Live Data Connection to SAP BW Using a Direct CORS Connection via ICM Script

Use an ICM Script to setup Cross-origin resource sharing (CORS) between your SAP BW system running SAP NetWeaver ABAP Application Server (AS) lower than 7.52.

Who does this apply to?

Users with Create, Read, Update, Delete and Maintain permissions for Connections.
Users with Execute permission for Other Data Sources.
Admin, Application Creator, BI Content Creator, BI Admin, and Planner Reporter standard application roles.
Setting up a live connection requires working with the SAP Analytics Cloud system owner and different IT and application stakeholders within your organization. Most configuration steps are done on your SAP NetWeaver ABAP Application Server (AS) before creating the connection in your SAP Analytics Cloud tenant.

Prerequisites

Check that you are using a supported version of SAP BW. For more information, see System Requirements and Technical Prerequisites.
Note

Additional correction notes must be applied for some versions of SAP BW. For more information, see SAP Note 2541557
You must be updated to SAP Kernel 7.49 PL 315 or higher.
Configure SSL on your SAP NetWeaver ABAP AS. For more information, see Configuring SAP NetWeaver AS for ABAP to Support SSL, and SAP Note 510007.
Configure cross-site cookies: To ensure that Chrome and other browsers allow cross-site access to your SAP on-premise data source cookies from SAP Analytics Cloud, you must configure your SAP on-premise data source to issue cookies with specific attributes. Without these settings, user authentication to your live data connections will fail, and Story visualizations based on these connections will not render.

For steps on how to do this, see SameSite Cookie Configuration for Live Data Connections.
Setup SSO (optional): If you want users to have a single sign-on experience to your data, check you are using same Identity Provider (IdP) for SAP Analytics Cloud and SAP NetWeaver. For more information on setting up your identity provider in SAP Analytics Cloud, see Enable a Custom SAML Identity Provider.
If you have multiple authentication methods configured on your ABAP AS, see Alternative Logon Order.

Enable InA on your ABAP Application Server

Context

SAP Information Access (InA) is a REST HTTP-based protocol used by SAP Analytics Cloud to query your data sources in real time. Confirm that your InA package is enabled and services are running on the ABAP AS for your data source.

Procedure

Check that your InA package is enabled.

To check if the Ina package is enabled, open the following URL in your browser: https://<Your_ABAP_Server>/sap/bw/ina/GetServerInfo?sap-client=<Your_Client_ID>. Make sure you are prompted for user credentials, and after login you get a JSON response. Replace <Your_ABAP_Server> with your ABAP system host, and <Your_Client_ID> with your SAP BW client ID.
Check that the required Information Access Services are active in your SAP BW/4HANA or SAP BW system.
1. Access your system using SAP Logon.
2. Enter transaction code: SICF.
3. Enter the Service Path: /sap/bw/ina and then select Execute.
  The following dialog will appear:
4. Under Virtual Hosts/Services go to: default_host sap bw ina.
5. Make sure that the following services are active:
```
BatchProcessing
GetCatalog
GetResponse
GetServerInfo
Logoff
ValueHelp
```

Configure CORS via ICM Script on your ABAP Application Server

Context

Note

If your SAP BW landscape is running behind SAP Web Dispatcher, we recommend that you apply these CORS changes directly to the NetWeaver ABAP application server if possible.

Procedure

Create a new file on your ABAP server.

This file will contain CORS rewrite rules. For example, /usr/sap/<SID>/SYS/profile/<cors_rewrite>.
Adjust the ICM parameter to point to the file you created in step 1.
You can find this parameter in the SAP profile parameter settings for your ABAP server.
For example,
```
icm/HTTP/mod_0 = PREFIX=/,FILE=<Path_To_CORS_Rewrite_File>
```
Note

Replace <Path_To_CORS_Rewrite_File> with the path to the CORS rewrite file you created.

Add the following content to the rewrite file:

if %{HEADER:isSACOriginAllowed} = true
                            setHeader isSACOriginAllowed false
                            
                            if %{HEADER:ORIGIN} regimatch ^(https:\/\/)?<HOSTNAME> [AND]
                            if %{PATH} regimatch (\/sap(\(.*\))*\/bw\/ina\/*) 
                            setHeader isSACOriginAllowed true
                            
                            if %{HEADER:isSACOriginAllowed} = true [AND]
                            if %{REQUEST_METHOD} regimatch (GET|POST)
                            begin
                            setResponseHeader Access-Control-Allow-Origin %{HEADER:ORIGIN}
                            setResponseHeader Access-Control-Expose-Headers x-csrf-token,sap-rewriteurl,sap-url-session-id,sap-perf-fesrec,sap-system
                            setResponseHeader Access-Control-Allow-Credentials true
                            setResponseHeader Vary origin
                            end
                            
                            if %{HEADER:isSACOriginAllowed} = true [AND]
                            if %{REQUEST_METHOD} stricmp OPTIONS
                            begin
                            regRewriteUrl ^/(.*) /sap/public/ping
                            setResponseHeader Access-Control-Allow-Origin %{HEADER:ORIGIN}
                            setResponseHeader Access-Control-Allow-Methods GET,POST
                            setResponseHeader Access-Control-Allow-Headers x-csrf-token,x-sap-cid,authorization,mysapsso2,x-request-with,sap-rewriteurl,sap-url-session-id,content-type,accept-language
                            setResponseHeader Access-Control-Max-Age 600
                            setResponseHeader Access-Control-Allow-Credentials true
                            setResponseHeader Vary origin
                            removeResponseHeader Set-Cookie
                            removeResponseHeader Expires
                            end

Note

Replace <HOSTNAME> with your SAP Analytics Cloud host. For example, mytenant.us1.sapanalytics.com.

