Introduction To R/3 client-server technology

SAP R/3 uses three-tier architecture.

• R signifies Real-time system
• 3 represents –  3-tier architecture.
 
 

User’s PC:-  Users can access SAP system in two ways:-

1.Through SAP GUI
2.Through Web browser
It’s called front-end. Only the front-end is installed in the user’s PC not
the application/database servers.
Front-end takes the user’s requests to database server and application
servers.
Application Servers:-  Application server is built to process business-
logic. This workload is distributed among multiple application
servers.With multiple application servers user can get the output more
quickly.
Application server exists at a remote location as compared to location of
the user PC.
Database Server:-Database server stores and retrieves data as per
SQL queries generated by ABAP and java applications.
Database and Application may exist on the same or different physical
location.
 

Understanding different SAP layers

 

Presentation Layer :
The Presentation Layer contains the software components that make
up the SAPgui (graphical user interface). This layer is the interface
between the R/3 System and its users. The R/3 System uses the
SAPgui to provide an intuitive graphical user interface for entering and
displaying data.
The presentation layer sends the user’s input to the application server,
and receives data for display from it. While a SAPgui component is
running, it remains linked to a user’s terminal session in the R/3
System.
 
Application Layer :
The Application Layer consists of one or more application servers and
a message server. Each application server contains a set of services
used to run the R/3 System. Theoretically, you only need one
application server to run an R/3 System. In practice, the services are
distributed across more than one application server. The message
server is responsible for communication between the application
servers. It passes requests from one application server to another within
the system. It also contains information about application server groups
and the current load balancing within them. It uses this information
to assign an appropriate server when a user logs onto the system.
 

Database Layer :
The Database Layer consists of a central database system containing
all of the data in the R/3 System. The database system has two
components – the database management system (DBMS), and the
databse itself. SAP has manufactured its own database named HANA
but is compatible with all major databases such as Oracle.All R/3 data is
stored in the database. For example, the database contains the control
and customizing data that determine how your R/3 System runs. It also
contains the program code for your applications. Applications consist of
program code, screen definitions, menus, function modules, and various
other components. These are stored in a special section of the
database called the R/3 Repository, and are accordingly called
repository objects. R/3 repository objects are used in ABAP workbench.
 

Understanding the components of SAP

R/3 3-tier Architecture:-
ABAP+Java System Architecture

1.Message Server :It handles communication between distributed

Dispatchers in ABAP system.

2. Dispatcher Queue: Various workprocess types are stored in this

queue.

3.Dispatcher: It distributes requests to the work processes.

4.Gateway:It enables communication between SAP system and

between SAP system and external systems.

5.ABAP-Workprocesses:- It separately executes dialog steps in R/3

applications.Types of workprocesses are given as below:-
6.Memory-pipes: It enables communication between ICM and ABAP
work processes.

7.Message Server: It handles java dispatchers and server processes.It

enables communication within java runtime environment.

8.Enqueue Server:It handles logical locks that are set by the executed
Java application program in a server process.

9.Central Services:Java cluster requires a special instance of the

central services for managing locks and transmitting messages
and data. Java cluster is a set of processes that work together to
build reliable system. Instance is group of resources such as
memory, work processes and so on.

10. Java Dispatcher: It receives the client requests and forwards to

the server process.

11. SDM: Software Deployment Manager is used to install J2EE

components.

12. Java Server Processes: It can processes a large number of

requests simultaneously.
13. Threading: Multiple Processes executes separately in the
background , this concept is called threading.

14. ICM: It enables communication between SAP system and

HTTP,HTTPS,SMTP protocol. It means by entering system URL
in the browser you can access SAP from browser also.

One more component is JCO. JCO is used to handle communication

between java dispatcher and ABAP dispatcher when system is
configured as ABAP+Java.

How the SAP Logon Process works?

 
Step 1) Once user click on the SAP system from GUI , User request is
forwarded to Dispatcher .
Step 2) Request is stored in Request queues first. Dispatcher follows
First in First out rule .It will find free workprocess and if available will
be assigned.
Step 3) As per user request , particular workprocess is assigned to
user.For example , when user login to the system then Dialog
workprocess is assigned to the user.If user runs a report in background
then background workprocess is assigned to the user.When some
modifications are done at database level then update workprocess is
assigned.So as per user’s action workprocess is assigned.
Step 4) Once user is assigned the dialog workprocess then user
authorizations, user’s current setting are rolled in to work-process in
shared memory to access user’s data.Once dialog step is executed
then user’s data is rolled out from workprocess. Thus shared memory
will be cleaned and other user’s data can be saved in shared memory
area. Dialog step means the screen movements. In a transaction, when
a users jumps from one screen to other the process is called a dialog
step.
Step 5) First work process will find the data in the buffer. If it finds data
in buffer then there is no need to retrieve data from database. Thus
response time is improved and this process is called hit.If it does not
find the data in buffer then it will find the data in database and this
process is called miss. Hit ratio should be always higher than miss ratio.
It improves the performance of system .
Step 6) Other requested data is queried from the database and once
the process is complete,the result is sent back to GUI via dispatcher.
Step 7) At the end user’s data is removed from shared memory so the
memory will be available to other users.This process is called roll-out.

Read more at http://www.saptraininghub.com/learning-sap-

architecture/#8zGu11T4J7deWVMV.99

Please explain me what is the difference between

System Trace, Developer Trace and System
Log?
ST01 - System Trace which will be required when you want to record trace for
system ST05- Performance Trace (Developer Trace) which is required when
any user complaning for a long transaction and you want to record all activity
of Transcation. SM21- System log is for the recent logs for your CI and
application server. What ever happen in SAP it will write a system log.

1.What is the difference between System Trace, Developer Trace

and System Log?
System Trace:
If you want to record the internal SAP system activities, use the function
SAP System Trace. Recording the processes in your application server
enables you to monitor the system and facilitates troubleshooting.
Developer Trace:
Developer traces contain technical information for use in the event of
problems with your system. Using the entries in the developer traces
requires a sophisticated knowledge of the host systems in which your
SAP system is running and of the SAP system itself.
System Log:
You can use the log to pinpoint and correct errors occurring in your
system and its environment.
To work with system logs, choose Tools ® Administration from the R/3
initial screen. When the System Administration initial screen appears,
choose Monitoring ® System log. Alternatively, you can choose Test ®
System log from the ABAP/4
Development Workbench initial screen.
2.Incase, My sap system was down (Users are unable to login to
sap system) How to analyze this problem?
Check if all the services of SAP, Database, SAPOSCOL are up and
running.
check the wp status using dpmon.
Try restarting the workprocess., if that does not work., than try to kill
some of the jobs. Else., restart the application Server.
3.How to import the transport request at operating system Level?
When importing a transport request, what are the common errors
you faced?
tp import client U123689
RC 8 & 12
4.For example, my sap system having patch number was 8.I want
to apply patch 9 and 10.Mistakenly I will apply the patch directly 11
without applying 9 and 10.How sap system will recognize this
problem?
Firstly, the dependencies are checked. And without performing a test
import no BASIS consultant would import a support
pack. If you did that., than clear the OCS queue by running
OCS_RESET_QUEUE in SE37 than import SP9 and SP10. If it is
JAVA stack than no need to make changes you can directly apply
SP11.
5.One user unable to execute one t-code, that is authorization
object is missing, How to add this authorization object to user?
Take the SU53 screenshot., based on the output results., you can
search for authorizations that are existing in the system. If the
authorization is available and you receive an approval from the
concerned HOD or the concerned person., than you can directly attach
the authorization. If there is no authorization available., than the
functional lead or the HOD will revert back to you saying that you need
to create the Role or make modifications in an existing role. Than do
that in DEV, transport it to QAS and PRD.
6.for example, consider a client 800.This client having 75 users.
But 15 users account was locked. I want to unlock this 15 users
account at a time. How to do?
Using T-code SU10.
7.what is the use of parameter tab, and personalization tab in user
master record? What is the use of account id in logon tab?
8.how to change the number of work process at OS level? How to
analyze the status of work process at OS level?
By editing the instance profile at the OS level, you can increase the no.
of work processes by adding or modifying the
parameter rdisp/wp_no_=
Status of a WP can be checked at the OS level by executing dpmon.
9.For example, my sap system having 4 application sersvers. How
many enqueue work process allowed for this sap system?
1 (you can increase them by making modifications in rdisp/wp_no_enq)
10.What is the latest version of sap kernel? Can u give me the list
of kernel versions?
service.sap.com/swdc
710 (Demo version is available)
700
640
620
610 (WEB AS was introduced in this version)
4.6D
4.5
4.0
3.1
3.0
11.what are the prerequisite for before applying support packs?
Shall I apply sap basis patch to all the system, like BW,ABAP, HR,
etc.
Dependency check.... check if the new SP to be installed has any
dependent coponents in any of the other SP's.You must implement
different SP's for different components in SAP.
12.For example, I want to transfer 50GB of data from DEV to
Quality. I am using client export and import method; can you tell
me how many hours take for client export and import? And also
How many hours take for remote client copy?
Data transfer rate depends on the H/W Configuration and N/w Speed in
Remote Client copy.
13.How to perform a client import and export at OS level?
using r3trans or tp
14.What is the use of reference and service user in sap?
15.For example, I scheduled one ABAP program as a background
job, But it was running 10 days and above. How to analyze this
problem? what is the selection criteria?
16.How to take a sap backup using BRTOOLS explain the
procedure? When using BRTOOLS, which backup device, you are
used (Drive/tape) ?
refer inist.sap file.
17.When applying a support pack to sap system. Can you tell me
what are errors you are faced?
18.In CUA, I am unable to changes from DEV to QAS or PRD.How
to troubleshoot this problem?
19.In CUA, What is the use of distribution model, partener profile,
BAPI?
20.what is the user group and use in sap?
21.Example you have 6 sap application servers, I want to monitor
all the application servers. How to configure a CCMS?
22.what are the configuration details of ECC6.0?
1.Server ConfigurationGHDD, RAM, OS, DATABASE.
2. System ConfigurationG HDD, RAM, OS, DATABASE.
23.What are things we have to monitor in ST02, ST06, ST04, and
ST03?
We can monitor many things in the above T-codes. What exact info do
u need?
24.what is the name of your output device, device type in printer?
25.Can you tell me the path in service market place for download
support packs and kernel?
service.sap.com/swdc

How to identify long running

background jobs
1) First of all identify the job that is long running and identify
details like job class, workprocess that is executing the job

2) Click on the job to view the display job screen. In the screen,
click on job log to understand what is being performed by the job
currently. This may give details like job is currently extracting
some data packages or processing data packages etc

3) Identify the executing server and process id of the job from the
step 1 and goto transaction SM50 of the respective executing server
to view more details about the background job running.
Figure out the status of the job like On Hold or running from the
process overview. If the job is On Hold, find out the reason for On
Hold by examing the "Reason" column of SM50 transaction.
Reason for On Hold could be due to
CPIC/RFC/DEBUG/ENQ/PRIV/UPD etc.

Double click on the reason column for detailed information on the

same and troubleshoot accordingly. If reason is RFC, check out
which RFC it is referring to and cross check whether destination
system is up or not and any other problems with that system.
If it is ENQ, check out any lock issues like lock overflow etc
If it is PRIV, check out for memory bottlenecks
If it is UPD, check out whether any update issues
If it is CPIC, check out for any network , gateway, message server
and other communication problems

4) After performing step3, if you figure out job is not on Hold and
it is in running state, then examine report column to identify what
report/program is being executed by the job. Once you got the
report/program details, figure whether it sap program or custom
program and take actions accordingly.

5) Also examine Action and table columns in SM50 transaction of

respective executing server to identify what is the action( roll
in/roll out /Sequential read/Physical read/insert/update/delete
etc) being carried out by the job currently and what is the table on
which action is being carried out.

If it is sequential read, figure out the cost of that sequential etc and
consider for indexing etc. If it is physical read, check out whether
there are too many swaps and consider resizing buffers
accordingly. If you observed delay is due to high roll in/roll out,
identify reasons for the same and tune buffer/memory parameters
accordingly.

6) Once you get the table details on which action is being carried
out, figure out

How many records are existing in the table ?

Is this taking long time due to volume of records ?
Are there proper indexes on the table ?(If no proper index,
consider index creation by taking help of DBA )
Is the table having upto date statistics ? (If statistics are out of
date,
consider updating statistics of that table)
7) Consider debugging the process in SM50 ( Program/Session ->
Program -> Debugging ) to figureout the issue

8) Using ST05 or ST12, a trace can be taken for background job to

figure out where exactly time is being consumed and to identify
various cpu/memory bottlenecks or any buffer issues.

9) STAT/STAD transcation can be used to figure out what is the

reason for high response time and actions can be taken accordingly

10) By taking help of ABAP er, even ABAP run time analysis can be
done using SE30 transaction

By following the above steps, you can pin point the issue and take
actions accordingly to minimize runtime of long running
background jobs.

Troubleshooting long running

transport
How to troubleshoot when a transport is running for unusually
long duration and not getting completed or terminated ?

How to troubleshoot when a transport is in truck status for a long

duration of time ?

How to cancel a transport request which is in truck status or

running status ?

How to terminate a long running transport request to re-import

again ?

Transport is not getting terminated. How to do terminate?

How to troubleshoot when a transport is running for unusually

long duration and not getting completed or terminated ?

Go to transaction STMS_IMPORT and identify the transport which

is running since a long duration.
In the below screenshot, transport with the truck symbol is the
long running one

Issue could be due to following reasons :

1) Non availability of space to perform the operation (i.e filesystem
or tablespace is 100% full)
Ans:Check out if any of the filesystems (like sapmnt, oraarch etc)
of the Central Instance, Database and application servers is 100%
full. If so, please add necessary space, which resolves the issue
automatically and completes the import of transport.
Also, check out tablespaces fill levels. If autoextend is off and
tablespace is 100% full then add sufficient datafiles, which resolves
the issue

2) RD* jobs are not running in SAP system

Ans:Check out in SM37 whether RDD* jobs(RDDIMPDP,
RDDIC3L, RDDVERSL etc) are running or not. If not, please make
sure they are scheduled and perform the import of the transport
again

3) Update got deactivated

Ans:Checkout in SM13 whether update is active or not. If it is not
active, activate it and import the Transported to Production
System.
4) There are no free background workprocesses
Ans:Check in SM50 whether all background workprocesses are in
running status. If so, you will need to wait for the free background
workprocess to run RDD* jobs to complete the import of the
transport. To avoid this issue in future you may increase the
number of background workprocesses
Transport is not getting terminated. How to do
terminate?
1) If you are unable to terminate a transport which is running, goto
SM50 and identify the pid of the transport process. Try to cancel
the process with core or without core as shown below.

2) If it is not getting terminated from SAP level, then goto Oslevel

and kill.

