Configuring HTTP-XML Backend Connections for Agentry Applications

The first time you publish an application from Agentry Editor, the publication process creates initial back-end configuration information, which you must modify using Management Cockpit. Use the HTTP-XML option to connect from an Agentry application to an XML-based Web service (for example, you could connect to an SAP Web service back end). After modifying the configuration information in Management Cockpit, you may need to perform additional configuration tasks. Certain tasks may or may not pertain to a particular implementation environment and you should perform a careful review of the application’s requirements and functionality before proceeding.

Prerequisites

Obtain and record the numeric identifier for the HTTP-XML system connection definition from the Agentry Editor.
Obtain and record the base URL of the HTTP-XML server to which the SAP Mobile Platform Server will make CGI or HTTP requests. This value is prefixed to the paths of specific requests within the application, as defined in the Agentry Editor.
Make a note of any specific name spaces that exist in the XML schema to be used.
Determine the back-end user authentication needs of the application.
Obtain and record other relevant communication information for the back-end system, including port numbers and network timeout durations.

Task

From Management Cockpit, select Applications > Back End.

Under HTTPXML, edit HTTPXML-related settings. These configuration options are for a single HTTP-XML system connection, and control the connection behavior between the server and an HTTP server. There may be multiple HTTPXML-n sections within the Agentry.ini file. One must exist for each HTTP-XML system connection definition within the application. The n portion of the section name must be replaced with the ID value generated by the Editor for the system connection definition.

Definition	Values	Description
Authentication Certificate Store	MY	Specifies the location of the authentication certificate for the server. This file may be a Certificate file (.cer), Certificate store file (.sst), or Personal Information Exchange file (.pfx). Used only if Listen On is set to a valid port. Requires server restart.
Authentication Certificate Store Password	None	Specifies the location of the authentication certificate for the server. This file may be a Certificate file (.cer), Certificate store file (.sst), or Personal Information Exchange file (.pfx). Used only if Listen On is set to a valid port. Requires server restart.
Base URL	Valid URL and optional port number (format: http://localhost:81). Default: none	The base URL address of HTTP requests made by the server for this system connection. Set this option before starting the server.
Basic Authentication Password	None	The basic authentication password.
Basic Authentication User ID	None	The basic authentication user identification.
Constants File	Valid file name or path and file name to constants file. Default: httpxml_sd.ini	The constants file used for this system connection. This file contains constant named values that may be referenced by the HTTP-XML application components.
Enable Authentication	Disabled	Whether users are authenticated against the back-end system for this system connection. At least one system connection within the application must perform user authentication.
Enable Previous User Authentication	Disabled	Whether previous users are authenticated against the back-end system for this system connection. This authentication occurs when a user change occurs on the client.
HTTP Connect Timeout	60	Time out period, in milliseconds, for this system connection. When the connection attempt exceeds this value, the connection terminates. The timer resets when data is exchanged between server and the back-end system during client synchronization.
HTTP Receive Timeout	300	Time out for receiving the response from the remote Web server.
HTTP Resolve Timeout	60	Time out for resolving the DNS name for a remote connection into an IP address.
HTTP Send Timeout	300	Time out for sending a request to the remote Web server.
Listen On	Disabled	Port to use for connections to the HTTPXML-BE by remote systems to trigger system events in Agentry (used for Web service calls). Requires server restart.
Name	Text Value	Any text value used to identify the system connection in log files and other areas. This should be set to a unique value especially when working with multiple system connections. Requires server restart.
Time Zone Name	None	The time zone to which date and time values are converted when received from clients; or from which they are converted when sent to clients. This conversion is based on the application definitions. This setting is used only to specify a time zone that differs from the back-end system.
Timeout	300 (seconds)	Specifies how long the server will keep a connection open with a client when no messages or responses are received from the client.
Trusted Certificate Store	None	Specifies the location of the trusted certificate store for the server. This store is only used when clients are required to provide authentication certificates during synchronization. Used only if Listen On is set to a valid port. Requires server restart.
Use SSL	None	Whether to use SSL when accepting incoming Web connections. This is used for system event processing for the HTTP-XML back end, since system events for this back end are connections to Agentry's built-in Web server from remote systems. Used only if Listen On is set to a valid port. Requires server restart.
XML Namespaces	None	Registers new XML prefixes (the "`localNames`") for XML namespaces that may appear in documents retrieved from remote servers; these prefixes can then be used in XPath expressions that are defined in the Agentry Editor for processing the documents. The format is `<localName>\|<URI>[\|<localname>\|<URI>]*`, with as many pairs as needed to define the needed namespaces. Separate each entry using a pipe ( \| ) symbol.

If you modified any values that require a server restart, you must restart SAP Mobile Platform Server before the change takes effect.

Next

If required, make application-specific additions or modifications to the XML constants file, or create additional constants files. The XML Constants file is used to define values that can be referenced from Agentry Editor XML definitions for Server Data Markup Language (SDML) tags. The structure of the file is similar to the SQL query constants files.