In Focus
R/3 ® System
■ Does your system landscape
consist of multiple R/3 Systems
and possibly non-R/3 Systems
as well?
■ Do your systems share common
information and resources?
■ Do they use different access
methods?
Then consider using directory
services for your storage needs.
Directory services provide you with
centralized information services
in your corporate IT infrastructure.
These services make it possible
for various applications to access
shared information using a
standardized protocol.
Directory-Enabled R/3 using LDAP
Centralized Information Access in R/3 using Directory Services
Using directories for data storage is becoming
more and more important in the IT landscape.
By using directory services, you can take
advantage of:
■ a central point of information and
administration
■ easy information sharing between applica-
tions using the standard access protocoll
■ no data inconsistencies or redundancies
The directory server is the “IT Address Book”
for the corporate network. Information that is
shared between applications is stored on the
directory server. Various systems on different
platforms can access information using a common
directory service.
The “IT Address Book” in this context is a
synonym for the storage of any type of informa-
tion that is of static nature and of global interest.
Likely candidates for application scenarios
include:
■ Personnel information (name, department,
organization)
■ User and security information (user account,
authorizations, public-key certificates)
■ System resource and service information
(system identifier, application configuration,
printer configuration)
The directory server is accessible to all of your
systems. This may include your user PCs or
workstations, R/3, the Internet or other arbitrary
systems. The various applications can retrieve the
information they need from the directory server
using LDAP or X.500 DAP protocols.
(LDAP = Lightweight Directory Access Protocol)
Directory-Enabled R/3
The R/3 application server is now an LDAP client
and can take advantage of the LDAP directory
server concept. Information that is shared
between different R/3 Systems (as well as other
systems) can be stored on a directory server and
accessed by all of the various applications.
As an LDAP client, the R/3 application server
can both read from the directory server as well
as write to it. Therefore, R/3 data is available
to other systems, and information from other
systems is also available to R/3.
How does R/3 use the LDAP
directory service concept?
Each R/3 application server has an LDAP Connec-
tor that it uses to access the directory server.
This connector controls and monitors the access
requests between the R/3 work processes and
the directory server.
The R/3 application calls the LDAP Connector
over an ABAP function call. The LDAP Connector
controls the user’s “log-on” to the directory
server. Information retrieved from the directory
server is also sent back to the R/3 application
via the connector.
R
 Initial Application Projects in
R/3 that take Advantage of
LDAP Directory Services

Integrating HR Personnel Management with

Directory Services
In this application scenario, HR applications can
use directory services to make personnel data in
R/3 available to other applications. Employee
information that may be of interest to other
applications can be stored on the directory server

and retrieved by other applications as necessary.
For example, the HR application stores employee
data such as company address, telephone num-
ber, and department on the directory server.
A different application, for example, Project
Management, accesses this information for its
own purposes. Note that the application that
requests the information does not have to be an
R/3 application.
What is gained in this scenario? Personnel
information only needs to be maintained once
and data is readily accessible to applications
that need it.
Certificate Management for R/3 Internet Users
R/3 Internet users are authenticated using X.509
certificates. In the past, an internal R/3 table has
been used to map the user information from the
certificate to a specific R/3 user.
Because the R/3 application server is now an
LDAP client, you can store user certificates on a
central LDAP directory server. User information
from the user certificates is available to R/3 and
other applications as well. You also have a central
point of maintenance for user certificates, and
you have no redundant information stored in R/3.
50 027 966 (98012/11) © including screen shots by SAP AG. SAP and R/3 are registered trademarks of SAP AG. All other products mentioned are registered or unregistered trademarks of their respective companies.
Additional Application Projects Technology and Service
The following applications are also candidates for The R/3 software is based on client/server
using LDAP directory services: architecture. It is designed as an open system
■ Central Address Management that can be run on operating systems marketed
by various vendors. However, SAP ® is not only
■ Central User Management
a software provider: We also offer an extensive
■ Microsoft Management Console (MMC) range of services and support centering around
Integration based on Windows NT 5.0 Active AcceleratedSAP (ASAP) – SAP’s all-in-one
Directory solution for rapid implementation and ongoing
■ SAP Logon tool with LDAP interface optimization of R/3. The R/3 Service & Support
program includes preventive system checks,
LDAP – Lightweight Directory data conversions, remote archiving and system
Access Protocol upgrades. We provide expert organizational and
technical consulting, from the planning phase
The LDAP protocol has been developed by the
of your project right through to its execution, as
Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) as a
well as in-depth training, and 24-hour support.
standard protocol for the communication between
SAP Development, SAP Consulting and SAP
LDAP servers and LDAP clients.
Services are certified in accordance with the
The LDAP protocol is based on Internet technology
ISO 9001 international quality standard. SAP
and is designed to easily integrate directory
software is also the first packaged enterprise
services in arbitrary applications.
application software to receive “Ergonomics
The standardized LDAP protocol and client library approved” certification for the international
provide for: standards ISO 9241 and ISO 13407.
■ Universal implementation on all platforms Interested? Then call or write us.
■ Standard client functions
■ Heterogeneous environment support
■ Easy deployment in multi-application
software environment.

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