Command for the same in AIX or HP-UX is kill -9 <PID>

If it is not getting killed from oslevel also, try to search for
processes related to tp or R3trans and kill them as well
Eg in AIX or HP-UX : ps –ef |grep tp     Or      ps –ef |grep r3trans

3) If it is not getting terminated from that level, you may try to kill
as shown below at SAP level :
Goto Import monitor and

Navigate as below and right click and delete entry to delete the
transport which is being imported
By any one of the above 3 methods, transport will surely get
terminated. So then you can add to queue again and re-import

Some knowledge on sap

workprocess
1. DIALOG WORK PROCESS

Parameters
rdisp/max_wprun_time=600 to 1800sec
rdisp/wp_no_dia

Monitoring Dialog Work Process

SM50-Local Instance (Central Instance):- To display the list of

process configured on that instance.
SM66-Global Instance (Including Central Instance and Dialog
Instances)
Dialog Process Screen
No, Type, PID, Status (Running, Waiting, Holding,
Terminated/Stopped, Ended), Reason (Sleep, Private, Enque
mode), Start, Err, Semaphore, CPU, Time, Report, Client, Users,
Action, Table.

Using DPMON we can monitor the status of Work Process at OS

Level

2. BACKGROUND PROCESS

Background Job Classes

ClassA- High Priority
ClassB- Medium Priority
ClassC- Low Priority

SM36- We can Define Background Jobs

SA38- We can create variant.

Variants are stored in Table TVARV.

Job Status
1. Scheduled, 2. Released, 3. Ready, 4. Active, 5. Finished, 6.
Canceled.

Background Job Steps

ABAP Program
External Program
External Commands
Using above Programs we can define Background jobs

Background Job Mechanism

When the dialog user defines to run a job in the background it is
entered into the tablesTBTCT and TBTCS
TBTCS (Background processing time schedule table)
TBTCT (Compare value for batch job selection)

Background job scheduler runs for every 60sec or the time

specified by the parameterrdisp/btctme=60sec
rdisp/wp_no_btc

Monitoring

SM37- We can monitor Background jobs

SM62- It’s used to display SAP events which will be triggered in the
Background by using SAPEVT.
SM69, SM49-External Commands
SM64- To trigger the event in the Background

3. UPDATE PROCESS

SAP TRANSACTION: - It consists of multiple transactions which

are handled by different Dialog work process these are updated in
Temporary tables. Update process reads the Temporary tables to
update the Database based on Transaction Id.
Each Transaction is Logical Unit of Work (LUW).

LUW: - It’s a Transaction which can be committed or rolled back

Types of Updates
Local Update
Asynchronous Update
Synchronous Update

Types of Update Process

V1 Update- High Priority
V2 Update- Low Priority
V3 Update- SAP Reserved
There should be at least one V1 update process defined for every 5
Dialog process

Dialog Process updates each dialog step tasks in temporary tables.

These are VB* tables and each of them
VBHDR (Header):- It stores header information
VBMOD (Modules):- These are used to update the transaction.
VBDATA: - The exact data to be updated.
VBERR (Error):- The errors that are occur during the update.

Transaction Id is generated from “NRIV” table (Number Range

Intervals)
Monitoring
SM13-We can monitor Update process
SM14- We can activate and deactivate Update process
Update Status
Init, Run, Auto, Error (Ora1631, 1632, 1653, 1654, 255, 275, 1555,
Deadlock, Number Range Problem, Support Packages or Notes)

Using following Transactions we can get the granular information

about Update Failure
SM21, SM37, ST22, SM13, SM50, SM66

Update Parameters

rdisp/vb_stop_active= 0 or 1:- Set to “0” so that update can be

deactivated. If the value is set to be “1”update can’t be deactivated
rdisp/vbdelete:- This parameter delete the old update requests
based on number of days. Default 50 days (which are older than 50
days it will delete).
rdisp/vbmail:- It’s used to send an email if update throws an error.
This can be viewed in “SBWP” (SAP Business Work Place). Based
on user
rdisp/vbname:- Name of the server where updates are processed.
rdisp/vbreorg=0 or 1:- Use to delete the incomplete the update
request “0” for Not Delete, “1” for Delete
rdisp/vb_delete_after_execution:- It’s used to delete the update
request soon after the execution of update. Set it to “1” for delete
record and “2” for not deleting
rdisp/wp_no_vb

4. ENQUEUE PROCESS

It’s used to communicate to obtain a lock while updating a record.

Enqueue time will be 1m/s to 5m/s for Central Instance and

100m/s for Dialog Instance

SM12:- Monitoring Enqueue locks. It displays lock arguments

based on Table name, Client and User name (Lock arguments Time
and Table)

Enque Problems

Lock Table overflow

enque/table_size=4 MB By Default ( We can increase up to 100
MB)
Enque Time Increase
rdisp/wp_no_enq ( Increase enqueue work process from 0 to 100)
Dead Locks
SM12:- Releasing locks
SM04:- for ending the user session.

5. SPOOL PROCESS

It is only process which is used to output the documents to the

printers, fax, Email, etc.
TemSe: - (Temporary Sequential objects) it’s nothing but spool
request. It will store spool request up to 32,000 to 99, 000.
rspo/spool_id/max_number=32000 to 99000
rdisp/wp_no_spo

Parameter
rspo/store_location =g or db (To store the spool request at OS
level or Database level)
g= OS Level (TemSe Resides in Global Directory) Spool size is
small (Around 300MB)Path= \usr\sap\<SID>\SYS\global

db=Database level (TemSe resides in these tables TST01, TST03)

TST01:- It stores the objects and details of spool requests (Author

name, No of Copies, Name of Printer etc)
TST03:- Spool Data to be printed

Spool process reads TemSe to generate out put requests. Out put
request depends upon the Access Methods
Local Access Method:- Spool process and Host spool resides on the
same system (C for windows, L for Unix )
Remote Access Method: Spool process and Host spool resides on
two different machines (S for windows, U for Unix)
Front End Printing:- Printers are directly connected to end user
systems (F for all)
rdisp/wp_no_spo_fro_max=2 (if 10 spool work process are
available 2 will be set for front end printing)

Spool Server: - The server with at least one spool process is called
as spool server. It can be Logical (For Fail over and Load balancing
of Printers) or Real servers.

SPAD: - For defining the Printer (Output device) and the Spool
Server (Logical or Real).

Monitoring
SP01:- It displays the list of spool request (Based on Username and
Date Time)
Status (-, +, Waiting, In Process, Printing, Completed, Problem
and Error)
SP02:- It displays Individual users spool requests
SPIC: - Spool installation Check use to check spool devices and
pending requests
SP12:- TemSe Administration to check memory allocation objects
and performs the TemSe consistency check

ORACLE DBA

BRSPACE
BRSPACE??

* Instance management
------------------------------
- Start up database
- Shut down database
- Alter database instance
- Alter database parameters
- Show instance status
- Show database parameters

* Space management
----------- ----------------
- Extend tablespace
- Create tablespace
- Drop tablespace
- Alter tablespace
- Alter data file
- Move data file
- Show tablespaces
- Show data files
- Show redolog files
- Show control files
- Show diska volumes

* Segment management
------------------------------
- Reorganize tables (online)
- Rebuild indexes (online)
- Export tables- Import tables- Alter tables- Alter indexes
- Show tables
- Show indexes
- Show table partitions
- Show index partitions
- Show segments
- Show segment extents
- Show free extents

Checking BR*Tools Release Information

pat2036:oras94 4> brtools –V | brspace -V
BR0651I BRTOOLS 6.40 (40)
Patch Date Info

36 2006-01-11 Small functional enhancements in BR*Tools (note

914174)
38 2006-03-29 BR*Tools support for MDM databases (note
936665)
40 2006-08-30 Wrong message numbers in BR*Tools 6.40 (note
976755)

release note 680046

kernel release 640
patch date 2006-08-30
patch level 40
make platform rs6000_64
make mode OCI_920
make date Sep 5 2006
Summary of the BR Tools

What is BRBACKUP - Backs up data files, conrol files, and online

redo log files of the database.
What is BRARCHIVE - Backs up offline redo log files
What is BRRESTORE - Restores data files, control files, and redo
log files
What is BRRECOVER - Recovers database files and restores
profiles and log files
What is BRSPACE - Manages the database instance, space, and
segments (that is, tables and indexes)
What is BRCONNECT - Performs database administration tasks
such as statistics update, check database system, adapt next
extents, clean up logs and DBA tables. Functions as a help tool to
monitor the database during a backup
What is BRTOOLS - Displays the menus from which the other BR
programs are called. Functions as an internal help tool started by
BRBACKUP, BRARCHIVE, and BRRESTORE.
What is BRGUI - Functions as a Java-based GUI, working as the
front-end display program for BR*Tools
Initialization Profile BR* Tools uses the initialization profile
init<SID>.sap as a input file.The following are the important
parameters in the init<SID>.sap file Ø

exp_dump_dir
exp_table
Imp_table
rebuild_index
reorg_table
show_period
space_copy_dir

exp_dump_dir

This parameter specifies the directory of the export dump file

Syntax : exp_dump_dir = < directory name >

Default : $SAPDATA_HOME/sapreorg

exp_tableThis parameter specifies the table for an export

Syntax: exp_table = [<owner>.]<table> | (<table_list>)
Default : None
Eg:
exp_table= (SDBAH, SAPR3.SDBAH)

imp_tableThis parameter specifies the table for an import

Syntax: imp_table = [<owner>.]<table> | (<table_list>)
Default : None
Eg:
imp_table= (SDBAH, SAPR3.SDBAH)

rebuild_indexThis parameter specifies the database indexes for an

index rebuild
Syntax: rebuild_index = [<owner>.]<index> | (<index_list>)
Default : None
Eg:
rebuild_index= (SDBAH`0, SAPR3.SDBAH`0)
reorg_tableThis parameter specifies the table for reorganization
Syntax: reorg_table = [<owner>.]<table> | (<table_list>)
Default : None
Eg:
reorg_table= (SDBAH, SAPR3.SDBAH)

show_TableThis parameter specifies the time period for which

BRTOOLS display log files
Syntax : show_period = <days>
Default : 30
Possible values :
0 – Show all available log files
1 – Show logs created today
>1 – Show logs files created in the previous specified number of
days

space_copy_dirThis parameter specifies the directory for file

copies during space management.
Syntax : space_copy_dir = <directory name>
Default : $SAPDATA_HOME/sapreorg

Logs for BR*Tools

Logs are created for BRBACKUP, BRARCHIVE, BRRESTORE,

BRRECOVER, BRCONNECT, and BRSPACE. These supply
information about database operations and are useful for problem
analysis.

The following types of logs are written: Ø

File System Logs
Database Logs in tables SDBAH and SDBAD

File System Logs

For more information, see:

· BRBACKUP Logs• Detail log - b<encoded timestamp>.<ext> ( eg:
bdvecswx.anf ) • Summary log - back<DBSID>.log (eg:
backS94.log )
Directory : /oracle/<SID>/sapbackup

· BRARCHIVE Logs• Detail log - a<encoded timestamp>.<ext>

(eg: aduryokf.svd ) • Summary log - arch<DBSID>.log (eg:
archS94.log )
Directory : /oracle/<SID>/saparch
· BRRESTORE Logs• Detail log - r<encoded timestamp>.<ext>
(eg: rdvecswx.rsb ) • Summary log - rest<DBSID>.log ( eg:
restS94.log )
Directory : /oracle/<SID>/sapbackup

BRRECOVER Logs• Detail log - v<encoded timestamp>.<ext>

• Summary log - recov<DBSID>.log ( eg: recovS94.log )
Directory : /oracle/<SID>/saparch
· BRSPACE Logs• Detail log - s<encoded timestamp>.<ext> ( eg:
sduvytan.tse )
• Summary log - space<DBSID>.log (eg: spaceS94.log )
Directory : /oracle/<SID>/sapreorg
· BRCONNECT Logs• Detail log - c<encoded timestamp>.<ext>
(eg: cduxtdrn.chk)
• Summary log - conn<DBSID>.log ( eg: connS94.log )
Directory : /oracle/<SID>/sapcheck
Database Logs
The database logs of BRBACKUP, BRARCHIVE, and BRCONNECT
are stored in tables SDBAH and SDBAD

SDBAH

This table contains information that refers to the backup as a

whole:

Starting time of the backup or BRCONNECT processing

End time of the backup or BRCONNECT processing
BRBACKUP/BRARCHIVE/BRCONNECT return code
BRBACKUP/BRARCHIVE/BRCONNECT action ID (encoded
timestamp of the file system log names)
BRBACKUP/BRARCHIVE/BRCONNECT function ID (extension
of the file system log names)

SDBAD

This table contains information that refers to the backup of one

file:

File name
· Oracle file ID or log group number
· End time of the backup of the file
· Name of the volume where the file was saved
· Position of the file on the volume
· Backup ID of the external backup program
· Compression rate of the software compression

In addition, table SDBAD contains internal BRBACKUP

information about compression rates and backup durations for the
individual database files. For BRCONNECT, SDBAD tables contain
information on the total number of objects processed by
BRCONNECT.

BRTOOLS for SAP

BR*Tools provides you with menus to perform a wide range of

database administration functions for your database BRTools (and
BRSpace) is the successor of SAPDBA. SAPDBA is no longer
delivered with WAS 6.40 (NetWeaver 04). You can continue to use
SAPDBA 6.20 for Oracle 9.2 on SAP systems that are based on
Web AS 6.40. However, SAP recommends that you only use the
BR*Tools there. You can of course also use the SQLPLUS
command tool.

BR *Tools is the program package containing BRBACKUP,

BRARCHIVE, BRRESTORE, BRRECOVER, BRSPACE,
BRCONNECT, and BRTOOLS.
BRTOOLS is the program that displays the menus from which the
other BR programs are called.
Not all functionality of SAPDBA is included in the new BR*Tools.
P.e. the “Alter table or index parameters” and “Reorganize
tablespace and data files” are missing.

Overview of the tools

BR*Tools User InterfaceThe user interface to BR*Tools provides
you with menus to perform a wide range of database
administration functions for your Oracle database. The menus are
controlled by BRTOOLS, which in turn calls one of the functional
BR programs.
You can use BR*Tools with a:

Character-based interface
GUICharacter-based interface, as in the following example, which
shows the main menu:

BR0280I Time stamp 2003-03-06 11.30.57BR0656I

Choice menu
1 - please make a selection------------------------------ Character-
based interface
BR*Tools main menu
1 = Instance management
2 - Space management
3 - Segment management
4 - Backup and database copy
5 - Restore and recovery
6 - Check and verification
7 - Database statistics
8 - Additional functions
9 - Exit program

Standard keys: c - cont, b - back, s - stop, r - refr, h - help

----------------------------------------------------------------BR0662I

Enter your choice:

What is BRBACKUP??

This SAP tool for the Oracle database enables you to back up
database files.
The smallest unit that can be saved with BRBACKUP is a file. You
can use BRBACKUP for backing up both files in the database and
non-database files and directories.

