Implement a powerful end-to-end SAP administration solution

tion, maintenance, and support information in this comprehensive resource. SAP Basis
Administration Handbook, NetWeaver Edition delivers integrated management strategies
covering both ABAP and Java stacks. Discover how to deploy components, accurately size
throughput, configure Oracle databases, back up your system, and repair performance
problems. Career trends, certification requirements, and marketable SAP Basis skills are
also discussed in this practical guide.

Essential Skills for SAP Professionals

Plan, prepare, and install SAP NetWeaver
Application Server

Resolve performance issues and startup

problems

Set up, configure, and troubleshoot Java

and ABAP stacks

Access SAP support infrastructure through

SAP Service Marketplace

Establish server infrastructure and

efficiently balance workloads

Manage and back up Oracle databases

using BR*TOOLS

Incorporate transport management

and software logistics

Perform system copies, stack upgrades,

and OS/DB migrations

Ranjit Mereddy, an SAP certified technical consultant, has 12 years of experience in SAP NetWeaver/Basis technical
architecture, enterprise architecture, and administration. He has led several successful SAP implementations as an SAP
technical team lead.
$70.00 USD

Get peak performance from your SAP ERP infrastructure using the detailed implementa-

SAP Basis Administration Handbook

Enterprise Applications

SAP Basis Administration

Handbook NetWeaver Edition

Essential Skills for SAP Professionals

rchitect and implement SAP
Ainfrastructure
solutions

NetWeaver
Edition

dminister and troubleshoot ABAP

Aand
Java stack implementations

TM

Ranjit Mereddy

Mereddy

TM

une performance, generate

Tbackups,
and maintain databases

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PART

SAP NetWeaver Introduction

and Architecture

Chapter 1
SAP NetWeaver and
Business Suite Introduction
Chapter 2
SAP NetWeaver Application
Server ABAP Overview
Chapter 3
SAP NetWeaver Application
Server Java Overview
Chapter 4
SAP ERP Integration
Overview with Other
Systems

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CHAPTER

SAP NetWeaver and

Business Suite Introduction

AP is the worlds largest business software company, headquartered in Walldorf,

Germany. There are 121,000 SAP installations worldwide with more than 86,000 customers
operating in 120 countries. SAP business applications are installed in 25 different
industries, and more than 12 million users work every day with SAP solutions. SAP business
applications run on the NetWeaver technology platform. Administering the SAP NetWeaver
platform and its plethora of SAP business applications in a mission-critical environment is not
only challenging, but also offers a rewarding career for IT professionals. A key resource in any
new SAP implementation or production support organization is the Basis administrator of the
SAP system. SAP Basis administration involves all of the system administration activities of the
NetWeaver technology platform. A Basis administrator commands top salaries and a stable job
with excellent career progression opportunities in an organization.

Objective
The main objective of this book is to provide a handbook for all major SAP Basis administration
skills necessary to manage a SAP NetWeaver platform. I will be sharing practical Basis
experience and best practices that I have accumulated over the last 12 years as SAP Basis
administrator and technical architect. This objective will be accomplished by providing a
high-level overview for each of the major SAP Basis system administration skill areas,
followed by specific tools, techniques, and procedures for performing the activities.

Audience
This book is written for the following audiences:
A new SAP Basis administrator assigned to work on a SAP implementation by the
organization, or a prospective SAP Basis administrator.
An experienced SAP Basis administrator needing a handbook to perform complex SAP
Basis tasks, such as homogeneous and heterogeneous system copies, dual-stack SAP
upgrades, performance tuning, performing SAP database redirected restores, and so on.

