Using Existing Connectors 
Whether they come with the installation of the SAP NetWeaver Portal or are developed separately and installed for portal users, the connectors to the back-end systems are deployed on the Java EE application server level. This offers distinct advantages for connector consumers in a managed environment, such as:
JNDI lookup
Instead of having to create a connection factory instance, you need only implement the connector gateway service of the portal. For code examples, see Using the JDBC Connector.
Connection pooling
The application server manages connections, reusing already open ones for new requests.
The main task of the developer of portal content, such as iViews that retrieve information from a back-end system (EIS), is to open a connection to that system.
The portal comes with a number of ready-to-use connectors. For more information, see:
Using the JDBC Connector for universal database connectivity
Using the SAP System Connector for connectivity to back-end SAP systems
Using the Web Service Connector for interacting with any Web service
Prerequisites
Following are the prerequisites for using connectors that are deployed in the portal.
File/Environment |
Description |
Source |
|---|---|---|
GenericConnector.jar |
Required to test the application |
Portal |
ExtendedConnector.jar |
Adds functionality to the generic connector |
Java EE application server |
Connector.jar |
Contains the JCA 1.0 API |
Java EE application server |
JAAS.jar (Java Authentication and Authorization Service) |
Required by the connector framework |
Java EE application server |
JTA.jar (Java Transaction API) |
Required by the connector framework |
Java EE application server |
EIS (Enterprise Information System) |
Required to test the application |
Has to be installed separately |
Java Application Server |
Any J2EE JCA 1.0-compliant WAS to work with servlets without the portal |
Has to be installed separately |
PRT (Portal Runtime) |
Required to test the application in the portal environment |
Portal |
Portal Wizard Framework |
The portal wizard framework is an effective tool to create a portal application that uses a connector. |
Portal |
Connector Web Service |
Necessary to communicate between application and connector as Web service, using HTTP calls and SOAP. |
Portal |