Configuring the saprfc.ini File

 

SAP uses the communications protocol, Remote Function Call (RFC), to communicate with other systems. SAP stores RFC-specific parameters and connection information in a file named saprfc.ini.

Configure the saprfc.ini file on the SAP BW Service and PowerCenter Client with parameters that enable communication with the BW system. This file enables PowerCenter to connect to the BW system as an RFC client. For more information, see http://help.sap.com.

Note: The Integration Service does not use the saprfc.ini file. When the BW server requests data from PowerCenter, the SAP BW Service records the host name and system number of the BW server. The SAP BW Service passes this information to the Integration Service. The Integration Service uses this information to connect and load data to the same BW server.

saprfc.ini Entry Types

PowerCenter Connect for SAP NetWeaver BW Option uses two types of entries to connect to BW through the saprfc.ini file:

Type A. Used by the PowerCenter Client. Specifies the BW application server.
Type R. Used by the SAP BW Service. Specifies the logical system created for PowerCenter in the SAP BW system.

Table 3-6 summarizes the saprfc.ini entry type for each PowerCenter component:

 

Table 3-6. saprfc.ini Entry Types

PowerCenter Component	Entry Type	Usage
PowerCenter Client	Type A	Import transfer structures from BW. Use DEST entry in the Import BW Transfer Structure dialog box.
SAP BW Service	Type R	Register as RFC server. Receive requests to run sessions. Use DEST entry when you create the SAP BW Service.

Sample saprfc.ini File

The following are sample Type A and Type R entries in the saprfc.ini file:

DEST=sapr3
TYPE=A
ASHOST=sapr3
SYSNR=00
RFC_TRACE=0

DEST=sapr346CLSQA
TYPE=R
PROGID=PID_LSRECEIVE
GWHOST=sapr346c
GWSERV=sapgw00
RFC_TRACE=1

Configuring an Entry in the saprfc.ini File

The SAP BW Service uses the Type R entry in the saprfc.ini file. You register the SAP BW Service with BW at the SAP gateway. The SAP BW Service is an RFC server and acts as a listener to receive requests from BW to execute a PowerCenter workflow.

The PowerCenter Client uses the Type A entry in the saprfc.ini file. The Designer connects to BW to import data into the PowerCenter repository.

Warning: Use a DOS editor or Wordpad to configure the saprfc.ini file. If you use Notepad to edit the saprfc.ini file, Notepad may corrupt the file.

To configure an entry in the saprfc.ini file:

Open the saprfc.ini file.
Table 3-5 lists the default location of the file.
Enter the following parameters, depending on whether you are creating a Type A or Type R entry:

 

saprfc.ini Parameter	Type A/ Type R	Description
DEST	Both	Destination in RFCAccept. For SAP versions 4.6C and higher, use no more than 32 characters. For earlier versions, use no more than 8 characters. All DEST entries must be unique. You must have only one DEST entry for each BW system. Use this parameter for the Type A entry as the connect string when you import an InfoSource in the Target Designer and when you configure database connections in the Workflow Manager.
TYPE	Both	Set to A or R. Specifies the type of connection. For the entry types required for each PowerCenter component, see Table 3-6.
PROGID	R	Program ID for the logical system you will create in BW for the SAP BW Service, as described in Defining PowerCenter as a Logical System in SAP BW. The Program ID in BW must match this parameter, including case.
GWHOST	R	Host name of the SAP gateway.
GWSERV	R	Server name of the SAP gateway.
ASHOST	A	Host name or IP address of BW application.
SYSNR	A	SAP system number.
RFC_TRACE	Both	Debugs RFC connection-related problems. 0 is off. 1 is on.

If you are connecting to multiple BW systems, create multiple entries in the saprfc.ini file with unique DEST parameters.