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Part I:

SAP NetWeaver Introduction and Architecture

A SAP Basis administrator who is strong in SAP ABAP (Advanced Business

Application Programming) system administration and who would like to pick
up SAP Java system administration skills.
A SAP Basis administrator who is strong in SAP Java system administration and
would like to pick up SAP ABAP system administration skills.
A SAP technical architect who would like a handbook for planning and performing
activities, such as SAP sizing and SAP application technical integration to enterprise
backup software, such as Tivoli, and so on.
A technical architect who would like to understand how SAP will integrate with the
organizations data center operations and plan for sizing and architecting the
needed infrastructure for rolling out the solution.
An enterprise architect who would like to understand how a SAP infrastructure
footprint could be integrated within enterprise architecture standards.
A university professor or college lecturer who would like a reference book in SAP
NetWeaver platform technology for teaching and training requirements.

Brief History of SAP

SAP was started in 1972 by five former IBM employees with a vision of creating a standard
application software for real-time business processing. SAP stands for Systems Applications
and Products in Data Processing. Since its inception SAP has issued several releases, such
as SAP R/1, SAP R/2, and SAP R/3. The R in these releases stands for Real-Time data
processing. The 3 in the R/3 stands for three-tier client-server architecture. The most current
release of SAP is SAP Business Suite 7.
Table 1-1 lists the major SAP releases and the release year.

Year Released

SAP Release

1973

SAP R/1

End of 1970s

SAP R/2

1992

SAP R/3

1998

SAP R/3 Release 4.0B

1999

SAP R/3 Release 4.5B

1999

SAP R/3 Release 4.6B

2001

SAP R/3 Release 4.6C

2003

SAP R/3 Enterprise Release 4.70

2004

SAP ECC 5.0 ERP (mySAP ERP 2004)

2005

SAP ECC 6.0 ERP (mySAP ERP 2005)

2009

SAP Business Suite 7 (ERP 6, Enhancement Package 4)

Table 1-1 Major SAP Releases

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Chapter 1:

S A P N e t We a v e r a n d B u s i n e s s S u i t e I n t ro d u c t i o n

SAP Basis Skill Set Evolution

SAP Releases

Architecture

Required Skills

SAP R/1 and R/2

Mainframe, IBM database

systems

Basis administration in a mainframe

environment with IBM database skills

SAP R/3

Client-server

Basis administration in a client-server

environment with skills in multiple
databases (Oracle, DB2, and SQL
Server) and operating systems (UNIX
flavors, Windows, and AS/400)

SAP R/3 4.6C and 4.7

Client-server, web application

server

Addition of ITS (Internet Transaction

Server) and web application server skills

SAP ECC 5.0/6.0

NetWeaver Application Server

ABAP and Java, serviceoriented architecture

Java skills become important, along

with the skills listed for the previously
mentioned releases

SAP Business Suite 7

NetWeaver Application
Server ABAP and Java,
service-oriented architecture,
Business Process Platform,
Composite Application
Platform

SAP ABAP administration skills

SAP Java administration skills
SAP service-oriented architecture skills
SAP business applications such as ERP
(Enterprise Resource Planning) , CRM
(Customer Relationship Management),
SRM (Supplier Relationship
Management), PLM (Product Lifecycle
Management), SCM (Supply Chain
Management)
NetWeaver Stack administration skills
such as Business Intelligence (BI),
Process Integration (PI), NetWeaver
portals, Master Data Management
(MDM), Development Infrastructure (DI),
Mobile Infrastructure (MI), etc.
SAP BusinessObjects
SAP Solution Manager and SAP
NetWeaver Administrator

PART I

With the evolution of the SAP releases over time, the skill set required to perform the SAP
Basis job has also evolved. Table 1-2 lists the major SAP releases and skill evolution from a
Basis administration perspective.
This book addresses the skill sets required for performing SAP Basis administration
activities for the most current SAP Business Suite 7 release level. SAP Business Suite
applications run on top of SAP NetWeaver Application Server. Both ABAP and Java system
administration activities of the SAP NW AS will be covered in this handbook. This book
will cover NW 7.0 and NW 7.1 releases.

