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SAP moves to Netweaver
In the past, in the mainframe days, you had a very, very organized world. There was a mainframe on it and there was some application. In those days you could buy everything from one company - it was usually IBM - and it was pretty well tightly integrated, as it didn't need to integrate with anything other than what it had on the system itself. And over the years we saw more and more pieces coming on this thing. As the world opened up you had more applications on your mainframe and it became a bit more complex and the issues of integration became critical. Another issue showed up, and in the early "90s, 1993, we introduced R/3, a three-tier client server architecture - ERP coming into play and replaced the R/2. We added additional function into the R/3 to improve the completeness of the ERP system. But on the same three tier client server model, more and more SAP and no SAP applications showing up. At the big e-business push (1996-2000) with the dot.coms we saw a collection of more and more applications. As we looked at these collections, the complexity of integrating the pieces together became the highest cost in your business. This time, the new business requirements – that add to others and do not replace them – are flexibility and heterogeneity. The technology advances we can leverage to satisfy those while dramatically improving the performance of our applications (this time in terms of usability and scalability) is Web Services or more precisely Services Based Architectures. The technical enabler for these solutions is SAP NetWeaver™. SAP NetWeaver renames and significantly extends mySAP Technology, the native infrastructure for collaborative business, based on open standards that was introduced in 2001. It is the integration and application platform that allows SAP to bring all the advantages of an Enterprise Services Architecture to its customers. SAP NetWeaver is a major step forward in dealing with one of the most intractable problems facing IT organization - the question of integration. That means we are extending the existing technology and bring them to newer, higher level of technology.
SAP NetWeaver is an open platform; it is based on every one of the standards that you see today on the web service standards, the Java standards that are out there.
With Enterprise Services Architecture, we have the architecture concept that will fuel SAP's growth for the next 3 to 5 years.
SAP's Web Application Server - The Origin
The SAP Web Application Server is not a new product, but rather a continuation of of SAP’s proven Basis technology, and is the foundation for new and upcoming applications.
Because the Application Server supports Web technologies, Basis got a new name and is now called SAP Web Application Server. Since that point, the SAP Web Application Server also shipped as a stand-alone product.
Since Release 6.20, a Java engine was integrated to support J2EE technology and Web Services– the SAP Web Application Server supports openness.
With Release 6.30, the new integrated development environment (IDE) for Java – the SAP NetWeaver Developer Studio - was introduced. It includes WebDynpro – a technology for creating professional user interfaces for business applications.
With Release 6.40, the SAP Java Development Infrastructure brings the powerful SAP Software Logistic concepts to the Java world. Important enhancements for the ABAP language for less resource-consuming and improved supportability . A part of the Internet Transaction Server – SAP GUI for HTML—is embedded in the SAP Web Application Server. That lets customers run Dynpro-based applications directly – without a separate Internet Transaction Server—in the browser.
R/3 Infrastructure and Architecture
SAP GUI based on SAP DIAG protocol work with dialog work processes.
Each Application server has the Dispatcher and Work processes.
Work process Types: Dialog, spool, update, background, enqueue.
System for internal and external communications:
Message server – enables scalability and high visibility and enqueue processing(one per system)
Gateway server – enables communications between SAP systems, and between SAP and external applications.(One per dispatcher)
ICM – enables internet services.(One per dispatcher)
Net Weaver 04 Infrastructure and Architecture
Emphasize on thin client(browser based GUI interface)
Using J2EE technology
Adopt open standard for system connectivity and integration(JCA and Web Service Open SQL etc.)
Bird's Eye View of Net Weaver
Reuse of robust SAP base technology
Better integration into the classical SAP Web AS
Use a central database as configuration and application store
Use the Enqueue as reliable lock handler
Use the Message Server as message hub
Netweaver Components
SAP NetWeaver 2004 Synchronized Release as a single package
SAP WAS 6.4
SAP EP 6.0
SAP XI 3.0
SAP BW 3.5
SAP MI 2.5
(SAP MDM limited usage at this point)
All sold and shipped together and can be installed in one procedure
Still possible to run individually
Ramp up was April 2004