Protocol Comparison
ArchiveLink, CMIS, or OData — the reference matrix covering every SAP edition.
Protocol Comparison
FileRelay supports three SAP ingest protocols, one per SAP-side integration style.
Not sure which? Run the interactive picker — 1–2 questions and it points you at the right setup guide.
By SAP edition
| Edition | Available |
|---|---|
| ECC 6.0 (any EHP) | ArchiveLink |
| S/4HANA on-premise | ArchiveLink (OData attachment APIs exist but are uncommon here) |
| S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition (RISE) | ArchiveLink, CMIS, or OData |
| S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition | CMIS or OData (no ArchiveLink — no ABAP, no OAC0) |
Reference matrix
| ArchiveLink | CMIS | OData | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ECC 6.0 | Yes | No | No |
| S/4HANA on-prem | Yes | No | Limited |
| S/4HANA Cloud Private | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| S/4HANA Cloud Public | No | Yes | Yes |
| Direction of flow | SAP pushes | FileRelay pulls | FileRelay pulls (push optional via Event Mesh) |
| SAP-side setup | OAC0 | Communication Arrangement (SAP_COM_0552) |
Communication Arrangement (per business object) |
| Authentication | Optional X.509 signature | OAuth 2.0 | OAuth 2.0 (client creds or X.509) |
| Document model | Generic "document with archive ID" | CMIS objects in DMS repositories | Attachments linked to business objects |
| Push triggers from SAP code | Yes (ABAP-controlled) | No (poll or subscribe) | No (poll; Event Mesh subscribe if available) |
| Custom code on SAP side | Sometimes (BAdIs, classes) | None | None |
| Custom code on FileRelay side | None | None | None |
| Real-time vs batch | Real-time push | Poll, or push via Event Mesh | Poll, or push via Event Mesh |
| Latency | Sub-second | Seconds (poll) / sub-second (events) | Seconds (poll) / sub-second (events) |
| Multi-system support | One source per Content Repository | One source per CMIS repository | One source per Communication Arrangement |
Combinations
You can run multiple sources of different protocols against the same workspace. A common mixed-edition pattern:
- One ArchiveLink source for the ECC / S/4HANA on-prem system that still pushes
- One CMIS source for S/4HANA Cloud DMS workloads (PLM, HR onboarding)
- One OData source per business object (supplier invoices, purchase orders) where business-object metadata matters at the destination
All three feed the same set of connections and destinations. The downstream view (S3, SharePoint, etc.) is uniform — protocol differences stay on the SAP side.
Common misconceptions
- "CMIS is just ArchiveLink for the cloud" — No. ArchiveLink is push-based with SAP-side ABAP control; CMIS is pull-based with polling or events. Document models differ too — ArchiveLink classes are flat (D01, D02, …); CMIS objects live in repositories with rich property metadata.
- "OData and CMIS are interchangeable" — Both are available on S/4HANA Cloud, but expose different things: CMIS shows everything in DMS; OData attachment APIs show attachments-of-business-objects. They overlap, but neither is a strict superset.
- "S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition can use ArchiveLink with custom ABAP" — No. Public Edition does not allow ABAP customization. Even if your tenant carries legacy ArchiveLink config, it isn't usable for new integrations.
- "BTP Document Management Service is different from DMS" — Mostly the same thing. SAP renamed and re-platformed DMS for cloud (sometimes called SDM). The CMIS interface is the same standard either way — FileRelay treats both as a CMIS endpoint.
See also
- ArchiveLink Setup — ECC, S/4HANA on-prem, S/4HANA Cloud Private
- CMIS Setup — S/4HANA Cloud DMS
- OData Setup — released S/4HANA Cloud business-object APIs
Interactive picker
Answer 1–2 questions and we’ll pick for you
Same logic as the matrix above, presented as a guided flow.
What SAP edition do you run?
Pick the system you’re integrating first. You can run multiple protocols against the same FileRelay tenant if needed.