Table 1-2 SAP Basis Skill Set Evolution

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Part I:

SAP NetWeaver Introduction and Architecture

SAP Business Suite 7

On May 5, 2009, SAP successfully completed the ramp-up of SAP Business Suite 7 and
made it available to the general public. The SAP Business Suite 7 is composed of ERP 6.0
with Enhancement Package 4, SAP CRM 7.0, SAP SCM 7.0, SAP PLM 7.0, and SAP SRM 7.0.
This release of SAP is service-oriented, with 2,800 enterprise services delivered. SAP
Business Suite 7 applications run on top of the SAP NetWeaver 7.0 technology platform.
Major software updates to SAP Business Suite 7 are released in the form of Enhancement
Packages (Figure 1-1). SAP delivers separate Enhancement Packages for the NetWeaver
technology stack. SAP Business Suite 7 is delivered as a synchronized release for all
major SAP applications that includes SAP CRM 7.0, SAP SCM 7.0, SAP SRM 7.0, and SAP
PLM 7.0.
Table 1-3 identifies the key customer requests that SAP has addressed with the new
release of SAP Business Suite 7.

Brief Overview of SAP NetWeaver Technology Stack

SAP Business Suite applications run on a NetWeaver application server ABAP, or Java, or
both, depending upon the usage types (software units) that are needed to implement a
given business scenario.
Table 1-4 lists the usage types (software units) that are available during the installation
process.
NetWeaver usage types are software units that are to be installed and configured as per
the requirement of a given business scenario. Usage types can be combined with others in one
system or can be run separately in different systems. The AS ABAP and AS Java NetWeaver
usage types are also used as a foundation for other units.

Figure 1-1
SAP Business
Suite 7 with
Enhancement
Packages

EhP1

EhP2 EhPn

EhP1

EhP2 EhPn

CRM

SCM

SRM

PLM

ERP

SAP Business Suite Application

EhP1

EhP2 EhPn

SAP NetWeaver 7.0 Technology Platform

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Chapter 1:

S A P N e t We a v e r a n d B u s i n e s s S u i t e I n t ro d u c t i o n

SAP Business Suite Offering

Performing upgrades every other year is

disruptive, expensive, and not sustainable
for businesses running SAP software.

Offers Enhancement Packages for SAP Business

applications that provide incremental innovations
without business disruption.
No major upgrades once customer is on SAP
Business Suite 7.

5-1-2 maintenance strategy is short and

expensive after five years. (Five years
mainstream maintenance, with additional
support through extended maintenance
for one year with 2% fee increase, and an
additional two years with 4% fee increases.)

SAP introduced 7-2 maintenance strategy starting

November 2008.
Offers seven years of mainstream maintenance and
an additional two years of extended maintenance
with 2% additional fee.

Installing and upgrading industry solutions

is complicated in an ERP system.

SAP industry solutions are now integrated into the

ERP core and do not require separate installation.
Needed industry solutions can be activated in
the ERP system with a concept called the switch
framework.

Use of service-oriented architecture is not

clearly defined.

SAP Business Suite comes with 2,800 enterprise

services.
More bundles are under development and will be
released in the near future.

Leveraging cross-application business

processes is not clearly defined.

SAP is offering numerous value scenarios that

increase business value to the customers by
leveraging cross-system business processes.

More operational business intelligence and

analytics for better decision making.

Delivers embedded analytics by integrating business

objects into the SAP Business Suite.

Administration of SAP system is getting

difficult and expensive with a complex
portfolio of business applications.

Solution Manager is leveraged for monitoring and

administering the entire SAP business suite.

PART I

Key Customer Request

Table 1-3 SAP Business Suite Key Value Propositions

Software Unit (Usage Type)

Description

Depends On

AS ABAP

NetWeaver Application Server ABAP

AS Java

NetWeaver Application Server Java

BI Java

NetWeaver Business Intelligence Java

AS Java, EP, EP Core

DI

NetWeaver Development Infrastructure

AS Java

EP

NetWeaver Enterprise Portal

AS Java

EP Core

NetWeaver Enterprise Portal Core

AS Java

MI

NetWeaver Mobile Infrastructure

AS ABAP, AS Java

PI

NetWeaver Process Integration

AS ABAP, AS Java

Table 1-4 Available Usage Types with NetWeaver Installation

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Part I:

SAP NetWeaver Introduction and Architecture

Single-Stack System
A single-stack system is defined as a SAP system with either SAP NetWeaver AS ABAP or
AS Java as the foundation usage type. Examples of single-stack systems are SAP Enterprise
portal system running on NetWeaver AS Java as a foundation unit.

