With XI 3.0 SP15, an add-on software is now available to assist with the data transformation tasks. The software is Conversion Agent from Itemfield.
The Conversion Agent enables efficient development, deployment and maintenance of data transformations for incoming and outgoing unstructured and semi-structured data and messages based on industry standards into XML.
The following formats are supported:
Unstructured
ASCII, EBCDIC, HTML, SGML, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint®, Microsoft Word, StarOffice, WordPerfect, PDF, Undocumented Binaries, Flat Files, Print Streams, PostScript, AFP
Semi-Structured
HL7, HIPAA, EDI-X.12, EDIFact, COBOL, PL/I, FIX, ACORD / AL3, ASTM, Cargo-IMP, MVR, SWIFT, MISMO, XML, IFX, FIXML, OFX, LegalXML, cXML, ebXML, RosettaNet, HL7 V3.0, ACORD XML
This weblog does not show how to develop conversions programs using the Conversion Agent. This information can be obtained thru either tutorials or workshops.
This weblog will show how to setup the Conversion Agent software, its deployment on XI and the Communication Channel configurations.
Steps to get started:
- Download Itemfield Documentation from http://service.sap.com/xi. Navigate down the following path:
SAP Netweaver
SAP Netweaver in Detail
Process Integration
SAP Exchange Infrastructure
Media Library
Documentation
Download the lastest version of "Conversion Agent Documentation XI 3.0".After unzipping the documentation file, you should find the file, CMGetStart.pdf in the appropriate language directory, which contains tutorials teaching the use of the Conversion Agent.
- Download Itemfield software from http://service.sap.com/download. Navigate down the following path:
SAP Software Distribution Center
Download
Support Packages and Patches
Entry by Application GroupUnder "Support Packages and Patches":
Support Packages and Patches -> SAP NetWeaver -> SAP NETWEAVER -> SAP NETWEAVER 04 -> Entry by Component -> Process Integration (PI/XI) -> NW04 CONVERSION AGENT 1.0
Select and download the appropriate software based on OS platform and release, e.g. for Win32 SP15, the file is SAPNWCM15_0-20001444.sca.
- Extract content of SCA:
- Install ContentMaster Studio on Your PC:
CM Studio is the development tool for your PC.
ContentMaster.sda - contains CM Studio with Eclipse plug-in and transformation libraries. They are to be installed on your own PC for transformation development.
The CM Studio requires Eclipse 2.3.x. If you have a later version of Eclipse, then you will need to install a separate copy of Eclipse, instead of using your existing one. The 2.3.x version is included in the installation.
Extract ContentMaster.sda and execute ContentMaster4.exe. Follow the setup instructions and select the desired conversion libraries. During setup, make sure the development tool is selected.
- Install CM engine on the XI server:
CM Studio also contains the engine to execute the conversion program developed on your PC.
Follow the setup instructions and select the desired conversion libraries. During setup, make sure the conversion engine is selected. There is no need to install the development tool, it will only take up unnecessary disk spaces.
Testing the ContentMaster installation:
- Open a COMMAND console and enter CM_console without any parameters. CM_console should display usage messages.
- In the ContentMaster installation, there is a setupTests directory. Copy the entire TestCME subdirectory in it to the ServiceDB directory under ContentMaster installation.
- Enter the command CM_console TestCME. You should get a Success message in response.
-
- Deployment of SDA to XI Server:
J2EE libraries are required to access the CM Engine by the XI J2EE adapters to perform the transformations.
CM_JavaAPI.sda and CM_TransformModule.sda - CM Engine libraries to be deployed on the XI server using SDM.
- Deploy Transformation Programs from Desktop to XI Server:
When a conversion project is successfully developed and deployed on your PC, a new folder with your transformation name is created under the <CA home directory>/ServiceDB directory. You need to locate that folder and copy it to the XI J2EE server under the <CA home directory>/ServiceDB directory. This directory is created during the CM engine installation on the XI server in step 5. If you don’t have access to the server, you need to send the folder to the administrator for assistance. It is advisable that the ServiceDB directory be shared so that developers can copy their projects to it without getting system people involved.
By default the CA home directory on your desktop is "C:\Program Files\SAP\ContentMaster".
- Communication Channel Configuration:
After the conversion project has been copied from your PC to the XI server's ServiceDB directory, the Communication Channel has to be configured to use the conversion program. This is done throught the user-module configuration:
The module name must be localejbs/sap.com/com.sap.nw.cm.xi/CMTransformBean.
The parameter name must be TransformationName.
The parameter value must be the conversion agent project name deployed in serviceDB. In the above example, the Tutorial_3 project from the documentation in step 1 is used.
Additional Information:
http://service.sap.com/~form/sapnet?_SHORTKEY=01100035870000669979&
http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw04/helpdata/en/43/4c38c4cf105f85e10000000a1553f6/content.htm
Please Note: Many of the links in this blog require that you log in to the SAP Service Marketplace.
If you need to register for a Service Marketplace login, or have simply forgotten your password, the Service Marketplace folks have provided us with a useful FAQ that should help. If you already have a Service Marketplace login and would like to associated it with your SDN login, then we can help you right here. That way, once you're logged in to SDN, you'll be logged in to Service Marketplace also! You won't be asked to log in twice.
The link to the SMP login FAQ is: https://websmp206.sap-ag.de/~sapidp/002006825000000011242002E
The link to SDN's usermapping area is: https://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/sdn/usermapping
