SAP R/3 System Architecture

Presentation Server
The presentation server is actually a program named sapgui.exe. It is usually installed on a user's workstation. To start it, the user double-clicks on an icon on the desktop or chooses a menu path. When started, the presentation server displays the R/3 menus within a window. This window is commonly known as the SAPGUI, or the user interface (or simply, the interface). The interface accepts input from the user in the form of keystrokes, mouse-clicks, and function keys, and sends these requests to the application server to be processed. The application server sends the results back to the SAPGUI which then formats the output for display to the user.

Application Server
An application server is a set of executables that collectively interpret the ABAP/4 programs and manage the input and output for them. When an application server is started, these executables all start at the same time. When an application server is stopped, they all shut down together. The number of processes that start up when you bring up the application server is defined in a single configuration file called the application server profile.
Each application server has a profile that specifies its characteristics when it starts up and while it is running. For example, an application sever profile specifies:
• Number of processes and their types
• Amount of memory each process may use
• Length of time a user is inactive before being automatically logged off
The application server exists to interpret ABAP/4 programs, and they only run there-the programs do not run on the presentation server. An ABAP/4 program can start an executable on the presentation server, but an ABAP/4 program cannot execute there.
If your ABAP/4 program requests information from the database, the application server will format the request and send it to the database server.
Discovering the Database Server
The database server is a set of executables that accept database requests from the application server. These requests are passed on to the RDBMS http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=9046402075333943853&postID=7897267866056982727(Relation Database Management System). The RDBMS sends the data back to the database server, which then passes the information back to the application server. The application server in turn passes that information to your ABAP/4 program.
There is usually a separate computer dedicated to house the database server, and the RDBMS may run on that computer also, or may be installed on its own computer.