Dual-Stack System
A dual-stack system is defined as a SAP system where both SAP AS ABAP and AS Java are
used as foundation units. An example of a dual-stack system is SAP Process Integration. A
dual-stack system has one SID (System Identifier) and exactly one database with two different
schema names (one for ABAP and one for the Java stack).

Dual Stacks vs. Separated Stacks

With the introduction of Business Suite 7 the official SAP recommendation is to install AS
ABAP and AS Java capabilities as separate single-stack systems when the installation
options support this. This is referred to as a separated stack install. The latest versions
of installation tools starting with SAP NetWeaver 7 Enhancement Package 1 reflect this
recommendation. For example, if a customer wants to install a business intelligence (BI)
solution, then it is recommended to install BI ABAP components (BI Content) on a single
system with AS ABAP and BI Java usage types in another separate system. Some solutions
(Process Integration, Mobile Infrastructure, and Solution Manager) are mandatory dualstack installations at this time. Starting with SAP NetWeaver Mobile Infrastructure 7.1, a
dual-stack installation is no longer required. SAP is supporting existing systems with dualstack installations, and will offer an upgrade path to move to separated stack architecture.
SAP technical architects and enterprise architects should be aware of this new development
and formulate the technical blueprint and capacity planning accordingly.

SAP Basis Administrator vs. SAP NetWeaver Administrator

Whats in a name? That which we call a SAP Basis administrator by any other name would
be as challenging.
Since its inception SAP has considered the role Basis administrator to be the resource
responsible for performing all system administration activities for an organization that is
either implementing a new SAP solution or building a production support organization.
With the release of the SAP NetWeaver technology platform a few years back, SAP has
tried to brand the role as SAP NetWeaver administrator. Despite SAPs best intentions,
however, the name SAP Basis administrator seems to have stuck in terms of usage by the
SAP world. The evidence is in the frequent usage of the term in all major job boards, usage
by the project team and PMO (Project Management Office), and usage by corporate HR
departments.
For discussion purposes, in this book we use the terms SAP Basis administrator and
SAP Basis administration to include all system administration activities of a NetWeaver
technology platform, including the newly released SAP Business Suite 7.

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Chapter 1:

S A P N e t We a v e r a n d B u s i n e s s S u i t e I n t ro d u c t i o n

Summary
Business Suite 7 is the most current release of SAP.

PART I

SAP system administration and technical architecture work are challenging and yet
provide a rewarding career for an IT professional.
Business Suite 7 includes SAP ERP 6 with Enhancement Package 4, CRM 7.0, SCM
7.0, SRM 7.0, and PLM 7.0.
The key benefits of Business Suite 7 are improved functionality, no major upgrades
required, incremental innovation is delivered with the Enhancement Package
concept, and 7-2 maintenance strategy.
SAP NetWeaver usage types include AS ABAP, AS Java, BI, PI, EP, EP Core, DI,
and MI.
SAP ABAP and Java administration skills are needed to perform the job of a Basis
administrator of the NetWeaver technology stack and business suite applications.
Single-stack, dual-stack, and separated stack install options are available, depending
upon the solution required.
The SAP Landscape Governance Board is making a separated stack install
recommendation where offered by the SAP installer for several SAP solutions.

Additional Resources
SAP NetWeaver Products overview www.sdn.sap.com/irj/sdn/nw-products
SAP System Landscape Governance Board recommendations www.sdn.sap
.com/irj/scn/index?rid=/media/uuid/806c3398-a5ab-2d10-eb90-f364fa65c3b8#
SAP System Landscape Design Links
www.sdn.sap.com/irj/sdn/alm-landscape-design

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