RFC Destinations Test

Remote Function Call (RFC) is an SAP procedure for calling function modules in remote systems. The information about the target system of an RFC call is stored in the RFC destination. If an RFC destination is not reachable or is not available, then the information of the RFC call stored in the RFC destination cannot be accessed. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor each RFC destination regularly and ensure that the RFC destinations are available round the clock. The RFC destinations test helps administrators in this regard!

By closely monitoring RFC destinations in the target environment, administrators can figure out the RFC destinations that are not reachable for a long duration. The detailed diagnosis helps administrators figure out the reason for why the RFC destination is not reachable.

Target of the test : A SAP ABAP instance

Agent deploying the test : An internal/remote agent

Outputs of the test : One set of results for each Connection Type:RFC destination configured on the target SAP ABAP instance

Configurable parameters for the test
Parameter Description

Test Period

How often should the test be executed

Host

Host name of the server for which the test is to be configured.

Port

Enter the port to which the specified host listens.

Timeout

Indicate the duration (in seconds) for which this test should wait for a response from the SAP ABAP instance. By default, this is set to 120 seconds.

SAPUser

Typically, to connect to a SAP ABAP instance and run tests, the eG agent requires the permissions of a SAP user who has been assigned with certain authorization objects. Ideally, you will have to create a new user role on the SAP ABAP instance for this purpose, associate the above-mentioned authorization objects with that role, and assign the new role to an existing SAP user. The procedure for the same has been provided in Creating a New User Role for Monitoring and Assigning it to a SAP User. Once the new role is assigned to a SAP user, specify the name of this user against SAPUser.

Password

The password of the specified SAPUser.

Confirm Password

Confirm the password by retyping it here.

SysNo

This parameter appears only if the Use SAPControl flag is set to No – i.e., if the test uses SAPJCO to collect measures. An indicator of the TCP/IP port at which the SAP server listens. For example, for a server that listens at port 3200, the SysNo will be ‘00’. Similarly, if the SAP server port is 3201, the SysNo will have to be specified as ‘01’. Therefore, in the SysNo text box specify the system number of the SAP server with which the specified client communicates. To know the system number for the ABAP server being monitored, follow the procedure detailed in Identifying the SAP Router String and System Number.

ClientName

Specify the ID of the client system as what the eG agent will be connecting to the SAP ABAP instance. To know how to determine the client ID to use, follow the instructions provided in Determining the Client ID/Name for the eG Agent to Connect to the SAP ABAP Instance.

Router

This parameter appears only if the Use SAPControl flag is set to No – i.e., if the test uses SAPJCO to collect measures. If the SAP client with the specified ClientName exists in a network external to the SAP server, then a router will be used to enable the server-client communication. In such a case, specify the router string of the router in the Router text box. If both the client and the server exist in the same network, then specify ‘none’ against the Router text box. To know what is the SAP Router string for the ABAP server being monitored, follow the procedure detailed in Identifying the SAP Router String and System Number.

JCO Version

The eG agent uses the SAP JCO library to connect to the SAP ABAP system and pull out metrics. To enable the eG agent to make this connection and query the metrics, you need to specify the version of the SAP JCO library that the agent needs to use. For instance, to instruct the eG agent to use JCO v2.1.19, it would suffice if you specify the ‘major version number’ alone against JCO Version – in the case of this example, this will be 2.x. Note that if you have downloaded the SAP JCO CONNECTOR files for SAP JCO version 3 from the SAP market place (as instructed by Downloading the SAP JCO Connector files Required for Monitoring), then the JCO Version configuration should be 3.x. 

InstanceName

This parameter appears only if the Use SAPControl flag is set to No – i.e., if the test uses SAPJCO to collect measures. This is set to none by default. This implies that the eG agent automatically discovers the instance name at run time. 

Include Destination Patterns

Specify a comma-separated list of destination patterns that need to be included for monitoring, by default, in this text box. Pattern search is not supported.

Exclude Destination Patterns

Specify a comma-separated list of destination patterns that need to be excluded from the scope of monitoring, in this text box. Pattern search is not supported.

Monitor ABAP Connections

By default, while administrators configure an RFC destination, they indicate the system connection type in the Connection Type field. When Type 3 is specified as the connection type, it indicates RFC connections to ABAP systems. By default, these Type 3 connection types are monitored by eG Enterprise and therefore, this flag is set to Yes, by default. If administrators do not wish to monitor Type 3 connection types, then, they can set this flag to No.

Monitor Internal Connections

When Type I is specified as the connection type, it indicates an RFC connection between the ABAP systems connected to the same database as the current system. By default, these Type I connection types are monitored by eG Enterprise and therefore, this flag is set to Yes, by default. If administrators do not wish to monitor Type I connection types, then, they can set this flag to No.

Monitor Logical Connections

When Type L is specified as the connection type, it indicates an RFC connection to a physical destination. By default, these Type L connection types are monitored by eG Enterprise and therefore, this flag is set to Yes, by default. If administrators do not wish to monitor Type L connection types, then, they can set this flag to No.

Monitor SNA/CPI-C Connections

When Type S is specified as the connection type, it indicates an RFC connection that uses IBM's System Network Architecture (SNA) as its destination. By default, these Type L connection types are monitored by eG Enterprise and therefore, this flag is set to Yes, by default. If administrators do not wish to monitor Type S connection types, then, they can set this flag to No.

Monitor TCPIP Connections

Type T destinations are connections to external programs that use the RFC library to receive RFCs. By default, these Type T connection types are monitored by eG Enterprise and therefore, this flag is set to Yes, by default. If administrators do not wish to monitor Type T connection types, then, they can set this flag to No.

Monitor ABAP Driver Connections

Type X entries indicate systems where device drivers in ABAP have been specially installed. By default, these Type X connection types are monitored by eG Enterprise and therefore, this flag is set to Yes, by default. If administrators do not wish to monitor Type X connection types, then, they can set this flag to No.

DD Frequency

Refers to the frequency with which detailed diagnosis measures are to be generated for this test. The default is 1:1. This indicates that, by default, detailed measures will be generated every time this test runs, and also every time the test detects a problem. You can modify this frequency, if you so desire. Also, if you intend to disable the detailed diagnosis capability for this test, you can do so by specifying none against DD Frequency.

Detailed Diagnosis

To make diagnosis more efficient and accurate, the eG Enterprise embeds an optional detailed diagnostic capability. With this capability, the eG agents can be configured to run detailed, more elaborate tests as and when specific problems are detected. To enable the detailed diagnosis capability of this test for a particular server, choose the On option. To disable the capability, click on the Off option.

The option to selectively enable/disable the detailed diagnosis capability will be available only if the following conditions are fulfilled:

  • The eG manager license should allow the detailed diagnosis capability
  • Both the normal and abnormal frequencies configured for the detailed diagnosis measures should not be 0.
Measurements made by the test
Measurement Description Measurement Unit Interpretation

Is reachable?

Indicates whether/not this RFC destination is reachable.

 

The values reported by this measure and its numeric equivalents are mentioned in the table below:

Measure value Numeric Value
Yes 0
No 1

Note:

By default, this measure reports the Measure Values listed in the table above to indicate whether/not this RFC destination is reachable. The graph of this measure however is represented using the numeric equivalents only - 0 and 1.