9.3    Setting Up the Frontend Server for SAP Fiori User Interfaces

SAP Fiori launchpad, which runs in web browsers is the sole central access point to SAP S/4HANA Cloud systems but also delivers additional features and capabilities for end users SAP S/4HANA, on-premise systems (see Chapter 2, Section 2.4).

SAP S/4HANA needs a frontend server (FES) for SAP Fiori user interfaces because SAP Fiori launchpad cannot communicate directly with the backend server. From the technical perspective, the frontend server is an SAP Gateway. If you already use an SAP Gateway system, you can also use it as a frontend server for SAP S/4HANA.

Because SAP Fiori launchpad leverages the frontend server for communication, users do not log on to the SAP S/4HANA backend but to the frontend server. You can also use SAP GUI, but then the user would have to toggle between SAP GUI and SAP Fiori with two different logon methods when accessing SAP GUI interfaces directly. SAP therefore recommends using the SAP Fiori launchpad as the entry point to SAP S/4HANA and as the new standardized SAP system user interface. Using the SAP Fiori launchpad makes switching between various programs unnecessary, which was the case in the traditional SAP Business Suite where content from SAP GUI was opened in web browsers sometimes.

Let’s describe how to set up the frontend server. If you want to use an existing SAP Gateway system, you’ll need to consider the SAP NetWeaver version and patch version required for your SAP S/4HANA version. If SAP S/4HANA 1511 and higher is installed, SAP NetWeaver 7.50 (or newer) is needed for custom frontend server installations or existing frontend servers. Here, only the SAP HANA, SAP MaxDB, and SAP ASE databases are supported (see SAP Note 2214245).

The following frontend server components are used for the SAP S/4HANA user interface:

For analytical SAP Fiori apps, you’ll additionally need SAP Web Dispatcher (reverse proxy).

If you don’t want to set up a separate landscape for the frontend server, you can use SAP Fiori Cloud on demand. In this case, the frontend server in the cloud uses SAP HANA Cloud Connector and SAP Cloud Platform (previously SAP HANA Cloud Platform, HCP) to directly communicate with your on-premise landscape (see Section 9.3.2).

Various options are available for integrating the frontend server to your system landscape. These options refer to the type of the usage (on-premise or in the cloud) and, in the on-premise case, the type of the installation (central hub or add-on deployment):

Each option has advantages and disadvantages, which we’ll describe in detail next. We hope the explanations in the following sections help you to identify the best option for your landscape and your technical and business requirements.

[»]  Online Support for Selecting the Deployment Option

These two links to the SAP Enterprise Architecture Explorer contain recommendations for the frontend server landscape:

9.3.1    On-Premise Installation of the Frontend Server

This section describes implementing and using an on-premise frontend server. Although this scenario results in an additional SAP NetWeaver system in your system landscape, installing a frontend server as a central hub has the following advantages when compared to an embedded or add-on implementation in the same system:

For these reasons, implementing a frontend server as an embedded or add-on deployment on the system on which the SAP S/4HANA backend is installed is possible but not recommended for production landscapes. This type of implementation is rather suited for trial systems (for example, for the SAP S/4HANA Fully-Activated Appliance, which includes an embedded frontend server, see Section 6.2).

As before when we actually installed the SAP S/4HANA system (see Section 9.1), you’ll have to perform sizing before installing the frontend server. Then, you’ll perform the actual installation using the Software Provisioning Manager (SWPM) and implement the SAP S/4HANA add-ons for the frontend server.

Finally, you’ll have to carry out manual postprocessing tasks that mainly refer to the configuration. You can obtain the required installation files through the Maintenance Planner as described in Section 9.1 for SAP S/4HANA.

The name of the appropriate SAP Fiori version is “SAP FIORI FOR SAP S/4HANA,” followed by the SAP S/4HANA version number, e.g., “SAP FIORI FOR SAP S/4HANA 1610” for SAP S/4HANA 1610.

[»]  Additional Implementation Information

The following link contains more and up-to-date information on the implementation of the frontend server:

9.3.2    SAP Fiori Cloud

SAP Fiori Cloud is a new, simple cloud deployment variant of the frontend server for SAP systems (previously referred to as Fiori-as-a-Service). SAP Fiori Cloud runs on SAP Cloud Platform and consumes data from your SAP S/4HANA, on-premise, system. Technically, your SAP S/4HANA landscape thus becomes a hybrid landscape because part of it—the frontend server—is implemented in the cloud. Nevertheless, your data is still kept on-premise in your data center and is not affected. SAP Fiori Cloud allows you to reduce the costs for implementing SAP S/4HANA and addresses security concerns regarding the cloud implementation.

SAP Fiori Cloud comes in two editions:

Similar to the central hub deployment of a single frontend server (see Section 9.3.1), SAP Fiori Cloud lets you connect several SAP systems. As a result, you’ll be able to use SAP Fiori technology in your existing SAP landscape. Furthermore, you can enhance and adapt SAP Fiori apps as well as create new custom apps via the SAP Web IDE. In this scenario, data is retrieved from your on-premise systems through SAP Cloud Platform OData Provisioning—a proxy type on SAP Cloud Platform that provides OData for external systems.

You can use SAP Fiori Cloud with a separate (on-premise) SAP Gateway server or in the cloud without a separate SAP Gateway server. Table 9.2 lists the advantages and disadvantages of these two options.

Deployment Option Advantages Disadvantages
SAP Fiori Cloud with SAP Gateway, on-premise Full functionality of SAP Gateway You have to maintain and update SAP Gateway yourself
SAP Fiori Cloud (full cloud)—without a separate SAP Gateway installation Minimum installation and maintenance costs for the entire SAP Fiori infrastructure The SAP Gateway functionality is restricted (see SAP Note 1830712)

Table 9.2    Comparing Deployment Options for SAP Fiori Cloud

The full SAP Fiori Cloud option does not support all SAP Gateway functions due to the restrictions in SAP Cloud Platform OData Provisioning.

Finally, we must mention that, if you use SAP Fiori Cloud, the SAP Gateway connection and the SAP Fiori backend components in SAP S/4HANA must also be configured in addition to SAP HANA Cloud Connector for the connection to the backend system. If you have multiple SAP backend systems (including non-SAP S/4HANA systems), these systems must also have the same SAP Cloud Platform OData Provisioning version.

The SAP Fiori apps reference library (see Chapter 2, Section 2.4) lets you search for SAP Fiori apps that are available in SAP Fiori Cloud for an overview of the limitations in this case.

[»]  Additional Information on SAP Fiori Cloud

The following links contain more and up-to-date information on using SAP Fiori Cloud: