SAP Process Integration (SAP PI) (SAP Netweaver Process Integration)

SAP NetWeaver Process Integration (SAP NetWeaver PI) is an integration component of the SAP NetWeaver platform.

It is unrolled based on the server of web applications of SAP NetWeaver Application Server — a basis of all SAP NetWeaver platform. Respectively a core of SAP NetWeaver PI is the integration Integration Engine server. It actually is implementation of a message broker and offers its common features, including conversion of messages, their routing, mechanisms of the publication and a subscription.

As an entrance format of data of the bus XML is used. One of the Integration Engine elements is also the conducting mechanism business processes. Under control of the application server the adapters allowing to broadcast appeals to corporate applications interfaces in exchange of XML-messages function. One of the main is the adapter of the Web and service SOAP protocol.

Also are included in the package of SAP some other adapters — for access to JMS, FTP, e-mail and so forth. Important quality of SAP NetWeaver PI is existence in it of two repositories of metadata about integration communications — codes of conversions, business processes, sources and receivers of messages, settings of connectors. One of repositories is intended for a development stage (it is called Repository), another — for deployment (Directory). Tools for copying of data on new system configurations are offered. It allows to conduct development and testing in the conditions, the closest to a "live" system. Besides, SAP delivers already filled Repository for own applications. Also existence of management tools lifecycle of the integration solution is extremely useful.

SAP NetWeaver PI provides intersystem and cross-process integration and potentially high scalability of IT of a landscape of the enterprise, giving the chance of interaction of the systems of the different producers working running different operating systems and with different DBMS.

Main characteristics of SAP NetWeaver PI

• Support of standards of web services — a format of data on the service bus XML — SOAP, WSDL, UDDI; transport protocol HTTP;
• Metadata in the XSD format;
• It is certified under Java EE5;
• Objects of integration (model of corporate services) are stored in a special repository (Enterprise Service Repository);
• A set of adapters for transmission of messages (RFC, IDOC, JDBC, File, JMS, e-mail, etc.), optionally — delivery industrial and business adapters (EDI, RosettaNet, SWIFT, etc.);
• Support of the BPEL format for representation, exchange, orchestrations of services;
• Implementation of the principles of BPM (Business process management) — for joint work of business analysts and IT architects with visual models of implementable processes;
• Possibility of monitoring of execution business — process both on technical, and at the business level.

Advantages of integration of information systems based on the SAP NetWeaver Process Integration platform (SAP NetWeaver PI)

Main opportunities of SAP Business Object Data Integrator (Data Services)

• Integration (ETL) of data from different sources;
• Ensuring quality of data;
• Graphical environment of development;
• The preconfigured "data marts" for SAP and and not - SAP systems;
• Loading of the data warehouse of SAP BW data from not the SAP systems;
• Extraction of data from external applications;
• Ensuring quality of analytics.

The infrastructure of NetWeaver Process Integration (PI) in SAP NetWeaver which was earlier called SAP infrastructure of exchange of Exchange Infrastructure (XI) allows to achieve unprecedentedly high flexibility at the organization of data exchange between the systems of SAP and external systems. As the independent solution, PI can interact with other applications by means of a remote call of functions (RFC) and the IDoc format and also includes the flexible built-in architecture of adapters. The last allows clients to expand PI for data exchange in other formats, including EDI, RosettaNet and also dialects, for example ACORD in automotive industry. It is only necessary to purchase and install one of a set of the adapters offered SAP and its partners then this adapter will broadcast the available format in SOAP XML for PI at the runtime.

However adapters are not the only way of data translation to a recognizable PI format. In this article one is described very attractive (both on functionality, and at cost) an alternative – the Conversion Agent program, the so-called 'agent of conversion' who is dynamically transforming unstructured data from the format Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, the plain text, etc. and also data of the semi-structured formats, such as HL7, SWIFT, HIPA, ANSI X12 and COBOL in PI compatible SOAP XML. This program simplifies transfer of necessary information in a backend system. Conversion Agent is also capable to perform inverse process, i.e. the XML conversion to the above-mentioned structured or semi-structured formats that just allows quickly and to communicate with business partners. The Conversion Agent program is released by SAP together with Itemfield, Inc.2 and is held for use with SAP NetWeaver ‘04 and above. It includes a number of the libraries set in SAP J2EE Engine of the PI server. At the runtime Adapter Engine addresses these libraries for conversion of messages to the XML format. This tool becomes more and more popular among the clients who set PI thanks to its simplicity and convenience.

