[SOLVED] SCMS_AO_URL_READ returns Communication error when called from SAP Portal

SCMS_AO_URL_READ returns Communication error when called from SAP Portal

We have upgraded our development SAP system from (ECC6 and SAP Portal) from SPS3 to SPS5.

Now when a user logs onto the SAP Portal and run a bespoke Java Web Dynpro screen (which in turn calls SAP standard Function Module SCMS_AO_URL_READ in order to retrieve a UWL), an exception is returned.

When the Function Module SCMS_AO_URL_READ is manually called from the SAP ECC system (by running transaction SE37 from the SAP GUI) and the same parameters are passed, no exception is returned.

Investigation has shown that the failure occurs when SAP standard Function Module RFC_PING for destination SAPGUI is called (the call sequence is SCMS_AO_URL_READ -> SCMS_DOC_URL_READ -> SCMS_URL_GENERATE -> perform location_from_client -> perform location_from_lca -> SCMS_LOCATION_GET -> SCMS_FE_CHECK_REG_SERVER -> SCMS_FE_CHECK_GUI -> RFC_PING). The exception 'Communication failure' is being returned.

This error did not occur pre-patching, or in an identical system that we have which has not been patched.

Any ideas why the parameters are not being automatically populated?

Thanks.

Solution

After further investigation we found that the issue is caused when the user has access to the Authorisation Object S_RFC_ADM.

I do not know why this is yet (especially as SAP authorisations are supposed to be accumulative and not have exclusions), but that is definitely the issue.