Difference In RFC Adapter and XI proxy

Question

I am using RFC adapter for master data and XI proxy for transaction data , can anyone tell me what is major difference and what is negative point in using RFC adapter
Thanking you
sridhar

Answer 1

Hi,
Adapters enable the Integration Engine and the Partner Connectivity Kit (PCK) to communicate with different applications.Adapters connect the Integration Engine to SAP legacy systems, as well as to external systems.
In this way, adapters integrate existing SAP components with SAP Exchange Infrastructure, for example. In the process, XML and HTTP-based documents are converted to IDocs (IDoc adapter) and RFCs (RFC adapter) and the other way around. This enables you to integrate your existing SAP infrastructure with the new SAP infrastructure, which is based on system integration and the exchange of XML messages.
The plain HTTP adapter gives application systems the option of communicating with the Integration Engine and exchanging business data in a simple format, using an HTTP connection.
RFC Adapter :
The RFC adapter enables you to use the functions of the Integration Engine or the PCK in existing SAP landscapes. It is used by SAP systems to connect to the Integration Engine or the PCK by using the RFC interface. It supports SAP systems as of version 3.1x.
For FAQs about the RFC adapter, see SAP Note 730870
The RFC adapter is provided by the Adapter Engine and the PCK. It essentially comprises two parts, namely a sender adapter at the Integration Engine inbound channel, and a receiver adapter at the Integration Engine outbound channel.
The adapters are configured in the configuration part of the Integration Builder, or in the configuration part of the PCK. You use the SAP Java Connector (JCo), which enables you to manage metadata. This in turn enables you to map RFC data generically to RFC XML and the other way around.
The receiver RFC adapter can be used for mapping lookups.A communication channel with a receiver RFC adapter can be created automatically for business systems that are defined in the System Landscape Directory.
The RFC adapter maps the following RFC calls to XML messages and the other way around:
Synchronous RFC calls (sRFCs) in messages with quality of service Best Effort (BE)
●     Transactional RFC calls (tRFCs) in messages with quality of service Exactly Once (EO)
●     The receiver RFC adapter can also process messages with quality of service Exactly Once In Order (EOIO). They are mapped to transactional RFC calls (tRFC).
You require the sender adapter if you want to use the Integration Engine or the PCK to process RFCs. The RFC adapter converts the incoming RFC data to XML message format (RFC XML) so that it can be processed by the Integration Engine or the PCK.
You require the receiver adapter if the determined receiver system expects the data from the Integration Engine or the PCK to arrive in RFC format. In this case, the Integration Engine or the PCK must transfer the received XML message (RFC XML) to the RFC adapter. The RFC adapter converts the RFC XML message to a valid RFC call and executes the call.
Proxy :
Generally speaking, interfaces are where functions in a system can be executed. In the context of SAP Exchange Infrastructure, only the following interfaces are relevant:
·        Interfaces designed for message exchange between application systems
·        Interfaces used by a cross-component integration process to receive or send messages, or both
Starting with a cross-system integration process, you can then derive the corresponding interfaces required. SAP Exchange Infrastructure supports this process by using an integration scenario to describe the collaborative process. The integration scenario summarizes the interfaces required for this collaborative process.
You can use SAP interfaces that already exist in systems, non-SAP interfaces that are connected to SAP Exchange Infrastructure using adapters, or define new interfaces called message interfaces in the Integration Repository. Both worlds can also be interconnected in a collaborative process.
Interfaces are an essential component of SAP Exchange Infrastructure:
·        You define the interfaces to be used in an integration scenario.
·        Cross-component integration processes use interfaces to exchange messages.
·        You define the XML transformations for messages that are to be exchanged between two interfaces in a mapping.
·        You assign an interface in a sender system to one or more interfaces in a receiver system in logical routing.
·        You generate proxies to implement your scenario based on message interfaces.
You save interface descriptions (message interfaces, BAPIs, RFCs, and IDocs) in the Integration Repository so that they can be referenced throughout SAP Exchange Infrastructure. However, adapters for external systems do not normally use interfaces; instead they access files or database tables in order to function, for example. For this reason, it is not necessary to import these interfaces into the Integration Repository. If the structure of the message is described using a WSDL, XSD, or DTD schema, you can import the schema as an external definition.
Hope this will help you.
Regards
Aashish Sinha
PS : reward points if helpful