Use the backup_mode from the Initialization Profile

init<DBSID>.sap or the command option brbackup -m|-mode for
this purpose

backup_mode = all/full/incr

This parameter is used by BRBACKUP to determine the scope of

the backup activity.
Syntax: backup_mode = all|all_data|full|incr|<tablespace>|
<file_ID>|<file_ID1>-<file_ID2>|<generic_path>|sap_dir|
ora_dir|<object_list>Default: all

What is BRARCHIVE??

This SAP tool for the Oracle database enables you to archive offline
redo log files.

You can also start BRARCHIVE when the database is shut down.
You should archive the offline redo log files on tape using
BRARCHIVE.
In contrast to BRBACKUP, BRARCHIVE does not have its own
management of tape continuation. When a tape is full, you must
restart BRARCHIVE to write to the next volume.Logging for
BRARCHIVE

BRARCHIVE writes the following file system logs:

·<SAPDATA_HOME>/saparch/a<encoded timestamp>.<ext>
Every detail log contains information about the actions performed
during an archiving run.
·<SAPDATA_HOME>/saparch/arch<DBSID>.log
This summary log contains a brief entry for every archiving
operation that was performed.

BRARCHIVE also records its actions in the database tables SDBAH

and SDBAD
BRRESTOREThis SAP tool enables you to restore an entire
database backup or parts of it, when the backup was performed
with BRBACKUP. Any non-database files and directories you saved
can also be restored. In the process, the subdirectories in
sapdata<n>directories are automatically created, when necessary.
You can also restore the offline redo log files that were backed up
with BRARCHIVE. This operation can be performed at the same
time as the restore of the corresponding backup.

Ø·BRRESTORE can run unattended when option -c force is set.

The option -c only suppresses the first confirmation prompts for
mounting a volume.ØØ·BRRESTORE uses the BRBACKUP logs
and the summary log from BRARCHIVE to decide where to restore
the requested file. You can manually specify a different directory as
well.

·One or more incomplete BRRESTORE runs can be completed with

the option -f. BRRESTORE automatically determines the files to be
restored.

What is BRRECOVER??

The SAP tool BRRECOVER for Oracle databases is used as a

database administration tool to help you recover your database.
You can use BRRECOVER to perform the following:

Complete database recovery

Database point-in-time (PIT) recovery
Tablespace point-in-time (PIT) recovery
Whole database reset
Restore of individual backup files
Restore and application of offline redo log files
Disaster recovery
What is BRCONNECT ??The SAP tool BRCONNECT for Oracle
databases is used as:

· A database administration tool, which you can call yourself from

the command line
· A utility tool, which BRBACKUP calls in the background

BRCONNECT is specially designed to administer multi-schema

databases, in which you have more than one SAP System in the
same Oracle database

Uses
Database System Check with BRCONNECT
Adapt Next Extents with BRCONNECT
Update Statistics with BRCONNECT
Changing Database User Passwords with BRCONNECT
Clean Up Old Logs and Trace Files with BRCONNECT
BRCONNECT cleans up the following files:

Detailed BRARCHIVE logs in the saparch directory

Detailed BRBACKUP logs in the sapbackup directory
Detailed BRCONNECT logs in the sapcheck directory
Detailed BRRESTOE logs in the sapbackup directory
Detailed BRSPACE logs in the sapreorg directory
BRBACKUP disk backups of the database files
BRARCHIVE disk backups of the offline redo log files
BRSPACE export dump and export script directories
Oracle trace and audit files
Log records in the SDBAH and SDBAD tables
Log records in the XDBtables
Database check results in DBMSGORAtable

Adding SAP Datafile using

BRTools
Hi All,
In this blog I will tell you how to add a new SAP datafile using
BRTools:
In Windows login as SIDADM.

              Start --> run --> cmd --> brtools

For Linux and Solaris login as root, then follow these commands:

> su - oraSID > sqlplus /nolog > conn sys as sysdba

Enter password: (Press enter)
Connected.
sql>brtools
---------------------------------------------------
Steps are common once brtools starts:
Step1:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BR*Tools main menu

1 = Instance management
2 - Space management
3 - Segment management
4 - Backup and database copy
5 - Restore and recovery
6 - Check and verification
7 - Database statistics
8 - Additional functions
9 - Exit program

Standard keys: c - cont, b - back, s - stop, r - refr, h - help

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BR0662I Enter your choice:
2 ----------------> Enter 2

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Database space management

1 = Extend tablespace
2 - Create tablespace
3 - Drop tablespace
4 - Alter tablespace
5 - Alter data file
6 - Move data file
7 - Additional space functions
8 - Reset program status

Standard keys: c - cont, b - back, s - stop, r - refr, h - help

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BR0662I Enter your choice:
1 -------------> Enter 1
And then enter c two times.

Step2:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tablespace extension main menu

1 = Extend tablespace
2 - Show tablespaces
3 - Show data files
4 - Show disk volumes
5 * Exit program
6 - Reset program status

Standard keys: c - cont, b - back, s - stop, r - refr, h - help

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BR0662I Enter your choice:
1 ---------------> Select
After this all the table space will be displayed
Select the tablespace for which you want to add a new datafile.

For example we are trying to add datafile to tablespace "PSAPSR3".

As an example we have selected

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Options for extension of tablespace PSAPSR3 (1. file)

1 * Last added file name (lastfile) .......

[[Drive]:\ORACLE\SID\SAPDATA2\SR3_4\SR3.D
ATA4]
2 * Last added file size in MB (lastsize) . [2000]
3 - New file to be added (file) ...........
[[Drive]:\oracle\SID\sapdata2\sr3_5\sr3.d
ata5]
4 # Raw disk / link target (rawlink) ...... []
5 - Size of the new file in MB (size) ..... [2000]
6 - File autoextend mode (autoextend) ..... [yes]
7 - Maximum file size in MB (maxsize) ..... [10000]
8 - File increment size in MB (incrsize) .. [20]
9 - SQL command (command) ................. [alter tablespace
PSAPSR3 add dataf
ile 'D:\oracle\SID\sapdata2\sr3_5\sr3.data5' size 2000M
autoextend on next 20M m
axsize 10000M]

Standard keys: c - cont, b - back, s - stop, r - refr, h - help

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BR0662I Enter your choice:c ---------------> Enter c to continue
and create datafiles.
----After that enter n --------------------
BR0675I Do you want to perform this action?
BR0676I Enter 'y[es]' to perform the action, 'n[o]/c[ont]' to skip it,
's[top]'
to abort:
n --------------> Enter n to stop creating another datafile.
Y ------------> It will add a new datafile to it.

SAP DATABASE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

& ANSWERS -1

(Q) what is the size of oracle data block ?

(A) 8 KB (fixed size)

(Q) What are the situations in which DBWO writes dirty blocks to
disks ?
(A) If the number of scanned buffers reaches a certain thresh hold.
    At a specific time that is when check point occurs.

(Q) What are the conditions in which log writer writes redo log
buffer data to online redo log files ?
(A) There 4 conditions:
    When transaction is committed.
    For every three seconds.
    When redo log is 1/3rd of full.
    When DBWR is about to write modified buffers to disk and some of
the corresponding redo records have not at been written to online redo
log i.e. write ahead logging.

(Q)What are the entries in co files ?

(A) Physical structure of database
      State of  database
      Table space information
      Names and location of data files and redo log files.
      Current log sequence number
(Q) Why do I need ‘SPFILE<SID>.ora’ even though I have
‘init<SID>.ora ?
(A) From Oracle 9.i ‘init<SID>.ora’ is replaced by ‘SPfile<SID>.ora or
‘SPfile.ora.

(Q) If a file is missing from the chain of offline Redo log files, then
what we’ll do ?
(A) We have to perform a restore and recovery of Database. Recovery
is performed using the method   “Point In Time” by which all the Offline
Redo log files older than the last one is used for recovery.

(Q) What are the causes for logical errors related to Database ?
(A) (i) Manually deleting parts of Database objects such as Rows in a
table.
      (ii) Manually dropping Database Objects.
      (iii) Manually dropping Application Objects.

(Q) Is Point in Time Recovery a standard Solution for logical errors

in production system ?
(A) NO

(Q) Where do we use the Point IN Time Recovery ?

(A) Point in Time is very critical in a system landscape with Data
Dependencies between Systems.

(Q) How do we verify Consistency of Oracle Database ?

(A) By performing by a logical data check.

(Q) Why do we need to perform a logical check ?

(A) In order to verify corrupted Data blocks (Ora – 1578)

(Q) Why do we need to perform a physical Data check ?

(A) To verify the tapes used for Database backup.

(Q) How often we perform Online Backup and Offline Backups ?

(A) Online Backup = Daily
      Offline Backup = Once in a Week

(Q) How do we perform Backup of Offline Redo log files ?

(A) (i) Backup of every Offline Redo log files is taken TWICE on
separate tapes before the files are deleted from Archive Directory.
    (ii) Perform additional Backups after each system upgrade and also if
Database structure is Modified.

(Q) What are the tools used by Oracle Admin in an SAP System for
Backups ?
(A) Database Backups = BRBACKUP
      Offline Redo log files = BRARCHIVE

(Q) What are the occasions in which changes to Tile Structure of

Database is made ?
(A)  1) When a Data file is added
       2) When a Data file is moved to a Different Location.
       3) When a Table Space and its Data files are reorganized.

(Q) What are the various Backup types ?

(A) There are 5 Backup types
     1) Online Backup
     2) Offline Backup
     3) Complete Backup
     4) Incremental Backup
     5) Partial Backup

(Q) If the Corresponding Full Backup is already overwritten and

can I use Incremental Backup ?
(A) NO, Incremental Backup is useless.

(Q) Can I perform a Backup of Individual data files using

Incremental Backups ?
(A) NO

(Q) What are the various Backup strategies used in SAP ?

(A) There are 3 Backup strategies in SAP
     i) Complete Backup:- Restore missing Database files from complete
Backup, Restore Offline Redo Log files writte during and after this
Backup.
     ii) Incremental Backup:- Restore missing Data files from last Full
Backup, update them with restore from last Incremental Backup.
     iii)Partial Backup:- Replace complete backup with partial Backups ,
we need a longer time to perform a recovery from media crash.

 
(Q) Can RMAN recover the Database automatically without
Recovery catalog ?
(A) NO

(Q) Is whole Backup can be consider as level 0 Backup ?

(A) Whole backup is not level 0 Backup and can’t be used as basis for
Incremental Backup.

(Q) Why do we need to perform a preparatory run ?

(A)  If Backup with RMAN is supposed to form sets then we need to run
Preparatory run.
     Preparatory run can be run from DB13 prepare for RMAN Backup.
     No Backup is created during preparation run, only estimates
Compression rate of BRTOOLS to compress the files and to determine
compressed and decompressed file sizes.
     It is recommended to perform preparatory run per one Backup cycle.

(Q) What are the contents of tape lable after a tape is Initialized ?
(A) (i) Tape Name
    (ii) Name of the Database
    (iii) Time stamp of last backup recorded on the tape
    (iv) Number of Backups performed with the tape

(Q) Before writing data to tape if the lable is Red to check the
following
(A)(i)    Tape Name
   (ii)    Tape Locked or Expired(Expire_period)
   (iii) No. of times the tape already been read(Tape_use_count)
    If Expiration_period = 0 days, the Volume is not locked at all and can
be over written
    • If a lock occurs on a tape, it automatically expires at midnight.

(Q) What are the methods used by BRBACKUP and BRARCHIVE to

check tape locks ?
(A) There are 2 types of locks
       (i) Physical lock check: Physical lock check is done by checking
tape label parameter Expir_period. If the number of days passed since
the tape was last used is less than value of parameter Expir_period,
then the tape is physically locked.
       (ii) Logical lock check: This value is derived from the time stamp
written to tables SDBAH, SDBAD

(Q) What are the various tape selection processes ?

(A)   (i) Auto tape selection BRBACKUP and BRARCH
      (ii) Manual selection by the Operator
      (iii)By external tool

(Q) What is the option to select the tapes automatically by

BRBACKUP and BRARCH ?
(A) Set the parameter Volume_Backup and Volume_archive to TAPE

(Q) What is the command to check which tape will be automatically

selected ?
(A) BR Backup |  BRARCHIVE –Q | Query { check }

(Q) How do we switch off automatic tape Management ?

(A) By setting up the parameter(Volume Backup and Volume Archive) to
the value “SCRATCH”

(Q) How do I turnoff the tape management performed by SAP

tools ?
(A) Configure the parameter Backup_dev_type= UTIL_FILE
                                    OR
    UTIL_FILE_ONLINE and also configure BACKINT interface in
init<SID>.sap
NOTE: BackINT Interface program is only supported for external
Backup.

(Q) How do we verify Backups ?

(A) Verification of backups is of 2 types
     (i) Tape Verification: The files are restored file by file and compared
with original files to verify if the backup is redable.
     (ii) DB Block consistency: This checks the Database block by block
using Oracle tool “DBVERIFY” to identify and restore from bad blocks.
     PATH: BRTOOLSBackup & DBcopyVerification of DB Backup,
Verification of Archive log Backup
     The option USE_DBV(DBVERIFY=NO), only tape is verified (If yes
Tape verification + DB Block Consistancy Check)

(Q) If SAP started and I am trying to switch to non-archive mode

what will happen.
(A) It will show an error showing that SAP instance is running. Please
showdown first or use force option.

(Q) If SAP is running and I try to shutdown the DB using BR tools

what will happen.
(A) It through an error saying that SAP is running please shutdown the
SAP first or force option and then continue.

(Q) If table space is full then what are the possibility to extend the
table spaces ?
(A) Option 1: Add another data file to table space
           2: Existing data file can be manually resized
           3: Properties of existing data file can be changed to auto
extendable

(Q) What id the formula to increase the data files size ?

(A) Data file size = Expected DB/100

(Q) How many number of data files will be there by default ?

(A) Default there are 100 data files
(Q) What is the error related with table flow ?
(A) For table ORA1653, ORA1654 for indexes.

(Q) Create server parameter file from init<sid>.ora

(A) Login to oracle user (ora<sid>)

MS SQL Server

1) what is mdf and ldf file in sql

Master data file and logdatafile

(Ndf file is secondary file)

2) How can u shrink the log file

 if db. is in use we should shrink in single user mode

rc on dB name--tasks-----shrink----database or files-------select files

-----file type----data file or log file----type 0 and enter(maximum extent
shrink)

3) Backup job will run on primary

Copy job and restore job will be on standby servers

4) log shipping-----time can be specified

5) Mirroring---------depending up on network bandwidth the files will be

copied

6) Difference between 2005 and 2008

a) Difference in gui

7) Failover------

Fail Over : In this case the database on both Primary & DR Server will
be ONLINE and client can use both the databases.

Step 1: First need to check the database mode in DR Server.

Step 2:  Then need to login to SQL PR server and manually need to run
the back-up Job and then need to disable the Job.

