Defining Channels

You use this procedure to define the sender and receiver channels. The channel definition contains the configuration data of the adapter. The adapters are connectors provided by SAP to connect two systems or applications having different communication protocols. The sender adapter converts the protocol of the incoming message into an internal message format understood by SAP NetWeaver PI and the receiver adapter converts the internal message format into the protocol that the receiver system can understand.

Inline Channels: Channels that are a part of the integration flow. The channel gets created when the integration flow is deployed on runtime.

Referenced Channels: Channels that are independent objects and have their own lifecycle. The channels can be created, edited, deleted and activated. On activation it gets deployed to the runtime that is same as the runtime on which the integration flow is deployed. The channels are associated with a system during creation and can be assigned only when you use the associated system.

Procedure

1. Create Referenced Channels

In the main menu, choose File New Channel .
In the New Channel dialog, enter the channel name.
Browse and select a communication component with which the channel is associated.
Choose Finish.

Note Note

You can find the channel is created under its associated system in the PI Explorer.

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2. Configure the channel properties

If you are using referenced channel, follow the steps below:
1. In the PI Explorer, double-click the required channel under the associated system.
2. In the Channel editor tab, select the direction of the channel.
3. Select the adapter engine on which the channel is deployed.
4. Enter a description for the channel.
5. Select an adapter type, and if required, change the default values of the transport and message protocol of the adapter type.
6. Save the changes.
Note
The adapter engine should be the same as the adapter engine you have selected for the integration flow in the General tab in theProperties view of integration flow.

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If you are using inline channel, follow the steps below:
1. In the Model Configurator, double-click the Channel at the sender (dotted arrow at the sender block) to open it in the Channel Editor tab.
2. In the General section, enter the channel name and description.
  
  Note
  When you enter the channel name, the channel ID is generated by appending the channel name to the integration flow ID, that is, <Integration Flow ID>_<Channel Name>. This channel ID is used to search the channel during monitoring.
  
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3. Select the adapter type, and if required, change the default values of the transport and message protocol of the adapter type.
  
  Note
  The value selection for all other parameters depends on the selected adapter type.
  
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To apply virus scanner and schema validation for both the channel types, follow the steps below:
1. In the Model Configurator, double-click the Channel at the sender (dotted arrow at the sender block) to open it in the Channel Editor tab.
2. Choose an option for Schema Validation to specify if you want the adapter to check the structure of the message payload.
3. Select an option for Virus Scanner to specify if you want the adapter to scan the messages for malicious or corrupted data before it reaches the systems.
  
  Note
  By default, the Use Global Configuration option is selected to apply the virus scanner setting that is centrally configured. If you select the Virus Scan by Adapter or No Virus Scan options, the scanner is applied only to this channel.
  
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Save the changes.

3. Configure the adapter

In the Adapter-Specific tab page, enter the details to configure the adapter you have selected. Follow the description of the adapter-specific field in Adapter Configuration and save the changes.

Note Note

Under Configuring Adapters of the Advanced Adapter Engine , you can find the configuration information of various adapters. Choose the required adapter and perform the activities described in configuring the corresponding sender or receiver adapter.
You can add user-defined modules by selecting a modules configuration file from your local file system. From the main menu, choose Windows Preferences PI Tools Configuration Tool Specific and browse for a user-defined file in the Set Module Configuration File section.

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4. Assign referenced channels to integration flow

To activate the referenced channel follow the steps below:
1. In the PI Explorer, under the associated system, select and right-click on the channel.Choose Activate.
2. Choose Activate from the context menu.
In the Model Configurator, right-click on the channel (dotted line between the system and pool). 5. 6. In the Choose Communication Channel dialog, select the required channel from a list of referenced channel that are associated with that system.
Choose Assign Referenced Channel.
In the Choose Communication Channel dialog, select the required channel from a list of referenced channel that are associated with that system.

Note Note

You can remove the assigned channel by selecting Unassign channel icon in the toolbar of the Channel editor tab.

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5. Configure the agreements

In the Model Configurator, double-click the channel to configure the agreements in the channel editor.
In the Agreement tab page, enter the agreement information.

To configure the sender and receiver agreements, click http://help.sap.com/nw731 Application Help Function Oriented View (English) Integration Directory and follow the procedure under Defining Sender Agreements and Defining Receiver Agreements.

Note Note

To know which adapter types require sender agreement, click http://help.sap.com/nw731 Application Help Function Oriented View (English) Integration Directory Defining Sender Agreements Using Sender Agreements .

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More Information

About Referenced Channels

You can assign a referenced channel only if it is activated.
You can check if the channel is available in runtime on activation. In PI Explorer, right-click on the channel and select Show Cache Status. The Cache Status Overview gives the status of objects in the selected runtime engine during a specific time interval.
If you are unable to edit the channel in the Integration Designer, it is possible that the channel is locked for editing in the Integration Builder. To continue working in the Integration Designer, you have to release the lock in the Integration Builder.
If you make changes to a referenced channel in an integration flow that is already deployed, only the compatible changes can get activated. Examples of incompatible changes in channel that do not get activated are- changing the direction of the channel or changing the runtime.