Relations between SAP AII, ONS, PML and Savant???

[Former Member]

The EPCGlobal provides a standard EPC-Network containing the EPC-Code and infrastruture-components like the RFID-Tag and -Reader, the ONS-Server, the PML-Server and a RFID-Middleware called Savant.

On the one hand I found a couple of articles where the SAP Auto-Id Infrastructure (SAP AII) is said to be a "RFID-Middleware". On the other hand I found a lot of presentation sheets with illustrations of the SAP AII architecture where the SAP AII is connected to Savant by the device controller and to the ONS/PML Servers by SAP XI.

Can anybody inform me about the relationship between the SAP AII, the ONS/PML Servers and Savant? Is the SAP AII a substitute for Savant? Which component of the SAP Auto-ID Infrastructure asks the ONS-Server for the URL to a PML Server where further information about an object which is identified by the EPC code are located? Are product information stored on a PML-Server anyway? Or are information only stored in the ERP-Backendsystem?

Thank you for your reply.

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

hi.Dirk

1)SAP AII is a "RFID-Middleware", but mostly it is a RFID Middleware for business process. It focus on business more than RFID readers. So it is not a RFID Reader manager(Device connector, or something like that)

2)Savant is a specification or a product release by EPC global. You can download the savant specification on EPC global .

http://www.epcglobalinc.org/about/AutoID_Archive/documents/6_auto_id_savant-1_0.pdf

Savant is also a product, many company IBM, SUN make their RFID Middleware follow the EPC savant specification. And also EPC has a RFID-Middleware call savant.

Savant is design to manager RFID readers, filter RFID tag information, and log events.

3)The relation between AII and savant is they are on the diferrent layer of RFID Middleware, they should be work together.

4)ONS is another EPC RFID issue, it is design to record RFID tag data. On EPC's idea, all the data about RFID tag should be record on ONS server. I do not know if it will come true in the future.

5) On SAP solution, Most of the data is still stored in SAP backend-system(R3,SCM,BW......), and information about RFID, e.g. RFID tag, RFID device, tag event is stored in SAP AII. And you can use BW in AII, if mass data is generated.

6) PML is just a RFID XML.

Regards

Sheng

[MichalKrawczyk · Accepted solution]

Hi Sheng,

>>>> 4)ONS is another EPC RFID issue, it is design to record RFID tag data. On EPC's idea, all the data about RFID tag should be record on ONS server.

ONS is not designed for storing data about RFID tags

it's designed to point to databases where the data is stored (like PML files)... at least that's the idea of EPCglobal (former auto-id center)

ONS is almost like DNS with a few exceptions:)

I'll try to write a weblog about the ONS at the weekend as I'm only starting with AII and don't have much practical knowledge,

I only know how this should be in the theory...

Regards,

michal

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

hi,Michal Krawczyk

You are right.:)

Regards

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Hi all,

Just for a point of clarification. "Savant" is actually an older EPCglobal definition. There is no longer discussion about PML or PML servers. Savant was a middleware component defined by the Auto-ID Center. Since EPCglobal as a standardization organization rightly decided not to standardize software, but instead interfaces, Savant has also disappeared from the discussion. The Savant used to be a middleware that was equivalent to a Device Controller, that's why you see in on some SAP slides in parallel to the Device Controller. The Savant controlled both physical readers and it also did some filtering and aggregation of the data.

Regarding the actual application naming conventions, EPCglobal now uses the terms "Filtering and Collection", "EPCIS Capturing Application", "EPCIS Repository", "EPCIS Accessing Application", "Local ONS", and "ONS Root". SAP AII performs plays the role of the "EPCIS Capturing Application" functions while the overall SAP RFID solution does/will encompass the "EPCIS Capturing Application (Aii), "EPCIS Repository (TBA but now mostly BI), "EPCIS Accessing Application" (could be several apps such as Event Management, BI, Event Resolution, etc..), and the "local ONS" (TBA).

[Former Member]

Hi at all.

Thank you for answering.

I found a EPC-Framework-Paper at EPCglobal describing your helpful answers in detail.

Regards.