S744 - Fuse Your Enterprise Business Applications with You....This allows for the generation of...

FUSE YOUR ENTERPRISE BUSINESS APPLICATIONS WITH YOUR PORTAL An Oracle White Paper

Fuse your Enterprise Applications with your Portal2

INTRODUCTION In today’s business environment it is unusual to find an organization which has a totally homogeneous software infrastructure. Rather, it is very often the case, that the various lines of business within the organization have independently sourced very different software packages to meet their specific tactical or strategic needs. Likewise many industries have seen a significant consolidation, resulting in fewer, larger companies with even more diverse IT infrastructure. Whether due to an attempt to purchase the "best of breed", or simply due to the consolidation of organizations, that had standardized on different vendors, it is becoming increasingly common for businesses to find themselves in the situation of having implemented several different Enterprise Application Suites, across their organization. For end users, this system topology decreases productivity as they have to remember the purpose and operation of each of the different application, remember their multiple logins and become conversant with the different platforms. The introduction of Enterprise Portals brought the promise of hiding this complexity by presenting the end-user with a unified interface, allowing them access to all of the various applications, needed to perform their job function However, a significant hurdle facing any IT department required to implement this unified interface, is simply the complexity of integrating systems which were, in reality, not designed to work in conjunction with each other. That is, the backend systems to be integrated had their own user interface, provisioning systems and security model making integration often a difficult and time consuming task. That is, until now! The introduction of the PeopleSoft and JD Edwards product lines into the Oracle family of Enterprise Applications, has enabled Oracle Application Server Portal to directly fuse three of the industries major application suites (Oracle eBusiness Suite, Peoplesoft Enterprise & JDE EnterpriseOne), into a single user experience. Likewise work with other major vendors, such as SAP, has allowed their products to be tightly integrated into the overall Portal experience. While there are a number of Enterprise Application Suite products on the market, this paper will specifically focus on the Enterprise Application suites available from Oracle, as well as introduce the possibilities for integration with SAP.

ORACLE EBUSINESS SUITE

As with the other Application Suites under discussion, The Oracle eBusiness suite was designed to run independently of the Portal Middle tier technology stack, however the suite has been certified to work with Oracle Application Server 10.1.2 and supports both Portal 10g and the Oracle Identity Management Solution (Oracle Internet Directory & Oracle Single Sign-On). By the direct support of the Single Sign-On environment, the eBusiness suite applications can be exposed directly within the Portal via a simple link. With the SSO environment implemented, users log in to the portal and access Oracle E-Business Suite modules directly (via appropriate links), without the need for an additional login. Integration of the eBusiness suite is supported via the deployment of Oracle Application Server 10g on a stand-alone server or in a separate ORACLE_HOME on an existing server, connecting to one or more Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11i instances


This architecture, along with the integration with the Oracle Identity Management solution allows for;

• Unified Sign-On across all Release 11i applications

• The ability to connect a single Enterprise Portal to web providers running on multiple Release 11i instances

• "One-to-many" support - for environments where the user’s SSO identity is associated more than one eBusiness Suite Release 11i userid.

• The use of an heterogeneous SSO environment such as Oracle CoreID or even 3rd party SSO environment such as Computer Associates or Entrust.

Further more Oracle E-Business Suite provides a number of portlets to create personalized end user portals in response to a variety of user responsibilities. A subset of the available Oracle eBusiness Suite Portlets include;

• Navigator Portlet

• Favorites Portlet

• Daily Business Intelligence

• Work-list Portlet

• Balanced Score Card Custom View

• Balance Scorecard KPI Graphs

• Balance Scorecard KPI lists

Figure 1 Example Oracle eBusiness Suite Portlets


PEOPLESOFT ENTERPRISE

Single Sign-On (SSO) Integration As with the Oracle eBusiness Suite, support for the Oracle Identity Management and Single Sign On is at the very core of PeopleSoft Enterprise integration for Oracle Application Server Portal. Through the implementation of a “delegated authentication” model the PeopleSoft application is able to automate the user’s login through its trust of the Portals authentication process. Due to the fact that the PeopleSoft applications are available on a number of different application servers, and given there is no unified method of implementing a SSO environment across those various vendors, the implementation of the Oracle<=>PeopleSoft Sign-On and the implied trust relationship is different, depending on whether the applications are being executed on the Oracle Application Server or a 3rd party server.

