SAP interfaces to external systems

How can external systems be integrated into SAP and

which interfaces does the ERP system offer?
SAP standard interfaces offer possibilities to connect external systems to
SAP. Last but not least, the digitalization of processes in companies requires
integration of non-SAP systems. SAP interfaces allow any other software and
other solutions to exchange data with the SAP system. Each available
interface for exchange of data has advantages and disadvantages. Here we
present the most important interfaces for integration, describe their basic
functions and show in a video exemplary the coupling of an SAP system with
an RFC interface. Discover everything you need to know about using SAP in
our practical example and industrial explanations. You can find a dedicated
video about this topic by visiting our tutorial stream.

SAP Interfaces
RFC – BAPI – IDoc – SOAP – REST – SAP HANA

RFC – Remote Function Call

The classic way for communication between non-SAP systems and SAP is,
according to SAP itself, the RFC interface. RFC interfaces are also often used
to communicate between SAP systems itself. Put simply, RFC is a remote
function call. The RFC interfaces for integration have been available since
SAP/R3 until today. With RFC, there is an RFC client and an RFC server,
whereby the client calls a function on the server. The function is executed on
the remote system. In an RFC coupling, both systems can act as server and
client. The call of an RFC function is synchronous, so that it is especially
suitable for processes in which decisions or data are directly required for
production. The OPC Router can call RFC interfaces in the SAP system using
all parameter types and data, but it can also be configured as an RFC server
and serve as a call target.

Example RFC in SAP SE80

BAPI – Business Application Programming Interface

The basic concept of BAPIs is object-orientation. BAPIs make the business
objects available in the SAP system for access by external systems. Business
objects represent real objects such as orders, customers or articles. The
instances are accessed exclusively using methods provided by the business
object. Technically the method is called on the basis of the RFC interfaces.
The instance to which the calls are made is determined by key fields
(customer number, and so on). The OPC Router connects BAPIs via SAP
plug-in.

IDoc Messages

The IDoc (Intermediate Document) is an SAP file format. It is intended for

transfer of transaction data. The structure of an IDoc is prescribed by the
IDoc type and defines the exact length and position of fields in the file. The
IDoc is divided into a header line, any number of data segments and status
records. In contrast to the RFC interfaces, communication via IDocs is always
asynchronous. The sender creates an IDoc with data according to the
specification of the IDoc type and transfers it to the target system. The
receiving system accepts the IDoc and inserts it into the processing buffer for
IDocs, from which the documents are processed successively. IDocs are a
very old and proven method of communication and are especially suitable for
transferring master data and posting records. You can use the SAP plug-in to
send IDocs from any source.

Connect and couple your systems with SAP!

By using the OPC Router, the connection of your systems to the SAP system
is as simple as drag & drop – test the fully functional and free demo for your
OPC UA communication now.

Test SAP-Connection for free

SOAP Webservice

SOAP web services are one of the newer technologies for connecting SAP.
Since version 7.0 and the introduction of SAP NetWeaver, Web services have
been standard for interfaces. SOAP is a pure web technology and functions
are called using the HTTP protocol. RFC Functions are also made available
via the SOAP interface. The client receives detailed information about the
functions and their parameters via the WSDL file (Web Service Description
Language). The WDSL file can be retrieved via a defined URL. Web services
are created in SAP using WebDynpro and connected to ABAP programs and
RFC interfaces. RFC functions can also be published as Web services using
other solutions (such as SAP MII). The OPC Router can use SAP Web
services with its SOAP plug-in.
REST API

For some years now, the SAP Gateway has had the functionality to provide
ABAP functions and RFC interfaces in the form of a REST API. REST has
some advantages over SOAP, but is similar in technology, since it is also a
function call via HTTP protocol. Compared to SOAP, REST is easy to call
from various platforms, transfers pure human-readable data in JSON or XML
and is faster and saves resources. In the basic idea of REST, an object is
accessed via REST, not its methods. The state of the object can be changed
by the REST access. The change is caused by the passed parameters. A
possible use case is the connection of the SAP PI via the REST interface.

SAP HANA

In 2013, SAP published the HANA platform and thus also the in-memory
database of the SAP HANA platform. The access to the relational database is
comparable to the access to other relational database systems whereby an
SAP connection can be implemented as a pure database connection. If the
SAP application to be interfaced uses jointly agreed tables and functions, the
data exchange can take place via them. The SAP HANA database can be
tested free of charge and with the SAP HANA Plug-in of OPC Router access
can be easily established.

Connection of OPC with an RFC

In this video you can see an exemplary coupling of an SAP system with an
RFC interface.
https://www.opc-router.de/wp-content/uploads/OPC_Router_SAP_EN.mp4?
_=1

Simple SAP connection in practice with SAP interfaces

Connecting an SAP system to devices and machines in a system environment
can be realized quite simply with the help of interfaces. With the RFC, BAPI,
IDoc, SOAP and REST interfaces, various solutions are available for
different requirements. Regardless of which interface is used, the result is the
same: your SAP system communicates with your system environment.

For setting up the SAP connection, it is possible to use software such as OPC
Router. All the key interfaces are provided, and the connections to devices
and machines can be set up in a graphical user interface using drag & drop. In
practice, it is possible to distribute SAP data to other systems or transfer data
to the SAP system with little effort and no programming knowledge.
Networking of this kind makes Industry 4.0 a reality.

Further information