Explaining the SAP Process Integration Designer

SAP NetWeaver Developer Studio is a client-side tool that must be set up with server connections in order to create and deploy iFlows, as well as other necessary design objects and related artifacts. The essential activities to be performed include connecting the SAP Process Integration (PI) Tools configuration to the SAP Process Orchestration (PO) server and setting up the Web service connection to the Enterprise Services Repository (ES Repository).

The SAP PI Tools configuration provides the connectivity necessary with the Application Server for Java (AS Java) for creating, configuring, and deploying iFlows, and repository objects. When connected to the AS Java, the following four perspectives exist, via which the different development activities are performed:

• ES Repository Perspective

  This perspective allows you to create repository related objects, such as inter- face objects, mapping objects, and namespaces. It supports the import of software component versions (SWCVs) that have been created in the SLD. Most functions that could be performed by the Enterprise Service Builder are supported.

• SAP PI Administration Perspective

  Two types of objects can be created from this perspective: iFlows and communication components (systems). This same perspective is used to deploy iFlows after they have been created.

• SAP PI Runtime Perspective

  This perspective provides a detailed overview of all runtime-related activities for iFlows. In addition, this perspective allows the status of each iFlow to be retrieved and monitored.

• SAP PI Designer Perspective


  This perspective makes it possible to work with the repository and directory objectives concurrently. When in this perspective, you can switch to the PI Explorer tab to create iFlows or switch to the Enterprise Service Browser tab to create repository objects.

Integration specialists use integration patterns as design and implementation guides; these patterns help classify and develop integration solutions. Integration patterns are very popular among integration specialists and are widely used by various platforms. There exist different integration patterns that support various business processes, and iFlows support a number of standard integration patterns by default. It is also possible to create your own user-defined template that can be reused. The following custom enterprise integration patterns are available in SAP NetWeaver Developer Studio for creating iFlows:

• Point-to-point


  A point-to-point channel ensures that messages are sent to one receiver only.

• Recipient list

  A recipient list allows you to specify one or more recipients. This message router examines the incoming message and routes it to one or more different receiver channels specified on the recipient list.

• Message translator


  A message translator converts the data structure of a component into another data structure to use in a different context.

• Recipient list (dynamic conditions)


  A recipient with dynamic conditions uses a mapping program to dynamically determine a target receiver and routes the incoming messages to the identified receiver system.

The figure, Patterns for iFlow Supported by NWDS, displays a screenshot of the integration pattern options available in the SAP PI Designer perspective of the SAP NetWeaver Developer Studio (NWDS).

iFlows are the equivalent of the traditional Integration Configurations (ICOs) created in the Integration Builder tool of SAP PI or SAP PO. When an iFlow is created and deployed, an ICO is also automatically generated in SAP PI and SAP PO as one of the directory objects. This is because iFlows and ICOs share the same database. 


We already learned how to configure interfaces using the ICO, which can be built from the Integration Directory (Java Web Start or Swing client). The SAP NWDS tool is gaining popularity and becomes the tool of choice for performing various development tasks within the SAP NetWeaver platform. As a result, SAP has also made it possible to develop ICO like configurations from SAP NWDS. These configurations are known as Integration Flows (iFlows).

iFlows are built on BPMN like artifacts. This type of artifact gives a good overview of systems and components involved in end-to-end messaging and connectivity. It also presents an insight into the architecture of the process flow. Even though they are developed from SAP NetWeaver Developer Studio, an iFlow plays the same role as an ICO, and invariably iFlows provide an alternative to ICOs. The use of SAP NetWeaver Developer Studio for designing, configuring, and deploying iFlows presents a unique and simplified way of working in the SAP PO platform. Enhanced capabilities of SAP NetWeaver Developer Studio (for example, as a unified IDE tool for designing, configuring, and deploying iFlows, SAP BPM, SAP BRM, EJBs and related projects) presents a new approach to working with composite services.

SAP NWDS supports the creation of both SAP PO ES Repository and Integration Directory (ID) objects. These objects are used for end-to-end messaging via the middleware layer without the use of the Enterprise Service Builder and Integration Builder Java clients (swing GUI tools).

The SAP NetWeaver Developer Studio was already used by you as the development tool for SAP BPM, SAP BRM, and many other SAP technologies.