Cloud Hot Folder Extension

Overview

Commerce Cloud is hosted on Microsoft Azure. The Cloud Hot Folder extension provides the support required to make hot folders work in Commerce Cloud within an Azure framework.

Cloud Hot Folders define a customizable pipeline - or 'flow' - that converts simple CSV files into fast, multithreaded SAP ImpEx scripts. These ImpEx scripts insert or update data directly in your SAP Commerce Cloud database. By configuring the Cloud Hot Folder framework, you define how to create the ImpEx scripts from your specific CSV files.

Hot folders have been a feature of SAP Commerce Cloud Accelerator services for many years. The Accelerator services extension includes two sample flows, one for the apparel store, and one for the electronics store. Hot folders also include a library of converters that allows you to import complex data models, such as product media. If your data model requires complex transformations, it may be necessary to create extra converters.

Advantages of Using Cloud Hot Folders

A Spring integration Inbound Channel Adapter checks for files in an Azure Blob store. An instance of the Inbound Channel Adapter is created for each node running the Cloud Hot Folder extension. This configuration differs from standard hot folders, where each monitored folder has to be defined by a file Inbound Adapter. An election mechanism ensures that exactly one node processes remote files. Meanwhile, the adapter starts and stops safely in response to SAP Commerce Cloud lifecycle events.

Along with the adapter, a hot folder flow unzips and processes archives that contain multiple data files. This flow is able to process a wider range of files than standard hot folders, including raw ImpEx. By default, the Azure Inbound Adapter routes all ZIP files to this new flow.

You can configure the adapter to deliver files with matching names to a hot folder flow of your choice. The adapter acts as a router, sending files to different hot folder flows based on the file name.

Features of Cloud Hot Folders

Cloud Hot Folders include the following features:

• Remote storage support through Azure Blob storage: During the provisioning of a Commerce Cloud environment, an Azure Blob store is automatically created for you to use as a hot folder pick-up location. This provision includes cloud- and cluster-safe file handling tools, with concurrency management and failover control.
• ZIP file support: Enables you to upload and process ZIP archives containing multiple core data, sample data, raw ImpEx, media, and CSV files. To learn more, see Unzip Channel.
• URL media file support: Enables you to reference media using external URLs in uploaded ImpEx. To learn more, see Importing Media References Using URLs.
• File sorting: Provides greater control over the ordering of files imported using the hot folder mechanism. To learn more, see Synchronizing, Sorting, and Filtering.
• Improved monitoring and metrics: Provides back-office monitoring and display of hot folder operations, enabling you to diagnose and fix integration problems without needing to access either the filesystem or the operating system of the SAP Commerce Cloud node. To learn more, see AOP Monitoring.