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Configure a Receive Location for the CData BizTalk Adapter for SAP SuccessFactors



Pull SAP SuccessFactors data in BizTalk using the CData BizTalk Adapter for SAP SuccessFactors. Use receive locations to execute SQL commands and automate actions in SAP SuccessFactors.

You can follow the procedure in this article to connect to SAP SuccessFactors data, configure a static one-way receive location, and use it to perform a simple test: retrieving SAP SuccessFactors data and writing it to an XML file.

A receive location can execute SQL commands and create BizTalk messages that contain the results. If you want to execute updategram commands, use a send port.

Create the Receive Port

To add a receive location to your application, you first need to add a receive port. Receive ports can receive data from multiple receive locations.

  1. If you have not already done so, open your application in the BizTalk Administration Console.
  2. In your application, right-click Receive Ports and click New -> Static One-Way Receive Port. The Receive Port Properties dialog is displayed.
  3. In the Name menu, enter a name for the receive port.

Create the Receive Location

After you create the receive port, create the receive location and configure it to use the SAP SuccessFactors adapter as its transport type.

  1. Right-click Receive Locations and click New -> One-Way Receive Location.
  2. Select the appropriate receive port of which the new receive location will be a member. The Receive Location Properties dialog is displayed.
  3. In the Name menu, enter a name for the receive location.
  4. In the Receive Location properties, select CData.SAPSuccessFactors in the Transport Type menu.
  5. In the Receive pipeline menu, select the default option, PassThruReceive.

Configure the Adapter

In the Transport Properties dialog, specify the command that the adapter will execute.

  1. In the receive location properties, click Configure. The Transport Properties dialog for the adapter is displayed.
  2. In the SQL Command property, enter the command. This example uses SELECT address1, zipCode FROM ExtAddressInfo WHERE city = 'Springfield'
Refer to the "Adapter Configuration" chapter for the available adapter configuration properties.

Configure the Connection String

Set credentials and other connection properties in the Connection String Options dialog.

  1. In the receive location properties, click Configure. The adapter properties dialog is displayed.
  2. Click the button in the Connection String property.
  3. Click the box in the Connection String property. The Connection String Options dialog is displayed.
  4. Enter connection properties. Below is a typical connection string: User=username;Password=password;CompanyId=CompanyId;Url=https://api4.successfactors.com;

    You can authenticate to SAP Success Factors using Basic authentication or OAuth with SAML assertion.

    Basic Authentication

    You must provide values for the following properties to successfully authenticate to SAP Success Factors. Note that the provider will reuse the session opened by SAP Success Factors using cookies. Which means that your credentials will be used only on the first request to open the session. After that, cookies returned from SAP Success Factors will be used for authentication.

    • Url: set this to the URL of the server hosting Success Factors. Some of the servers are listed in the SAP support documentation (external link).
    • User: set this to the username of your account.
    • Password: set this to the password of your account.
    • CompanyId: set this to the unique identifier of your company.

    OAuth Authentication

    You must provide values for the following properties, which will be used to get the access token.

    • Url: set this to the URL of the server hosting Success Factors. Some of the servers are listed in the SAP support documentation (external link).
    • User: set this to the username of your account.
    • CompanyId: set this to the unique identifier of your company.
    • OAuthClientId: set this to the API Key that was generated in API Center.
    • OAuthClientSecret: the X.509 private key used to sign SAML assertion. The private key can be found in the certificate you downloaded in Registering your OAuth Client Application.
    • InitiateOAuth: set this to GETANDREFRESH.

  5. Click Test Connection to verify the connection values and test connectivity.

Refer to the help documentation for a description of the various properties and their functions.

Use a Send Port to Write Data to an XML File

The Static One-Way Receive Location is now ready for use with a send port: A send port must be associated with the BizTalk message that is created by the receive location. To write data to a file, create a file send port.

  1. In the BizTalk Administration console, right-click Send Ports -> New -> Static One-Way Send Port.
  2. Enter a name for the send port at the top of the configuration window and select FILE from the Type menu.

  3. Configure a destination folder; this will be the location where the files are created on disk.
  4. For the file name, a macro can be used to easily identify what day the file was created. By default, %MessageId%.xml is used. However, this is not a very user-friendly name, as it is a randomly generated BizTalk Id. To produce a file in the format ExtAddressInfo_yyyy-MM-dd.xml, enter ExtAddressInfo_%Date%.xml.

    Note: For additional information regarding macros, visit the BizTalk Configuration section in the help documentation.

  5. Click OK. The URI field should now contain a value.
  6. Click Filters in the left-hand side of the configuration screen for the send port.
  7. Set the following properties:
    Property: Select "BTS.InboundTransportLocation" from the menu.
    Operator: Select "==" from the menu.
    Value: Enter the URI of the receive location. The URI is shown in the receive location properties.

You can now use the send port to write files that have been sent from the receive location.

Enlist and Enable the Locations and Ports

The final step is to enlist the send port and enable the receive location: Right-click the send port and click Enlist. Then right-click the receive location and click Enable.

Note: Enable the receive location last: This makes sure the file gets picked up for writing by the send port.

Troubleshooting

To check if errors are occurring, expand "Event Viewer (Local)" in the navigation tree in the Administration Console. Expand Windows Logs and click Applications.

The log will include error messages for all applications on the system, so it is important to check that the source of the error message is "CData BizTalk SAP SuccessFactors Receive Adapter". Details of the error message should provide insight into why the error is occurring. For guidance on resolving the error, contact support@cdata.com.