Doing SAP CPI Transports with IRT

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Once I started to make my first SAP CPI transports I did not like that you needed to transport the full package. I wanted just to transport a single Iflow and log what was changed with it, then I knew what was being changed. But it was a rather difficult process to make sure you did correctly. So I thought we could optimize the process to make it easier to apply transports for single iflows.

So we have created a flow for developers where they will make the normal changes.

  1. Save it as a version in the development CPI system after normal development
  2. Syncronize the IRT with the CPI system (by clicking the button or wait for the scheduled synchronization job)
  3. Create a ticket and assign the object version to the ticket. A ticket can correspond to a Service Request or Incident. It is possible to update the version if you have multiple attempts to fix the problems
  4. From the ticket, you then create transport with one of the Iflow on the systems
  5. IRT can then import that QA/production system. It will delete the existing iflow and upload the new version.

I have recorded a demonstration video you can see how it works

The following are we working on before it will be released.

  • Fix some of the few bugs we have seen in our test environment
  • Have a way to get the configuration in a global table, so once you import an iflow on QA it will apply the configured configuration from IRT
  • Investigate if we can upload the new iflow without removing the old version.

There may also be other ways we can integrate this both with our testing application part and make a flow that better fits with a DevOps focus of development.

We expect this functionality to be released within the next few weeks both in our cloud application as well as the on-prem deployment of IRT.

Want to try it on your own system

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How to monitor SAP CPI using Figaf IRT

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So, how can Figafs Integration Regression Tool help you to optimize your workflow while working on the CPI? You can do a lot of error handling in your flows. It does sometimes mean you will have to spend more time setting up correct error handling in each flow. We want to make it faster for you to develop and deliver your integrations.

In the standard CPI monitoring it is pretty fast to find errors, but if you want to find the iflows you have where there are extra attachments on it becomes more complex. You will have to use the OData interface self.

In Figaf IRT has many cool functions that will make your work a lot easier. IRT allows you to support and monitor all your different systems in one place. If you, for example, have many different kinds of errors in your system, it can be a big challenge to handle all of them, but with IRT you can set up rules, based on criteria of your choice.

A rule is defined with Xpath making it easy to figure out how to set it up with the information. Then you can send data to Jira, Slack or as an Email, then the correct persons can be informed about the error. You also have labels to identify what the error is related to and how critical it is.

In this video  I explain much more about how to monitor SAP CPI using Figaf IRT:

So, you want to try Figaf IRT? It is really easy to get started.

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You also have the option to subscribe to our coming Cloud solution for CPI.

How to build a business case

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For any business investment you must to is to build a business case so you can show a positive ROI. Otherwise, money can spend on something else that has better output.

The same applies if you want to get a better SAP PI/PO testing up and running. And all of my customers of Integration Regression Tool (IRT) must go through this process. Therefore I thought about helping them out, so you don’t have to start from scratch.

I have created an IRT-ROI-business-case 2019.

There are obviously a lot of assumptions that I have made in it. The assumptions are for a medium SAP PI/PO customer based on my experiences. I have tried to explain them in the video that I have made.

In this case, normal usage of testing would cost around 80.000 EUR a year.
If you go for IRT the first year, it will only cost around 40.000 EUR. The second year would be even better because you have made all the initial investment in the testing.
I was trying to see whether you really should be testing. This part had some nasty consequences like have system or factory down for 2 hours or losing a relationship with a customer. Here the price was 85.000 EUR. It had big fluctuations if you depending on how if your system was down every year or every second year.


Do let me know in the comments if there are ways this can be improved.

News for Figaf IRT – January 2019 Improving SAP CPI and PI development and monitoring

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Enhanced SAP CPI Monitor, Web integration and PI create test form error

So, lately I have been working with development of Figafs Integration Regression Tool, and I think the new stuff is pretty cool. Hopefully, it will be something that is useful for you to improve the ability to develop and run SAP CPI/PI content even faster and give you less support. If you have ideas for improvements I’ll like to hear.