Step 3: Similarly Need to login to DR SQL server instance and need to

manually run copy & restore job for respective database and have to
disable the jobs.

Step 4: Now need to check the transactional log files in LS Status. By

Cross checking this we can find out.

Step 5: Then need to bring the database on DR Server to ONLINE by

using query “restore database DB name with recovery”. Then will able
to see the database in DR server in ONLINE mode.

Database, backup and restore,

Transactional log backup
Database shrink, database and translog maintenance
Database I/O performance analysis
SQL Trace

SAP Basis Transaction codes

(T-codes)
User Administration:
 
SU01 User Maintenance
SU01D User Display
SU02 Maintain Authorization Profiles
SU03 Maintain Authorizations
SU05 Maintain Internet users
SU10        User Mass Maintenance
SMLG Maintain Logon Group
SUPC Profiles for activity groups
SUIM Info system Authorizations
PFCG Profile Generator
PFUD User Master Data Reconciliation
 
Client Administration:
 
SCC3 Checking Client Copy Log
SCC4 Client Administration
SCC5 Client Delete
SCC7 Client Import Post-Processing
SCC8 Client Export
SCCL Local Client Copy
SCC9 Remote client copy
 
Database Administration:
 
DB01 Analyze exclusive lock waits
DB02 Analyze tables and indexes
DB12 DB Backup Monitor
DB13       DBA Planning Calendar
DB15        Data Archiving: Database Tables
 
Transport Management System:
 
STMS Transport Management System
SE01 Transport and Correction System
SE06       Set Up Workbench Organizer
SE07 CTS Status Display
SE09 Workbench Organizer
SE10 Customizing Organizer
SE11 ABAP/4 Dictionary Maintenance
SE16 Data Browser
SE80 Repository Browser
SM30 Call View Maintenance
SM31 Table Maintenance
 
Background Jobs Administration:
 
SM36 Define Background Job
SM37      Background Job Overview
SM39 Job Analysis
SM49      Execute External OS commands
SM62      Maintain Events
SM64 Release of an Event
SM65 Background Processing Analysis Tool
SM69 Maintain External OS Commands
 
Spool Administration:
 
SP01 Output Controller
SP11 TemSe directory
SP12 TemSe Administration
SPAD Spool Administration
 
Other Administration Tcodes:
 
AL11 Display SAP Directories
BD54 Maintain Logical Systems
OSS1 Logon to Online Service System
SALE IMG  Application Link Enabling
SARA Archive Management
SICK Installation Check
SM14 Update Program Administration
SM35 Batch Input Monitoring
SM56 Number Range Buffer
SM58 Asynchronous RFC Error Log
SM59 RFC Destinations (Display/Maintain)
SAINT SAP Add-on Installation Tool
SPAM SAP Patch Manager (SPAM)
SPAU Display modified DE objects
SPDD Display modified DDIC objects
ST11 Display Developer Traces
 
Daily monitoring TCodes:
 
AL08 Current Active Users
SM12 Display and Delete Locks
SM13 Display Update Records
SM21 System Log
SM50 Work Process Overview
SM51 List of SAP Servers
SM66 System Wide Work Process Overview
ST22 ABAP/4 Runtime Error Analysis
ST01 System Trace
ST02 Setups/Tune Buffers
ST04 Select DB activities
ST05 Performance trace
ST06 Operating System Monitor
ST10 Table call statistics
ST03 Performance, SAP Statistics, Workload
SU56 Analyze User Buffer
 
Other Monitoring Tcodes:
 
OS01 LAN check with ping
RZ01 Job Scheduling Monitor
RZ03       Presentation, Control SAP Instances
ST07 Application monitor
STAT Local transaction statistics
 
Other Useful Transactions Codes
 
AL22 Dependent objects display
BAOV     Add-On Version Information
SA38 ABAP reporting
SE38 ABAP Editor
HIER Internal Application Component Hierarchy Maintenance
ICON Display Icons
WEDI IDoc and EDI Basis
WE02 IDoc display
WE07 IDoc statistics
WE20 Partner profiles
WE21 Port definition
WE46 IDoc administration
WE47 Status Maintenance
$TAB Refreshes the table buffers
$SYNC Refreshes all buffers, except the program buffer

What is private mode? When does user switch to user mode?

Private mode is a mode where the heap data is getting exclusively allocated
by the user and is no more shared across the system. This happens when
your extended memory is exhausted.

How can I restrict the user from printing?

(What authorizations should we disable) we can restrict using su01-defaults-

clear the output device(if any).

How can I restrict the user from printing? (

What authorizations should we disable) Use the object S_SPO_DEV to

restirct. What is osp$ mean?

What if user is given with this authorisation?

OPS$ is the mechanism the <SID>adm users uses to connect to the

database

Why do you use DDIC user not SAP* for Support Packs and SPam? Do
_NOT_ use neither DDIC nor SAP* for applying support packages. Copy
DDIC to a separate user and use that user to apply them.  

Can you kill a Job? Yes – SM37 – select – kill   If you have a long running
Job,

how do you analyse?

Use transaction SE30.  

How to uncar car/sar files in a single shot?

on Unix: $ for i in *.SAR; do SAPCAR -xvf $i; done

When we should use Transactional RFC ?

A “transactional RFC” means, that either both parties agree that the data was
correctly transfered – or not. There is no “half data transfer”.  

What is the use of Trusted system. I know that there is no need of UID and
PWD to communicate with partner system.
In what situation it is good to go for Trusted system ?
E. g. if you have an R/3 system and a BW system and don’t want to maintain
passwords. Same goes for CRM and a lot of other systems/applications.    Let
me know if my understanding below is correct:

1) By default the RFC destination is synchronous 2) Asynchronous RFC

is used incase if the system initiated the RFC call no need to wait for
the response before it proceeds to something else. Yes – that’s right.
But keep in mind, that it’s not only a technical issue whether to switch
to asynchronous. The application must also be able to handle that
correctly.

Which table contains the details related to Q defined in SPAM?

Is there a way to revert back the Q defined? If yes, How? There is a “delete”
button when you define the queue. If you already started the import it’s no
more possible since the system will become inconsistent.

What is the use of profile paramater ztta/roll_area?

The value specifies the size of the roll area in bytes. The roll area is one of
several memory areas, which satisfies the user requests of user programs.
For technical reasons, however, the first 250 KB or so of a user context are
always stored in the roll area, further data - up to the roll area limit
ztta/roll_first, - in the extended memory, up to the limit ztta/roll_extension or if
extended memory is exhausted, then - again in the roll area, until the roll area
is full, then - in the local process area, up to the limit abap/heap_area_dia or
abap/heap_area_total or until the address space or the swap space is
exhausted. Followed by termination with errors like
STORAGE_PARAMETERS_WRONG_SET an error code, that points to
memory bottleneck Minimum data transfer with context change; however, the
increase helps to avoid problems (address space, swap space, operating
system paging).
What is the difference between a client

copy and client refresh?

Some times these are the same, For
example, if you are performing a copy to an
existing client for the express purpose of
updating the data, then it is called Client
Refresh.
If you are copying to a newly created client
then it is more appropriate to say “client
copy.”
Another way of thinking about this is that a
client copy from production to a QA server
or from production to DEV server is really a
client refresh
Some times these are the same, For example, if you are performing a
copy to an existing client for the express purpose of updating the data,
then it is called Client Refresh.

If you are copying to a newly created client then it is more

appropriate to say “client copy.”
Another way of thinking about this is that a client copy from production
to a QA server or from production to DEV server is really a client refresh

What is sap system refresh when and why it is

done?
System refresh and client copy can be the same thing.  Normally when
you want to refresh a system this normally means refreshing the clients
using a client copy like SCCL or SCC8.  
A system "copy" is very different as this is far more involved than a
simple "client refresh" 
  
Imagine you have a DEV and a PRD system and after 6 months the data
in DEV is very old so you would perform a client copy SCC8 from PRD
to DEV using a profile that copies the application data from PRD to DEV
- it actually deletes the data and replaces it with data from PRD.  If
however your DEV system died and needed to be completely rebuilt, you
would use "Homogeneous System Copy" - you install the OS, Database
and SAP and then process the system copy
 - which makes a complete copy of PRD (all clients) 
  
Client copy - a single client refresh from PRD to DEV - can be just
application data, or user data, or configuration or any combination you
choose system copy - all clients 100% copied PRD to DEV
 
The system refersh is nothing but the deletion of the client and replacing
the data from other client.   
For example : you have clients 100, 200 and 300.  Suppose when you
want to refresh the client 100 you remove the client 100 and replace it
with 200 0r 300 as per your requirement. Mostly the refresh of clients
will be happen at the time of development stage.
System Refresh is a simplified term to Client Copy. Client Copy means
copying the production client on to the quality to test the real data. As
recommend by SAP this need to carried out every 3 months.
 
The process to carry out the same is as follows: 
 
 1. Create a client on quality system using txn scc4 
 2. Create a RFC between Production system and Quality System (need
to create on quality system) 
3. Login to the newly created client using sap* and pass as a
password 

4. Txn sccl to start the client copy. You can test the client copy by
selecting the test run option. (test run will estimate the time taken
for the activity).

what is difference b/w system copy and system

refresh..?

System copy is nothing but refreshing database

of same system using same system backup.. (no
SID change).
System refresh is updating the database of one system with other system (means from
Production to Sandbox/QA)..
What are the differences between
system refresh and client refresh?

when you say system refresh you aree copying your data
from
Prod. system to your fix system or may be on your
training/quality system. Here it replaces all the data and
you need to backup your data on target system (printers,
users, rfc, and other system dependent stuff) If you dont
do that it would be replaced from your Prod (source). Also
while doing system refresh you dont have option of
seggregating the data (as you use your backup and redo
logs
till your sync time). This is a long tiring task includes a
lot of post steps... :-)
Client Refresh can be seen in a way where you are
copying
data to an exsisting client where you will be defining the
type of profile (cust, users, master data or so on. This is
little simpler compared to system refresh. 

.Where are t-code name and program values

stored? How can I find a list of all the t-codes in
the SAP system?
You can use transaction st11 to view Table TSTC. You can define
a new t-code using transaction se93.

How can one disable the “Import All” button on STMS for the
queues?
Login to your Transport Domain Controller. Run STMS->Overview-
>System.
Choose the System you want to disable import all. Go to
Transport Tool tab.
Add/Create Parameter “NO_IMPORT_ALL” set its value to 1.

What is the difference between a client copy and client

refresh?

A: Sometimes these are the same, For example, if you are

performing a copy to an existing client for the express purpose of
updating the data, then it is called Client Refresh. If you are
copying to a newly created client then it is more appropriate to
say “client copy.”

What is the purpose of table T000?

A: Table T000 contains a list of defined clients, which you can

maintain with transaction SCC4.

What is the purpose of table USR02?

A: This table stores User IDs and passwords

How do you create a password exception list?

A: Place the answers in table USR40

What is the purpose of table TADIR?

A: Table TADIR contains object directory entries

What is the purpose of table TDEVC?

A: Table TDEVC contains development classes and packages.

What is the transaction codes associated with changing

requests, request headers, or request object lists?

A: The following tables hold information about change requests.

E070 Change request headers
E071 Change request object lists

How can you get a list of the users with development access
on a particular system?

A: Table DEVACCESS

Where can you find a list of object keys included in a

transport?

A: E071K Object keys contained within transports

How can you tell if a transport entry is in the process of being

imported?

A: Check table TRBAT

How can you find a list of objects that have been repaired in
the system?

A: ADIRACCESS List of repaired objects and their access keys

How do you Disable Multiple Logins in the same Client?

A: To disable multiple user logins within the sameclient

implement this parameter in the instance profile:
login/disable_multi_gui_login = 1
If you do not use this parameter in your system, users have the
ability to ignore the warning window at the time they try to login
to the same client.
Activating this parameter in your system will make you look good
if you get audited!

How about exceptional logins?

In case you’re wondering how to allow multiple logins for certain

key users you can implement parameter
login/multi_login_users.
You can list the user IDs that should be ignored if the parameter
above is active in your system.

How can you View Locked Transactions?

A: As you know, you can lock/unlock transaction codes via SM01.
But, how do you go about viewing the transactions that are
locked in the system? You need to look in field CINFO, table
TSTC.

Within SAP, you can use either SE11 or SE16 to browse the table
contents. Make sure you enter “A0″ as the “HEX01 data element
for SYST” starting value and “A9″ as the ending value.
This will list all the transactions locked in the system.
Note: The CINFO field description is “HEX01 data element for
SYST”.

What is the difference between TP and R3TRANS

A: TP controls the process and calls several tools, like r3trans but
also e.g. DDIC-Activation.

Is there a difference between user DDIC and SAP_ALL/SAP_NEW ?

A: Yes, DDIC is hard coded to do some things other IDs cannot.

But you should be able to activate tables in SE11 using a SAP_ALL
user.

If you receive an “error occurred during installation” message

when trying to install the DBInstance (SAP DB) what can you do to
fix the problem?
A: Use shorter pathnames.

Is it possible to install ECC 5.0 as a test system and not

production, without installing solution manager?

A: During the installation you will be asked for a key, which can
only be generated by the solution manager.

Is there a way to perform SAPGUI 640 roll out using a centralized

server?
A: Look for SAPADMIN and SAPSETUP on the installation CD.
Then, use a utility such as Microsoft’s SMS to distribute this
program or use a login script to call the SAPSETUP program.

If SAPconsole telnet screen size is too big how do you make it

smaller?
A: Go to the control panel, and then to the SAP console
administrator and general tab.

Is there a way to find out what was entered in a particular

transaction code screen?
A: No, but you can analyse tables associated with the transaction
code and see if there is a username field that traces what this
user has done.

What Is difference between CENTRAL INSTANCE AND

DIALOG INSTANCE ?

Ans: Central Instance have message server installed on it

where as Dialog Instance do not have message server.

What are common transport errors?

Return code (4) indicates imported ended with warning.

Ex:
1. Generation of programs and screens
2. Columns missing and Rows missing.

Return code (Cool indicates not imported ended with error

Ex:
1. Syntax error.
2. Program generation error.
3. Dictionary activation error.
4. Method execution error.
Return code (12) indicates import is cancelled.

Ex:
1. Import is cancelled due to object missing.
2. Objects are not active.
3. Program terminated due to job ?RDDEXECL? is not
working.
Return code (16) indicates import is cancelled.

Ex:
1. Import cancelled due to system down while importing.
2. Import cancelled due to user expires while
importing
3. Import cancelled due to insufficient roles.

How many transport request types are there?

Four types of transport requests:
1. Customizing request.
2. Workbench request.
3. Transport of copies.
4. Relocation.

What is a Support Package?