1. When running PeopleSoft Applications on a 3rd party server (such as BEA Weblogic) the generation of the PeopleSoft application security token (PS_TOKEN) is generated by the Oracle SSO server along with the standard SSO cookie.

Figure 2: SSO for PeopleSoft Applications on 3rd party Application Servers

Hence when a request is made for a PeopleSoft module, the application recognizes that the user has been previously authenticated by the SSO server (by the existence of the PS_TOKEN) and the user is forwarded to the requested module.

2. When the PeopleSoft Applications are located on an Oracle Application Server they automatically take part in the Oracle SSO environment. That is, they themselves become a Partner application to the SSO server. In this case the applications retrieve the identity from the SSO environment and generate an appropriate PS_TOKEN with that identity. This technique supports SSO integration to any PeopleSoft Page which has been exposed within the PeopleSoft Portal, as well as the use of the PDK-Java portlets as discussed below.

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Figure 3 SSO for PeopleSoft Applications on Oracle Application Server


Note: This method has the advantage of confirming that the user in question is actually registered as an Application user, prior to generating the token. In the case of 3rd party integration, if the user was not a registered application user they would be rejected when attempting to access the application itself.

PEOPLESOFT APPLICATION INTEGRATION While the use of an integrated SSO environment allows for the direct access to PeopleSoft modules, it does not allow for direct integration into the Portal environment (the use of iFrames will allow a PeopleSoft Portal Page to be displayed insitu). However, Oracle Portal 10.1.2 may be integrated with all PeopleSoft applications on PeopleTools v. 8.47 and above using the PDK-Java. This integration, however, is available only for the portlets generated by using the PeopleSoft Pagelet Wizard. PeopleSoft Pagelet Wizard is comparable to Oracle Portal’s OmniPortlet in its purpose and functionality. It empowers business users and other subject matter experts to rapidly generate portlets from PeopleSoft application data sources using a WYSIWYG user interface. The portlets generated in this way can be easily utilized in Oracle Portal pages using the popular point n’ click mechanism provided by the portal. The process of utilizing a PeopleSoft application portlet on an Oracle Portal page is illustrated below.

1. Go to the provider registration wizard and enter the relevant information as shown below. When done, click ‘Next->’ to go to the next page.

2. In the URL field, enter the URL of the PeopleSoft web provider. The URL of the PeopleSoft web provider is available from the ‘WSRP Production’ page under PeopleTools-> Portal menu in the target PeopleSoft system.


As shown above, the user identity of the PeopleSoft web provider must be the same as the Single Sign-on identity. Although not necessary for the integration to work, we recommend that both the Oracle Portal and the PeopleSoft web provider application use the same Oracle Internet Directory (OID) as the user credential store.

3. Clicking ‘Next->’ will confirm that the provider has been successfully registered.

4. Next, navigate to the ‘Registered Providers’ page and confirm that the PeopleSoft portlet providers appears in the list of providers


5. Click on the PeopleSoft provider link to see the list of all the available

portlets

Using PeopleSoft Portlets on Oracle Portal Page

Once the PeopleSoft web provider application has been registered, the available PeopleSoft portlets may be placed on any portal page as shown below.


PEOPLESOFT (JDE) ENTERPRISEONE

With the inclusion of the EnterpriseOne application suite into the Oracle family of products, there has been significant work done to make the integration of the applications and Oracle Portal 10g virtually seam-less. Running as it does on Oracle Application Server 10.12, Enterprise One in now able to take part in the Oracle SSO process, while the application UI is rendered via a generic PDK-Java “renderer”. The result of which, is virtually all EnterpriseOne business applications are available directly through the Oracle Portal with full identity integration.