SAP NetWeaver PI gives following features of business process management at the intercomponent level:

• Graphics editor of processes as component of the composer of integration (Integration Builder);
• The flexible opportunities of modeling allowing to design process control according to the BPEL4WS standard;
• Templates of models of processes as a component of the composer of integration, a configuration of processes using auxiliary means masters;
• Accomplishment of processes using the mechanism of business processes which is built in the integration server;
• Tracking and processing of special situations, monitoring of processes.

The centralized storage of global descriptions of objects and interfaces

The integration repository (component of infrastructure of exchange of SAP NetWeaver PI) is applied to the global description of the objects participating in exchange and maintaining business process models. Stores information on interfaces of the integrated systems, schemes of messages, displays and business processes. Data are entered into a repository by means of the Integration Builder tool.

Repository of the configured integration models

The directory of integration (component of infrastructure of exchange of SAP NetWeaver PI) provides the centralized information storage about interfaces of the systems and applications participating in the integration scenario. The process model is configured by the link to processes in a repository of integration and a task of necessary parameters.

The interaction environment based on Web services

Infrastructure of exchange of SAP NetWeaver PI uses the process focused integration model based on Web services and open standards (XML, SOAP, WSDL, UDDI) that allows to perform seamless integration practically in any hardware-software environment. Infrastructure of exchange of SAP NetWeaver PI accepts a call from an external system in the form of Web service or via the corresponding adapter of an external system. Then, using the functionality of display and routing implemented in the broker of integration it sends incoming calls to receivers in the form of a call of Web service or in any other format and the protocol supported by the installed adapters.

Infrastructure of SAP NetWeaver PI provides communication with a business system by the method supported by it (for example, SOAP, JMS, JDBC, FILE), causes necessary functions in a system and presents them in the form of Web services. Representation in the form of Web services of functions of systems which have no such representation is provided with the help of mechanisms of adapters.

The process focused integration of internal and external systems on the basis of open standards

The integration server (component of infrastructure of exchange of SAP NetWeaver PI) carries out tasks of business process management and also message exchange between the connected systems in the XML format or via the adapter. The process model is executed using the mechanism of business processes (Business Process Engine, BPE) in such a way that separate process steps can volunteer and be processed in any other business system of a landscape. The chain of processes in which one process with the configured flow of messages can cause other process, with own flow of messages is as a result created. Flow control of documents in processes in which diverse information systems are involved is executed according to the business rules and events configured by the user and is controlled the mechanism of business processes (BPE). The logic of process is implemented at the level of the central integration process, but not in separate management systems business for processes. Integration is based on open standards (SOAP, XML) and the Java technologies J2EE set (JMS, JNDI, EJB, JDBC), connection of systems using adapters (JCA) is supported.

Implementation of chains of processes

Chains of processes are implemented in SAP NetWeaver PI using graphic simulars of business process and the Business Process Engine (BPE) mechanism. The SAP NetWeaver platform for support of integration offers:

• The central instance of message exchange which is responsible for management of flows of messages between the different systems and applications;
• Management system for flows of business operations (SAP Business Workflow) which initiates the set actions to a communication basis between business objects and organization structures;
• Operational work flows which help users to organize accomplishment of the tasks.

In SAP NetWeaver PI mechanisms of import and export of scenarios in the BPEL4WS format are implemented.

Support of technical adapters for connection of systems

For establishment of required connections infrastructure of SAP NetWeaver PI uses adapters based on JCA. The structure of adapters works at the J2EE platform of the SAP NetWeaver Application Server application server, and has own services of creation of queues and magazines. The mechanism of adapters is based on structure of adapters and contains the JCA compatible resource adapter. Adapters enter infrastructure of exchange of SAP NetWeaver PI:

• JDBC Adapter
• JMS Adapter
• File/FTP Adapter
• SOAP Adapter
• HTTP(s) Adapter
• RFC Adapter
• IDoc Adapter.