Hi,
Could anyone clarify whether SAP Adapter 4.6 and SAP Business Connector 4.6 are one and the same? If it is not same can u list out the differences between them?
Thanks.
I’ll try to answer your question, Shahul, and hopefully others will jump in to fill in the blanks.
I’ve worked with the SAP Business Connector fairly extensively over the last year and a half (versions 4.0 and 4.6). Basically, in the pre-version-6 world, webMethods had a B2B product called B2B Server which became Integration Server. What SAP calls the “SAP Business Connector” is essentially B2B Server (or Integration Server) bundled with a package called the SAP Adapter (unsure of the versioning on the Adapter itself). The adapter is essentially just an Integration Server interface to SAP’s Java Connector (or JCo), which is in-turn just java wrappers (using JNI) to SAP’s RFC libraries (written in C).
So, if I understand your question, the SAP Business Connector includes the SAP Adapter.
One of the things that always confused me, however, was the existence of a second webMethods adapter for SAP (called “webMethods Enterprise Adapter: SAP Edition”). I’ve never used this adapter, but I’m assuming it’s for use with the EAI package that webMethods acquired from ActiveSoftware, which eventally became webMethods Enterprise. Of course, in version 6, all of these distinctions become more complicated, but since you’re inquiring after version 4.6, I think it’s a little more cut and dried.
I hope that helps.
Curtis
SAP Adapter 4.6 Vs SAP Business Connector 4.6
The difference is based on the investment ,If we have B2B Integration server enviroment,Just we need to have SAP Adapter as a Add on component(and also it can use for EDI,xml integrations
) and regarding SBC its totally extra budget component unless when all company business transactions are maintained and specific to SAP world.
Bottom line is we can accomplish successful SAP integration with either of these tools or else manage with one component inorder to minimise budget and especially maintainence prospective (my choice would be SAP Adapter).
Any more ideas?
I’m not sure I understand RMG’s post, but I think he’s trying to make a clarification about licensing concerns.
If you are an SAP customer, you are licensed to download, install and run (in multiple environments) the SAP Business Connector (which includes the SAP Adapter), as long as you are using it to get information in or out of SAP. (i.e. “non-SAP” to “non-SAP” transactions are not allowed under the license terms). So, essentially, if you are a SAP customer, you have access to webMethods B2B Server (aka Integration Server) v4.6 for free. Use your OSS ID to log in and read the Connectors area.
The only reason you would have to buy/license Integration Server from webMethods directly, is if you want to use the software to integrate non-SAP packages, which is a fairly realistic scenario. If you’ve already implemented B2B Server, there may be additional costs to implement the SAP Adapter, depending on the terms of your deal with webMethods. Often, these deals include a pre-determined number of adapters, so as long as you’re not over your limit, you should be okay. Depends how shrewd your IT Department is with vendors, at that point I guess.
As an aside, it’s unclear at this point (to me at least), what SAP’s strategy is for the SAP/webMethods alliance. SAP has recently categorized the Business Connector as an old connector, which sounds sort of ominous, but I’ve also heard that they are planning a new release so it might be worth a little more investigation.
Hope that helps.
Curtis