Use of Xi?

[Former Member]

hi,

What is the use of Xi? Tell me how it is used in real time?

bye.

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

What is EAI?

Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) is the process of of linking applications such as Supply Chain Management, Customer Relationship Management and Business Intelligence and others in order to realize financial and operational competitive advantages.

EAI can be used for different purposes:

· Data (information) integration: ensuring that information in multiple systems is kept consistent. This is also known as EII.
· Process integration: linking business processes across applications.
· Vendor independence: extracting business policies or rules from applications and implementing them in the EAI system, so that even if one of the business applications is replaced with a different vendor's application, the business rules do not have to be re-implemented.
· Common facade: An EAI system could front-end a cluster of applications, providing a single consistent access interface to these applications and shielding users from having to learn to interact with different applications.

EAI Patterns
Integration Patterns
There are two patterns that EAI systems implement:
· Mediation: Here, the EAI system acts as the go-between or broker between multiple applications. Whenever one of the applications is modified (new information created, new transaction completed, etc.) an integration module in the EAI system is notified. The module then propagates the changes to other relevant applications.
· Federation: In this case, the EAI system acts as the overarching facade across multiple applications. All accesses from the 'outside world' to any of the applications are front-ended by the EAI system. The EAI system is configured to expose only the relevant information and interfaces of the underlying applications to the outside world, and performs all interactions with the underlying applications on behalf of the requester.
Both patterns are often used concurrently. The same EAI system could be keeping multiple applications in sync (mediation), while servicing requests from external users against these applications (federation).
Access Patterns
EAI supports both asynchronous and synchronous access patterns, the former being typical in the mediation case and the latter in the federation case.
Lifetime Patterns
An integration operation could be short-lived (e.g., keeping data in sync across two applications could be completed within a second) or long-lived (e.g., one of the steps could involve the EAI system interacting with a human workflow application for approval of a loan that takes hours or days to complete).

SAP NetWeaver

SAP NetWeaver is a web-based, open integration and application platform that serves as the foundation for enterprise service-oriented architecture (enterprise SOA) and allows the integration and alignment of people, information, and business processes across business and technology boundaries. It utilizes open standards to enable integration with information and applications from almost any source or technology. SAP NetWeaver is the foundation of SAP xApps and mySAP Business Suite solutions, and also powers partner solutions and customer custom-built applications.

Purpose of XI

SAP Exchange Infrastructure (SAP XI) is SAP's enterprise application integration (EAI) software, a component of the NetWeaver product group used to facilitate the exchange of information among a company's internal software and systems and those of external parties. Like other NetWeaver components, SAP XI is compatible with software products of other companies.

SAP calls XI an integration broker because it mediates between entities with varying requirements in terms of connectivity, format, and protocols. According to SAP, XI reduces integration costs by providing a common repository for interfaces. The central component of SAP XI is the SAP Integration Server, which facilitates interaction between diverse operating systems and applications across internal and external networked computer systems.

SAP Exchange Infrastructure (SAP XI) enables you to implement cross-system processes. It enables you to connect systems from different vendors (non-SAP and SAP) in different versions and implemented in different programming languages (Java, ABAP, and so on) to each other. SAP Exchange Infrastructure is based on an open architecture, uses open standards (in particular those from the XML and Java environments) and offers those services that are essential in a heterogeneous and complex system landscape:

● Modeling and design of messages, transformations, and cross-component integration processes

● Configuration options for managing collaborative processes and message flow

● Runtime for message and process management

● Adapter Engine for integrating heterogeneous system components

● Central monitoring for monitoring message flow and processes

SAP XI supports internal company scenarios and cross-company scenarios.

Salient features of XI

XI is a middleware like many others. It is well suited for connecting SAP systems with each other and with non-SAP. If your focus is not on SAP systems, other solutions might be a better choice today. SAP XI provides an integrated workflow engine that allows to define adapters to non-XML-protocols and mappings to convert data content from source to target.

Any fully mature middleware should provide these three layers.

1. An independent Message Queue

2. A data consolidator and mapping engine

3. Workflow processor.

XI is lacking full-fledged Message Queue compared to other established Middleware products.

Currently, SAP XI does not have the features like IBM Websphere, Seeburger or TIBCO.

SAP's next XI release might provide this missing piece and many more features which is due 2007 i guess.

Here are the advantages of SAP XI from my point of view.There are lots of advantages but to list a few :

• Easy Integration with SAP products & components (RFC, IDOC, Proxy).

• Data security as expected from any SAP product.

• Standards based - XML, XSD, Xpath etc

• Ability to communicate with other messaging systems/products.

• Business Process Management

• Synchronous & Asynchronous communication possible.

• Complex processes for communication possible instead of only sending and receiving (business process management) (connect e.g. asynchronous and synchronous steps, define complex communication scenarios)

• Mapping etc possible to accomplish in Java. Platform independent Java components.

• Java & .Net support.

