Web application server supports internet capabilities and runs across various platforms. It should be scalable and reliable which can deliver the needed scalability and performance. The server should support internet technologies such as HTTP, XML, and J2EE etc. SAP web application server possesses the needed features and is an important component of mySAP.
The application can be created from web application builder which is an object oriented development environment that supports JavaScript and ABAP. The main part of the server can be used to create Business Server Pages and MIME objects. BSP resembles ASP or JSP, and its code contains HTML, which can be compiled on request from the server.
The application server serves as the main component for SAP R/3 and other version of ERPs. It integrates e-business strategies to provide robust software.
The architecture contains ICM that is the internet communication manager, which communicates with the server over intranet or internet using HTTP, HTTPS or SMTP, and the communication uses high performance channel called "the memory pipe" to provide improved performance and scalability.
The business environment is used to create business content and logic, and ABAP environment is used to run SAP based applications, which includes the deployment of business objects.
The connectivity is used for integrating the third party applications and tools. Open connectivity is used to allow technical interoperability, and SOAP or XML based protocols can be used for communication.
EAI tools are called the Enterprise Application Integration tools, which are needed for the deployment of sensitive enterprise data.
1. Flexible and Robust System - It provides highly flexible and robust web infrastructure which has efficient caching mechanism and database access features. The efficient database features can be used to optimize lock management and it can be used in multi user environment.
2. Compatibility - WAS allows compatibility to various internet standards and it can work on many different technologies. It can communicate though HTML and XML, and it can function as client or server depending on the requirements. To run the application it acts as a server and when it is accessing a system it can act as a client.
3. Server Side Scripting - It can adopt server side scripting such as ASP and JSP, and the language used for server side presentation is called BSP.
4. Open Architecture - It uses open system for integration to SAP or non SAP based applications.
5. Security - The web application server allows digital certification, cookies generation for user authentication and ticketing to ensure security. It uses SSL and HTTPS for providing standard security to the system, and it also has X.509 client certificates, which is used to identify users.
6. Independent Platform - The system supports different types of operating system and databases. It supports open technology. It includes communication protocols and standards for storing business objects and processes.
The initial version of SAP web application server was launched in 2001, later the server version 6.10 and 6.20 were introduced, which could support many new technologies and standards.
