"Server response is not XML" error while opening SAP GUI

[nanda_kumar21]

Hi Everyone,

I have installed SAP GUI for Windows 770 PL2 hotfix 2 on Windows 10 system.

I use XML configuration File on Server option set to https://sapfile.acme.com/SAPUILandscape.xml

When I open the SAP GUI, a new SAPUILandscape.xml is created in %appdata%\SAP\Common, however SAP GUI gives the following error:

"Server response is not XML"

I can open the same server configuration file in a browser in the same system and it loads without an issue:

So, it is not a network issue and also it is a valid XML file because the same exact configuration works in other machines.

I also found that if I opened the server configuration file in IE and kept it open, then opened SAP GUI, it opens successfully.

If I close the tab or just have the IE started but not the server configuration file and restart SAP GUI, the error occurs again.

I did a procmon trace for the scenario where it works, and noticed that saplogon.exe is reading the file from the IE cache and then writing to %appdata%\SAP\Common.

So, in summary SAP GUI is not able to execute some functionality on its own and IE somehow helps overcome it if it already had the file open.

Procmon screenshot:

I've got this far, but not still not sure what exactly is the root cause nor the solution.

There are no notes for this and awaiting on SAP Response as well.

Hoping someone knows enough to get an answer here!

P.s: I mentioned it is working in some machines and not in other machines. I want to clarify that the desktop machines are working fine, but the machines that dont work are AWS workspaces. Both machines are on same network, same operating system, same admin previleges for the user.

thanks

N

[ILIAN_Grigorov]

Hello nkumar01,

Very interesting issue, I saw it on my blog. I am not a specialist but :

Just a sugestion.... Can you try a network sniffing tool (SmartSniff) to see if SAP GUI is trying to open any proper HTTPS connection?

If a proper connection is openning perhaps it does not trust the HTTPS certificate, and receives some sort of HTML error which is not XML.

So if this is the case, then what you can try to verify is:

1. Try an address with HTTP instead

2. Try to find any SAP GUI logs, or increase trace level.....

3. If this very scenario was working on a previous version of SAP GUI perhaps it is a bug!

4. Add the https certificate chain to the IE..

5. May be It cannot work through proxy ? can you download the XML file simply by using wget.exe, for example?

Reagrds and good luck!

Ilian

[nanda_kumar21 · Accepted solution]

Hi Ilian,

Thanks for your response.

SAP Support was able to resolve it eventually.

The XML file needed the following tag at the top of the file:

<?xml version="1.0"?>