This chapter describes the ALE (Application Link Enabling) Module of the
IBM WebSphere Business Integration Adapter for mySAP.com (SAP R/3
Version 4.x) The ALE Module allows an integration broker to send
business objects to and receive events from SAP R/3 application version
3.1H or 3.1I.
ALE is an SAP interface that allows systems to communicate asynchronously
with the R/3 system:
- The integration broker sends a WebSphere Business Integration Adapter
business object for SAP. The business object's data represents a
processing request to the connector. The connector converts the
business object to a table format compatible with the SAP Intermediate
Document (IDoc) format. In other words, the connector converts the data
to IDoc format of the desired function module interface. The connector
uses Remote Function Calls (RFCs) to the ALE interface to pass the IDoc data
to the SAP R/3 system.
- The connector receives data representing an application event from SAP in
IDoc table format. It converts the data to a WebSphere Business
Integration Adapter business object for SAP before sending it to the
integration broker. The connector uses RFCs to the ALE Module to
receive the data from the ALE interface.
- Important:
- In releases of the connector prior to version 4.8.x, the
connector used collaborations, business objects, and maps to store Transaction
IDs (TIDs) and their status in the repository, and used the local file system
to store IDoc data. Version 4.8.x of the connector
replaces the previous management of TIDs and IDoc data with the use of
MQSeries queues.
- Note:
- Because the ALE Module uses asynchronous communication, it cannot be used
when cross-referencing is required.