• When an end user of SAP finds a bug in the SAP product, he reports
the same to SAP support. SAP programmers inspect the bug and
develop a correction for the bug. This correction is known as
SNOTE (SAP Note).
• With time, multiple end users, report bugs for which SAP releases
SNOTE. SAP collects all these corrections in one place and this
collection is called SUPPORT PACKAGE. This support package
also includes enhancements to earlier versions of SAP.
• In simple words collection of SAP NOTES is called as SUPPORT
PACKAGE.
• Support Packages are implemented in SAP system using Transaction
SPAM (Support Package Manager)
 

What is Support Package Stack (SPS)?

The Support Package Stack is a list of ABAP and Java Support
Packages for all software components (SC) included in SAP
NetWeaver. It is used to bring each Software Component of SAP
NetWeaver to a defined Support Pack (SP) level.
Support Package Stack , commonly known as STACK bundles all
required components or individual patches that are already tested
together and recommended applying as SPS instead of individual patch
(until and unless you face some problem which requires certain
components to be patched).
Go to http://service.sap.com/sp-stacks/, select your NW version to
check the current SPS level and other details.

What are Support Pack Stack version

numbers ?
Support Package Stacks have a release number, and a Stack number,
Example, SAP NetWeaver ’04 Support Package Stack 11.
Each software component has a separate sequence of Support
Packages. The following list contains the technical names of a number
of components and the notation for their Support Packages:
5.COP (Component Package):
6.SAP_APPL (SAP APPL Support Package): SAPKH<rel><no>
7.SAP_BASIS (Basis Support Package): SAPKB<rel><no>
8.SAP_ABA (Application Basis SP): SAPKA<rel><no>
9.SAP_HR (SAP HR Support Package): SAPKE<rel><no>
10. SAP_SCM (SCM Support Package): SAPKY<rel><no>
11. SAP_BW (BW Support Package): SAPKW<rel><no>
12. SAP_CRM (CRM Support Package): SAPKU<rel><no>
 

 Pre-requisites for Support Package

implementation:
15. Support packages should be always applied in client 000.
16. The user to be used for the support package implementation
must have authorizations equivalent to DDIC or SAP*
17. Call the transaction SPAM and see if any previous Support
Package import is incomplete. You can proceed ahead unless the
previous support package import is successful.
18. Ensure that there is enough space in the transport directory. The
transport directory is located at /usr/sap/trans

Steps to Upgrade the Support Package:

Step 1: Download Support Packs
Support Packages are available in SAP Support Portal, under
service.sap.com/patches.
Step 2: Loading Support Packages:
To load support packages we have two options:-
• From Application Server
• From Front End
From Application Server
13. Download the support packages from service marketplace and
save them at OS level in directory /usr/sap/trans.
14. Uncompress these files using sapcar executable
sapcar –xvf <support package name>

After uncompressing the support packages at OS level the .PAT

and .ATT files are stored in /usr/sap/trans/EPS/in directory.
Next, load the Support Packages into SAP system by choosing
Support Package –>Load Package  –> From Application Server

From Front End

Choose Support Package –> Load Packages –> From Front End
 
Step 3: SPAM/SAINT Update:
A SPAM/SAINT Update contains updates and improvements to Support
Package Manager (SPAM) and Add-On Installation Tool (SAINT). There
is always one SPAM update for each release. SPAM/SAINT update is
mandatory before any support package upgrade.

Step 4: Defining Queue

Queue contains the Support Packages available for the different SAP
Components installed in your system. This Queue information is derived
from the support pack uploaded in Step 2.
1.On the initial screen in Support Package Manager, choose
Display/Define.
2.A list of installed software components (for example, SAP_BASIS,
SAP_HR, SAP_BW) is displayed.

 
3.Once you select the required component, the current queue appears.
This queue contains the Support Packages available for the selected
component in your system. If you want to define the queue for another
software component, choose Other Component. If the displayed queue
meets your requirements, you can confirm it by choosing Confirm
Queue
 
Step 5: Importing Queue.
Once you a define a Queue (Step 4) while selecting a particular
component (for which we want to upgrade support pack), we need to do
‘Import queue’ to start importing/applying that particular selected
support pack (as per the standard SAP process).
Choose Support Package –> Import Queue

To become familiar with known problems and issues, always read

the note mentioned in above screenshot.
The support package import has been started

Step 6: Confirming Queue:

Confirm that the queue has been imported successfully into your
system. This allows you to import Support Packages in the future. You
will not be able to import Support Packages further,if you do not confirm
the queue.

Once Queue has been imported, SPAM status becomes YELLOW

 
Confirm successful import of the Support Packages into your system by
choosing Support Package à Confirm.

Checking Logs
19. IMPORT LOG :It displays logs for Support Package Manager
Phases that are used by transport control program tp(transport
control program).Go to–>Import log–>Queue
20.
21. ACTION LOG: It contains information about the actions that take
place during the individual phases (while importing the current
queue).It also includes information about the point at which a
phase was stopped, as well as detailed error information.To
display the logs for the current queue Go to–>Action log

22.
23. While the support packages are being imported, logs are made
into the tmp directory (path: usr/sap/trans/tmp)
24. Once the import process is completed logs can be viewed from
 the log directory (path: usr/sap/trans/log)

Applying JAVA patches

The JAVA patches are applied usin
g the SDM tool. The procedure is as follows:
• Login as user sidadm• Change the directory to
F:usrsapsidDVEBMGSxxSDMprogram• Execute the script ./RemoteGui.bat.•
Login as follows:

• After Login, the following screen is displayed:

 
• Select the Deployment Tab and you get the following screen
 
• Click on the Up Arrow at the bottom of the above screen alongside the
Deployment Configuration and select the option as follows:

 
• Select the JAVA patch file to be deployed as follows:
 
• The following screen is displayed
 

• Press the Next button

 
• Press the Next button

 
• Click on the Start Deployment button
The deployment is then started and the logs are displayed in the above
screen on the right hand side. Once the deployment is over, exit from the
SDM.
Applying Support Patches in Netweaver 7.3
Java Stack
1. Using JSPM . You can run the JSPM tool from the following location
Drive:\usr\sap\SID\J02\j2ee\JSPM

Well , got the following error while executing the JSPM tool.
"An error has occurred during the execution of the JSPM_MAIN phase.
Cannot initialize application data. Error occurred while trying to get the
SAPLOCALHOST parameter value from the instance number: 2 on
host: GDC-UAT via SAPCONTROL the web service API. See SAP Note
1401712 for further information. java.rmi.RemoteException: Service call
exception; nested exception is:
com.sap.engine.services.webservices.jaxrpc.exceptions.InvalidRespon
seCodeException: Invalid Response Code: (401) Unauthorized. The
requested URL was:"http://GDC-UAT:50213"
com.sap.engine.services.webservices.jaxrpc.exceptions.InvalidRespon
seCodeException: Invalid Response Code: (401) Unauthorized. The
requested URL was:"http://GDC-UAT:50213"

To resolve this issue we need to change the entry of the parameter in

DEFAULT.PFL file till we finish with JSPM tool also , we need to start all
sapstartsrv services in the cluster.
Changed Entry " service/protectedwebmethods = DEFAULT  "

Once the issue is resolved please check the version and level of SP's in
JSPM.

 As, we can not determine the SPS level by just looking at the individual
SP level. We can check the current SPS level using MOPZ or at the
stack calculation at the Service Market Place. Implementation and
maintenance of SAP NetWeaver 7.3 via SP Stacks is only possible
via SAP Solution Manager's Maintenance Optimizer (MOPZ)
how to undeploy java patches in sap
A) you cannot undeploy it to previous version. If you will try to undeploy it from
SDM then it will undeploy complete J2EECORE patch. Because Java patches
are cumulative. Only possibility is system restore that is too file system
restore.

"Only possibility is system restore that is too file system restore."

I also notice that on SDM right panel there are 3 target systems: DB, Config,
File system.
My understanding is that any SCA will be deployed to DB as well as config
and file systems.
Could you explain the reason why not all content goes to DB , like ABAP
stack?

Architecture of As Java and As ABAP systems are different in

ABAP where all changes goes to database but same is not true in
case of As Java system. While applying patches in As Java
system most of the things effected are in file system only. 
As far as approach suggested by Anil, i have never tried this
approach. So, you can give a try if this work for you.

Windows patches installation In sap.

How you are pushing patches ?/or using SCCM or WSUS or manual ?

System center configuration manager  (SCCM)

Windows server update services (WSUS)

Things To Check When SAP System Down

How to troubleshoot my sap system when it was down?  What are the
things I have to check?
A Basic Technical Troubleshooting:
Perform initial analysis.
Identify if something has changed (software or hardware installation,
scripts, profile parameters, database structure).
System (hardware) is down:
- Check console messages.
- Reboot and keep important system log files.
- Check hardware components.
- Analyze with diagnosis tools.
- Escalation procedure: call hardware support.
- Check main log files.
- Analyze with diagnostic tools.
- Start up/shut down log files.
- Check operating system log files.
- Identify other problems (startup/shutdown, disks and operating systems,
database, operational R/3, performance).
Startup and shutdown problems (R/3 and application servers):
1. Check processes or services at operating system level.
2. Check whether database is up.
3. Check connection with database (i.e., tnsping, R3trans). 
4. Check whether file systems are full. 
5. Check for network problems in the server network. 
6. Check backup log for problems after backup. 
7. Check for problems after system crash. 
8. Check for problems with PDC file server. 
9. Check files permissions and authorizations. 
10. Manually start up or shut down database and then the application
server. 
11. Check hosts and services files.
Operating system problems:
1. Check operating system log and event viewers.
2. Check disks and file systems.
3. Check directories and permissions.
4. Check path names.
5. Check security.
Database problems:
- Starting and stopping database
- Refer to startup problems.
- Check database specific error log file.
- Database storage status
- Check database error numbers.
- Check database alerts.
R/3 application operational problems:
1. Check whether all users are affected.
2. Check whether there is no work at all, or whether work is just limited. 
3. Check whether application servers are available (SM51). Check with
standard monitoring transactions: SM50, SM04, SM12, SM13, ST22,
SM37, and SP01. 
4.Check trace files on work directory (/usr/sap/<SID>/<instance>/work). 
5. Check SAP systems alerts. 
6. Analyze database problems.
Specific operational problems:-
Problems with printing:
A. Check network.
B. Check SP01/SPAD spool request logs.
C. Check system log.
Problems with batch input:
A. Check directories and files.
B. Check SM35 logs.
C. Check system log.
Problems with lock entries:
A. Check lock entries.
B. Check update process.
Problems with update process:
A. Check update process.
B. Check database.
C. Check network connections.
4. Problems with enqueue:
A. Check database.
B. Check instance parameters.
C. Check operating system processes.
5. Problems with message server:
A. Check processes.
B. Check network.
C. Check log files at work directory.
6. Problems with background processing:
A. Check job log.
B. Check background system consistency.
C. Check file systems.
D. Check system log.
7. Performance problems:
1. Perform workload analysis.
2. Perform debugging.
3. Perform runtime analysis.
4. Perform SQL trace.
5. Check for operating system problems.
6. Check disks for input/output bottlenecks.
Resolution process:
1. Search or SAPnet notes for hints, solutions, or workarounds. 
2. Escalation: enter message on SAP hotline or SAPnet. 
3. Enter problem on hardware partner hotline. 
4. Follow problem actions and SAP indications. 
5. Apply patches and corrections; test and verify results.

Enable SAP Single Sign On - on Windows

Before implementing SSO on SAP / Windows, there are a few
things you should know:
• You require on your landscape, a Microsoft LDAP Server (Active
Directory).
• Your SAP system NT accounts (sidadm and SAPServiceSID), must be
running under an already created LDAP domain.
• If your Windows client computers are running on a different domain
than the domain of where the SAP system NT accounts are (ex:
PCs: clients.mycompany.org, SAP: servers.mycompany.org), you
must create a trust relationship between these two domains.
• Please note that the SAP Kerberos implementation its in its way a little
restrictive, so you must always provide the correct information
(example: domains are always UPPERCASE).
Additional pre-requisite steps you need to follow to set-up SSO:
On the domain controller of the SAP server´s, execute:
SETSPN -A SAPServiceSID/dontcare MYDOMAIN\SAPServiceSID
(The Service Principal itself is not used, only the undocumented side-
effect of re-enabling rfc-1964/rfc-4121 compliant authentication.)
Download the win32sso.zip or win64sso.zip (from OSS Note 352295)
according to your platform. Unzip it and place the kerberos file on
%SYSTEMROOT%\System32 (for ex. on x64 the file should be
gx64krb5.dll).
Download and Install the SAPSSO.MSI, on each client PC on
which you want to enable SSO. To get it, go to OSS Note 595341.

Enabling SSO on your SAP System server:

Create a system environment called "SNC_LIB" pointing to
"C:\Windows\System32\gx64krb5.dll".
Set the following parameters on your instance profile:
snc/enable = 1
snc/gssapi_lib = C:\Windows\System32\gx64krb5.dll 
snc/identity/as = p:SAPServiceSID@SERVERS.MYCOMPANY.ORG
Also set these additional parameters if you want to enable a
fail-back mechanism in case the LDAP server is down (this will allow
users to still log-on into the system by using their SAP username
and password):
snc/accept_insecure_cpic = 1snc/accept_insecure_rfc = 1
snc/permit_insecure_start = 1
Restart your SAP system and enter providing client, user and
pass. If you are unable to logon, check the dev_w* traces to see
what part of the SSO mechanism is failing.
Check on transaction SU01 that a new tab "SNC" is
displayed.

Enabling SSO on your SAPGUI computers:

Install the before mentioned file SAPSSO.MSI. Also make
sure that the variable SNC_LIB on these computers are created
globally for all users (if not, change it).
Right click on your SAPLogon connection --> Properties -->
and flag "Enable SNC", below enter the following:
"p:SAPServiceSID@SERVERS.MYCOMPANY.ORG".

Linking LDAP users with SAP users:

Log on your SAP system and go to transaction SU01. In this
example SAP User ID is "WAYNE", while its LDAP User ID is
"jwayne".
Select SNC tab, and provide the following information:
"p:jwayne@CLIENTS.MYCOMPANY.ORG". Intro to validate the SNC
entry and you should see a green message "SNC Canonical Name
determined".

Now the LDAP user ID "jwayne" is able to logon to the SAP system under
user ID "WAYNE".
Please note, you have to set the user SNC properties for each mandt you
want to enable SSO.
Renewing SAP Router License
Renewing SAP Router License

Hi All,
Here are the Steps of renewing the SAP Router License.
Step1: Login as sncadm user. Take a Backup of folder where SAP
Router is installed. Ex: D:\usr\sap\saprouter to
D:\usr\sap\saprouter_backup.
Step2: Execute the below command
sapgenpse get_pse -v -r certreq1 -p local.pse

It will ask for PIN, so enter any 4 digit number and remember this,
as you may need it in at other places during renewal. Easy to
remember code is 1234.
Also enter the distinguish name.(You can find the distinguish
name at https://websmp203.sap-ag.de/saprouter-sncadd )

Now copy the content of “certreq“ .(Either to the clipboard or to

the notepad)
Step3: At Service Market Place logon to https://websmp203.sap-
ag.de/saprouter-sncadd -----> SAPRouter Certificates -----> Apply
Now.
On the next page Click on "Continue"
After that Paste the Contect into the Edit Box(Paste the content
from -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE REQUEST----- to -----END
CERTIFICATE REQUEST----- ).
Now Click on "Request Certificate".

