Designing Integration Scenarios Application Component

Definition

An application component is a modeling construct within an integration scenario. From a logical point of view, it represents a participant of an integration scenario. This contains the business tasks and concerns that this participant represents within the integration scenario.

An application component can stand for a business partner or a component of a business partner. At runtime it would be either one or more business systems or an integration process.

Structure

A product determines the tasks of an application component. Products are versioned. SAP APO 3.0A and SAP R/3 4.6C are examples of product versions. For further information about product versions, see Product Versions and Software Component Versions below.

The product of an application component can be any of the following:

· A product defined in the System Landscape Directory

· A main instance defined in the System Landscape Directory

· A template product when no corresponding product is defined in the System Landscape Directory or it is not specified in more detail at the time of design

With the latter you have the option of producing an integration scenario, the implementation of which is unknown or is not defined in the System Landscape Directory (for example, for non-SAP products).

Furthermore, application components are described by specifying a role. This role helps to specify the range of tasks of the application component on a business level. Examples of roles of different business partners are customers and vendors.

Application components are shown as colored columns in the integration scenario editor. Integration processes that are assigned to application components are indicated by the icon in the header of the application component.

Integration

Product Versions, Main Instances, and Software Component Versions

Product versions, main instances, and software component versions are defined in the System Landscape Directory. They play a central role in the definition of integration scenarios and are therefore explained briefly below:

Product versions are software units that can be installed on your system and that run independently of other software (for example: SAP R/3 4.6C). Product versions generally comprise multiple software component versions. Software component versions are independent development units at SAP that cannot function on their own and are not shipped as such (examples: SAP BASIS 4.6C, SAP APPL 4.6C, SAP HR 4.6C).

A main instance is a group of technically interdependent software component versions, which are all installed and run on one server. A main instance represents the smallest non-divisible unit within a system landscape.

In exceptional cases, a main instance may comprise a single software component version if this software component version is not dependent on any other software component technically.