Can I only install WebAs with existing SAP 4.6c system?

[Former Member]

Dear all,

I am new to SAP world and familiar with MS .net technology.

We have implmenetded SAP4.6c. So far we expect to look at exposing SAP data to .net web applications, say, display the SAP reports on .net web pages.

We do not want to update the whole SAP 4.6c to Netweave2004. Reading some slides, I suppose we can install a Netweave WebAS 6.40 plus SAP XI along with our existing SAP system and then we could expose the SAP RFC via the web service and then our .net applications can use the web service to display the SAP data/tables on web pages.

So my questions are:

1. This apporach is right or is there better architecture to achieve my objectives?

2. How can just install WebAS 640 standalone without upgrading my legacy SAP4.6c? Is it possible? and I have netweave 2003SR1 dvds, which dvd I should use?

Sorry for my stupid questions and I am really not familaiar with SAP documentation system which is not like MS documentations clear to me.

Thanks for your comments.

Ted

MVP, MS SharePoint Portal Server 2003

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Hi Ted,

Welcome to SDN.

1. Your SAP 4.6C System will be on some version of WAS (say 6.20 for example) going forward to NetWeaver you can go with WAS 6.40. You can keep SAP 4.6C + WAS (Old Version) intact, and then setup WAS6.40 separately.

2. You need to have a separate setup for a WAS 6.40 and XI. You will need both the CDs and once this server is up and running you will be able to access 4.6C from this. That is not a problem.

Hope this helps you.

Thanks

Kathirvel

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Thank you very much for your clear answer.

As you have known I am very new to SAP, pls forgive my stupideness.

Assuming my objective is not to change any settings of our existing SAP4.6c and I will install WebAS640 +SAP XI on a sperate server (hardware).

My expectation is WebAS ABAP+JAVA +SAP XI runing on MS SQL 2003 SP3 and windows 2003, so which DVD I will use? You know I get Netwaeve 2004 SR1 DVDs. But I cannot find the WebAS ABAP 640 DVD. I do not know how to start from which DVD to install WebAS640 on the sperate server.

And which installation guide should I look at? (I have downloaded "SAP Web Application Server ABAP 6.40 on Windows:SQL Server" but I did not find the same name like any DVD with a label of "SAP Web Application Server ABAP 6.40 on Windows:SQL Server")

Thanks again for your further instructions and kind help again.

BR

Ted

[thomas_jung · Accepted solution]

I might jump in here and say that you do NOT need XI just to Expose functionality as a WebService or Call WebServices. All this can be done with vanilla ABAP WebAS 640. XI does provide additional mapping and Asynchronous functionality, but to just expose reports to the web you wouldn't necessarily need the additional overhead of XI.

[eddy_declercq · Accepted solution]

Thomas,

You forgot to mention your excellent web logs on this:

/people/thomas.jung3/blog/2005/05/13/calling-webservices-from-abap-via-https

and all the web logs mentioned there you've written.

Eddy

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Thanks, Thomas and Eddy.

Thomas, your webblogs are well written. I started to learn the netweaver and web service from your blog! Many thanks you gave the great real-world case to readers. I really love your blogs. Also the standalone WebAS server + existing SAP4.6c idea is picked from one of your slides.

In fact we are looking an express way to present SAP data/reports/tables on .net web pages. However we are lack of skillful ABAP people. And also we do not want to touch and change the existing sAP4.6c.

So we started the journey to install a WEBAS640. I read also others' blog and it uses the SAP XI to exposes the web service without ABAP coding.

But now I was stucked in how to install WebAS 640 in a seprate server and how to confiure its connects to our existing SAP4.6C. I am not familiar with SAP system. So I really appreicate allo of you can help me to set up the environmenent first to allow me use SAP4.6c + WebAS4.6c IDES server to devlope some net web application.

