Author: Charafeddine Boushabi
General Overview
SAP Edge Integration Cell (EIC) is a hybrid integration runtime offered as part of SAP Integration Suite. It enables businesses to run integration flows (iFlows) within their private landscape or on managed Kubernetes services.
The purpose of EIC is to ensure data remains local, especially in scenarios where compliance or network constraints demand offline functionality, while allowing for the design and monitoring of integration flows in the SAP cloud and running them in an on-premise or private cloud environment.
Primary Use Cases
As more businesses look for modern integration solutions, the shift from SAP Process Orchestration (PO) to SAP Edge Integration Cell (EIC) is becoming a key focus. EIC is designed to replace the older SAP PO systems, offering a secure and resilient architecture. It integrates with enterprise systems like SAP S/4HANA, SAP Digital Manufacturing, and various third-party applications. By adopting EIC, companies can transition from outdated systems to a more efficient and reliable integration environment, featuring offline operations, data sovereignty and edge-to-cloud connectivity.
Offline Functionality
SAP Edge Integration Cell (EIC) ensures offline operations by executing iFlows within a Kubernetes cluster hosted on-premise or in a private cloud, eliminating the need for internet connectivity.
During offline periods, messages are processed and stored locally until connectivity is restored. Once connectivity resumes, synchronization between EIC and SAP Integration Suite occurs automatically, with no data loss or inconsistencies. This guarantees that businesses can maintain continuous operations even in environments with unstable or no internet access.
Infrastructure Requirements
To run SAP Edge Integration Cell (EIC), you need a robust infrastructure. EIC can operate on various managed or self-hosted Kubernetes platforms, including Amazon EKS (AWS) with Kubernetes versions 1.26 to 1.29, Microsoft AKS (Azure) with versions 1.27 to 1.29, SUSE Rancher (RKE2) with versions 1.26 to 1.29, OpenShift (OCP) with supported versions 4.14 (Kubernetes 1.27) and 4.16 (Kubernetes 1.29), Azure Red Hat OpenShift version 4.14. For our setup, we used Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE).
For a stable Kubernetes cluster, a minimum of three nodes is recommended, with node sizes tailored to workload demands. Additionally, a load balancer is required to distribute traffic across the Kubernetes nodes.
Setup of the cluster on Google Cloud Platform
We created a cluster first.
Containing several nodes:
Setup and Deployment
1. Enable EIC in SAP Integration Suite:
· Go to Integration Suite > Settings > Runtime and enable the Edge Integration Cell runtime.
· Assign required roles to users: EdgeLMAccess and Cloud Connector Administrator.
2. Set Up Edge Lifecycle Management (Edge LM):
· Add credentials for SAP BTP to manage artifact deployment.
· Configure the Repository-Based Shipment Channel (RBSC) for downloading containerized workloads..
Deploy the Kubernetes Cluster
Create and Configure Edge Node
· Use Edge Lifecycle Management to add an edge node with the kubeconfig file.
· Bootstrap the node using the elm.exe command line tool.
Verify Runtime
· Ensure services are running in the Kubernetes cluster and visible in the SAP Integration Suite runtime list.
Encountered problems
The installation itself went smooth, until we encountered several problems:
After reviewing the cluster configuration against SAP Note 3247839, the resources meet the documentation requirements for a non-HA deployment.
The issue with deploying Edge Integration Cell services/Edge Integration Cell solutions was due to the node pool machine type. Changing it to e2-standard-4 resolved the issue, and the Edge Four solutions are now successfully installed, and deployed.
To ensure proper functionality, the correct machine type should be e1-standard-4.
So finally, we ‘ve got the Edge Integration Cell up and running!
