2.2 SAP^® Mobile Engine Architecture - seven components

Component 1 - Interface

SAP Mobile Engine accepts mobile device user instructions through a standard built-in web browser (Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, Opera etc.). This web browser can be used to access enterprise portals. It is also known as the front end of the mobile device. The native interfaces are the default user interfaces of a mobile device, which use J2 Micro Edition for connecting to enterprise system.

Component 2 - Mobile Engine Server

It is also known as the local server and contains server components, which form the first layer of back end components. They ensure smooth flow of data exchange between the business logic of the mobile application and user. It includes Servlet Engine, which acts as a processing environment.

Component 3 - Business Logic (Programming Models)

SAP Mobile Engine supports different programming models that provide the business logic of the enterprise to mobile applications. The business logic implemented in the mobile device should be parallel to the enterprise business logic to maintain consistency of the business transactions.

SAP Mobile Engine supports programming models such as MicroITS (a standard Internet Transaction Server flow logic service), JSP (Java Server Pages) and offline browsing. You can also implement a customized model that suits your requirements.

Component 5 - Mobile Engine Public Interface

Public Interface is the final back-end layer in the Mobile Engine architecture in mobile devices. It is responsible for security and synchronization of data. This is the first layer of the mobile device that establishes communication with the SAP system.

In order to deploy a successful mobile solution, the SAP enterprise system should also contain components that are as follows:

Figure 3: Integrated SAP Mobile Engine Architecture

Component 7 - Mobile Engine Synchronization Layer

A synchronisation layer is implemented to reduce the redundancy of the data in the SAP database. This layer works in tandem with the synchronization layer of mobile device to maintain data consistency and data integrity.

Component 8 - Mobile Engine Deployment

As a part of implementing Mobile Engine solution, the SAP system also incorporates a deployment console. This console helps in managing various mobile devices, which may work concurrently with the SAP system. Figure 3 shows the SAP system components for a Mobile Engine solution.

Component 9 - Web Gateways

A Web Gateway is the common interface between the mobile device and the SAP system. This gateway acts as a passage for all data exchanged between the SAP system and the mobile device. It establishes communication between the mobile device and enterprise system.