ALE,Idoc Overview
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Transcript of ALE,Idoc Overview
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Anmol Bhat
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ALE Application Link Enabling
ALE supports the distribution of the business functions and process across loosely
coupled SAP R/3 systems (different versions of SAP R/3). Connections from R/2and non SAP systems is also supported.
ALE supports-
Distribution of applicationsbetween different releases of R/3
Systems
Continued data exchange after a
release upgrade without requiring
special maintenance
Customer-specific extensions.Communication interfaces that
allow connections to non-SAP
systems.
Coupling of R/3 and R/2 Systems.
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ALE Architecture
It consists of an Outbound process, an Inbound process, and an Exception -
Handling process..
Outbound Process:
ALE Outbound Process in SAP sends data to one or more SAP Systems. It involves
four steps.
Identify the need of IDoc: This step starts upon creating a application document, can
relate to a change to a master data object.Generate the Master IDoc:The document or master data to be sent is read from the
database and formatted into an IDoc format. This IDoc is called as a Master IDoc.
Generate the Communication IDoc:The ALE Service layer generates a separate
IDoc from the Master IDoc for each recipient who is interested in the data. Separate
IDocs are generated because each recipient might demand a different version or a
subset of the Master IDoc. These recipient-specific IDocs are called Communication
IDocs and are stored in the database.
Deliver the Communication IDoc:The IDoc is delivered to the recipients using an
asynchronous communication method. This allows the sending system to continue its
processing without having to wait for the destination system to receiver or process the
IDoc.
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ALE Architecture
Inbound Process:
The inbound process receives an IDoc and creates a document in the system.
Store the IDoc in the database:The IDoc is received from the sending system and
stored in the database. Then the IDoc goes through a basic integrity check and syntax
check.
Invoke the Posting Module:The control information in the IDoc and configuration
tables are read to determine the posting program. The IDoc is then transferred to its
posting program.
Create the Document:The posting program reads the IDoc data and then creates a
document in the system. The results are logged in the
Exception - Handling process:
If any exceptions are caught between the transfer of the business document, status
of the IDOC will be set to Error.
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ALE Advantages
Integration with non-SAP systems:
ALE architecture allows third partyapplications to integrate with SAP system.
Reliable Distribution:
Once message type created and the
receiver of the message is determined, ALE
delivers the message to the recipient. If there
is any network problem it will buffer themessage and delivers the message once the
network is restored. It also ensures that the
message is not delivered twice.
Release Upgrade:
Any of the distributed system can be
upgraded to the new release of SAP withoutaffecting the functionality. The ALE layer
ensures backward compatibility of messages
exchanged between systems.
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EDI Electronic Data Interchange
What is Term EDI
Electronic data interchange(EDI)
is the structured transmission of data
between organizations by electronic means,
which is used to transfer electronicdocuments or business data from one
computer system to another computer
system, i.e. from one trading partner to
another trading partner without human
intervention. It is more than mere e-mail; for
instance, organizations might replace bills oflading and even cheques with appropriate
EDI messages. It also refers specifically to a
family of standards.
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What EDI means for SAP
Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)
You use EDI if you want to exchange business application documents
with an (external) partner system (for example, a customer or vendor). The SAP
system sends EDI messages in IDoc format to an EDI subsystem, where they are
converted to a universal EDI standard (UN/EDIFACT or ANSI/X12). This enables
communication with non-SAP systems.
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Architecture of EDI
EDI Architecture consists of -
EDI-enabled applications:They
support the automatic processing of
business transactions.
The IDoc interface:This was designed
as an open interface. The IDoc interface
consists of IDoc types and functionmodules that form the interface to the
application.
The EDI subsystem: This converts the
IDoc types into EDI message types and
vice versa. This component of the EDI
architecture is not supplied by SAP.
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Advantages of EDI
Reduced data Entry Errors
Reduced Processing cycle time
Availability of data electronic form
Reduced Paper Work
Reduced Cost
Reduced Inventories and Better Planning
Standard Means of Communicating
Better Business Processes
Competitive Advantage
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Difference Between ALE and EDI
ALE EDI
ALE is used to support
distributed yet integrated
processes across several SAP
systems
EDI is used for the exchange of
business documents between
the systems of business
partners
ALE is SAPu2019s technologyfor supporting a distributed
environment
EDI is a process used forexchange of business
documents which now have
been given a standard format
Both ALE and EDI require data exchange. An Idoc is a data containerwhich is used for data exchange by both EDI and ALE processes.
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IDOC- Intermediate Document
IDoc (Intermediate Document) is a standard SAP document format. IDocs enable
the connection of different application systems using a message-based interface.
The use of IDocs has three main aims:
Structured exchange and automatic posting of application documents.
Reduction of the varying complex structures of different application systems to
one simple structure. For example, the structure of an SAP application document
and the structure of the corresponding EDI message according to
the UN/EDIFACT standard.
Detailed error handling before the data is posted in the application.
IDocs can be regarded and defined on two levels: On a technical level and on an
application level.
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IDOC- Technical View
This view is defined by three different types of structure that are
generated by the IDoc interface:
Control record
Data record
Status record
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IDOC- Application View
This view is defined by the segments of an IDoc. Segments are structuresthat are used for the interpretation of the field SDATA in the data record. An
IDoc type is defined by the corresponding:
Segments
Attributes of these segments(for example, maximum number, hierarchical sequence, segment status)
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Thanks a lot
ALE,IDOC Overview
Prepared by: Anmol Bhat, Consultant SAP ABAP.