Integrating Business Systems by Using the Plain HTTP Adapter 

The following documentation describes an integration scenario in which the business system, which is connected to the Integration Server by means of the plain http adapter, takes on the role of either a sender system or a receiver system, or both.

Use

Many external systems can only communicate by using http when the http payload (plain http) is not in a SOAP envelope. You use the plain http adapter to connect such systems to the Integration Server directly.

Some external receiver systems (for example Web servers on marketplaces) can only process data when they receive it by means of http post in HTML format. In such cases, the payload of the outgoing message can be enhanced correspondingly. For more information about the plain http adapter, see: Plain HTTP Adapter

Description

An external business system is connected to the Integration Server by means of the plain http adapter. It uses plain http to exchange XML messages with this adapter.

The plain http adapter receives an XML message from the business system by means of plain http protocol. It converts this message into the XI message protocol (SOAP with header enhancements) for processing further by the Integration Engine.

To forward an XML message to a receiver business system by using the plain http interface, the plain http adapter receives the message in XI message protocol from the Integration Engine and converts it into a message with plain http protocol, which is then sent to the receiver business system.

Example

An external business system sends an XML message to the plain http adapter on the Integration Server, by using plain http protocol. The XML message is converted to an XI message protocol message, which is then processed further by the Integration Engine. Two receivers are determined:

·        Another external business system

·        An SAP business system, which is able to receive XML messages directly

The plain http adapter at the Integration Server outbound channel converts the message in XI message protocol back into a message in plain http protocol. It then sends this message to the external business system. The SAP business system on the other hand simply receives the message in XI message protocol.

Using plain http communication without the corresponding enhancements to the SOAP header has certain limitations. In the quality of service area, for example, the quality of service Exactly Once can no longer be guaranteed.