SAP R/3 Glossary

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Information Technology has many key words and SAP R/3 has introduced many others. In order to understand even better this field you should keep in mind those terms.

• ALE (Application Link Enabling)
  It provides integration for separate R/3 systems, keeping full interaction. This makes possible distributed enterprise applications.
  
  
• Application server
  The application server is used to run the business application programs in the R/3 client/server concept. The application modules are loaded from the data base server to the application server as required. Thus the application server requires only storage capacity to accommodate UNIX, Swapping and the SAP runtime environment.
  
  
• BAPI (Business Application Programming Interface)
  It is a business level interface into SAP Business Components that provides stable communication with other softwares irrespective of the programming languages and communication mechanisms used.
  
  
• Batch Input
  A technique to input data safely. It ensures application data integrity for background interfaces. It pretends to be someone typing. See also direct input.
  
  
• CATT (Computer Aided Test Tool)
  It allows you to combine and automate sequences of repeatable transactions in test procedures. CATT reduces the number of manual tests, and forces you to test systematically, defining input values and expected test results.
  
  
• CCMS (Computer Center Management System)
  It allows you to monitor, control and configure your R/3 system. This toolset lets you analyze and distribute client workloads and report on resource consumption for system components.
  
  
• Central System
  In an R/3 central system, both application and data base software are run on one computer.
  
  
• Client
  In commercial, organizational and technical terms, a self-contained unit in an R/3 system with separate master records and its owns set of tables.
  
  
• Client/Server System
  Client/server systems are structured modularly, with components working in a sender/receiver relationship. Software components can also be used in a client/server relationship.
  
  
• Communication Server
  It provides the connection between local area and wide area networks and may be either a router, a bridge or a gateway. In R/3 installations, the communication server must support the TCP/IP protocol over wide area networks.
  
  
• Company code
  The smallest organizational unit for which a complete self-contained set of accounts can be drawn up for purposes of external reporting. This involves recording all relevant transactions and generating all supporting documents for legally-required financial statements, such as balance sheets and profit and loss statements.
  
  
• Computer type
  The R/3 system supports various computer types of SAP's platform partners, such as Bull, DEC, IBM and HP. The suitability of a particular computer type depends on sufficient CPU performance.
  
  
• CPI-C (Common Programming Interface-Communications)
  Common Programming Interface of Communication has been introduced by IBM as a high-level interface to SNA/LU6-2. CPI-C has become the subject of the X/Open stardarlization and is used by SAP to facilitate program-to-program communication between R/3 and external system. SAP offers CPI-C libraries based on TCP/IP.
  
  
• Correction
  It contains all the objects that a developer has changed or created. It also controls customizing that has been maintained.
  
  
• CSP
  A system to help SAP employees to give comprehensive support to their clients.
  
  
• Data base server
  The data base server stores the SAP application programs and data in the R/3 client/server concept. It also handles the SAP update program and batch jobs.
  
  
• Direct Input
  A recent technique to input data safely. It ensures application data integrity for background interfaces. See also batch input.
  
  
• Dispatcher
  The system R/3 agent that identifies the type of task (on-line, update, batch, etc.) and sends the job to an idle work process.
  
  
• EarlyWatch
  It is a service that entails having your R/3 installation regularly inspected by SAP employees, in other to ensure high system availability and high data throughput at all time.
  
  
• Ethernet
  It is a LAN architecture using bus topology. The transmission speed is 10 MBit/s.
  
  
• FDDI (Fiber Distributed Data Interchange)
  It is a local high-speed network with ring topology based on light wave conductors. The transmission speed is 100 MBit/s.
  
  
• Field status
  Indicator that specifies whether a field can take an entry in the entry screen or if it must be filled.
  
  
• Firewall
  It is a mean of controlling access through a public network to a private network.
  
  
• Frame Relay
  They are packet switching networks offered primarily in North America. They work with significantly less overhead information. Higher protocol levels maintain the data integrity.
  
  
• FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
  It is the most commonly used file transmission protocol of the TCP/IP protocol family.
  
