Error Handling in RFC Server Programs

Return Codes and Error Groups

Return Code	Description
RFC_OK	A function call was processed successfully.
RFC_COMMUNICATION_FAILURE	The connection broke down while processing the function call. No response has been sent to the SAP system.
RFC_LOGON_FAILURE	Unable to logon to SAP system. Invalid password, user locked, etc.
RFC_ABAP_RUNTIME_FAILURE	SAP system runtime error: Shortdump or the called function module raised an X Message
RFC_ABAP_MESSAGE	A function call was started to be processed, but was aborted with an ABAP A- or E-Message within the implementing application. The message parameters have been returned to the SAP system (and can be evaluated there via the sy-msgid, sy-msgtype, sy-msgno, sy-msgv1, ..., sy-msgv4 parameters).
RFC_ABAP_EXCEPTION	A function call was processed and ended within the implementing application with a defined ABAP Exception, which has been returned to the SAP system.
RFC_CLOSED	Connection closed by the other side.
RFC_CANCELED	An RFC connection has been cancelled by the backend system.
RFC_TIMEOUT	Time out
RFC_MEMORY_INSUFFICIENT	Memory insufficient
RFC_VERSION_MISMATCH	Version mismatch
RFC_INVALID_PROTOCOL	The received data has an unsupported format
RFC_SERIALIZATION_FAILURE	A problem while serializing or deserializing RFM parameters.
RFC_INVALID_HANDLE	An invalid handle was passed to an API call
RFC_RETRY	RfcListenAndDispatch did not receive an RFC during the timeout period.
RFC_EXTERNAL_FAILURE	Error in external customer code. (e.g. in the tRFC Handlers)
RFC_EXECUTED	Inbound tRFC call already executed (needs to be returned from RFC_ON_CHECK_TRANSACTION in case the TID is already known).
RFC_NOT_FOUND	Function or structure definition not found (Metadata API).
RFC_NOT_SUPPORTED	The operation is not supported on that handle
RFC_ILLEGAL_STATE	The operation is not supported on that handle at the current point of time (e.g. trying a callback on a server handle, while not in a call)
RFC_INVALID_PARAMETER	An invalid parameter was passed to an API call, (e.g. invalid name, type or length).
RFC_CODEPAGE_CONVERSION_ FAILURE	Codepage conversion error.
RFC_CONVERSION_FAILURE	Error while converting a parameter to the correct data type.
RFC_BUFFER_TOO_SMALL	The given buffer was to small to hold the entire parameter. Data has been truncated.
RFC_TABLE_MOVE_BOF	Trying to move the current position before the first row of the table.
RFC_TABLE_MOVE_BOF	Trying to move the current position before the first row of the table.

RFC Error Groups	Description
OK	OK
ABAP_APPLICATION_FAILURE	ABAP Exception raised in ABAP function modules within the implementing application.
ABAP_RUNTIME_FAILURE	ABAP Message raised in ABAP function modules or in ABAP runtime of the SAP system (e.g. Kernel).
LOGON_FAILURE	Error message raised when logon fails.
COMMUNICATION_FAILURE	Problems with the network connection (or SAP system broke down and killed the connection).
EXTERNAL_RUNTIME_FAILURE	Problems in the RFC runtime of the external program (i.e. the present library)
EXTERNAL_APPLICATION_FAILURE	Problems in the external program (e.g. in the external server implementation)

Common Error Causes

There are different causes for ABAP errors, depending on the program. Causes include:

Incorrect or incomplete entries in the RFC destination (transaction SM59)
Network problems
Authorization problems
Error in the RFC program

Solution

Check the following:

Check all the entries made in transaction SM59. The destination used must be entered with category T. Enter a complete path name, if possible, for the program to be started. Make sure to save the destination.
Configuration on operating system level
1. The host name specification in the destination
  
  A name is entered into 'host name' or a non-standard gateway is stored (in gateway options). In the latter case, the program is started by the standard gateway program of the system or by the gateway ( gwrd ) specified explicitly via 'remote shell'.
  
  Make sure that the entered computer can be addressed by the computer of gateway process. Enter the following command on this computer:
  
  /etc/ping <host name> or ping <host name>
  
  To start a program with 'remote shell' on another computer, it is necessary that the user-ID of the gateway process exists on the target system and that the HOME directory of this user contains a file . rhosts in the target system. The name of the calling computer must be stored in this file. To test this, log in on the computer of the gateway process under the user-ID of this process and call the command:
  
  remsh <host name> <program name>
  
  In this case, you have to enter the same as in transaction SM59 for <host name> and <program name> .
  
  (If an RFC server program is called without parameters, the call Rfc RegisterServer returns an error code in any case and the program should terminate immediately.)
  
  No entry is made in ' host name '
  
  In this case, the program is started from the SAP application server.
  - Make sure that the program can be addressed from the SAP application server.
  - Make sure that the SAP application server has the authorization for starting the program.
  - To do this, log on under the user ID of the SAP application server. Go into the work directory of the application server ( /usr/sap/.../D.../work ), if possible, and start the RFC server program manually from there.
    
    (If an RFC server program is called without parameters, the call Rfc RegisterServer returns an error code in any case and the program should terminate immediately.)
2. Problems in the RFC server program itself
  
  To pick up stderr output of the RFC server program, you can enter a control program instead of the actual server program into the destination which in turn starts the actual server program with the same command line and which in this case redirects the standard output of the program into a file.
  
  Example
  RFC server program is /xxx/xxxx.
  
  However, the C script is called (do not forget the specification of the shell in the first line):
  
  #!/bin/csh
  
  date >> /tmp/rfclog
  
  /xxx/xxxx $* >>& /tmp/rfclog
  
  echo $status >>& /tmp/rfclog
  
  Display the log file /tmp/rfclog for further error analysis.
  
  You can activate the trace flag in the destination (remember to save). A file dev_rfc is then written by the RFC server program in its current directory containing all data received, operations and errors that occurred.