Components of the SAP Exchange Infrastructure

In the System Landscape Directory , system landscapes are mapped, that is, the different systems are defined with which the business processes are handled.  In the Integration Repository a description of all required interfaces is entered in the design phase, irrespective of the platform. Based on this description, a mapping has to be defined in the Integration Repository if the structure and format of the data to be exchanged are not suitable. So far, this does not affect the systems and processes.  In a configuration phase, the data types, message types, interfaces and mappings that are defined in the Integration Repository are then selected and assigned to each other based on the system infrastructure and business processes in question (Technical and Logical Routing). The result is stored in the Integration Directory.  The application specific contents are transferred from the sender to the receiver by means of messages in a freely-definable XML schema. The interface used (IDoc, file, database...) by the data structures determines the structure of the message. At runtime, the Integration Engine of the Integration Server analyzes the configuration of incoming messages in the Integration Directory. Based on the data available there, it determines the recipient(s) of the message, maps the incoming message to the interface structure of the recipient and forwards it. The Integration Server is thus the central communication and distribution machine for XML messages.