Copy the entire content of the Certificate from Begining to End to a

text file named “srcert.txt“ and copy this file to the same location
where it was present. Rename it to "srcert".
Ex: D:\usr\sap\saprouter

Step4: Install the certificate in our saprouter by running

:\usr\sap\saprouter>sapgenpse.exe import_own_cert -c srcert -p
local.pse

Now we have to create the credentials for the SAProuter with

command
:\usr\sap\saprouter>sapgenpse seclogin -p local.pse 
This will create a file called cred_v2 in the same directory.
Step5: Check if the certificate has been imported correctly
:\usr\sap\saprouter>Sapgenpse get_my_name -v -n Issuer

Installing SAPOSCOL on a Microsoft Windows

Host
Installing SAPOSCOL on a Microsoft
Windows Host 

Procedure
...

       1.      Ifan older version of SAPOSCOL is active on your host, stop this

service in the system control and backup the old SAPOSCOL version.
On hosts with SAP R/3 Systems, SAPOSCOL is in the
directory \usr\sap\<SID>\SYS\exe\run or \usr\sap\d<inst.no>\exe.
       2.      Replace this with the new version.
       3.      Start the SAPOSCOL service again in the system control. If you
are installing SAPOSCOL on the host for the first time, set up a service
for SAPOSCOL with the following command:
ntscmgr.exe install SAPOsCol -b <path>\saposcol.exe –p service

         Choose a user for the service that is a local administrator on the

relevant server. Only then can SAPOSCOL collect all relevant data. If
there is a sapservice<SID> user, use this user.
         As ntscmgrcreates services under the system user by default,
change the configuration in the system control after the installation.
         For more information, see SAP Note 0436186.
Result
You have copied the current version of the operating system collector
SAPOSCOL to your host and started it there.

JSPM – Java Support Pack Manager

Check whether the used JDK version and the Java VM settings of the Java
runtime system comply with  the requirements in the SAP Note 723909.
Update the JDK and adjust the settings if necessary. You can update all
software components of SAP products that are deployed on the system
by applying a support package stack. Support package stacks are defined
by SAP collections of support packages for software components that
work best together. In addition, you can apply a support package stack,
which contains newer versions of SAP software components that have
been modified in the NWDI
Before you can apply a support package stack of a given level, you
have to update JSPM to the same level by applying it as a single
support package The update of JSPM does not require a restart of
the J2EE Engine and does not affect the system operation. If the
stack is produced for this system by the Maintenance Optimizer,
this option will: upgrade with the included components all
components that are already deployed on the system to a higher
release or to the same release but a higher support/patch level
install new components if there are any in the support package
stack.

Prerequisites
The settings of your system are according to note 723909.

The SAP NetWeaver Application Server Java (AS Java) and the
database have been backed upDirectories and files have not been
deleted, renamed, or created in the following directories and their
subdirectories: /usr/sap//SYS/exe and /usr/sap//SYS/profile.
Otherwise, JSPM cannot detect the kernel and the system profiles,
and cannot be started. If a backup of the kernel and the system
profiles has been required, it has been created in a different
directory.

If your database is MaxDB, the overwrite mode for the log area
has been set

The support package stack you want to apply and the

corresponding stack definition XML file have been downloaded to
the global EPS inbox directory /usr/sap/trans/EPS/in. For more
information about SAP products, see SAP Service Marketplace at
service.sap.com/sp-stacks.

If the support package stack you want to apply includes the

Enterprise Portal, the SDM timeout for the automatic start/stop of
the J2EE Engine has been increased to 2 hours.
The adm user has Read permissions for the global EPS inbox
directory /usr/sap/trans/EPS/in.

The database and the SDM repository have been synchronized.

There is enough disk space..

Maintenance Optimizer and Support package definition file

creation
More information at help.sap.com ® SAP Solutions ® SAP
Solution Manager ® select a language ® Change Management ®
Maintenance Optimizer

Download the support package stack with all the usage types that
need to be updated and the Support Package Stack definition file.

Note: The Support package definition file can be created as

follows:

After adding the support package stack in the download basket,

you can choose the option to “save in a file”. Right click on the
option tab and save as XML file. You can also save it as a CSV
file. You can also find more details in SAP Note 884537

Copy the downloaded Support Package files and the definition file
(XML file) to the JSPM inbox. [:\\usr\sap\trans\EPS\in]

Note: There must be one and half times as much disk space
available as the SP files to be deployed in the JSPM inbox for
temporary file transfer by SDM.

To prevent the Software Deployment Manager (SDM) from

temporarily exceeding the available disk space during the update
process, you can change the file transfer directory of SDM in a
system by using the following commands:

cd StopServer.bat

sdm.bat jstartup "mode=standalone" sdm.bat filetransferdir "dir="

sdm.bat jstartup "mode=integrated" StartServer.bat

Check whether the used JDK version and the Java VM settings of
the Java runtime system comply with the requirements in the SAP
Note 723909. Update the JDK and adjust the settings if necessary.
How To Upgrade The Kernal Patches
Download Kemal Patches from  http://service.sap.com
1.Take backup of existing run directory
2.Stop the Instance
3.Extract the .SAR file.
4.Copy the .SAR file in run directory.
5.Start the Instance If u get any problem replace the Old run
directory.
SAP Kernel Update :-

Mycomputer->Manage->Services and stop the following services

SAPOSCOL — Stop
SAPKK1_00 — Stop
Take backup of the existing kernel in C:\4.7\Kernel Backup 620\ from
D:\usr\sap\KK1 \SYS\exe\run\ folder copy *.* and paste in above
folder
Note : Copy kernel file not delet.

Then go to C:\4.7\R3DLL Patch\R3DLLINST\NTPATCH and run

the file R3DLLINS.EXE
Click on ok
Then Check the Kernel Version (620)with the following command
Run cmd
D:\usr\sap\KK1\sys\exe\run\>disp+work –v | more
Then go to the kernel upgraded patch downloaded from market
place and copy all files

And paste in kernel directory ( D:usr/sap/SID/sys/exe/run)here

Click on yes to all
And run command for kernel check. From command prompt
Restart system and then start SAP from command prompt
startsap.exe name=SID
nr=instance SAPDAIHOST=host id of server.

How to configure Early Watch Alert report

To configure Early watch alert some specific settings to be done at managing system (Solution
manager system) and satellite system( or managed system – for which EWA report to be
generated)
Following are the steps to configure EWA in a satellite system :

1)      Check whether latest versions of ST-A, ST-PI, ST-A/PI packages are installed in the
managed/satellite system
(This check can be done going to system->status -> Component information display in any
sap screen)

2)       If they are installed, run RTCCTOOL report from SE38 transaction code of satellite
system.

Check the output of the report. If there are some errors or warnings in the output of the
report, please take corrective actions and run the report again and ensure there are no errors

3)      Setup RFC connection between your satellite system and the solution manager system
An RFC connection can be made between 2 systems using Transaction code SM59
4)      Setup RFC connection between your solution manager and the SAP service market place

5)      Assign the solution monitoring roles to the users

6)      Setup your satellite system in a solution landscape of the solution manager(SMSY)

7)      Make sure SLD is configured and working fine for satellite system (using Rz70 and
SLDCHECK transactions)

8)      Activation of SDCCN in satellite system (Goto SDCCN transaction. Then click on
Utilities -> Activate)  then confirm for SDCC_OSS destination creation

9)      In satellite system, goto SDCCN transaction and navigate to Goto -> Settings -> Task
specific.
In the resulted screen, select RFC destination and provide the solution manager RFC from the
satellite system and set solution manager RFC as the master system.

10)   Addition of satellite system in solution manager system in SDCCN :

Goto SMSY transaction in solman system and then navigate to Environment -> Solution
Manager Operations -> Adminstration SDCCN to add the new service data control centre to
the solution manager.

Click on add system button to add the new SDCC to the solution manager. When prompted,
please select the respective system and client from the resulting screen and confirm

11)   Early watch service session activation for satellite system:

In the solution manager system, execute transaction code solution_manager  and navigate to
operations -> Earlywatch Alert and press create button. This prompts you to confirm the date
and time to run the report. Please provide the details and confirm to trigger the generation of
the report

12)   Login to satellite system, goto transaction code SDCCN and press create button which
displays a screen to select a task to be executed. Select request session data task  and click
continue. You will be prompted to enter the schedule time to run the report. Click now to
execute it immediately. After that you can see an early watch session running in SDCCN.

13)   After completion of this session run successfully, an Earlywatch Alert will be generated
and this can be viewed in Solution_manager of Solution manager system.

Types of Buffer
NTAB buffer:

The name table (nametab) contains the table and field definitions
that are activated in the SAP System. An entry is made in the
Repository buffer when a mass activator or a user (using the ABAP
Dictionary, Transaction SE11) requests to activate a table. The
corresponding name table is then generated from the information
that is managed in the Repository.

The Repository buffer is mainly known as the nametab

buffer (NTAB), but it is also known as the ABAP
Dictionary buffer.

Table definitions: TTAB

Field descriptions: FTAB
Initial record layouts: IREC Buffer (Contains the record layout
initialized depending on the field type)
Short Nametab: SNTAB Buffer (A short summary of TTAB and
FTAB buffers)

The description of a table in the Repository is distributed among

several tables (for field definition, data element definition and
domain definition). This information is summarized in the name
table. The name table is saved in the following database tables:
DDNTT (table definitions)
DDNTF (field descriptions)

The Repository buffer consists of four buffers in shared memory,

one for each of the following

The Short nametab and Initial record layouts are not saved in the
database. Instead, they are derived from the contents of tables
DDNTT and DDNTF.

When access to a table is requested, the database access agent

embedded in each work process first reads the Short nametab
buffer for information about the table. If the information is
insufficient (for example, the SELECT statement uses a non-
primary key) it accesses the Table definitions buffer and then the
Field descriptions buffer.
By reading the Repository buffers, the database access agent knows
whether the table is buffered or not. Using this information, it
accesses the table buffers (partial buffer or generic buffer) or the
database

Program buffer: Also called as

SAP executable buffer
ABAP buffer
PXA (Program Execution Area)
Stores the compiled executable versions of ABAP programs (loads).
The contents of this buffer are stored in tables D010L (ABAP
loads), D010T (texts) and D010Y (symbol table)

Calender Buffer:

The SAP calendar buffer stores all defined factory and public
holiday calendars.
Calendars are stored in the database tables TFACS and THOCS.

There are two kinds of SAPgui buffers:

Presentation buffers
Menu buffers

The following table shows the SAPgui buffers and their functions:

The buffer has a directory structure. This means that if the shared
memory is configured too small, only the required data is loaded;
there is no LRU displacement of the contents of the buffer.

Presentation buffer (Screen Buffer): Stores the generated

screens (DYNPRO loads)

Menu buffer (CUA Buffer): Stores objects from the SAPgui.

For example, menus, pushbutton definitions.
The buffer has directory structure and supports LRU displacement.
The menu buffer is adjusted by amending its instance profile
parameters

The CUA buffer holds objects from the GUI interface, such as
menus, pushbuttons, and so on. In the database, these objects are
held in tables D342L and D345T. Its size is expressed in KB. The
standard SAP recommendation is: Up to 2500 KB for small
systems, up to 3000 KB for medium systems and up to 6000 KB
for large systems.

Activate WEB GUI For SAP

1)verify if the ICM is working correctly. Transaction SMICM (ICM Monitor)
displays the central entry point to the ICM configuration and monitoring. After
starting this
transaction, you will see the ICM status. Make sure it is running. Check the
following ICM
parameters via Menu-> Goto -> Parameters ->Display:

icm/server_port_0 PROT=HTTP,PORT=8000
icm/host_name_full server.full.domain
2)With transaction SICF and locate the
services by path
/sap/public/bc/its/mimes
/sap/bc/gui/sap/its/webgui
3)Activate the full path to these services
4)Browse to
http://server_name:icmport/sap/bc/gui/
sap/its/webgui/ and login to the
webgui.
If you still have any problem to run WEBGUI run this transaction
SIAC_PUBLISH_ALL_INTERNAL
it will do ……..Enjoy

SAP R/3 Troubleshooting

• System gets stuck
• It happens mostly when archive area is overloaded. Run the
program brarchive with deletion option to release disk space.
• Short dump
• Not always the problem is technical. Try to create all SAPoffice
users through transaction SO32 (create all SAPoffice users)
and review your application data carefully.
• Field exits are completely ignored
• Make sure your SAP profile parameter contains the option
abap/fieldexit = yes.
• Transaction SE16 (table contents) does not work properly
• Make usage of the menu option to regenerate the display
program. You can also try changing key words according to
field names. Choose Option -> Parameters users.
• Rollback segments are too small
• Before increasing up the rollback segment size you should verify
your programs. Very often the problem belongs to them.
• Files for rollback segments are already enormous
• Check the rollback segments configuration. It has to match the
allocated area on tablespaces. Changes have to be done
using Oracle tools.
• Extended help under windows does not link correctly
• Check the file sapdoccd.ini under your presentation server. It
must be present in the main windows directory and should
assign to help files directory.
• Release procedure with classification does not work
• As a matter of fact you are not the only one to notice it. It hardly
works. Before using release strategy you should apply all
notes on OSS. Pray might be useful too.
• Transport area is overloaded
• The command tp clearold «SysID» cleans up the transport area
according to parameters previously set on the plain file
TPPARAM.
• Instance does not establish communication
Shutdown the whole system and check the Interprocess
Communication Facilities. Any references should be found. Either
the command IPCS (UNIX) or showipc «INSTANCE NUMBER»
(SAP) show all message queue, semaphore set and shared
memory identifier. Before trying again you have to remove them
using the command IPCRM (UNIX) or cleanipc «INSTANCE
NUMBER» (SAP).

