Understanding the Managed Gateway AddOn Structure in the SAP System

Objective

After completing this lesson, you will be able to understand the overall structure of the Purchase Order configuration activities needed to perform in the SAP system, including Global Settings, General Settings, and Application Specific Settings.

Managed Gateway AddOn Structure

The Add-On for SAP Ariba Cloud Integration Gateway allows you to send or receive documents from SAP Ariba solutions and SAP ERP or SAP S/4HANA (on-premise) systems. This Add-On has multiple nodes to enable you to perform the necessary configuration activities sequentially. ​

This Add-On typically contains nodes for configuring Global Settings, General Settings, and Application-Specific Settings.​

Global Settings consist of the configuration activities you must complete irrespective of the integration of any SAP Ariba solutions – SAP Business Network Integration, SAP Ariba Strategic Sourcing Solution Integration, or SAP Ariba Procurement Integration.​

General Settings are the configuration activities you must undertake to integrate a specific SAP Ariba solution, regardless of any transactions/documents you adopt.​

Image representing an add on.

Application-specific settings involve the configuration activities you must perform for that specific transaction/document.

When you download an Add-On from SAP Service Marketplace, a file with the ".SAR" extension is downloaded. SAP's Add-On Installation Tool (transaction code SAINT) allows users to install and/or upgrade the Add-On directly from their standard SAP system. You do not need to access or restart the operating system. Numerous import conditions are checked before installation to ensure that only an Add-On compatible with the available SAP system can be installed. Follow the Instruction Wizard to complete the process. The SAP BASIS Admin person/team carries out this activity.

Screen capture of Global Settings, General Settings, and Application-Specific settings.

Note

  • All the activities involved in Global Settings configuration for SAP Business Network Integration are discussed in the course Configuring Global Settings for Managed Gateway Spend&Network Add-On within the Learning Journey Administering SAP Integration Suite,managed gateway for Spend Management and SAP Business Network. ​
  • All the activities related to General Settings configuration for SAP Business Network Integration are covered in Unit 2 of the course Configuring General Settings in Managed Gateway for Spend and Network Add-On of the Learning Journey Administering SAP Integration Suite, managed gateway for Spend Management and SAP Business Network.​
  • In this unit, we will focus exclusively on the application-specific settings configurations for a sample IDOC outbound transaction, Purchase Order, in SAP Business Network Integration.

Summary

In this lesson, you explored the Add-On for SAP Ariba Cloud Integration Gateway. This tool facilitates document exchange between SAP Ariba solutions and SAP ERP or SAP S/4HANA systems. Key configuration nodes enable these activities:​

  • Global Settings: These settings are necessary for all SAP Ariba integrations and must be configured regardless of the specific SAP Ariba solution involved.​
  • General Settings: These configurations are essential when integrating any SAP Ariba solution, independent of the specific transactions or documents used.​
  • Application-Specific Settings: Designed for particular transactions or documents, these settings require customization to meet specific requirements.​

You also learned about downloading the Add-On from SAP Service Marketplace, presented as a ".SAR" file. Installation and upgrades are managed using the SAP Add-On Installation Tool without restarting the operating system. Compatibility checks ensure that the Add-On is suitable for your SAP system. This process, overseen by SAP BASIS Admin personnel, utilizes the Instruction Wizard for smooth execution.​

This lesson has equipped you with the foundational understanding needed to efficiently use the Managed Gateway Add-On in your existing SAP systems.