Improved SAP CPI monitoring

We have improved the logging of errors. So it will download the attachments for the failed flows. Then it will be a lot easier for you to monitor and process the alerts. We have also improved the OData filter, so you can specify filters for messages that do not fail. So if you are using sender and receiver information you can setup a filter like Sender = ‘Salesforce’ and Receiver = ‘LOG’ that way you can get the payloads even if there are no errors on the CPI flow.

Support tool with webhooks

The IRT Support desktop is not the only one in your organization. This way you can setup integration with Jira, Paparduty or Solution manager. We configure to receive Jira notifications in about 1 hour with the information we got from the rules using zapier.com but you can use SAP PI/CPI for it.

 

Used Mappings report

Understand what is used on your SAP PI system of mappings, we have now added an option to show also Java Mappings, XSLT and also Message Mappings. Just use the Excel export of your configuration scenario.

In December 2018 I published a blog about this topic: SAP PI/PO Used message mapping.

Create a test case from a failed message

If your message fails because of a message mapping, you can set up a new test case to cover that case. This way it becomes a lot faster to validate that you have fixed the mapping once you have fixed the problem.

 

Want to ease your work?

I do believe that these improvements will make your work a lot easier. If you want to learn more please watch this video:

 

The last details

I also cover my newest insight about IRT in this slideshow:

 

You can try the features now on your own SAP PI/CPI system.

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Casestory: Using Figaf IRT before testing SAP PI/PO upgrade

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Almost a year ago I had the great pleasure of having Mark Oshifeso on the sixth episode of the Integration Podcast. Mark was one of the first users of the  Integration Regression Tool for SAP PI/PO. Mark works for a mid-size oil and gas producer based in Texas, and he and his team found out, that using Figaf IRT made it a lot easier to do upgrades of the SAP PI/PO system. I haven´t had the resources to go deeper into the interview before now, but I do think it is interesting because Mark Oshifeso has some great insights from a customer point of view.

The episode was called How to automate SAP PI/PO testing with Mark Oshifeso from Anadarko Petroleum.

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You don´t need to be a scientist

By using Figafs IRT-tool Mark Oshifeso was able to test much faster.

“The tool is crazy easy to use. It is another generation from the usually SAP-tools, you list your Iflows, you mark those ones, you press record, and it is basically listening to messages in for example production. Once you have done that, you can run your test cases” Mark says and continue:

“The IRT tool helped us run a test circle with almost no human interaction, and we are now in the situation that we upgraded our production based on the automated testing, and we are hoping now to move from a 2-3 years cycle to a 6-month circle.”

Our ambition at Figaf is to create and keep on developing on the tool, so it is easy to use even in companies with many interfaces. Mark Oshifeso agrees that the tool gives a great overview in the process of the testing:

“It is easy to use, you don´t need to be a scientist, and this is really why we were able to introduce the tooling into our landscape of 300 interfaces. Some companies have more than 20.000 interfaces,
and if you have a large number of interfaces you need to have an easy tool. The tool helped us automate the test. The tool is really intuitive.”

“With IRT tool there is a very fast learning curve, and if another person takes over, you have people quickly getting familiar with this tool. There is no science, which is also why we choose it.”

There is no waiting anymore

What we want at Figaf is to give people a chance to optimize their workflow by using automated testing. And fortunately Mark Oshifeso thinks, that we have achieved this:

“The tool it selves is very speedy to use. There is no waiting anymore. The tool is really great to help facilitate, save money and especially save so many hours. The figaf tool is the most holistic approach, and easy to get everything set up, I don´t see anyone else so far on the market”, he says and finishes:

“I can really recommend this tool, if you want to go to automated testing, this is one of the tools
I would really look into.”

Here you can find the podcast: How to automate SAP PI/PO testing with Mark Oshifeso from Anadarko Petroleum.

As you can see Mark Oshifeso had great success using the tool. Since the interview we have made many improvements to the Integration Regression Tool, so I should be even more easy to use today.

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