SAP Application Interface Framework

Product Information

Product	SAP Application Interface Framework
Release	2.0
Based On	SAP NetWeaver
Last Documentation Update	July 2015 (Support Package 09)

Use

The SAP Application Interface Framework enables you to develop and monitor interfaces as well as execute error handling in a single framework residing in your SAP back end system.

Possible sources of demand for the SAP Application Interface Framework are:

You have a complex, heterogeneous system landscape using the SAP NetWeaver PI
You want to decouple technical and business aspects of your interfaces, thus enabling business users to perform error handling
You experience difficulties in enforcing interface implementation guidelines

To achieve the goal of reducing the time and costs for implementing and maintaining interfaces, the SAP Application Interface Framework enables you to:

Do functional instead of technical monitoring
Enhance data quality as a result of business users' ability to correct errors within related applications
Restrict interface data and error monitor access by flexible authorization rules
Enforce interface implementation guidelines
Perform mass error handling

Features

The SAP Application Interface Framework provides you with the following functions:

For business users:
- Automatic alerts that notify business users to errors
- User-friendly transactions for interface monitoring, error handling, and the correction of errors directly from within the application system
- Both SAP GUI and Web-based user interfaces
- Use of a single tool for monitoring and handling of messages regardless of the interface technology involved
For more information about the SAP Application Interface Framework functions, for example, interface monitoring and error handling, see SAP Application Interface Framework for Business Users.

For IT personnel:
- A powerful framework for the implementation of interfaces
- A customizable interface framework for the generation and reuse of interface building blocks over multiple interfaces
- Flexible authorization rules to restrict access to data and to monitoring and error handling
- Tools for system configuration and operation
- Monitors interfaces with different interface technologies, for example, ABAP proxies and IDocs
For more information, see SAP Application Interface Framework for IT Personnel.

Implementation Considerations

The SAP Application Interface Framework is based on SAP NetWeaver technology. You can implement the SAP Application Interface Framework as an add-on based on SAP NetWeaver.

Integration

This graphic is explained in the accompanying text.

System Landscape

As is shown in the system landscape graphic above, the integration scenario for the SAP Application Interface Framework involves at least a legacy system and an SAP back end system that contains the SAP Application Interface Framework.

In your business processes, the legacy system can act as a sender or receiver of data. The SAP Application Interface Framework supports business users in monitoring interfaces with different interface technologies, for example, ABAP proxies and IDocs. In one scenario, for example, the legacy system exchanges data first with the NetWeaver PI, which acts as a data broker. In another scenario, the legacy system exchanges data in the form of IDocs with the SAP back end system.

This graphic is explained in the accompanying text.

System Architecture

The system architecture graphic above shows the SAP Application Interface Framework in detail in the SAP application system. Data is exchanged, for example, with IDocs or between the SAP NetWeaver PI and the Proxy Framework in the SAP application system. The SAP Application Interface Framework uses structure mapping and value mapping to map the data from the source structure to the destination structure. Checks are used to verify the validity of the data. Actions handle the execution of your business processes in the SAP application system by calling standard functions, customer functions, or BAPIs. These processing blocks contain the actual business transaction logic and can access the data in the SAP standard.

Errors that occur while processing a message in the SAP Application Interface Framework, for example, if a check does not succeed or if a value mapping fails, are written to the application log. Application log messages are loaded into the Monitoring and Error Handling transaction and support the authorized business user in solving errors. Additionally, you can configure the system to send alerts to users, if certain errors occur during message processing.

Activities

You can access the menu of the SAP Application Interface Framework in the following ways:

SAP GUI (SAP NetWeaver 7.0)
- Use transaction code /AIF/
  Only the SAP Application Interface Framework menu is displayed.
- In the SAP Easy Access menu, choose Cross Application Components SAP Application Interface Framework .
Web-based UI (SAP NetWeaver 7.31)
In the SAP Easy Access menu, choose Cross Application Components SAP Application Interface Framework Monitoring and Error Handling (Web) .

You can access Customizing for the SAP Application Interface Framework in the following ways:

Use transaction code /AIF/CUST
Only Customizing for SAP Application Interface Framework is displayed.
In the SAP Easy Access menu, choose Cross Application Components SAP Application Interface Framework Administration Configuration Customizing .

More Information

For more information about system integration scenarios, see Software Components for SAP Application Interface Framework.

For more information about the technologies supported by the SAP Application Interface Framework, see Technology Support.

For more information about individual Customizing activities, for example, Define Interfaces and Define Actions, see the corresponding Customizing documentation.