Integration Scenario - A Modeling Tool

By Balakrishna, PI Competency Core Team, YASH Technologies

Usage:   

Generally, we will design the objects in Integration Repository and configure those in Integration Directory of Development system.  While transporting these into Productive system, we are moving only the designed objects and not the configuration objects. We are configuring the objects in Quality/Productive environment manually by specifying quality/production business systems and business partners as business services.

The configuration should cost some amount of your development time. To reduce development time in quality/production system, we need to simplify the execution and administration of collaborative processes and profiles. As a result, the entire collaborative process and profiles are easier to maintain and are more reliable as well as stable with Integration Scenario Configuration.  

With this Integration Scenario Configuration, it automatically generates all necessary configuration steps (Receiver Determination, Interface Determination, Sender and Receiver Agreements) or uses the existing ones (if any) by specifying the business systems of the business partners on which the application components are installed.

Integration Scenario

An integration scenario is a model, which encapsulates the collaborative processing steps to provide an overview of the process flow. You can integrate an executable integration process into an integration scenario by defining Application Component, Action and Connection.

Different Objects of Integration Scenario

·         Application Component 

An application component is a modeling unit of an integration scenario, which logically represents an addressable unit such as Business Partner (Business Scenario or Business system) or Integration Process or Component of Business Partner. It contains the business tasks and addresses the addressable unit of Integration Scenario.

·         Action

An action is smallest unit of an application component subdividing the process flow of an integration scenario and represents a function that is not subdivided further. In the Integration Builder you can assign the interfaces to any two actions to enable exchange of messages between the addressable units

·        Connection

For enabling the message flow between any two actions of an integration scenario, a cross-component connection needs to be defined by specifying the interfaces and mappings.

Note: A Connection object cannot be reused and local to a integration scenario and differentiates between synchronous and asynchronous communication.

The development environment for integration scenarios comprises of two editors:

·         Integration scenario editor

·         Action editor

Scenario:

Let us discuss a scenario to define a Communication between HTTP Client and SAP R/3 System using SAP XI. 

HTTP client is going to place HTTP request to XI server by sending an XML message, where in XI is going to transform the request from HTTP to a RFC call in SAP R/3 system.  

Steps to be followed in design phase (Integration Directory)

Ø       Create the necessary Data types, Message types, Message Interfaces, Message Mappings and Interface Mappings

Ø       Creating Actions:

• Create Action with name CreateEmp by right clicking on Actions button and specify the outbound interface as shown below.

• Create Another Action with name InsertEmp by right clicking on Actions button and specify the Inbound interface as shown below. Here Inbound interface is RFC name.

Ø      Create Integration Scenario by right clicking on Integration Scenarios button. 

Ø       Right click on the Integration Scenario Editor and select insert application component

Ø       A Popup will appear and ask you for the details of Product version and Role. Select the appropriate Product version and enter Role as descriptive name.

Ø       Insert another Application component for Receiver by repeating the same steps.

Ø       Insert the Actions created above into Application Components: Right click on the application component and select insert action.

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Ø       Establish Connection: Select two actions present in the two different application components, right click and choose Create Connection between Selected Actions.

Ø       Checking the Connection: Check the Outbound, Inbound interfaces and provide the Interface Mapping details.

Click here to continue....