What is SAP PI/PO?

SAP PI/PO, a middleware software specifically designed for SAP software. PI/PO stands for Process Integration (PI) and Process Orchestration (PO), and is the latest version of PI.

A middleware is an interface between languages, such as translators between languages or data transfer between Java systems to SAP systems.

SAP PI/PO is part of the SAP NetWeaver group of products that facilitates system integration between SAP and other external systems.

SAP PI:

Process integration is the enterprise application integration platform (EAI) platform from SAP that enables the integration of multiple SAP and non-SAP applications.

SAP PI has multiple components, including system landscape directory, enterprise service repository, integration directory, and integration server.

SAP PO:

Process orchestration is a combination of three separate SAP products: AEX adapter engine extended, NetWeaver business process management, and NetWeaver business rules management.

These products were combined together, licensed, and frameworked as a single product called SAP PO.

Process orchestration is a Java-only product but combines three different products: a single stack Java-only PI, a business process management, and a business rules management.

Why to use SAP PI/PO?

The functionalities of SAP PI/PO include being the integration broker of SAP NetViewer stack, allowing integration with legacy systems and applications, building and executing A2A and B2B interfaces in both synchronous and asynchronous communication techniques.

It also provides a central location for organizations to build, integrate, and monitor interfaces between heterogeneous systems in the landscape.

SAP PI/PO facilitates service exposure to the outside world according to Service Oriented Architecture (SOO).

SAP PI/PO Architecture:

The SAP PI architecture includes the advanced adapter engine, integration engine, adapter engine, and business process engine, all of which are integrated with the ABAP and Java stack.

The process integration has capabilities to handle routing transformation, which is done through the advanced adapter engine. This engine has the capability of connectivity, routing, and transformation, which are segregated into different components in SAP XI.

The Integrated Configuration (ICO) allows for correcting, transform, and routing messages without integration engine runtime, eliminating dual stack message persistence.

The SAP Process Orchestration architecture aims to overcome the challenges faced in the XANPI. SAP PO, which was a Java-only installation, was replaced by the new PO version, which added fully functional Netweaver Business Process Management (BPM) and Business Rule Management (BRM), which are fully executable on Java.

Components of SAP PO:

The PI/PO (Protocol Information Protocol) is divided into four parts:

SLD (Security Layer),

SLA (System landscape Address)

ESRP (Enterprise Service Repository),

ID (Integration and Security Repository), and

Monitoring.

System Landscape Directory (SLD):

The system landscape directory (SLD) is a component of PI that tells PI about all the systems in the customer’s landscape. It can be your ECC system, a third-party system, your S A P portal system, or a cloud system like SuccessFactors.

The SLD provides information about what a customer’s landscape is, such as their products, software components, and so on.

It is like a yellow pages or directory where all the systems in your landscape register themselves to the PI SLD.

A system catalog is another essential aspect of an SLD. It contains two components: a technical system and a business system.

A technical system is a physical system or host on which a landscape is installed, such as an ECC development server.

If the ECC development server is called DEV, and the SID or system ID of that server is DEV or development for development, then that physical system registers itself on the SLD as a technical system.

A business system is a logical system that functions as a sender or receiver in the PI.

For each technical system, one or multiple business systems can be defined within the PI layer, using a logical wrapper called a business system. This allows for the use of own naming conventions within the PI development landscape.

Technical systems are divided into three types:

web-based ABAP technical systems,

web-based Java technical systems, and

third-party technical systems.

A web-based ABAP system is an S A P ECC 6.0 server running on a web application server ABAP, while a web-based Java system is a master data management system, enterprise portal, or Java portal from S A P.

Third-party systems are any non-SAP system, such as PeopleSoft or Salesforce.com, that can register itself to the SLD.

A business system has three different types:

web-based ABAP business system,

web-based Java, and

third-party.

If a technical system is of type web-based ABAP, the business system will also be of type web-based ABAP.

If a technical system is of type webA is Java, the business system will also be of type webA is Java. If the technical system is of type third-party, the business system will also be of type third-party.

The relationship between a technical system and a business system depends on the type of technical system.

For example, a web-based ABAP system can have multiple clients, and each client of an ABAP system can have a business system.

In contrast, Java systems have a 1 is to 1 correlationship between the technical system and ABAP business system, and in the case of third-party systems, the correlation is 1 is to 1.

System Landscape Address (SLA):

This component is essential for understanding the architecture of PI and its components. It is a central application that integrates with multiple applications in the landscape.

For those unfamiliar with PI, it is important to understand that SLA is a phone book that contains all the systems that in a customer’s landscape register themselves on the SLD so that PI can use that information when exchanging messages with these systems.

Enterprise Services Repository (ESRP):

The enterprise services repository (ESRP) is the design time of PI, where all design term work occurs.

It is responsible for defining data formats and mappings between systems, such as sending an IDOC to a system and converting it into a flat file for transmission to a third-party system.

This level of information is crucial in PI’s integration process.

The ESR process involves developing an interface or integration repository, which is the same as an integration repository or enterprise service repository. It creates the structure of the sender site and mapping for source and receiver structures.

Integration Directory (ID):

The integration directory is the component where configuration is done, and this is where individual building blocks are connected to each other.

The configuration time involves designing development, interfaces, and configurations.

For example, if you need to connect to an FTP server, you provide the FTP username and password. If you need to connect to an SAP system, you provide the SAP system’s username and password.

The ID integration directory is where the configuration of sender and receiver is done, specifying the sender system from which data should be collected and stored in the appropriate format.

The heart of PI is the integration server, which is the runtime of PI.

This server contains three essential components:

Central adapter engine

Integration engine and

Business process engine.

The central adapter engine is the connectivity layer, containing all the adapters needed to talk to multiple applications. The integration engine executes the main pipeline of PI, running on the Java stack of PI, and a specific component called the business process engine, used for CCBPMs.

Monitoring:

Configuration and monitoring are part of the monitoring framework.

Monitoring is essential for PI to be able to monitor what happened to a message, such as whether an IDOC from SAP gets delivered to the downstream system or if a file from a third-party system gets delivered to SAP.

Monitoring happens within the runtime workbench and PI monitoring.

Enterprise Service Repository:

The enterprise service repository is the design time of PI where interfaces are designed. SAP provides three different tools: the integration builder, the Java web-based WebStart client, the SAP GUI, and the runtime workbench.

IT contains various types of objects, such as data types, message interfaces, service interfaces, and editors called scenario editors.

These objects are designed and built within the repository, which is the design time of PI.

The enterprise service repository is dependent on the system landscape directory, which is the telephone directory of the customer landscape.

It reads software component versions from the system landscape directory, which are predefined structures provided by SAP.

When exchanging messages between multiple systems, SAP provides predefined structures like RFCs, BAPI’s, and IDOCs, which can be imported into the enterprise service repository.