Administration of the XML Data Archiving
Service
Purpose
The XML Data
Archiving Service (XML DAS) is an archiving technology that was created especially for data
archiving in the JAVA stack and
XML-oriented ABAP
archiving objects. XML DAS is one of the main components needed for
XML-based Data
Archiving, and is used by both ABAP and JAVA applications. It is part of a
standard Application Server Java (AS Java) installation. Before you can begin
XML-based archiving you must set up the different components involved and
configure your systems. For this purpose, the XML DAS comes with an
administration tool called the XML DAS
Administration. Together with Archive
Administration (transaction SARA) in the ABAP stack, this is the most important tool for an
archive administrator.
Implementation Considerations
To be able to use the XML DAS and the XML DAS Administration, you must implement the following steps:
...
1. Install an appropriate version of the AS Java (XML DAS is available as of Release 6.40). This will create the following for XML DAS:
○ The application sap.com/tc/TechSrv/XML_DAS, running in the Web Container
○ The application sap.com/tc/lm/itsam/ui/arch-das/ume
○ The application sap.com/tc/lm/itsam/ui/arch-das/wd
○ The database pool alias SAP/BC_XMLA for sap.com/tc/TechSrv/XML_DAS
○ Initial database content such as entries in table BC_XMLA_RESTYPES
2. Set up your storage system or systems:
Make available one or more WebDAV or file systems for storing archived data
It is recommended that you use a WebDAV system, because one of the important advantages is that the WebDAV protocol stipulates a reliable synchronous response to atomic write requests used for archiving resources.
Create a new or choose an empty directory (file system) or collection (WebDAV).
In case of
file systems, make sure each directory (acting as archive store root) is
accessible to all servers of the AS Java hosting XML DAS. The Operating System
user employed for Windows systems is SAPService<sid> and for
UNIX/Solaris systems <sid>adm. Therefore, each directory needs to have
the appropriate access privileges. See also:
Operating System
Security.
To prevent unauthorized access or harmful alteration or deletion of resources or directories in the file system, give the appropriate access privileges only to SAPService<sid> or <sid>adm, respectively.
Do not manually create or delete directories or files once the archive store root directory is fixed.
3. Set up the connection between the application system or systems and the AS Java running XML DAS.
You can use any of the HTTP authentication methods supported by the participating client system and the AS Java, such as Basic Authentication, Basic Authentication with SSL (HTTPS), or Client Certification.
If you are using HTTPS, both the client system and the AS Java must be configured for SSL support. For more information see Configuring the Use of SSL on the AS Java.
In addition, you must perform several customizing tasks using the XML DAS Administration. These tasks are described in detail in the following documentation.
Before you start XML-based data archiving we
recommend that you familiarize yourself with the concepts of data archiving in
general and read the corresponding documentation for
ADK-based Data
Archiving and
XML-based Data
Archiving.
Integration
XML-based data archiving involves two systems that are logically, and usually also physically, separate. One is the application system, whose database has grown too large and therefore needs to archive its data. The other system is the archiving system. XML DAS is part of the latter, the archiving system, and runs within the AS Java. This means that the “store part” of the archiving processes primarily takes place on the JAVA stack of an SAP Application Server. The figure below shows how the XML Data Archiving Service interacts with the different components involved in XML-based data archiving.
During XML-based archiving the meta data and the property indexes used for value-based searches of archived data are stored in the database of the AS Java. The actual data that has been archived is stored in a storage system, which is connected to the AS Java via the WebDAV protocol. It is also possible to use a file system instead of, or in addition to, a WebDAV system.
This system has to be set up in such a way that it is accessible from all servers of the AS Java. To configure your file or WebDAV system for XML-based archiving, you use the XML DAS Administration, shown in the figure below. These settings are essential for XML-based data archiving and span across application systems. Therefore, as we mentioned above, the XML DAS Administration is one of the most important tools for an archive administrator.
You can reach the XML DAS Administration in the following manner:
As a browser application using the following address:
http://<Host of J2EE Engine>:<HTTP port>/DataArchivingService/DAS
To successfully connect you need an SAP NW AS user that is assigned to the UME role SAP_ARCH_XMLDAS_VIEW (for viewing authorization) or SAP_ARCH_SUPERADMIN (for full authorization to execute actions).
For example: http://localhost:50000/DataArchivingService/DAS
Features
After you have set up your systems you must perform the following Customizing tasks before you can begin XML-based archiving. You perform these functions using the XML DAS Administration, and in the following order:
...
1. Define and test the archive stores:
The concept of an archive store is used to refer to a location (WebDAV collection or file system directory) within a storage system. Using the XML DAS Administration, you must first define archive stores to be able to test their availability.
In case of WebDAV servers accessed via proxies, register the proxy for each archive store.
2. Synchronize the home paths between application systems and XML DAS:
The XML DAS Connector of an application system provides a function to propagate new home paths to the XML DAS. Make sure that this function is executed so that XML DAS synchronizes the "known" home paths with new ones required by the applications.
SAP recommends that, if possible, you perform this necessary step from within the application system. This is because only here application-specific customizing can be taken into account.
In
case of an ABAP application, use transaction SARA (see the Synchronization of Home Paths section under
Basis
Customizing: XML Archiving) instead of the XML DAS Administration. This
function determines and synchronizes home paths for all existing XML archiving
objects, using reserved key words.
Synchronizing via the XML DAS Administration is mainly recommended for test purposes.
3. Assign home paths to archive stores:
Using the XML DAS Administration, you must assign an archive store to every home collection or application collection you want to use for archving.
In addition the XML DAS Administration offers the following features for packing and unpacking resources:
Unpack Resources
Display (Un)Pack Progress
ILM Store Browser – You can go directly to the ILM Store Browser to view the archive hierarchy, including details about the collections and resources in the hierarchy. You can also view all metadata managed by the data archiving service (XML DAS) and ILM properties.