KB000880

Introduction

K2 connect 4.7 allows for a clean install or upgrade from a previous version of the product.

Download

The K2 connect installation package can be downloaded from the download’s page available on the K2 Partner and Customer Portal site. See the Installation details below for more information.

Enhancement

1. This release includes the latest version of the ERPConnect assemblies (SAP NetWeaver RFC libraries) which are included and automatically installed by the K2 connect Setup Manager.
2. Caching of objects - When a service is executed the connection along with the object is cached and used on subsequent executions.The cache is only available during the runtime of K2 Server. The first execution takes the normal amount of time but subsequent executions are faster. If any errors occur or changes are made to the object the cache is invalidated. For isteps on enabling the cache setting see KB000881 - How to cache the connection for a K2 connect service instance.

Bug Fixes

• An Error was received stating "K2 blackpearl Server and K2 connect Server names are not the same" when K2 was installed in a Farm environment.
• K2 Connect is configured with predefined credentials for SAP destinations in the connection strings. All SAP calls were made using the corresponding users SSO credentials, but after upgrading to K2 connect 4.6.11, SAP calls used the predefined credentials from the connection string.
• SAP NetWeaver RFC libraries handle connection strings differently to the previous LIBRFC32.dll resulting in multiple configured destinations to no longer function as previously.
• The Connect service took a long time to start/restart when you had a large number of service objects published to the repository.

Important Considerations and behavioural changes

1. From K2 connect 4.6.11 (4.10060.870.0) onwards the SAP NetWeaver RFC libraries are required. The new dlls are not redistributable from SourceCode Technology Holdings, Inc and must be obtained from services.sap.com. Once downloaded the new NetWeaver RFC libraries must be copied to the respective system folders. The zip files for each architecture (64 and 32 bit) will contain four files. All four files need to be copied.
   The 32bit files go to c:WindowsSysWOW64
   The 64bit files go to c:WindowsSystem32
2. In K2 connect 4.6.10 or later the installer includes the required ERPConnect dlls. For new installations it will no longer be required to install ERPConnect before installing K2 connect for SAP. For upgrades there is also no need to upgrade the ERPConnect software as the new K2 connect installer will automatically do this for you.
3. The installer will update K2 connect 32-bit and 64-bit installations. One installer is used for new installations as well as upgrades. When performing an upgrade, the current K2 connect installation will be uninstalled and the new version will be installed. The existing settings will be retained such as the K2 connect license key, however it is important to select the correct database during the installation.

This update includes all the new features and hotfixes that were included in the previous K2 connect Updates, so there is no need to install the updates listed below. The following links are provided for reference to view the new features, enhancements, important considerations and resolved issues contained within the previous updates:

KB000860 – K2 connect 4.6.11 (4.10060.870.0)
KB000850 – K2 connect 4.6.10 (4.10060.850.0)
KB000800 – K2 connect 4.6.9 (4.10060.800.0)
KB000750 - K2 connect 4.6.5 (4.10060.750.0)
KB000710 - K2 connect Update KB000710
KB000705 - K2 connect Update KB000705
KB000700 – K2 connect Update KB000700
KB000691 - K2 connect Update KB000691
KB000674 - K2 connect Update KB000674

There is one installer package for K2 connect 4.7 available for download from portal.K2.com that will facilitate upgrades and clean installs.

• For customers who already have K2 connect installed, download the package and install this update.
• For customers who do not have K2 connect installed, download the package and follow the Setup Manager wizard.

Upgrading

If you were previously on K2 connect 4.6.11 (4.10060.860.0) or earlier the following upgrade steps are required:

1. Download the new SAP Netweaver FRC Libraries from services.sap.com.
2. Copy the dlls to the relevant directories. The zip files for each architecture (64 and 32 bit) will contain four files. All four files need to be copied to the following locations:
   The 32bit files go to c:WindowsSysWOW64
   The 64bit files go to c:WindowsSystem32
3. Download K2 connect 4.7 and install.
4. Apply the K2 connect license key.

Installation

Prerequisites

• • K2 blackpearl 4.6.11 or greater.
  • SAP Netweaver RFC Libraries

Note: The installer will update K2 connect 32-bit and 64-bit installations. One installer is used for new installations as well as upgrades. When performing an upgrade, the current K2 connect installation will be uninstalled and the new version will be installed. The existing settings will be retained such as the K2 connect license key, however, it is important to select the correct database during the installation.

The K2 Setup Manager will guide you through the install.