PI 7.0 or 7.1 ?

Question

Hello! I have a choice - use PI 7.0 or 7.1 in my new project. I only have an experience with PI 7.0
Could you advice me what to use? Is PI 7.1 more effective than 7.0 ? Is there important new features in 7.1 ?
Thanks for answers!

Answer 1

Dear Andrey,
It would be better to go with PI 7.1 as now or in the near future you will need to upgrade to PI 7.0 . Moreover nowdays clients are asking for developments to be in the newer version of XI.
As for important features.
1. Decentralized processing
Consider that PI 7.1 also introduces the concept of decentralized processing at runtime for better optimization but keeping things in control through centralized configuration wherein which the key monitoring functionalities have been integrated in the SAP NW Administrator.
2.  Objects Tree Filtering and Positioning
One important set of features is the u201Cobjects treeu201D and its positioning and filtering capabilities. Just consider a list of software components like this one. Every time you start the ES Repository, you should scroll and open your particular software component and software component version. If the list keeps on growing, it is not unusable, but the time spent in positioning and the possibility or error increases.
A nice feature to avoid it, is applying the filter functionality. It allows you to select just the set of software component and software component version you are interested in, in a particular moment.
(Refer https://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/sdn/go/portal/prtroot/docs/library/uuid/a0e7734f-e969-2a10-24b6-df58a710941c)
3. Creation of folders
There are two additional good features regarding folder in ES Repository and Integration Directory. One is the option to execute massive commands at folder level for the objects contained. The other is the possibility to work with authorizations at folder level, what increases the granularity of roles
(Refer /people/william.li/blog/2007/08/07/using-folders-in-pi-71)
4. Software component relationships
This feature has also been available for a while. It is the possibility to describe relationships at SLD level. They are required if you want to comply with the naming.
5. Version handling
Version handling is another powerful feature here. if you upgrade a basis one you can generate a new version for the root to include the new functionality while you keep the other basis relationships in the same version as before.
6. Improved where used list and search utility.
Search utility. Very comprehensible, supports wildcards and extended attributes. Also the feature of tabular search and hierarchical search available.
7. Life cycle management: Objects activation.
Integration builder allows you to work with inactive objects.  Other users will see the active version if available. Change list can also be transferred and also activation can be done from different places.
8. Creation of local objects
Local objects can be created for testing purposes there is no need to do anything in the sld.
9. Runtime management features
Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration (UDDI) 3.0u2013compliant services registry for runtime management of enterprise services. It is a directory that can be used to publish and discover public Web Services.
10. Low resource consumption
Process Integration 7.1 is based on the next release of the SAP's application server with its ABAP and Java flavors. The Java stack is Java EE 5 compliant, and offers benefits such as faster installation and lower memory consumption. As in previous releases, the application server is the robust basis for infrastructure services such as scalability, high availability, archiving, security, and user management.
11. XML payload validation
Payload of incoming and outgoing messages can be validated. Validation by an adapter (backward error handling): The validation is executed in the Adapter Engine. If the validation fails, an error will be raised and the message will not be processed. Validation by the Integration Engine (forward error handling): The validation is executed in the Integration Engine. If the validation fails, the message processing will be stopped in the
Monitoring.
12. Advanced Adapter Engine Configuration in PI
A new feature, Integrated Configurations, is introduced in PI 7.1. This feature allows us to configure an end-to-end scenario that will process messages locally in the Advanced Adapter Engine (AAE), bypassing the Integration Engine (ABAP stack of the Integration Server). The Advanced Adapter Engine is the new name in PI 7.1 for the Adapter Engine.  The primary objective of using local processing in the AAE is to increase the performance of message processing by eliminating the need for the ABAP stack during the process. By bypassing the ABAP stack, the message processing will still keep the existing mapping, monitoring and support functionalities.
13. Mapping Enhancements
PI 7.1, SAP introduces significant new enhancements within the graphical mapping tool that will greatly facilitate the design and creation of message mappings. Some of the features are Importing Table Structures from a Database, Function Libraries, Parameterized Message Mappings, and Mapping Output of Intermediate Fields to Multiple Target Fields, use of graphical variables and checking for structural inconsistencies, Copying of xml sub tree. Share user defined functions, Import sql tableu2019s metadata
(Refer:https://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/sdn/weblogs?blog=/pub/wlg/8282; [original link is broken] [original link is broken] [original link is broken] https://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/sdn/weblogs?blog=/pub/wlg/8650. [original link is broken] [original link is broken] [original link is broken]
/people/william.li/blog/2008/02/13/sap-pi-71-mapping-enhancements-series-using-graphical-variable
/people/william.li/blog/2008/01/02/sap-pi-71-mapping-enhancements-series-share-user-defined-functions
14. New feature Point-to-Point connection using ABAP
Point-to-point connection allows a much greater message throughput performance, simply because a middleware is not involved in message processing. However, because of this, services such mappings, dynamic receiver determination, ccBPM (as provided by the middleware) are no longer available during the message exchange.
When an environment contains many point-to-point connections, the administration and maintenance of connections becomes quite cumbersome to support. This is where the benefit of SAP NetWeaver 7.1 Process Integration (PI) becomes obvious. PI provides a tool and infrastructure to centrally design, configure and support of the point-to-point connection. With PI, message types and interface can be designed in the Enterprise Services (ES) Repository, and connection configurations and communication channels can be done in the Integration Directory (ID). All the configuration objects are also propagated automatically to the perspective backend business systems.
(refer : https://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/sdn/go/portal/prtroot/docs/library/uuid/b00bbb77-75bc-2a10-6b9a-a6f8161515a6
/people/william.li/blog/2008/02/13/point-to-point-connection-using-abap-in-sap-using-pi-71 )
15. User defined Functions
In PI 7.0 and XI 3.0, one of the most often requested features (or complaints) is the capability (or lack of) to share user-defined functions (UDFs) across multiple message mappings. As a result, we often had to duplicate the code of frequently used UDFs to multiple message mappings. This feature is now available with PI 7.1. The only restriction is that the library containing the UDFs has to be in the same Software Component Version (SWCV) as the message mapping.
(Refer: /people/william.li/blog/2008/01/02/sap-pi-71-mapping-enhancements-series-share-user-defined-functions)
16. Import of SQL Tableu2019s metadata
Till now import of metadata from RFCs and IDOCs from SAP was possible but Many times, we wish we can also import metadata from SQL tables we wish to access also. This will eliminate a lot of typing and typo-mistakes. This feature is now available with PI 7.1. The only requirement is that we have to have a JDBC receiver communication channel.
17. High volume support
With using the Advanced Adapter Engine (AAE) in SAP NetWeaver PI 7.1, much higher numbers can be reached. For scenarios executed in the AAE, the single runtime of a message reduces by factors. Even better results can be reached for asynchronous scenarios in regards to throughput. There we see for SAP internal test scenarios the factor 10 more throughput on same hardware. The main reason for that is, that AAE can now do routing and mapping together and asynchronous messages are only persisted to the database one time.
(Refer /people/holger.faulhaber/blog/2007/12/12/high-volume-support-in-pi-71)
18. Additional WS standards
Additional Ws standards have been introduced with features such as WS u2013 RM (Web services reliable messaging), WS security using SAML. Under WS-RM asynchronous messaging (EO/EOIO) and native support through integration engine (w/o adapter) is supported. Also implementation of WS security is done through SAML where there is an authorization check in receiving system based on original user.
Rgds
joel
Edited by: joel trinidade on Feb 18, 2009 4:12 PM