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Sources Overview

Sources are how documents enter FileRelay. ArchiveLink, CMIS, or OData — pick the protocol that matches your SAP edition.

Sources Overview

Sources are the entry points for documents flowing into FileRelay. Once a document arrives at a source, FileRelay forwards it through your configured connections to the destinations you've chosen.

FileRelay supports three SAP ingest protocols, each matching a different SAP edition and integration style:

Protocol What it is When you use it
ArchiveLink The classic SAP push protocol (BC-HCS 4.5 HTTP Content Server interface) ECC 6.0, S/4HANA on-premise, S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition (RISE). SAP pushes documents to FileRelay.
CMIS CMIS 1.1 client against SAP Document Management Service S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition (the only public-cloud option), and Private/RISE as an alternative to ArchiveLink. FileRelay pulls documents.
OData Released S/4HANA OData APIs (e.g. I_AttachmentForBusinessObject) with optional Event Mesh push S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition and Private/RISE. FileRelay polls or subscribes to attachment changes.

Not sure which you need? See the protocol comparison — a decision matrix covering every SAP edition.

Common source properties

Regardless of which protocol a source uses, every source in FileRelay has:

  • A unique name and slug (used in URLs and configuration)
  • An active / inactive toggle for pausing without deleting
  • A protocol-specific identity (Content Repository ID for ArchiveLink, CMIS endpoint + credentials for CMIS, Communication Arrangement + service key for OData)
  • A set of credentials stored encrypted at rest (per-customer key)
  • A delivery audit log — every document that arrives is recorded with timestamp, size, and outcome

How documents flow through a source

The lifecycle differs by protocol, but the FileRelay-side shape is the same:

  1. Document arrives (pushed by SAP for ArchiveLink; pulled by FileRelay for CMIS / OData)
  2. Authenticity is verified (ArchiveLink signature for ArchiveLink; OAuth bearer for CMIS / OData)
  3. Document is acknowledged (to SAP for ArchiveLink; recorded in the audit log for CMIS / OData)
  4. Document is routed through all active connections attached to that source
  5. Each destination in the connection receives a copy

Active and inactive sources

State Behavior
Active Documents are accepted and forwarded through connected pipelines
Inactive Pushed requests get an error response; pollers stop fetching; no documents are processed

Setting a source to inactive is useful during maintenance windows, when decommissioning a repository, or when you need to temporarily stop document flow without deleting the configuration.

Creating a source

The workflow is similar across protocols — the protocol-specific fields differ:

  1. Navigate to Repositories in the sidebar
  2. Click Add Source
  3. Pick the protocol (ArchiveLink, CMIS, or OData)
  4. Fill in the protocol-specific fields (covered in each protocol's setup guide)
  5. Save — FileRelay validates the configuration by making a test call

After creating the source, follow the relevant setup guide for your SAP edition:

Next steps