• Big range of adapters for different technologies / tools (SOAP, Mail, JDBC, CDIX...) available in standard or offered by other companies (EDI e.g. by Seeburger).

• Process functionalities inside XI to modify content in the communication channel on own defined rules for business purposes.

• Central monitoring for data communication for all your communication between different systems.

• And the marketing issue: SAP and its partners provide high volume of development capabilities to make XI always up-to-date for new requirements

Also Refer

http://searchsap.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid21_gci1008087,00.html

https://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/sdn/xi-elearning
https://www.sap.com/platform/netweaver/pdf/BWP_SB_ExchangeInfrastructure.pdf

regards,
srinivas

*reward for useful answers*</b>

[former_member189387]

Hi ,

Diffrent Thoughts from Diffrent People

<b>Advantages of XI</b>

There are lots of advantages. To list a few :

• Easy Integration with SAP products & components (RFC, IDOC, Proxy).

• Data security as expected from any SAP product.

• Standards based - XML, XSD, Xpath etc

• Ability to communicate with other messaging systems/products.

• Business Process Management ( ccBPM)

• Synchronous & Asynchronous communication possible.

• Complex processes for communication possible instead of only sending and receiving (business process management) (connect e.g. asynchronous and synchronous steps, define complex communication scenarios)

• Mapping etc possible to accomplish in Java. Platform independent Java components.

• Java & .Net support.

• Big range of adapters for different technologies / tools (SOAP, Mail, JDBC, CDIX...)available in standard or offered by other companies (EDI e.g. by Seeburger).

• Process functionalities inside XI to modify content in the communication channel on own defined rules fpr business purposes.

• Central monitoring for data communication for all your communication between different systems.

• And the marketing issue: SAP and its partners provide high volume of development capabilities to make XI always up-to-date for new requirements

<b>

*it avoids the Point to Point communication</b>

point to point means that you're not using middleware (like XI)

to create, maintain and monitor all of your interfaces

from one place that's all

with XI you do everything in one place right?

with point to point you have to do mappings etc

at every application (at every end)

But you can centralize all your configurations in one place. So XI is a Centarlized Integration Platform. Think XI is an EAI Tool .

>>>>So whats the Major difference you see or whats the advantage of using an XI?

let's say we have 20 big systems (so 20 specialists)

if they want to connect with point to point

they all have to talk with each other

with middleware (like XI) they only talk with "one" XI guy

and they don't care about any other systems

they know that XI guy asks them to provide some data and they don't care what he does with it...

it the same with development & maintanaince

and what happens in one interface fails ?

which one is it? who is responsible for it?

do we have to employ 20 people to monitor them?

no we just have on XI guy admin who monitors everything

and he knows what's going on with every interface

when you're working with a company that has many interafces you will see it

<b>** assign ponis if helpful</b>

Best Regards.,

V.Rangarajan

[Former Member]

XI is a EAI (Enterprise Application Integration ) tool . It means it is used to integrate two disparate system..

with landscape of firms getting complex with requirement.. like oracle ,sap operation in same firm... integration become important...

even if a company is distributed among different country then there arise a need to keep all the system integrated and in sync..

to solve this problem we use integration tool or what is called as middleware...

like TIBCO , WebMethod , Webpshere,, SAP XI ...

in SAP XI we have different type of adapter which can understand different type of systems like JDBC adapter for oracle, JDBC adapter for websphere messaging system...

so if you want that you need to transfer data from your legacy system to Oracle and then you can put your files in websphere MQ . SAP XI will pickup the files using JMS adapter and on receiver side it will insert the data into oracle using JDBC adapter...

[Former Member]

Hi

XI is an integration technology and platform.You can think of it as any other EAI (Enterprise Application Integration) tool.

All Scenarios in SDN are real time only.

For the real time sceanrios:

Real World Scenarios of SAP XI

https://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/servlet/prt/portal/prtroot/docs/media/uuid/0

b95b488-0701-0010-57b9-e861b1ad572f

Books from SAP PRESS

http://www.sap-press.de/international?GalileoSession=97477303A3.xx-M0Y78

This will be really helpful for you.

Use this video by choosing the bit rate according to your NET speed

Real World Scenarios of SAP XI

https://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/servlet/prt/portal/prtroot/docs/media/uuid/0b95b488-0701-0010-57b9-e861b...

Thanks

[Shabarish_Nair]

<i>What is the use of Xi? </i>

>>>>

http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw04/helpdata/en/0f/80243b4a66ae0ce10000000a11402f/content.htm

<i>Tell me how it is used in real time?</i>

>>>

you cud start of with this series;

/people/sravya.talanki2/blog/2006/12/25/aspirant-to-learn-sap-xiyou-won-the-jackpot-if-you-read-this-part-i

/people/sravya.talanki2/blog/2006/12/26/aspirant-to-learn-sap-xiyou-won-the-jackpot-if-you-read-this-part-ii

/people/sravya.talanki2/blog/2006/12/27/aspirant-to-learn-sap-xiyou-won-the-jackpot-if-you-read-this-part-iii