Duet Enterprise Architecture Sharepoint Asp.Net C#

This post is the first in a series of four dedicated to Duet technical content.

Duet Enterprise is a jointly developed product from SAP and Microsoft that enables customers to consume and extend SAP processes and information from within SharePoint intranet sites and Microsoft Office 2010. Duet Enterprise Foundation is built on top of SAP Netweaver and Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010.

A Duet Enterprise Landscape consists of at least two systems, an SAP system and a SharePoint Server, but in most deployments, there are actually three systems.  The additional third system is Service Consumption Layer (SCL) and exists physically separated from SAP LOB applications.  The reason for this separation is that even if the LOB system meets the technical requirements for the SCL layer, it is better to have separated control over the SCL and the backend systems.To better understand the product and solutions the first step is to know the basic landscape. ? There are four main pillars in a Duet Enterprise landscape:·         SAP Line of Business Application (ECC, CRM, etc.)·         Service Consumption Layer (SCL + Duet Enterprise Add-on)·         SharePoint 2010 with Duet Enterprise Add-on·         Client (browser and Office 2010)The SAP LOB application exposes the data via remote enabled function modules (RFCs) or via Web Services.

The most commonly integrated solution is SAP ERP (e.g. SAP ECC 6.0), but the Duet Enterprise platform can also handle other solutions like SAP CRM and others. One of the benefits of using Duet Enterprise is its standardized interoperability with various backend systems.

The SCL layer is a framework that connects SAP systems to SharePoint and Office clients. It has several functions:·         Connects to multiple SAP LOB systems·         Flattening deep objects so it can be consumed by SharePoint·         Aggregates different SAP systems·         Serves as a proxy for SharePoint system to access SAP business content and processes·         Develop design time composite solutionThe SCL layer can connect to more than one SAP LOB system. Depending on the data requested, the SCL calls the appropriate SAP LOB system where the requested data resides. If the data needs aggregation, the SCL calls multiple LOB systems and aggregates the resulting data.

The SCL system exposes solutions and data to SharePoint as WCF Web Services. SharePoint consumes these Web Services with Business Connectivity Services. All communications between the SCL and SharePoint leverage http or https. As mentioned, the Service Consumption Layer is mostly separated from SAP LOB systems. As a component, the SCL is an add-on for the SAP Netweaver 7.02, ABAP stack. Duet Enterprise uses core functionalities of SharePoint Server 2010 Enterprise, especially Business Connectivity Services (BCS) to connect to Web Services that are published on the SCL. Entities exposed through BCS are represented as external content types. The most common user interface type for representing external content types is the external list. SharePoint never copies the SAP data or stores it locally, but always retrieves it on demand from SAP LOB systems via the SCL.In addition to the Business Connectivity Services, Duet Enterprise uses the following services as well:

Necessary for storing the credentials used to read the WSDL published on the SCL  layer  during the deployment phase

Enables Claims Based Authentication with the SAP environment over the Business Connectivity Services connection

Required for the role sync feature. Service must be deployed and configured before application of role sync settings

Supported clients include all SharePoint 2010 supported browsers and Office 2010 applications. End-user computers do not require any installation or configuration.

An additional system that is required in the Duet Enterprise landscape is the Enterprise Services Repository (ESR). It provides an integrated modeling environment for defining enterprise services and other objects. In a Duet Enterprise scenario, the ESR is used to create a Web Service Interface Definition that is imported into the SCL. Instances of that Web Service are then hosted within the SCL. Later, this Web Service exposes the SAP data to SharePoint 2010.The ESR is required only during design time (when developing new solutions).The Enterprise Services Repository and Registry are shipped with: ·         SAP NetWeaver Process Integration 7.1·         SAP NetWeaver Composition Environment 7.1

Hope this helps,happy coding.