Figure 4: EnterpriseOne Applications within Oracle10g portal


Further more, custom applications may be developed using the EnterpriseOne Forms Design Aid tool. This 4GL style tool allows business users to develop “thick client” style forms which act on the application (both query and transactional). Once the form is designed, the Portlet generator automatically produces native PDK-Java portlets directly from the same “thick-client” source. This allows for the generation of complex business UI directly into the Portal without the need to implement (or know) the underlying J2EE environment.

Figure 5: 4GL RAD development for EnterpriseOne Portlets

SAP

The level of integration with SAP into the Oracle Application Server Portal is dependent on the version of SAP being run. Integration with SAP/R3 for example, revolves around direct access to the SAP backend services (via BAPI function calls) while with the newer releases (running on NetWeaver) direct Portal integration of the SAP MiniApps is possible.

SAP/R3 Oracle Portal 10g provides the ability to integrate with the SAP R/3 system using a declarative mechanism called the SAP Data Source for OmniPortlet. The OmniPortlet functionality of the Oracle Portal 10g provides a wizard interface to create portlets based on various backend data sources, such as a Web Service, XML feed, CSV file, SQL source, HTML page and SAP/R3 applications. The SAP data-source, along with the OmniPortlet, allows a “Line of Business” user to create sophisticated Portlets which support;

• Powerful Search for BAPI Function Modules or Business Objects across the SAP Business Object Repository

• Automatic retrieval of Input/Output Parameters for selected BAPI functions

• “Definition of Filtration Criteria”


• Numerous Flexible layouts and views of the data returned. • Pagination of results with/without caching • Portlet Personalization • Portlet-to-portlet communication

Figure 6 OmniPortlet Wizard allowing definition of required BAPI functions. In addition to the OmniPortlet SAP Data Source, Oracle Portal also provides a set of pre-defined portlets to integrate SAP R/3 into the portal. These portlets, which are based on the SAP jco interface, cover a number of different functional areas:

Portlet Description Generic SAP Portlet This portlet allows definition of BAPI

Function, Import Parameter values and corresponding Table/Columns to be rendered.

Employee Details Portlet Allows for the retrieval of employee details from an SAP R/3 Server.

Exchange Rates Portlet Presents the exchange rates from exchange rates table in SAP R/3.

Personnel Payroll Results Portlet

Provides payroll results for selected employee number and specified time period.

Employee Attendance Records Portlet

Provides timecard details (attendance) a specified time

MySAP / NetWeaver Integration into Oracle Portal 10g with the latest releases of SAP is even more straight-forward than use of the OmniPortlet data-Source. By use of the Oracle Application Server (OracleAS) Provider for SAP iViews, SAP MiniApps can be integrated directly into the Oracle Portal 10g interface.

“MiniApps” (or iViews) are the basic building blocks for SAP Portal (MySAP) and the iView Provider allows those same application blocks to be exposed within the Oracle Portal. Once added to a page, the designer need only specify the PCD (identifier) for the SAP object in question to be rendered within the Oracle Portal page. SAP MiniApps are URL accessible so the “iView” provider is able to directly host any content returned from the “MiniApp”.


Note: This functionality extends to the rendering of entire SAP pages within the Portal, as these, like iViews, are exposed in SAP via a PCD.

User identity and authorization to SAP is preserved via the definition of SAP as an External Application. That is, using an encrypted Password vault to hold the user mapping and credentials for the SAP user. Configuring the SSO server to recognize SAP as an external application allows for an automated authentication of the user within SAP ,when the user requests either a MiniApp or SAP application page. Likewise, Customization & personalization functionality of the original MiniApp is preserved, and in fact uses the same SAP style interfaces to which the user is familiar.

