Graph in SAP Integration Suite FAQ

Graph is the new unified and consolidated API for SAP-managed data. Developers use Graph to build applications that access a business data graph of SAP-managed data, regardless of where this data resides.

SAP Business Accelerator Hub is the central catalog of APIs from SAP and selected partners for application developers to search, discover, test and consume these APIs to build extensions or integrations using SAP BTP.

Graph is a new and innovative capability of API Management within SAP Integration Suite. Extending traditional API Management, Graph enables you to expose all your business data in the form of a semantically connected data graph, accessed via a single unified and powerful API.

The two products fulfill different purposes. SAP HANA Graph is an integral part of SAP HANA core functionality. It expands the SAP HANA platform with native support for graph processing and allows you to execute typical graph operations on the data stored in an SAP HANA system.

Graph is a new capability within SAP Integration Suite used for accessing data from the SAP Intelligent Enterprise systems through an easy-to-use API. The “Graph” name refers to the connections between data objects that allow easy access to associated data.

There is some latency when using Graph, but is often offset by the fact that fewer queries are required to achieve the same goal, due to efficient navigation. From initial testing, latency is insignificant (percentage-wise), given that the majority of elapsed time is spent in the data source itself. Graph is not intended to be used for system-to-system integration but rather for extension-app usage (where a ‘user’ is typically a human being).

Graph does not persist anything. Graph does not copy or store data; all calls are forwarded to the underlying data source systems.

Graph allows you to create, read, update and delete data, considering any existing access rights and data source boundaries.

Extensions to the data source APIs are automatically taken over into Graph. Customers can additionally define custom model extensions to the out-of-the-box business data graph.

Currently, non-SAP sources that are OData compliant are supported, but stay tuned for additional planned functionality in this area.

Graph supports SAP ERP Central Component (ECC) content which has been prepared and exposed as an OData service. To create the service interface, you can use Gateway Builder starting from SAP Gateway version GW_FND 7.52 and the latest SP (refer to SAP Note 2217489 - Maintenance and Update Strategy for SAP Fiori Front-End Server Information published on SAP site) or OData Provisioning.

• A BTP subaccount, used for configuring the landscape used by Graph.

• The SAP Integration Suite service where the Graph functionality is available as part of API Management.

• Most customers would use the security services as well (IDP).

Yes. the owner of the landscape uses an SAP Integration Suite on SAP BTP to configure the business data graph.

Security is actually enhanced by using Graph. The extension application can only access the Graph API with the key to the landscape (secret), which can be revoked at any time. Business user authorization is in the responsibility of the source system.

Authorization is managed in the data source system itself. Graph does not override the existing authorization configuration on the sources.