Note

Multiple hosts can be added to the rewrite file. For more information, see How to Enable CORS on SAP NetWeaver Platform.

Restart your ABAP server.

(Optional SSO) Add a Dummy HTML File to Your ABAP Application Server

Context

If you've set up SAML 2.0 Single Sign-On (SSO) for SAP Analytics Cloud and your data source system with the same Identity Provider, you must add a dummy HTML file to authenticate your users and follow the SAML HTTP redirects.

If you are using User Name and Password or None authentication methods, skip this section.

Procedure

Enter transaction code: SE24.
Enter Object Type: ZCL_DUMMYAUTH_SERVICE, select Create, and then select Save.
Go to the Interfaces tab, and add IF_HTTP_EXTENSION, plus a description.
Go to the Methods tab, and add the following information:
- Method: IF_HTTP_EXTENSION~HANDLE_REQUEST
- Level: Instance Method
- Visibility: Public
- Description: Add a description

Double click on IF_HTTP_EXTENSION~HANDLE_REQUEST and add the following code:

method IF_HTTP_EXTENSION~HANDLE_REQUEST.
    DATA:
          html_content TYPE string.

    html_content = '<html><script type="text/javascript">window.close();</script></html>'.
    server->response->set_header_field( name = 'Cache-Control' value = 'no-cache,no-store').
    server->response->set_cdata( data = html_content ).
endmethod.

Select Save, and then Activate.
Enter transaction code: SICF.
Enter Service Path: /sap/bw/ina, and then press Enter.
Under default_host sap bw, right click ina, then choose New Sub-Element.
In Service Name, enter auth then select Input.
Add a description.
Open the Handler List tab, and enter ZCL_DUMMYAUTH_SERVICE
Save and return to the main menu.
(Optional) Check if the auth package is installed.

Open the following URL in your browser: https://<Your_ABAP_Server>/sap/bw/ina/GetServerInfo?sap-client=<Your_ABAP_Client_ID>. Make sure yo're redirected to your IdP login page, and that you don't see a 404 page after login.

You can see the HTML file merely closes the dialog. This is needed because SAP Analytics Cloud will trigger this URL (/sap/bw/ina/auth). As this URL is SAML protected the browser first redirects to your IdP. The IdP then recognizes that the user is already authenticated from SAP Analytics Cloud and has a session. So your browser follows the redirects by the IdP and finally the dummy HTML content is delivered which closes the dialog.

Configure Your Web Browsers

Context

Your user's browsers must allow 3rd party cookies from the ABAP AS domain and pop-ups from the SAP Analytics Cloud domain. This can be easily configured in the browser's settings. As an example, see the steps below for Google Chrome.

Procedure

At the top-right of your Google Chrome browser, click Settings.
Under Privacy and security click Site Settings Pop-ups and redirects.
In the Allow section, add the domains relevant for your SAP Analytics Cloud tenant.
```
[*.]sapanalytics.cloud
[*.]hanacloudservices.cloud.sap
[*.]hcs.cloud.sap
[*.]analytics.sapcloud.cn
```
Go back to Privacy and security and click Cookies and other site data.
Under Sites that can always use cookies add your ABAP AS domain.

Create the Live Connection in SAP Analytics Cloud

Context

Now that you've configured your data source, you can finally create the live conection in SAP Analytics Cloud.

Procedure

From the side navigation, choose Connections (Add Connection).

The Select a data source dialog will appear.
Expand Connect to Live Data and select SAP BW.
In the dialog, enter a name and description for your connection.
The connection name cannot be changed later.
Set the connection type to Direct.
Add your data source's host name, HTTPS port, and Client.
(Optional) Choose a Default Language from the list.

This language will always be used for this connection and cannot be changed by users without administrator privileges.
Note
You must know which languages are installed on your data source system before adding a language code. If the language code you enter is invalid, SAP Analytics Cloud will default to the language specified by your system metadata.
Under Authentication Method select one of the following:
- None - Using the None authentication option allows you to connect to data source systems that use SSO that are not based on SAML 2.0. For more information, see Using the 'None' Authentication Option.
- User Name and Password - Enter a user name and password for your data source system. Only the user whose credentials you added will have access to the live data connection.
- SAML Single Sign On - Select this option if you've completed the necessary prerequistes and steps for SSO outlined in the rest of this article.
Note
To enable single sign-on for the mobile app, see the "Cloud Connector-based Mobile Single Sign-On" topic in the SAP Analytics Cloud Mobile Administration Guide.
(Optional) Select Let SAP support user sign in using basic authentication for this connection. By enabling this feature, support users are granted access to the new live data connection using basic authentication.

Note

Advanced features are not available when the Authentication Method is set to none.

To enable an Advanced Feature, you must allow live on-premise data to securely leave your network.
Select OK.

Results

Once you've created your live data connection, test it by creating a model.