Remote Function Call (RFC) in SAP

RFC is an SAP protocol to handle communications between systems
which simplifies the programming. A remote function call (RFC) is the
call of a function module that runs in a different system to the calling
program. It is also possible to call a function module in the same system
as an RFC; normally RFCs are used when the caller and the called
function module run in different systems. In the SAP system, these
functions are provided by the RFC interface system. The RFC interface
system enables function calls between two SAP systems, or between an
SAP system and an external system. RFCs manage
1) Communication process
2) Parameter transfer
3) Errors.
RFC describes an interface to call the function. In RFC communications
between two SAP systems, the calling system uses an RFC definition in
the target system to access a specific function. The destination of an rfc
call might be R/2 connection, R/3 connection, internal connections,
logical connections (like to logical systems) or TCP/IP (external systems)
connections.
There are five types of RFCs in SAP
1) Synchronous RFC (sRFC)
It requires that the target system is active when the RFC is made. This
type of rfc is used for communication between different systems and
between SAP Web AS and SAP GUI.
2) Asynchronous RFC (aRFC)
It doesn’t require the target system to be active when RFC is made. This
is used for parallel processing jobs and for communication between
different systems.
3) Transactional RFC (tRFC)
This is a variation of aRFC. The transactions are divided into steps and
are processes step by step. This is an asynchronous transaction. This is
helpful in scenarios where there is probability of network failure between
the systems.
4) Queued RFC (qRFC)
This is a variation of tRFC. Here the individual steps are executed
sequentially.
5) FastRFC

This is used for system internal communications. Interactions between

J2ee engine in sap & the abap runtime environment in the same instance
are done using these RFC. This type of RFC is possible only if both the
source & target are on the same system.
The RFCs are managed using t-code sm59
Use t-code SMT1 to manage trusted systems

What is the function of ARCH?

Archive (ARCH) copies the on-line redo log files to archival storage
when they are full. ARCH is active only when a database redo log is used
in ARCHIVELOG mode.

How to Import SAP Transport Request at

OS Level
1. Make sure the transport request is released from the
source system. Log onto the target systemas <SID>adm.
2. To add the transport request to the buffer (Single
command line).
tp addtobuffer <TRANSPORT-REQUEST> <SID> Client=<CLIENT-
NUMBER>
pf=/usr/sap/trans/bin/TP_DOMAIN_<DOMAIN_SID>.PFL
Example:
tp addtobuffer DEV12345 QAS
Client=000
pf=/usr/sap/trans/bin/TP_DOMAIN_DEV.P
FL
3. To import the transport request (Single command
line).
tp pf=/usr/sap/trans/bin/TP_DOMAIN_<DOMAIN_SID>.PFL
import <TRANSPORT-REQUEST> <SID> U128 client=<CLIENT-
NUMBER>
Example:
tp
pf=/usr/sap/trans/bin/TP_DOMAIN_DEV.PFL
import DEV12345 QAS U128 client=000

General High Availability

What is a "High Availability Cluster"?
The aim of a High Availability Cluster (HAC) is to provide the availability of
specific services within a system landscape. This is reached by reducing
downtimes using redundant cluster nodes. A common HAC setup consists of
two cluster nodes, which is the minimum for redundancy. If one server node
crashes, the second node takes over the clustered services and secures the
availability this way. This is also called a "two-node cluster" or a "failover
cluster." According to the demands of availability, the number of server nodes
can be increased to minimize the risks of failure of a node.
What is "Switchover"?
"Switchover" is referred to as a planned switchover of a primary server to a
standby server, which means without a failure of the primary server. A
switchover is always initiated by the system administrator.
What is "Failover"?
“Failover” is referred to the process of an unplanned switchover from a
primary server to a standby server system in case of a system fail of the
primary server node. Other than a switchover a failover is performed
automatically by the cluster software. Some cluster software, such as
Microsoft Cluster Service, does also provide an option for a manual failover
for testing purposes.

What is "Fallback"?

“Fallback” is referred to the process of switching back from a secondary

server node to the primary server node after a failover occurred and the
primary server node is available again. A fallback can be done
automatically by the cluster software or intelligent, which means manual
by the system administrator.
What is an "Active-Passive Cluster"?
An active-passive cluster consists of two independent server nodes at a
minimum. The primary server node performs all operations. A
secondary node acts as a so called "standby system. "
In case of a system failure of the primary node, the cluster software fails over
automatically to the standby server node, which starts the processes and
resumes the work of the primary server node. Cluster groups are only active
on one server node at the same time.
Please note that an active-passive cluster configuration do not implicate that
the standby server node does not contain any workload. The active-passive
configuration only referrers to the cluster group, which means that in an
active-passive configuration the resource, can only be active on one server
node at the same time. However, if a cluster environment contains more than
one cluster group, theses groups can be distributed within the cluster
environments.
The SAP Central Services Instance is implemented as an active-passive
cluster.

Active-Passive cluster in normal state

 
Active-Passive cluster in failover state
What is a "Standby System"?
A standby system is a redundant cluster node that takes over the
processes if the primary cluster server fails. This is referred to as a
"failover" and is performed automatically by cluster software. There can
be several standby cluster nodes. The amount is only limited by the
capabilities of the cluster software. For example, the Microsoft Cluster
Service provides up to 8 server nodes, which means 7 standby nodes as
a maximum.
"Standby systems" can be in a "hot" state or a "cold" state. A "hot standby"
means that the processes run on the standby node also, which means that in
case of a failure the cluster resource is running already and does not need to
be started on the standby system. A "cold standby" means that in case of a
failover the clustered resource needs to be started on the standby system
which means that a (short) downtime during the failover occurs. The SAP
Central Services Instance is usually implemented as a "cold standby" system
due to the fact that SCS is a light component and does not need a long time
for startup.
What is an "Active-Active Cluster"?
An active-active cluster consists of two independent server nodes at a
minimum. The workload within a cluster resource is shared between the
server nodes. If a cluster node crashes the processes are resumed by the
remaining cluster nodes. An active-active cluster configuration means that a
cluster resource is active on all cluster nodes. The aim of an active-active
cluster is not only to provide high availability system but to distribute the
workload between the cluster nodes. Applications with a very high workload
like databases benefit from an active-active setup. Due to the SAP Central
Services Instance is a light component an
active-active setup does not make any sense. Therefore the SCS is
implemented as an active-passive cluster resource.

Shared Nothing

Shared All
What does "virtualization" Mean?
The term “virtualization” in the context of HA refers to a kind of abstraction
performed by the cluster software. The software creates a virtual host that
owns a virtual hostname, virtual disk, and so on. “Virtual” in that manner
means that such resources cannot only be owned by one physical machine
but by all of them. Which node currently owns or runs a resource is managed
by the cluster software. Related “resources” are usually grouped to logical
containers (for example Groups on MSCS or packages on HPSG) that can
perform failovers independently.
What do "shared nothing" and "shared all" mean?
The term "shared nothing" and "shared all" specifies a type of
architecture within an active-active cluster. "Shared nothing" means
that every cluster node contains its own data partition, which implicates
that these kinds of setup are not highly available due to the fact that in
case of a failure the data of the failed node is no longer available. In a
"shared all" environment the different cluster nodes that run the same
service shares a data partition and accesses the data concurrently .
These options have to be supported by the cluster software. For example,
MSCS does not support the "shared all" option.
What is a "SPOF"?
A Single Point of Failure (SPOF) is any component within a system that, if it
fails, causes a loss of a runtime critical service. A SPOF can be hardware or a
software component. However, this FAQ only covers the SAP identified
potential SPOF software components that are Message Server, Enqueue
Server, the central file system and Database. In a High Availability manner it
is necessary to eliminate these SPOF.Be aware that it is possible to introduce
additional SPOFs through configuration and programming, by adding critical,
non redundant components yourself. These must be identified through an
analysis and either be eliminated or covered by failover services.

SAP High Availability Setup

How can I set up a High Available system?
SAP supports the installation of High Available systems with several aspects.
However, High Availability needs additional software, that is not delivered by
SAP. In addition, it is important to analyze your system to be sure that no
single points of failure are overseen, as it is possible to configure your system
in that way or to write custom software that behaves that way. We
recommend to engage experienced consultants  on this analysis.
In general SAP systems are set up High Available through their technology
components, which are the application servers. However, it is also
responsibility of a running program to not introduce additional  singel points of
failure. At SAP this is ensured through extensive quality management, for
custom development this should be carefully considered.
What is ASCS/SCS?
With SAP Net Weaver 04 Java, the Message Server and the Enqueue Server
are separated from the Central Instance. These two services are grouped
within the SAP Central Services Instance (SCS) as services. From NW04s the
ABAP Central Services can be also separated from the Central Instance.
Each stack, ABAP and Java, has its own Message Service and Enqueue
Service. For ABAP systems the Central Services are referred to as ASCS, for
Java systems the Central Services are referred to as SCS. The ASCS and the
SCS are leveled as SPOF and require a High Availability Setup therefore. If
the ASCS is integrated within the ABAP Central Instance (standard in
NetWeaver 04) the Central Instance of the ABAP system needs a HA setup
also.
What is the difference between HA for ABAP and HA for JAVA?

Within SAP NetWeaver 6.40 ABAP the Message Server and the Enqueue
Server are integrated within the ABAP Central Instance (CI).
In SAP NetWeaver 6.40 Java the Message Server and the Enqueue Server
are implemented as services within the SAP System Central Services
Instance (SCS) and separated from the Central Instance (CI) this way.
With SAP NetWeaver 04s ABAP the Message Server and the Enqueue
Server can be separated from the Central Instance (CI) to the ABAP SAP
Central Services Instance (ASCS) in the ABAP stack also (which is
recommended for HA setups due to the ASCS is a light component that can
be switched over easily).
Is SAP HA also supported for heterogeneous system landscapes?
SAP does not support heterogeneous HA cluster environments at the moment
officially. However, preparations for an official support of this type of setup are
currently evaluated.
Does SAP support Microsoft Geo clusters?
first of all, Geo-Clustering (Microsofts name for it is geographically dispersed
Clusters) is no special product from Microsoft, it's just a special setup of the
normal MSCS (or to be more correct, Microsoft Server Cluster 2003)
configuration of Windows Server 2003.
Geospan Clusters are not supported by SAP - in terms of configuration and
installation.
The standard configuration of a two node MSCS cluster consists of two
cluster nodes and a shared storage. All technical components are located in
the same data center. In a geographical dispersed cluster the cluster nodes
are distributed accross at least two data centers and you need a more
complex storage architecture, because a shared storage can only be located
in one data center and would become a single point of failure. In order to
eliminate the potential storage SPOF you have to configure one storage box
in each data center and you need storage replication between those boxes.
Replication can be synchronous or assynchronious, depending on the
functionality of the storage subsystem, accepted amount of data loss during a
failover, the physical layout of the storage area network (distance between the
storage boxes, signal latency, capacity and speed of the network connection)
and last but not least the budget of the customer and the functionality
supported by the database vendor.
Often the database components in geospan configurations are no longer part
of the MSCS and the database is replicated by pure database technics
(shadow database, log shipping, mirrored database).
There are a lot of different geospan configurations possible, which are more
or less planned individually for the customer by storage/hadware vendors in
customer specific projects. The numerous variants in the geospan
configurations and the complexity of the technical requirements are the
primary reasons why those configurations are not directly supported by SAP.
The hardware vendors are responsible for the configuration, setup, installation
of the SAP system and that the basic HA technology is working in this
environment.
SAP is still supporting the basic functionality of the ABAP / J2EE / database
servers and other SAP components in these configurations.
Standard SAP installation procedures are normaly used during the SAP
System installation of those configurations. But depending on the choosen
configuration some steps are different - here again the hardware vendor has
the responsibility to deliver the information and support or perform the
installation.
There are already a lot of geospan configurations at SAP customers.
Is there a session failover mechanism for SAP NetWeaver AS
Java?
NetWeaver AS Java supports a session failover mechanism using DB, local
persistence, or shared memory(7.1) which can be implemented in
applications. Please take a look into the documentation for further information
on how to do that.  See the documentation for Failover System in Version 7.0
or Configuring Shared Memory for Version 7.1

What is an "Enqueue Replication Server"?

The Enqueue Server contains the central locking table for the SAP
cluster. Besides database locks it also consists of infrastructure locks of
system wide objects. It is therefore necessary to secure the locking
table in case of a Standalone Enqueue Server failure. The SAP Enqueue
Replication Server provides a replication mechanism for the Enqueue
Server by holding a copy of the locking table within its shared memory
segment. After a failure of the Enqueue Server the locking table can be
restored this way. Since SAP NW04 SP15/ NW04s SR1 an automated
installation of the Enqueue replication server is available for Windows
environments. UNIX/ Linux installations are handled by SAP hardware
partners.
Note: you can only protect Stand-Alone Enqueue Servers with an Enqueue
Replication Server. The standard Enqueue Server in an ABAP CI (Enqueue
work process) cannot be protected by an Enqueue Replication Server.

Is an "Enqueue Replication Server" necessary for setting up an

SAP HA system landscape?
From Version NW04 SP15 the Replication Server is required for all SAP
JAVA HA scenarios. The Replication Server is required for all SAP ABAP HA
scenarios as well.
Is SAP NetWeaver AS Java available also if a central service or the
database fails?
The SAP NetWeaver Application Server Java uses the database extensively.
A loss of the database is very critical for the functionality of AS Java.
However, some rudimentary functions and cached information are still
available. After the database is available again the Engine is in a full
operational state again. The picture below shows the approximated impact
after a loss of the database and the central services. Please note that the
diagram is only a rule of thumb and not an empiric study.

Concluding there are necessary operations to prevent such loss, that is the
purpose of High Availability environments.
What is the difference between Enqueue Server and Standalone
Enqueue Server?

Since NW04 Java the Enqueue Server and the Message Server for a J2EE
Engine are standalone services hosted by the SAP Central Services instance
(SCS). The difference between a Standalone Enqueue Server and Enqueue
Service is therefore only formal: The term “service” refers to the Enqueue as
part of the SCS; the term “server” refers to the Enqueue as process, either
enserver (.exe) or the enqueue work process within the ABAP stack. From
NW04s the Enqueue Server and the Message Server are also implemented
as Services within the ABAP Sap Central Services Instance (ASCS).

Are my transactions lost after a database failover?

The impact of a database loss depends on the implementation of the

database. Some databases supports a session failover mechanism, others do
not. Please consult the database specific documentation for further
information.
Is there a certification for SAP HA Solutions?
In April 2012, SAP introduced the SAP Application Server HA-Interface
Certification. Please find further details about the certfication here.
If you are interested in partners offering HA-solutions, you can find the list of
current on SDN here.
Who performs the High Availability setups for SAP Solutions?
The setup can be performed by SAP certified consultants. In Non-MSCS
environments on windows and in UNIX environments information about High
Availability has to be supplied by the HA vendor or the setup has to be
performed in collaboration with the partner. Typically, HA scenarios are setup
and delivered by 3rd party vendors, who deliver the hardware, operating
system and database altogether and also commit the requested SLA to the
customer.
Does SAP NetWeaver AS ABAP, AS Java and Composition Environment
support High Availability?
Yes. They all do under the mentioned conditions in this FAQ and the manuals.

