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.