SAProuter is a software application that provides a remote connection between our customer's network and SAP. SAProuter can be used to:

• Improve network security, e.g.by using a password or by only allowing encrypted connections from known sources
• Control and log the connections to your SAP system
• Set up an indirect connection when programs involved cannot communicate with each other due to the network configuration
• Increase performance and stability by reducing the SAP system workload within a local area network (LAN) when communicating with a wide area network (WAN)

SAProuter can be used with traditional SAP products as well as analytics solutions and acquisitions. For a comprehensive list of which SAP Business Analytics products benefits from SAProuter connections, see SAP Note 1478974.

SAProuter controls access to your network on application level and is a useful enhancement to an existing firewall system (port filter).

You can use SAProuter to:

• Establish an indirect connection if the network configuration does not allow the communicating programs to reach each other directly due to a lack of official IP addresses or firewall system restrictions.
• Improve network security by password-protecting your connection and your data from unauthorized access from beyond your network boundaries and by allowing access only from a specified SAProuter.
• Improve performance and stability by reducing the load on the SAP System within a local area network (LAN) when communicating with a wide area network (WAN).
• Control and log network connections.  

You must use SAProuter to control and log the connections between SAP and your R/3 System.

New Connection Requirements

• You must have or be able to provide a contact that has a basic knowledge of the operating system, prior to logging a ticket for SAProuter network configuration
• You will not require network experience but should have an internal contact that can be called upon to assist, should it become necessary
• For establishing your VPN, you must be able to login to the SAProuter host, so you may need assistance from your IPSEC administrator
• For IPSEC, you must have two public IPs available
• SAP Note 28976 must be completed in order to register your new SAProuter installation

Existing Connection Requirements

• You must be able to or have someone available who can log onto the SAProuter.
• You must be able to login to the hardware for the physical connection to SAP.
• You will need your network administrator to log on to the SAProuter host.

A route is defined for SAProuter in the form of a route string, which must observe specific syntax rules. A route string contains an entry, or substring, for each SAProuter and for the target server. Each substring contains the information that SAProuter needs to make a connection in the route: the host name, the port name, and the password, if supplied.

A route string can look like this: /H/host/S/service/P/pass

Each substring begins with /H/, which indicates the host name. You can optionally specify a service after each host name. The service name is preceded by /S/. The substring can then include a password, which is preceded by /P/.

By default, route strings are sent without a password. The default value for service is "3299", and the default password is "" (empty).

The diagram below shows a sample connection between SAP and a customer system. In this example, an SAP service engineer working at sappc needs to log on to a customer application server yourapp, which offers or uses the service sapservice.