Figure 7 Definition of the SAP “MiniApp” to be hosted in the iView portlet

ORACLE PORTLET FACTORY

In addition to the specific application integration points described above, Oracle Application Server Portal 10g introduces the Oracle Portlet Factory. This generic Portlet creation environment allows for the automated generation of J2EE based portlets (both PDK-Java and JSR168) based on a simple Rapid Application Development model, along the lines of a process flow. The Oracle Portlet Factory itself comprises a framework and set of tools for rapidly creating and maintaining customized portlets. With the Portlet Factory, developers build portlets by creating a sequence of predefined (software automation) components called “Builders”. These builders perform specific application functions such as querying a database, executing a business process within an application or rendering an output UI. They are the building blocks with which to implement a process flow. Builders accept custom parameter, known as “Profiles” which may alter the way the builder behaves. A profile feeds values into a Builder based on such things as user identity and other contextual information. When developing an application within the factory, the developer defines an order in which the selected builders should execute. This definition, known as a “Model” represents the application structure/function and is executed at runtime to dynamically generate the physical application code, including JSP’s, Java classes, and XML documents, as well as all of the low-level artifacts that make up the portlet application.


Modifying the Profile driving the Model can result in a different output for the same defined process (such as a portlet vs. a full web application)

Figure 8 Oracle Portlet Factory showing Model and included builders While there are a number of builders which generate UI for the Model, the Oracle Portlet Factory supplies two specific builders to act as Portlet Adapters. That is, generate content within the Oracle AS Portal environment.

Adapter Action

JSR168 Adapter

Generate the appropriate JSR 168 code in the form of a portlet WAR file.

OracleAS Portal

Adapter

Generates native Oracle Application Server Portal code based on the PDK-Java. This native adapter supports all the functions of Application Server Portal 10g such as SSO Support, NLS, Portlet to Portlet communication and content Cachability support.

The Oracle Portlet Factory simplifies integration with Enterprise applications by including a number of powerful data integration Builders, that automate the process of connecting to systems like SAP and Peoplesoft, as well as low-level connections such as EJB and Web-Services.

The following is a list of the functional Builders that are available to assemble Portlets for the Oracle Application Server portal;

Applications

Builder Description

JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Business Function

Queries the JDE server to find the list of libraries and then the list of categories within each library

PeopleSoft Component Interface Enables introspection of the PeopleSoft system for Component Interfaces. Creates methods that can be called to get data from the selected component interface


PeopleSoft View and Form Automates the creation of a portlet that can search, display and edit details from PeopleSoft

SAP View & Form Creates an entire portlet that can search SAP, display the results, and enable drill down for additional details from a remote-enabled SAP function call.

SAP Function Call Establishes a call to a remote-enabled SAP function and creates a Java method that can be called to get data from the SAP system.

SAP Transaction Calls multiple SAP functions within the context of a single SAP connection or transaction

SAP BW Data Access Provides access to a SAP Business Warehouse using the XMLA protocol.

SAP Help Values Access to the “Help Values” associated with the fields present in an SAP function.

SAP Batch Input Executes an exported SAP batch input

Service Call Builder Enables consumption of web services

SQL Call Builder Creates all the code needed to connect to a database via a J2EE Data Source on the app server and execute a SQL statement or prepared statement.

CONCLUSION

With the integration of four major Enterprise Application suites in to a seamless interface, Oracle Portal 10g has made it easier for Enterprise Portals to live up to their promise, of making it easier for the end user. With tight integration of both Identity Management and Application UI, Oracle Application Server Portal 10g has been able to become, the face of Application level fusion.

Fuse Your Business Applications with Your Portal Oracle Corporation World Headquarters 500 Oracle Parkway Redwood Shores, CA 94065 U.S.A. Worldwide Inquiries: Phone: +1.650.506.7000 Fax: +1.650.506.7200 oracle.com Copyright © 2005, Oracle. All rights reserved. This document is provided for information purposes only and the contents hereof are subject to change without notice. This document is not warranted to be error-free, nor subject to any other warranties or conditions, whether expressed orally or implied in law, including implied warranties and conditions of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. We specifically disclaim any liability with respect to this document and no contractual obligations are formed either directly or indirectly by this document. This document may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, for any purpose, without our prior written permission. Oracle, JD Edwards, and PeopleSoft, are registered trademarks of Oracle Corporation and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

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