ALE vs EDI

[Former Member]

When do we go for ALE and when for EDI...

Using ALE can we communicate with a non SAP System.

Thanks in Advance

[Former Member]

Hi,

The philosophical difference between EDI and ALE can be pinned as follows: If we send data to an external partner, we generally speak of EDI, while ALE is a mechanism to reliable replicate data between trusting systems to store a redundant copy of the IDoc data. The difference is made clear, when we think of a purchase order that is sent as an IDoc. If we send the purchase order to a supplier then the supplier will store the purchase order as a sales order. However, if we send the purchase order via ALE to another R/3 system, then the receiving system will store the purchase order also as a purchase order.

Regards,

Solkar.

[rainer_hbenthal]

I cna not see how to solve your problem with ABAP. I think its impossible.

[former_member404244]

hI,

Yes we can use ALE for third party systems by TRFC port rather than File Port which we generally use for connecting to third party tools ...However u need to atke care of following things

1>the third party tool supports the TRFC, if not then go for Fileport.

Regards,

Nagaraj

[Former Member]

Hi,

Yes ALE can be used to communicate asynchronously with non SAP systems (those having IDoc adapter) as well , but the communication is possible only through IDocs. Most of the popular middleware systmes like Informatica, WebMethods, BizTalk, TIBCO, Gentran are having IDoc adapters.

In outbound communication from SAP, EDI & ALE greatly differs in partner determination (partner to whom the IDoc should be sent).

EDI

In EDI the partner is determined based on output type configuration. A partner profile should be maintained for every partner. Usually this setup is used for communication with external customers & Vendors also known as B2B communication. Partner profiles gives control over when to send IDocs and what data to be sent in control record of IDocs to a business partner. EDI is widely used for exchanging business documents with external customers & vendors.

ALE

In ALE we need to have a distribution model (BD64) for partner determination. One or more receivers (logical systems) may exist for a message type. A Master Idoc is created once and depending on the number receivers determined in ALE distribution model, it will be copied to that many communication Idocs. Then communication IDocs will be sent to all the receivers. ALE is used widely for Master Data distribution or any other communication with in the Customer's landscape.

[Former Member]

Hi,

Hi,

EDI Electronic Data Interchange

Cross-company exchange of electronic data (for example business documents) between domestic and

international business partners who use a variety of hardware, software, and communication services.

The data involved is formatted according to predefined standards. In addition to this, SAP ALE technology

is available for data exchange within a company.

ALE A means of creating and operating distributed applications.

Application Link Enabling (ALE) guarantees a distributed, but integrated, R/3 installation.

This involves business-controlled message exchange using consistent data across loosely linked SAP

applications.Applications are integrated using synchronous and asynchronous communication - not by

using a central database.

ALE consists of the following layers:

1)Application services

2)Distribution services

3)Communication services

Hope it helps

Regards

Mansi