  
• GUI (Graphic User Interface)
  A graphical interface used by SAP environment as part of the three tiers. It is normally called user frontend.
  
  
• IDES (International Demonstration and Education System)
  It is a model of an international firm. It is a separate demonstration and education system for speeding up the pilot process.
  
  
• IMG (Implementation Management Guide)
  It is a hierarchical structure that reflects the R/3 component hierarchy and contains every configuration activity. Released from version 3.0 onwards.
  
  
• Instance
  It means application server and each one has its own set of work processes.
  
  
• IDoc (Intermediate Document)
  An IDoc is a data container for data exchange between SAP systems or between an SAP system and an external system.
  
  
• IP address
  Computers in the global Internet have an unique worldwide name. It is called IP address. Generally, an IP address is represented as a sequence of four numbers separated by a period.
  
  
• ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network)
  It is a communication service offered by local phone companies. It may probably replace the current analog telephone lines.
  
  
• ITS (Internet Transaction Server)
  It links the R/3 application server with one or more Web servers, thus enabling the R/3 to communicate with the Internet.
  
  
• Kernel
  It means a standard core previously configured. A set of default parameters delivered with the system.
  
  
• LAN (Local Area Network)
  It is a network foa a tightly limited area with high level data transmission performance. Common LANs include Ethernet, Token Ring and FDDI. These LANs support different transport protocols, such as TCP/IP and IPX.
  
  
• Matchcode
  A tool for finding specific record. It is made up of search terms. It is used to find possible entries for an input field.
  
  
• Number range
  A range of numbers that are laid down per file for the assignment of document numbers. It can be internal (carried out automatically by the system) or external (carried out manually by the user).
  
  
• OLE
  It is a technique introduced by Microsoft to incorporate objects of one application into another.
  
  
• OSS (Online Service System)
  SAP's Online Service System offers fast and effective help for R/3 System problems. It is also the basic element of communications between customers, partners, and SAP.
  
  
• Repair
  It contains all the objects that a developer has changed but the originals of the objects are located in another system.
  
  
• RFC (Remote Function Call)
  A way to implement communication between application programs via Abap/4 function call.
  
  
• Router
  Routers are special transmission devices for connecting various logical and physical LAN/WAN networks. They contain address tables to control the incoming data packets.
  
  
• Semaphores
  When a work process locks a resource, it sets a semaphore. Another work process that also wants to access it must then wait.
  
  
• SysID
  A set of three letters or number that identify a system. Some sets are not allowed because they are used by SAP. They are informed when the system is installed.
  
  
• TCP/IP
  It is the most widely used transport protocol for open systems. R/3 clients and servers communicate using TCP/IP.
  
  
• Telnet
  It provides terminal access to hosts using TCP/IP protocol. It is a well-known command among Systems Administrators.
  
  
• Token Ring
  It is a LAN architecture with ring topology. The transmission speed is 4 MBit/s or 16 MBit/s. This involves a 'free token' which circles the loop picking up transmissions. The receiver station places a confirmation bit into the busy token. As soon as the busy token reaches the sender station again, it is converted back to a free token and sent on to the next station.
  
  
• Transport
  It is a request to transport objects from the software development environment, identified as the source system, to the specified target system.
  
  
• WAN (Wide Area Networks)
  They are normally operated either by the telephone company or by private companies that offer leased lines, switched lines or packet lines.
  
  
• Work process
  Work processes perform the bulk of the processing carried out by SAP systems. They perform dialog steps in user transactions and carry out updates, lock management, printing services, and so on.
  
  
• Workbench
  The ABAP/4 Workbench, a graphical programming environment, is used to create application programs. The programming tools are accessed using buttons, dialogs and windows.
  
  
• Workflow
  It consists of time and logical sequence of work items, which are precessed by human agents or mechanical processing units.
  
  
• X.25
  It is a standardized network access protocol for the packet switching network. The maximum transmission speed is 64 KBit/s. Access to this network is normally provided by public telephone companies. Private network providers can also enable access to this network.

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Copyright © 1997-2001 by Ricardo F Miranda
Last modified in December 22, 1998.