From installation to ongoing support
Introduction & Best Practices
Companies face a major challenge. The world is not going digital, but it is already. The age of digitisation and the related technological changes, as well as the demands of customers, bring new opportunities and new challenges for companies. In addition, the product strategy is changing, including that of SAP. In order to achieve the associated goals of the company and to implement them as effectively and efficiently as possible, the SAP basis must contribute to the design of an IT roadmap and to the design of the digitisation and also cloud strategy. A detailed review of the IT Roadmap recommendation is carried out within the master thesis in chapter 7.9.
Transporting transport orders from one system line to another or importing third-party transport orders into the SAP system is also an occasional task for an SAP basis administrator. As in my last blog post on system modifiability, I would like to offer you a way to quickly present this topic. So you will find a step-by-step guide which you can follow if you have already understood the content of the topic, but only the steps need to be taken. What are the requirements? Transport orders include two files, titled "data" and "cofiles". These files consist of a six-character alphanumeric combination and a file extension, which often represents the system from which the files were exported. The first character is always a K (the cofiles file) or an R (the data file). For our example we call the files K12345_DEV and R12345_DEV. These files are of course needed for an import into your own SAP system. Furthermore, you need access to the file system or the SAP directories, as they have to insert the above files there manually. In addition, the transaction STMS is required in the SAP system because it attaches the transport orders to the import queue. Now, if you have all of this available, we can start with the import: What is the procedure? Operating System Level Preparation. The first step is to copy the files to the transport directory of the SAP system. This is usually below /usr/sap/trans, but can be changed individually depending on the system. If you want to make sure that you are working in the correct directory, you can look in the transaction AL11 to see which directory is specified under "DIR_TRANS". This is the right directory to work on. Here the existing files are copied into it, namely the cofiles file (K12345_DEV) in the cofiles folder (/usr/sap/trans/cofiles) and the data file (R12345_DEV) in the data folder (/usr/sap/trans/data). Note: In this case, especially for companies with multiple systems on multiple servers, the access permissions and the file owner need to be changed so that the import in the target system does not cause problems.
SM37 Simple job selection
To add additional permissions for defined groups in the launchpad to PFCG roles, follow the steps described above. This time, you only select a "SAP Fiori tile group" instead of a "SAP Fiori tile catalogue". There are very few differences between permissions. Fiori Eligibility for OData Services The launch authorisation for the OData service stored in the backend from a Fiori app is queried on both the front-end and back-end servers when the application is launched. Therefore, this permission must be added to the appropriate role on both servers. The typical sequence of clicking on a Fiori app in the launchpad triggers the following steps: 1) When selecting the tile, the app Fiori implementation is called 2) The app retrieves dynamic data from the HTTP endpoint of the OData service on the frontend server from 3) An RFC call to the gateway activation of the backend system is followed, retrieving the relevant business logic 4) Now the Fiori permission for the corresponding OData service is queried on the backend 5) If this was successful the appropriate business logic permissions are queried in the OData service. To add the Fiori permission to run a OData service for an app to a role, please perform the following steps: In the PFCG, open the appropriate role in Change mode, perform steps on the following screenshot: 1) Select Menu tab 2) Arrow next to the "Transaction" button click 3) Select Permissions proposal.
In more complex system environments, thousands, if not tens of thousands, of SAP jobs can run per day. Their interdependencies create a high level of complexity. If administrators or admin teams want to maintain an overview, they have to rely on meaningful monitoring. It must be clear at all times which jobs are running and which are not, in order to ensure proper SAP operation. Ideally, one is informed of critical errors by e-mail or SMS. The trend towards internationalization, outsourcing and mixed operation with on-premise and on-demand systems means that SAP landscapes are often widely distributed. This makes monitoring more difficult and, at the same time, clarity must be maintained. Integrating SAP job management and job requests into a central system, such as SAP Solution Manager, therefore makes sense and is useful for supplementing IT service processes in a meaningful way and accelerating process flows.
For administrators, a useful product - "Shortcut for SAP Systems" - is available in the SAP basis area.
Outsourcing services for your SAP Basis operations offers many advantages.
To store all the information on the subject of SAP - and others - in a knowledge database, Scribble Papers is suitable.
It must be clear at all times which jobs are running and which are not, in order to ensure proper SAP operation.