Asar Digital

Hot Folders; A Best-Practice for SAP Commerce Cloud

Within SAP Commerce Cloud, there are best practices regarding the insertion of data into the (Hybris) system. We find hot folders to be the most efficient methodology.

There is a choice of methods available when feeding data into SAP Commerce Cloud systems. One way to input is by running an impex script directly in HAC (Hybris Administration Console). Another is by importing and feeding data into the system through Hot Folders.

Herein, we’ll cover the hot folders method, why it is preferred, and its requisite information.

So, What are Hot Folders ? 

Hot folders are folders from which data can be automatically imported into the system by simply placing the data inside of the folder. In this folder we will load the data using various CSV files.

The principle that the hot folders work on, is that the CSV files that are placed in the folders are converted into ImpEx files using the specific header that is configured using Spring Integration logic. 

Using Hot folders, you can indicate special folders in a specific location of the SAP Commerce server to load data. 

Why are Hot Folders preferred ? 

● The Hot folders method uses multi-threading import functionality which makes it much faster than importing data via regular impex. 

● Hot Folders is an out-of-the-box import solution. 

● It uses simple CSV and allows you to avoid writing complex impexes. 

● It facilitates folders to get pulled automatically. 

● Cloud Hot Folders allow you to sort files. 

● It provides better control for you to choose the order in which the files must be imported.

● Backoffice can be used to monitor data import actions and even diagnose integration problems without accessing the file system. 

What are different ways of importing Hot Folders (On-Premise vs. Cloud) ?

Traditional hot folders are a standard way of integrating files in SAP Commerce Cloud. You push files from a local or shared directory to the hot folder using SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol). 

On Premise

To push/read data to/from the On-Premise Hot Folders, the classical options are:

● FTP/SFTP to transfer files 

● NFS driver

Cloud Hot Folders let you import batches of data into Commerce Cloud from Blob storage, either as CSV or raw impex. 

Cloud

Cloud Hot Folders use Azure Blob Storage. 

To migrate the connectivity from On-Premise to the Azure Blob Storage, the options are:
1. Explorers for Blob Storage 

2. AzCopy Command Line Tool 

3. Blob Services REST API 

4. Blob Storage SDK 

5. Blobfuse Virtual System Driver 

6. Azure CLI 

How can customers benefit from using Hot Folders ? 

● Due to its simplicity and flexibility, the hot folders files can be generated by other systems which in turn helps in saving a lot of time in writing complex scripts.

● Automation of data import will reduce the manual work of importing impex scripts.

● Due to the usage of multi-threading functionality, it works faster than regular impex. 

The above reasons show how customers can benefit from the usage of Hot Folders which helps in significant reduction of time consumption, reduction in writing complex scripts and manual work. If you have questions about SAP Commerce Cloud, please reach out to us.

Scroll to Top