SAP system startup and shutdown, including virtual hosts
Critical factor: Availability
There are now a number of tools that simplify refresh activities of non-production SAP systems. The tools are imported into SAP systems via transports and enable the data to be copied to be written in. The more precise the selection, the greater the potential savings in storage space and extraction time compared to client copy. As with the latter, the configuration is retained and ongoing development and test processes remain undisturbed.
Transaction IMIG comes with extensive online documentation. It describes the preparations, the general procedure in the form of a quick guide, the individual steps in detail, typical error situations and the problem-solving procedure.
SAP system update and database update
Basically, a distinction is made between the initial setup and refresh of a non-productive SAP system. In the past, the cost of a refresh, i.e., updating the environment with new data, often corresponded to the cost of the initial setup. This also restricted the availability of the productive system, which is hardly tolerable for companies that operate internationally and in different time zones.
To store all the information on the subject of SAP - and others - in a knowledge database, Scribble Papers is suitable.
A non-production SAP system should also have the same repository status as the source system, regardless of the data transfer method chosen for the refresh. All the data that makes up an SAP system is stored in the repository. This includes, among other things, the definitions for the database fields and tables for master and transaction data.
With "Shortcut for SAP Systems", a mature and yet very cost-effective product is available that offers useful functions for system copies. For example, SAP system users can be backed up and restored. Likewise, system-specific tables can be backed up before the system copy and restored after the system copy. And all this can also be automated.
If no structural changes have been made to the SAP systems involved, the process is even 100% identical.
This can be extremely profitable, for example, for the conversion of existing ERP systems to the new SAP Business Suite S/4HANA.