Tag: FQDN

In some SAP landscapes, DNS is extremely complex and can result in problems with hostname resolution unless the host has the domain name appended.

In this post I show an issue with SAP PI 7.1 channel monitoring, which is resolved by using the fully qualified hostname.
Finding how to get that fully qualified hostname set, took some crazy tracing ideas which I won’t go into (they are crazy but it worked).

The Problem

From within the SAP PI Integration Builder, you open a communication channel object and then from the menu select “Communication Channel -> Open Channel Monitoring“:

The channel monitoring web page is opened in your default web browser of the PC where you are running the Integration Builder.
Except the web page is opened with just the hostname of the adapter host. Due to the DNS configuration, you need it to use the fully qualified domain name instead.

Where does the Hostname Come from?

In this specific case, the adapter hostname is actually determined from the System Landscape Directory (SLD) that the Integration Builder uses.
This SLD is usually the SAP PI local SLD, but it could be a central PI SLD or even the central landscape SLD.
You can check in the PI Exchange Profile/Aii Properties for the SLD host.

Fixing the Issue

To fix this issue, you will need to adjust the SLD. Before we adjust the SLD, I need to explain that in a PI system, certain data in the SLD is updated at system start up (application start up) and this information is documented in SAP note 1435392:

During start up, certain data in the SLD could be reset from the source, which is usually the Exchange Profile/Aii properties.
In this specific case, the SLD data does not seem to be influenced by the adapter start or system start. So I have to conclude that it is set by the CTC during installation only.

Log into the Administration page of the SLD and go to the “CIM Instances” section:

Filter for class “HTTP Service Port” and add a text filter for “SOAP“:

You should see your adapter (the one where you are trying to get to the channel monitoring page), select it:

Select the “Properties” tab:

Change the “SecureURL” and “URL” properties to have the required FQDN and then click save:

Once saved, you can log out of the SLD administration page.

Then, back in the SAP PI Integration Builder, you need to clear the SLD Cache, select “Environment -> Clear SLD Data Cache“:

Finally, retry the “Open Channel Monitoring” and you should now see the fully qualified domain name being used.

Something you will notice, is that there are a lot of instances of class “HTTP Service Port” in the SLD.
You may find you can fix some other hostname related issues, but remember the key point about where certain data gets updated; because you may also need to ensure that the Exchange Profile/Aii properties are also updated.