively you can specify your own filter if the tables you want to work with are not available in these examples.
The value in seconds until the timeout error is thrown, canceling the operation.
If Timeout = 0, operations do not time out. The operations run until they complete successfully or until they encounter an error condition.
If Timeout expires and the operation is not yet complete, the Sync App throws an exception.
Indicates if advanced replication features should be used when caching data.
Typically replication is done using a modified column on the specific table to incrementially cache the data to a database. However, many SAP tables lack a a modified date column, or use a different name for this column. To get around this limitation, we attempt to use the CDHDR and CDPOS tables to find changes that have occurred to records in tables. This is not a perfect solution as CDHDR and CDPOS do not contain entries for every possible table. Setting UseAdvancedReplication to true will attempt to use CDHDR and CDPOS tables for replication in most tables.
Specifies the whether to use the internalName of columns.
Specifies the whether to use the internalName of columns
Set this property to determine if labels should be used for table and column names.
Set the value of this property to NONE, if you want tables and columns to show up with the internal names used in SAP. Set the value of this property to Columns if you want columns to show up with a language specific name instead of the internal column names used in SAP. Set the value of this property to Tables if you want tables to show up with a language specific name instead of the internal table names used in SAP. Set the value of this property to TablesAndColumns if you want tables and columns to both show up with a language specific name instead of the internal names used in SAP. Note: The language used will be taken from the Language connection property. If no entries exist for the specific column or table, the internal names will be used instead.
A filepath pointing to the JSON configuration file containing your custom views.
User Defined Views are defined in a JSON-formatted configuration file called UserDefinedViews.json. The Sync App automatically detects the views specified in this file.
You can also have multiple view definitions and control them using the UserDefinedViews connection property. When you use this property, only the specified views are seen by the Sync App.
This User Defined View configuration file is formatted as follows:
For example:
{
"MyView": {
"query": "SELECT * FROM MARA WHERE MyColumn = 'value'"
},
"MyView2": {
"query": "SELECT * FROM MyTable WHERE Id IN (1,2,3)"
}
}
Use the UserDefinedViews connection property to specify the location of your JSON configuration file. For example:
"UserDefinedViews", "C:\\Users\\yourusername\\Desktop\\tmp\\UserDefinedViews.json"
Boolean determining if simple names should be used for tables and columns.
SAP ERP tables and columns can use special characters in names that are normally not allowed in standard databases. UseSimpleNames makes the Sync App easier to use with traditional database tools.
Setting UseSimpleNames to true will simplify the names of tables and columns returned. It will enforce a naming scheme such that only alphanumeric characters and the underscore are valid for the displayed table and column names. Any nonalphanumeric characters will be converted to an underscore.
A boolean indicating if you want to use RFC_GET_UNICODE_STRUCTURE to get structure information.
A boolean indicating if you want to use RFC_GET_UNICODE_STRUCTURE to get structure information from your SAP system. Required for SAP systems in Unicode, but should be set to false for SAP systems that do not support RFC_GET_UNICODE_STRUCTURE.