Server is DOWN or Connection parameters are incorrect-Error in test conn in SAP GRC when SNC enabled

Administration & Troubleshooting
1

Hi,

We are receiving the below error during test connection in SAP GRC connector in ISC only when SNC is enabled in the config . This is a very generic error and does not really help to understand what the exact issue is. We have exchanged and imported the respective certificates in both SAP and VA side. The ports have been enabled. On checking in SAP, there is no incoming activity with the service account mapped to the SNC, as though there is no call being made to SAP. Are we missing anything? We have followed the documentation that SailPoint has provided. Is there a way for us to debug where and what is causing this error?

“Server is DOWN or Connection parameters are incorrect.”

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Shree

2

@ShreelakshmiDR Shreelakshmi, great question! I’d start troubleshooting from the ground up, and the question I’d ask at each level would be “what changed?” since it was last working.

Here are a couple of suggestions, starting from the bottom of the OSI model & going up to the SAP GRC application:

1) Even though the ports are enabled, you may want to ensure the packets coming from the ISC tenant are actually getting to the SAP GRC host. There may be a utility such as Windows Packet Monitor or Linux tcpdump on the host that would let you confirm. If you don’t see packets coming from the tenant arriving at the host, then you’ll probably want to dig further and probably contact the network team to assist & find out why.

2) If packets are getting to the host, the issue is probably higher up the protocol stack - with the application itself. You already mentioned the certificates have ben confirmed, has there been a GRC software update? Is the admin account and/or its credentials still valid? Have login requirements changed, or has the password expired? Have additional authentication or config parameters been added? Basically, going back to the original question, what changed since the last time it was working?

Since you say “there is no incoming activity with the service account mapped to the SNC”, it sounds like the issue may be somewhere in paragraph 1) above.

Also, some searching provided these specific actions:

  • Validating Connection Parameters: Verify the SAP System ID (SID), Instance Number, Hostname, and client details in the RFC connector configuration.
  • Verifing Server Status: Ensure the SAP application server is running and not down for maintenance.
  • Checking the firewall: Check with the network team for firewall restrictions blocking the connection port (usually 33<NN> or 32<NN>)

And some other solutions:

  • Update XML/HTTPS settings: If using HTTPS, update source XML files to use HTTPS URLs and the correct HTTPS port.
  • Update hosts.yaml (SailPoint/VA): Ensure the virtual appliance (VA) is aware of the SAP server by adding the IP and hostname to the hosts.yaml file.
  • Verify SAP JCo libraries: Re-upload the latest sapjco and libsapjco jars if they are outdated or missing.

Please let us know if this helps, and how you resolve the issue!