Overview of ALE-IDOCs

Last modified by: Bunty Jain – SAP ABAP, Delhi, India, IT SAP Training seekbuntyjain@gmail.com
Application Linking
And Enabling

Last modified by: Bunty Jain – SAP ABAP, Delhi, India, IT SAP Training
seekbuntyjain@gmail.com
 Distributed Process
An introduction

Last modified by: Bunty Jain – SAP ABAP, Delhi, India, IT SAP Training seekbuntyjain@gmail.com
Distributed Process.

When a part of a business process is conducted in one

system and another part of the same business
process in another system, such procedure is termed
as a distributed process.

Last modified by: Bunty Jain – SAP ABAP, Delhi, India, IT SAP Training seekbuntyjain@gmail.com
Why a distributed process ?
Reasons for Distributed Process

 Geographical Location
 Consolidation
 System Capacity
 Critical Applications
 No coding required (Only
configuration)
 Separate upgrade of Modules
 Data Security
What SAP wanted for its
distribution solutions.
 What SAP wanted for its distribution solutions.

 A system that understands the syntax and semantics of

data.
 To base distribution of data on business rules and not on
data replication techniques.
 Distributed systems should maintain their autonomy
while being integrated as one logical system.
 Distributed systems should handle different data models.
 Sending and receiving systems should handle their own
problems and not tie up with each other.
 Distribution process should continue inspite of network
failures.
 SAP’s solution for its
distribution requirements :

Application Linking & Enabling.

 Application Linking & Enabling.

SAP introduced ALE to to support a distributed yet

integrated environment.
ALE allows for efficient and reliable communication
between distributed processes across physically
separate systems.
ALE is based on application to application integration
using message control architecture.
 Application Linking & Enabling.

Features
ALE is not based on any data replication technique.
ALE architecture is independent of participating systems.
This allows SAP to allow SAP to Non-SAP communication
also.
This allows third party applications to integrate with SAP
using ALE at data distribution level.
IDOCs constitute a major component of ALE.
Release upgrades are supported by ALE.
Provisions of the standard system for ALE

Pre-configured Master Data Scenarios

Several master data objects in SAP have been enabled

for ALE.
Master data is the critical information that needs to be
shared between several applications in a company.
ALE is used to transfer both master & transactional
data
 ALE
Technology and
Components
 IDOC
• The term IDOC stands for Intermediate document. It is
simply a data container used to exchange information
between any two process. That can understand the
syntax and semantics of the data.
• IDOC’s are made using the segments
• IDOC’s are stored in the data base
• Every IDOC has unique number
• An IDOC is attached to a message type and identified by
its message type
• IDOC consists of three types of records
– One control record
– One or many data records
– One or many status records.
• Control Record:
A control record contains all of the control information about an IDOC,
 Sender and receiver information
 port
 partner type
 Message type it represents
 Its direction
 Idoc Type

• Data Record
In an IDOC the data record contains the application data.

• Status Record
Status records are attached to an IDOC throughout the process as the
IDOC achieves different milestones or encounter an error. At every
milestone a status code, date and time are assigned.
The system defines numerous status code,
 0 – 49 are reserved for outbound process

 50 and above are reserved for inbound process

 ALE Customizing
• distribution model:
Standard Message types: IDoc types (depends on scenario):
MATMAS (for material) MATMAS05
CREMAS (for vendor) CREMAS05
DEBMAS (for customer) DEBMAS06
ORDERS - Purchase order ORDERS05
ORDRSP - Order confirmation ORDRSP05

• Complete documentation on IDOC is obtained by using transaction WE60.

Idoc type is subdivided into so many segments.

Each segment will have one or more fields. Group

functionally related fields into segments. Then use
segments to create the IDOC.

Structure description
MATMAS05 Material master
E1MARAM General data
E1MAKTM Short text
E1MARMM Unit of measure
E1MARCM Plant data

Field list E1MARAM

_ MATNR Material no.
_ MTART Material type
_ MBRSH Industry sector
_ MATKL Material group
_ WRKST Basic material
...
IDOC Structure as seen in transaction WE02
Control Record
 Steps in ALE
• The basic settings for the IDOC interface must be
maintained once on each system involved in distributed
process

• Basic settings for IDOCs

1.Maintaining logical system (BD54)

2.Assigning logical system to the client (SCC4)
3.Setting up an RFC destination (SM59)
4.The port definition (WE21)
5.Maintain the distribution model (BD64)
6.Create a partner profile (WE20)
 Configuring the ALE Infrastructure
1. Maintaining logical system – Transaction ‘SALE’
 Configuring the ALE Infrastructure
1. Maintaining logical system
 Configuring the ALE Infrastructure
2. Allocating logical system to the client – Transaction
‘SALE’
 Configuring the ALE Infrastructure
2. Allocating logical system to the client – Transaction ‘SALE
 Configuring the ALE Infrastructure
3. Setting up an RFC destination – Transaction ‘SM59’

Transaction
SM51 to
Identify the
Target Host
of remote
system
 Configuring the ALE Infrastructure
4. The Port definition – Transaction ‘WE21’
 Configuring the ALE
Infrastructure
5. Maintaining the distribution model – Transaction ‘BD64’
 Configuring the ALE Infrastructure
6. Create the partner profile – Transaction ‘WE20’
Configuring the ALE Infrastructure
Partner profile : outbound parameters
 Configuring the ALE Infrastructure
Partner profile : Inbound parameters
• We can also create Custom Idoc.

Important Tcodes

Configuring the outbound process

 Create the segments – Transaction (WE31)
 Create the basic IDOC type Transaction (WE30)
 Create the new message type (WE81)
 Link the IDOC type to the message type (WE82)
 Add the message to the ALE distribution model (BD64)
 Create the partner profile (WE20)

Configuring the inbound process

 Create the new message type (WE81)
 Link the IDOC type to the message type (WE82)
 Allocate the function module to the logical message (WE57)
 Define the attributes for the inbound function module (BD51)
 Create new process code (WE42)
 Assign the process code to the function module (WE42)
 Create the partner profile (WE20)

Last modified by: Bunty Jain – SAP ABAP, Delhi, India, IT SAP Training seekbuntyjain@gmail.com
 Thank You

Last modified by: Bunty Jain – SAP ABAP, Delhi, India, IT SAP Training seekbuntyjain@gmail.com