The non technical answer to this question is that; SAP Business One is SAP's offering for small and mid size companies, while R/3 is SAP's offering for large companies. This is especially true functionality-wise. More to it, the system architecture differs considerably and that hopefully supports the difference in functionality complexities (of SAP R/3 when compare with SAP Business One).
SAP Business One is a software that was bought over by SAP and it has been greatly enhanced over time, however, not much has been done to its architecture. SAP R/3 is indigenous to SAP and it has also undergone various re-engineering over time, especially as it relates to its architecture. A fantastic testimony to this position is in the architecture of its successor, SAP ECC.
In subsequent posting, I hope to compare SAP R/3 and ECC in more detail, since the duo is more closely related. In this posting, I will x-ray the architecture (or the "anatomy" as I prefer to call it) of SAP Business One and SAP R/3, with a view to pointing out their architectural difference.
First, it is expedient to state that both SAP Business One and SAP R/3 are built on the concept of client/server architecture. So how do they differ? Let's first understand the relationship in a client server setup. A client server is a computer system design standard in which the client machines requests and gets back information from a distribution machine called the server.
SAP Business One as said earlier is based on client/server architecture, howbeit a "2 tier": strictly, clients and server. This technology is often referred to as a fat client. This is because all processing and business logic are carried out on the client. The result therefore is a system where logon and load balancing is a mirage. For more on SAP Business One's system architecture, see a prior post: Challenges of the Fat Client Technology.
SAP R/3 is based on a three tier client/server technology. Typically, it is made up of three functionally distinct layers namely: the user interface, business logic and database.
The user interface, which is otherwise known as the presentation server displays the interface for users' communication with the SAP system. It is often referred to as the SAP GUI. As a matter of fact, it is a program called sapgui.exe. The application server is where the business logic and data manipulation takes place. Data processing, SAP administration tasks and client request/feedback management are handled within the business layer. The database layer is synonymous to the database server and it typically acts as a data repository for tables and other database objects and structures.
Ideally, an R/3 system is composed of one database server, one or more application servers and one or more presentation servers. SAP Business One on the other hand is composed of a database server and one or more presentation servers.
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