Activating and Configuring Message Packaging 

Use

Message packaging in the Business Process Engine (BPE) improves inbound processing performance. To be able to take advantage of message packaging for integration processes, you must activate it globally for the BPE and individually for the process types that message packaging could be useful for. The process type corresponds to a workflow task. Using the configuration parameters, you can configure message packaging so that it suits your requirements.

More information: Message Packaging for Integration Processes

Message packaging in BPE is independent of message packaging in PI (XI), but they can be used together.

For more information on message packaging in PI, see Message Packaging.

Prerequisites

You need the PI release SAP NetWeaver 7.0 Support Package Stack 13 or higher to be able to activate message packaging for integration processes.

Activating Message Packaging

You must activate message packaging globally for BPE at the process type level to be able to use message packaging for integration processes. Follow the procedure below:

       1.      Schedule the packaging job using transaction SWF_XI_CUSTOMIZING.

It is important that the packaging job runs regularly as scheduled so that the message packaging for integration processes is executed successfully. For this reason, the packaging job has the job class A. We recommended that you reserve at least one batch process for jobs with job class A (transaction RZ04) so that you avoid a blockage of all batch processes due to long-running batch jobs of lower job classes.

       2.      Schedule the reorganization job using transaction SWF_XI_CUSTOMIZING.

       3.      Globally activate message packaging for inbound processing.

                            a.      Call transaction SXMB_ADMIN.

                            b.      Choose Configuration  → Configure Integration Engine.

                            c.      Under Parameter Categories, choose the BPE category.

                            d.      Add a new entry for the BPE category and enter 1 as the PACKAGING parameter.

       4.      Activate message packaging for individual process types.

                            a.      Start the configuration of the inbound processing (transaction SWF_INB_CONF).

                            b.      Select the process type that you want message packaging for and under Message Packaging select Active.

Message packaging is not activated by default.

                            c.      Adapt the process-type-specific parameters to message packaging.

For more information on message packaging parameters, see the next section Configuring Message Packaging.

When the reconfiguration phase is completed, incoming messages are processed using message packaging. 

Configure Message Packaging

Once you have activated message packaging for the BPE and the process type, there are further configuration options for configuring the inbound processing for the individual process types that are available to you.

       5.      Start the configuration of the inbound processing (transaction SWF_INB_CONF).

       6.      Choose the process type for the message packaging you want to configure.

       7.      Check that the Active indicator is set for the message packaging.

The following settings are available in message packaging:

○       Maximum Number of Messages - defines the maximum number of messages in a message package.

○       Maximum Package Size in kB - defines the maximum amount of memory for a message package, that is the total size of all messages added together.

○       Maximum Wait Time in Seconds - Defines the maximum amount of time that a message will wait to be transferred to inbound processing within a package in a packaging job.

The first two criteria both determine when a message package is considered to be complete because it has reached the defined size limit, either with the maximum number of messages or the sum of the message sizes. The maximum wait time restricts the latency time. Before the maximum wait time of at least one unpackaged message is exceeded, the first two criteria alone determine whether a message package is complete and can be sent to inbound processing by qRFC. These criteria restrict the amount of memory required. In the remainder of this documentation they are referred to as size-restriction criteria.

To deactivate one of the criteria, set the value to 0.

For more information on latency in message packaging, see Using Message Packaging Correctly.

Example

During a packaging job run, a message package is created that is not complete with respect to the Maximum Number of Messages and Maximum Package Size size limit criteria. In addition, the maximum wait time is not exceeded for any of the messages it contains. In this case, the incomplete message package is not transferred to the inbound processing during the packaging job.

This situation may have changed when the next packaging job is run.

●      Case 1: More messages have arrived which could be added to the messaging package. As a result, one of the two size-restriction criteria is fulfilled and the message package is sent in the next run.

●      Case 2: Neither of the size-restriction criteria were fulfilled but the wait time of one of the messages in the package was exceeded. This causes the message package to be transferred to the inbound processing in the next run.

The inbound processing monitoring function (transactions SWF_INB_MON and SWF_INB_ADM) help you to optimize the message packaging configuration.

More information: Monitoring Message Packaging