2.2    Implementation Options

In Chapter 1, we introduced you to different types of SAP Fiori apps (transactional, analytical, and fact sheets). In this section, we’ll discuss the different types of SAP Fiori system landscapes and the SAP Fiori apps they support. Let’s start by discussing the ABAP environment.

2.2.1    ABAP Environment

The ABAP environment supports transactional and fact sheet apps (only if the back-end is SAP HANA). The ABAP architecture consists of four layers (see Figure 2.1):

1. Client
   This is where the SAP Fiori apps are designed to run, and it serves as the access point. To run SAP Fiori apps, the runtime environment (i.e., either desktop or mobile) must support HTML5.
2. ABAP front-end server
   The ABAP front-end server holds SAP Fiori functionalities and components. All the components in this layer are leveraged to generate and run an SAP Fiori app and enable communication among the client, ABAP front-end, and ABAP back-end server. The following elements are found here:
   

   Figure 2.1    SAP Fiori System with ABAP Environment

   • SAP Business Suite (product-specific UI components): The product-specific UI add-ons are the specific UIs for the SAP Fiori apps that have been installed on the ABAP front-end server. Products here include SAP ERP, SAP Customer Relationship Management (SAP CRM), SAP Supplier Relationship Management (SAP SRM), and SAP Supply Chain Management (SAP SCM).
   • UI add-on: The common infrastructure for all SAP Fiori apps is provided by the central UI add-on components. These components contain the SAPUI5 control library and SAP Fiori launchpad.
   • SAP Gateway: SAP Gateway is the development framework in which you can create and generate OData services; it handles communication between the client and the ABAP back-end server.

UI Add-On and SAP Gateway Components

The UI add-on and SAP Gateway components are usually deployed on the same server.

• ABAP back-end server
  The ABAP back-end server contains the installed SAP Business Suite products. These products provide the business logic and back-end data, which includes the users, roles, and authorizations.
• Back-end database
  The back-end database can be any database or the SAP HANA database. SAP Fiori apps run best on SAP HANA.

Each layer contains different components that serve a clearly defined purpose.

ABAP Front-end and Back-end Components

ABAP front-end and back-end components are delivered as separate products and must be installed in a system landscape enabled for SAP Fiori.

2.2.2    SAP HANA Database

When using SAP Fiori with the SAP HANA database, the following four layers are implemented: the client, the reverse proxy, the ABAP front-end server, and the ABAP back-end server (see Figure 2.2). This architecture is like what we discussed in the previous section, so we’ll only focus on the additional new layers or components. As before, each layer contains different components, each of which has a clearly defined purpose. This type of landscape supports both transactional apps and fact sheet apps.

A reverse proxy is needed for fact sheet apps. SAP recommends using SAP Web Dispatcher as a reverse proxy server. SAP Web Dispatcher is an entry point via which connections are accepted or rejected. After a connection is established, SAP Web Dispatcher forwards the OData request to the ABAP back-end server.

In addition to the SAP Business Suite products, the ABAP back-end server contains search models. Data is pulled from SAP HANA through these search models. Therefore, when a user runs a fact sheet app, the client issues an Internet Protocol Network Administrator (INA) request for these search models using HTTPS communication.

SAP HANA is the mandatory back-end database for this type of landscape.

Figure 2.2    SAP Fiori System with SAP HANA Database

2.2.3    SAP HANA XS

SAP HANA XS architecture consists of five layers: the client, the reverse proxy, the ABAP front-end server, the ABAP back-end server, and the SAP HANA XS engine (see Figure 2.3). All three types of apps (transactional, fact sheet, and analytical) are supported in this landscape.

Figure 2.3 shows the integrated scenario, in which both the ABAP back-end server and SAP HANA XS share the same SAP HANA database. Alternatively, you can set up your landscape in a side-by-side scenario (see Figure 2.4), in which the ABAP back-end server is on any database and the SAP HANA XS is on the SAP HANA database. Both underlying databases are connected via data replication.

Figure 2.3    SAP Fiori System with SAP HANA XS

Because this type of architecture supports all three types of apps, SAP Web Dispatcher (reverse proxy) is configured to recognize the OData service from the analytical apps. When a user runs an analytical app, SAP Web Dispatcher routes the request to the ABAP front-end server. It then loads the UI, and the call is routed to the SAP HANA XS engine. The queries are routed from the client to the ABAP front-end, ABAP back-end, or SAP HANA XS, depending on the type of app the user is running.

Figure 2.4    SAP Fiori System with SAP HANA XS (Side-by-Side Scenario)

In addition to the product-specific UI add-ons, the central UI add-on, and the SAP Gateway components, the ABAP front-end server also contains a KPI modeling framework, which includes the KPI modeler component, with which you can create and model KPIs, and the generic drilldown component, which provides an infrastructure to view KPI data and to drill down to the detail view.

The SAP HANA XS engine has two components: the SAP HANA Live content, and the SAP Smart Business component. SAP Fiori analytical apps use the SAP HANA XS engine. All content in the SAP HANA XS engine comes from SAP HANA Live views. SAP HANA Live content contains the VDMs. To learn more about SAP HANA XS, refer to Chapter 1. We’ll discuss SAP HANA Live in greater detail in Chapter 11.

2.2.4    SAP S/4HANA

SAP S/4HANA is the next-generation business suite that provides customers with extraordinary functionality and superior flexibility, all at the speed of SAP HANA. SAP S/4HANA serves as the nerve center for the enterprise, connecting operations across business units in a single, living structure that provides end users with the information they need in real-time to make better business decisions.

SAP S/4HANA is built on the most modern design principles using the SAP Fiori UX, providing end users with a personalized and coherent UX. SAP Fiori 2.0 is now available with SAP S/4HANA 1610 and the 1608 release of SAP S/4HANA Cloud, so customers can choose either SAP S/4HANA on-premise or SAP S/4HANA Cloud. Customers need SAP Fiori front-end server 3.0 for SAP S/4HANA 1610 with instances based on SAP NetWeaver AS for ABAP 7.50 or 7.51, to have SAP Fiori 2.0 in their landscapes.

Figure 2.5 shows a high-level logical overview of SAP Fiori on SAP S/4HANA; as you can see, the architecture consists of only one archetype for transactional, analytical, and fact sheet. We covered all the components of the architecture in the last two sections; remember that the core OData services (CDS views) access the SAP S/4HANA business data via SAP Gateway.

Recommendation

AS ABAP 7.51 is recommended if you want to consume future innovations.

The SAP HANA database is mandatory to run analytical apps/SAP Smart Business analytical apps. Data is populated from SAP HANA to the analytical apps or SAP Smart Business apps through the SAP HANA XS engine.

Figure 2.5    SAP Fiori Landscape on SAP S/4HANA