Thanks for your further comments in advance.

ted

[thomas_jung · Accepted solution]

My installation and upgrade experience has been that the SAP upgrade guides on the Service Marketplace provide all the information I need. The Netweaver04 installation kit also comes with a Master Guide that lays out all the installation options (ABAP, JAVA, ABAP+Java - and then all the application components and their requirements).

Really though there is another solution you should probably consider - the .Net Connector. It sounds like the .Net Connector would meet the requirements you have specified. It would require no additional server components. Your .Net Applications would communicate directly to R/3 46C via RFC with the inclusion of a single Assembly DLL.

The other thing to consider is that regardless of the connection approach (Pure WebAS ABAP, XI, .Net Connector), you will probably have a hard time meeting your requirements without doing some ABAP development in your 46C system. Although there are many standard BAPI and remote function modules, it has been my experience that they rarely meet every need. Often you end up needing to create your own RFC that adds just a little more data or pulls together non-RFC enabled SAP modules. Perhaps your company is more vanilla or less demanding than mine have been though.

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Thomas, thanks again for your kind reply.

Sorry for my stupid question again. You mentioned the .net connector which will install on our existing SAP4.6c system server, or just installed on my seprate web server? or in other words, do i need to change the exisiting SAP system? Also I read your webblog, it sounds you do not encourage using .net connector which may add a new failaure point.

Also Maybe I am not familiar with SAP info orginzed methods and styles. Always thought the SAP doumentation is not straight-forward like MS's documents. Even I look at the Netweave 2004 SR1, I found a DVD labelled with "Web AS Java 6.40" but cannot find a DVD with "Web AS ABAP 6.40". I will carefully go through the "SAP Web Application Server ABAP 6.40 on Windows:SQL Server". Hope I can start to set up the environment from there.

If I get progress, I will update here for mu straight-forward procedures to simply describe the installion of webas componenent on a seperate and the link with the existing SAP system. Maybe more new SAP commers like to see it.

Also I may meet other problems. I would like to get your kind reply again. Thanks in advance.

BR

Ted

[thomas_jung · Accepted solution]

You actually don't install the .Net Connector anywhere but on your development machine (by development machine I mean your PC with Visual Studio). Nothing gets installed on the SAP System at all.

When you deploy your application that uses the Connector, a couple of DLLs will be packaged along with it that contains the SAP supplied connection routines.

It is true that I don't encourage .Net Connector if you already have strong ABAP skills and have a the Netweaver Infrastructure. However if you don't have those things, you should seriously consider the tool. It wasn't the right fit for my company, but it certainly has its place. If you were interfacing to an external partner across the Tnternet I might still suggest WebAS/XI over the connector however.

Perhaps your kit is missing a DVD? I remember ours having a clearly marked disc for the ABAP install.

>the SAP doumentation is not straight-forward like MS's documents

Here I was the other day thinking just the opposite. I guess it is a matter of what you are used to.

Message was edited by: Thomas Jung

I should have waited until after that first cup of Coffee to write this reply.

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Thanks again for your quick reply. It seems at least I can start with .net connector by myself without asking too much from our SAP support team.

Thomas wrote:

"Perhaps your kit is missing a DVD? I remember ours having a clearly marked disc for the ABAP install. "

Ted: I will check with SAP team for this.

Thomas wrote:

">the SAP doumentation is not straight-forward like MS's documents

Here I was the other day thinking just the opposite. I guess it is a matter of what you are used to.

"

Ted: yeah. I also agree I stay at MS world too long and have not been used to the SAP style and methodolody to orginze the docs. Hope I can quickly go over the learning curve.

Thanks for your always patience to my stupid questions. I owe you a cup of bear, OH, no, a cup of coffee.:)

[thomas_jung · Accepted solution]

Don't worry. Your questions certainly aren't stupid. If anything, they are quite common. Several years ago, SAP was already a big thing to wrap your brain around. Now it is even bigger. I know people who have working with SAP for years, that still ask the questions you had.

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Thanks again for your kind reply, Thomas.

Sometimes we hope systems can help us do things simple but finally we find our jobs are more complicated after systems in place. That is the digital life.:)