Show TOC

Component documentationWorking with the Application Integrator Locate this document in the navigation structure

 

The Application Integrator toolset provides an infrastructure for integrating remote Web applications into the portal. It allows you to create portal components that serve as templates for iViews representing the remote applications.

Features

The Application Integrator provides portal components, focused on the following SAP applications:

  • SAP Transactions (SAP backend transactions)

  • Internet Application Components (IAC)

  • Business Server Pages (BSP)

  • BEx Web Applications (SAP BW 3.x format and SAP NetWeaver 7.0 format)

  • WebDynpro for Java and ABAP

  • Crystal Reports

  • Workplace 2.x MiniApps

  • HTTP-based web applications (generic portal component)

and more.

If you want to integrate one of these application types, refer to the administration manuals. If the application type you need is not in the list, you can implement your own integrator component.

The Application Integrator includes the following portal applications:

  • com.sap.portal.appintegrator

  • com.sap.portal.appintegrator.sap

Implementation Considerations

An Application Integrator iView creates HTML content that loads a remote application. This is done in three steps:

This graphic is explained in the accompanying text.

The loading procedure requires that content included into the portal with the Application Integrator is accessible from a client computer. The Application Integrator infrastructure creates HTML commands to load the remote application. After the application has been loaded, the iView stops interaction with the portal.

To create an iView from an existing Application Integrator portal component:

  1. Log on to the portal with a user account that has administrator rights.

  2. In the top level navigation, choose   Content Administration   Portal Content  .

    1. Select a folder in the Portal Content catalog and choose New.

    2. Choose Portal Component and choose Next.

    3. Choose com.sap.portal.appintegrator.sap and choose Next.

    4. Select a component and choose Next.

    5. Specify the name, id and prefix of your iView, and choose Next.

    6. On the summary page, choose Finish.

Your iView is displayed in the Portal Content catalog and the detail panel shows the property page of your iView. The properties settings of the iView depend on the remote application from which the iView is created.

Security Considerations

For security reasons, the following is recommended:

  • Requests from the Application Integrator should not include user IDs and passwords for remote systems that the portal user should not see. Otherwise, malicious but otherwise legitimate users with an HTTP sniffer could determine the user IDs and passwords to which they are mapped.

    For example, do not map all portal users to a single administrator or super user.

  • Use SSL and HTTP POST for communication between systems.