SAP High Availability and the Windows environment

How does SAP support High Availability in Windows
environments?
SAP provides an out of the box setup for windows cluster environments using
the Microsoft Cluster Service (MSCS). For all other windows cluster solutions
please get in touch with the specific cluster software vendor.
What is a cluster resource group?
Cluster resources are software and hardware components that are managed
by the cluster software. Several resources can be grouped into resource
groups. These groups are collections of resources which can be managed by
the cluster service as a single unit.
Why can't I access the shared disks when they are part of another
cluster node?
The shared disk always belongs to the cluster node that owns the cluster
group at the moment. However, you should never access the SAP installation
by choosing the disk drive but by using the shared name, that means
"/sapmnt." This prevents the loss of the disk during sensitive operations like
installations, etc.
How many failover nodes are currently supported by MSCS/SAP?
The number of SAP cluster nodes is only limited by the maximum of cluster
nodes supported by MSCS. For Windows Server 2003 the maximum is 8
cluster nodes which mean 7 failover nodes. When using the SAP Replication
Server with a cluster configuration the number of nodes is currently limited by
two nodes.
How can I initiate a failover on MSCS manually?
On MSCS, failovers can be initiated for testing purposes manually. You can
open a command prompt a type in “cluster res /FAIL”, or open the Cluster
Administrator then right click on a resource and choose “Initiate Failover”.
What is the "Threshold"?
Within MSCS the term Threshold is referred to the number of failures before a
resource fails over to the second cluster node. Please note that if you are
using the Replication Server it is very important to set the “Threshold” to “0”.
Otherwise the replication will not work
Are there other cluster environments available for the Microsoft
Windows platform?
SAP supports an out of the box installation for the Microsoft Cluster Service.
However, there are also additional cluster software vendors for windows.As in
UNIX environments these setups are handled by the partner.
Where can I find additional information regarding the Microsoft
Cluster Service?
Internet
• Guide to Creating and Configuring a Server Cluster under Windows Server
2003
• Clustering Services - General introduction to MSCS
• Step-by-Step Guide to Installing Cluster Service
• Technical Overview of Windows Server 2003 Clustering Services
• Windows 200 Clustering Technologies - Information for W2K clustering
services
• Clustering Technology Community
Books
15. "WINDOWS NT Microsoft Cluster Service," by Richard R. Lee ISBN: 0-
07-882500-8
16. "Implementing SAP R/3 using Microsoft Cluster Server," by David V.
Watts, Mauro Gatti, Ralf Schmidt-Dannert ISBN: 0-13-019847-1
17. "Tuning Microsoft Server Clusters: Guaranteeing High Availability for
Business Networks," by Robert W. Buchanan, Robert Buchanan ISBN:
0071417397
18. "Windows Server 2003 Clustering & Load Balancing", by Robert
Shimonski ISBN: 0072226226

SAP High Availability and the Unix environment

How does SAP support High Availability solutions on UNIX/Linux?

The High Availability setup on UNIX/Linux is supported by our partners and

not by SAP directly.

Where can I find documentation and resources for SAP HA setups

on UNIX/Linux?

SAP does not provide any specific cluster guides for the implementation of
SAP clusters within Unix HA environments due to this task is handled by our
hardware partners.

I want to set up my dialog instance on Windows and the SCS on

UNIX. Is this type of setup supported by SAP?
Heterogeneous system landscapes are supported. For Details please see
Note 1067221 - Composite note for heterogeneous installation (SMP login
required).

New Failover Clustering Improvements

in Windows Server 2012 and Its
Benefits for SAP NetWeaver High
Availability
SAP recently announced its support on Windows Server 2012. As
usual, SAP support for Windows Server Failover Clustering (WSFC)
is also there. This includes installation (integrated in SWPM - sapinst),
upgrades and operational support.
 
 
Clustering in Windows Server 2012 brought many new features and
improvements, and the particularly interesting one is Continuous
Availability File Server. This feature brings ZERO DOWNTIME for
SAP SAPMNT file server share and SAP global file systems, and
enables continuous non-interrupted access to SAP global files and
folders for different SAP processes (like batch, spool, dialog process
etc.), during the failover of (A)SCS instance.
 
 
SAP Architecture and Single Points Of Failures (SPOF)SAP
NetWeaver high availability system architecture is relatively simple:
 
 
• You need to protect SAP unique instances (so called Single-points-
of-failures - SPOF), e.g. DBMS and (A)SCS  instances,  with
some kind of clustering solution like WSFC What is WSFC
• Distribute SAP redundant components, e.g. application servers
across multiple OS
 
 
Picture: SAP NetWeaver HA Architecture, with protected SPOFs
components (DB and (A)SCSinstances) and redundant SAP
components (Primary Application Server - PAS and Additional
Application Servers -   AAS)
 
 
One important question to clarify is,  how would  the downtime of one or
more SAP system components, reflects on overall SAP system
availability and functionality.
 
 
 
Protection of (A)SCS instance
 
(A)SCS Instance is one SAP SPOF. Unique components in (A)SCS
instance are:
 
19. Message Server processMessage server is used for
communication and also load balancing. It is a stateless process.
20. Enqueue server processEnqueue is SAP database independent
lock mechanism. It holds and lock table in computer RAM.If
enqueue process crash, enqueue lock table is lost and end user
will eperience roll back of all open transaction.
21. SAPMNT file share and (A)SCS instance virtual host name and
associated IP address
22. Global files located in …\SYS\..\folder
 
 
Global files and folders are used by all instances and different SAP
processes. They are accessed on Windows via (A)SCS Instance virtual
host name and SAPMNT share, e.g. via UNC path:
 
\\<virtual-host-name>\SAPMNT\..\SYS\...
 
 

 
 
Picture: ASCS Instance components unique components: process,
global files, sapmnt file share and corresponding SAPGLOBALHOST
virtual host name with IP address
 
 
If global files and folders are not accessible, it will disrupt some SAP
operations.
 
 
 
SAP Batch Process
One very important SAP process that is accessing global files and
folders is SAP batch process. During the job activity  (which can take
longer time), SAP batch process will constantly write log files into global
folder:
\\<global-host-name>\SAPMNT\<SID>\SYS\global\<client>JOBLG 
 
 
 
 
Picture: SAP Batch Process are accessing global file system over
SAPMNT share to write their log files
 
 
If the global folder is not accessible for writing, even for a short time,
SAP batch job activities will be canceled!
 
 
 
SAP HA with Windows Server Failover Clustering on Windows
Server 2008 R2 (or lower)
 
This is exactly what will happen during the (A)SCS instance failover, if
you use Windows Server 2008 R2 (or lower editions) - during the
(A)SCS instance failover global files and folders over SAPMNT are not
accessible to SAP batch processes. All open file handles on global file
system are lost and SAP batch jobs activities are canceled! Every new
attempt to access global fails will also fail.
 
 
 
 
Picture: Failover of ASCS Instance cause cancelation of SAP batch job
activities
 
 
 
Continuous Availability File Server and new SMB 3.0 protocol in
Windows Server 2012The Server Message Block (SMB) protocol is
the Microsoft access protocol for file shares. Microsoft enhanced SMB
3.0 version with many new features:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2709568
 
Microsoft decided to enhance SMB 3.0 protocol to provide file-based
access to application data. Now, in Windows Server 2012, sever based
applications like Hyper-V and SQL Server can store their files on file
share, and access it via UNC path e.g. \\hostname\fileshare\.. Of course
these file shares can be protected by Windows Server Failover Cluster.
Another feature is called continuous availability, which means that in
case of file share failover, access to file share will be guaranteed, and
all open file handles will be restored during the failover in a fully
transparent manner to clients without any downtime! Technology behind
is called SMB transparent failover.
 
 
In Windows Server 2012 Failover Cluster there are two types of
clustered file shares:
 
25. File Server for general usethis file server option is used to
provide central location on network for users to share files or
server applications that open and close files frequently.This type
of file server is used for SAP SAPMNT file share
26. Scale-Out File Share for application datathis file server option
is used to provide central location on network to provide storage
for sever applications (like SQL Server) or virtual machines (e.g.
Hyper-V) that leaves files open for extended period of time.This
type is primarily used as remote storage for Hyper-V and SQL
Server. You should use dedicated cluster for protection of file
shares. Hyper-V or SQL Server machines are running on a
separate machine(s), outside of Scale out file share cluster.
 
 
 
Picture: Microsoft Failover Cluster Wizard to Create File Server
 
 
Both of them support continuous availability during the failover.
 
 
 
SAP HA with Windows Server Failover Clustering on Windows
Server 2012
 
As already mentioned, file server for general use is type of clustered file
share that is used for SAP SAPMNT file share, that is part of SAP
(A)SCS clustered instance.
 
If during runtime of SAP Batch job activities (or any other SAP process
that writes to global file system) a failover of (A)SCS instance happens, 
file server service will offer UNINTERRUPTED file and folder access!
If there are any files opened, all file handled will be moved to another
server that is fully transparent to clients.
 
 
Practically, this means that SAP batch job activities will not be
stopped and it will continue to run during and after the (A)SCS
instance failover!
 
 
 
Picture: Failover of ASCS instance will be transparent to SAP batch job
activities
 
 
 
 
Client’s prerequisiteSAP Application servers are clients that consume
SAPMNT file share. Prerequisite is that that SAP application servers
are also running on Windows Server 2012.
 
 
 
Installation of SAP Application Servers outside of WSFC
 
As Microsoft do not support SMB loopback, it is not possible to run file
server client and server on the same cluster which protect SAPMNT File
Server. Therefore, ALL SAP application servers have to be installed
and run outside of WSFC cluster.
 
 
 
How to enable Continuous Availability File Server
 
Currently SAP installation tool doesn’t active continuous availability
feature for SAPMNT share. You need to enable it manually.
 
 
To enable continious availability feature, after the SAP installation, open
failover cluster manager, select  SAP <SID> cluster group, on the lower
tab select Shares. Notice that Continious Availability for sapmnt file
share is set to No.
 
 
 
Double click on sapmnt share, and choose Settings tab.
 
 
 
Make sure that Enable continuous availability is checked.
 
 
 
Notice that now Continuous Availability for sapmnt file share is set to
Yes.
 

 
 
You can also use PowerShell to change enable continuous availability
for sapmnt file share like this:
 
 
set-smbshare -Name sapmnt  -ContinuouslyAvailable 1 –
Force
 
 
 
Running WSFC in Physical and Virtual Environment
 
You can run WSFC to protects SAP SPOFs both in physical or virtual
environment. If you run WSFC inside of guest OS virtual machines, this
type of clustering is called guest clustering. Both Microsoft Hyper-V and
VMware vSphere supports guest clustering with Windows Severe
Failover Cluster.For more information on SAP NetWeaver HA in
physical and virtual environment you can check in this White Paper:
SAP NetWeaver High Availability and Business Continuity in
Virtual Environments with VMware and Hyper-V on Microsoft
Windows
 
 
 
Utilizing Continuous Availability File Server Feature to Achieve
Zero Downtime for SAP SAPMNT file share in unplanned and
planned downtime scenarios
 
Continuous Availability File Server can be used both in:
 
 
unplanned downtime scenarios like: crash of Windows OS, ASCS
instance, or hypervisor in virtual environment , and
planned downtime scenarios like: patching and rebooting of
Windows Server cluster nodes that is protecting (A)SCS Instance,
SAP kernel patching – which requires restart of (A)SCS instance
 
For both scenarios Continuous availability feature is offering ZERO
DOWNTIME for SAPMNT file share.
 
 
 
Clustering whole SAP NetWeaver Stack with Microsoft WSFC
 
You can cluster many DBMS with Microsoft WSFC like SAP Sybase
ASE, MaxDB, Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle and IBM DB2. In this way
complete SAP NetWeaver stack will run on Windows 2012 platform.
 
 
 
Running hybrid SAP HA scenario with SAP HANA DB and
Microsoft WSFC
 
If you would love to utilize benefits of running SAP NetWeaver on top
In-memory HANA DB, and have HA setting and benefits of Windows
Sever 2012 failover features, you can run heterogeneous setting like
this:
 
 
as SAP HANA DB is running on SuSE Linux OS, you have to
separately deal with HANA HA setting
Use Windows Severe 2012 Failover Clustering to protect (A)SCS
Instance and run SAP Application servers on Windows Server
2012All These Windows instances can run in physical or virtual
environment.
 
This is supported scenario by SAP, and it is the way how we in SAP
Global IT are setting internal HANA business critical SAP systems.
 

 
 
Picture:  Hybrid HA deployment of NetWeaver on HANA, where HANA
is running on SuSE Linux, (A)SCS is protected with Windows Cluster,
and Application servers are also on Windows 2012
 
 
For more details on HANA HA check this White Paper: Introduction to
High Availability for SAP HANA (updated for SPS06)

1) We are trying to install the SAP BI 7 in Windows 2003 64bit server MSCS
environment with MS Sql DB. In that we are installed and configured the
Windows 2003 64 bits server with MCSC and MS Sql server 2005 as per the
SAP Net weaver 2004s guide. In that central services instance for ABAP and
Java installation are completed after that we need to do the SAP Cluster
group configurations before install the SAP Enqueue replication service
My Query is SAP Cluster group configurations details steps? (Like share disk,
Abap and Java instance and service configurations details in Microsoft Cluster
service environment)

A) We have to install ASCS and SCS services in one of the shared disks
which is a dedicated storage for SAP Group in a cluster.
Please check whether SAP group is created in cluster first and check what
disks are assigned to it.
 
I believe if you have installed ASCS and SCS already, it means shared disk is
used for the installation other wise installation will not go through.
 
If I am not wrong, then carry on with the installation, the next step will be
configuring First MSCS node followed by DATABASE instance installation,
Additional MSCS node, ERS on node 1 (two times one for abap one for java),
ERS on Node 2 (two times),Central instance and finally Dialog instance
installation.
 
I hope this will help you.
Patches
1. When you will apply patches? Give short of examples the
situation, where to troubleshoot you have applied patches!SMP
provides correction in form of patches. It may contain corrections
similar to SAP notes, ABAP programming.It helps to avoid
Runtime error and dumps. You can check logs at SPAM.
Sometime leaving the TR un released caused the issue or some
manual correction is required.In that case we cannot apply sap
notes (even if we find them at OSS) as we are stuck in SPAM error
phase.Also in backend usr\sap\trans\log and temp file contains the
logs for error.
2. Why it`s required to shutdown all SAP, Database instances &
services during kernel up-gradation.Because SAP system and
database uses kernel service starsapsrv.exe for their functioning, if
the service file to be updated is in use, kernel upgrade is not
possible then.
3. Why it`s required to keep all instances up during the updating
hot package?Because SAP system process the system
tables/object and modifying them during updating hot package
besides hot packages are the most basis packages required for
SAP system to work fine
4. Can we apply higher version Patch Level using lower version of
SPAM?If not, why?No, To meet the pre requisites, we need to
update our SPAM/SAINT level.To update our package, according
to SAP standard- First update Kernel to latest level available at
SMP.Then SPAM/SAINT, apply maintenance certificate then start
with sap components patching/upgrade.
5. What is importance of Import Queue?It servers 2 purpose: 1.
Maintain the support packs selected. 2. Check the dependency,
actually queue can’t be defined unless the dependencies of
selected components meet and let them apply in order.
6. Can we apply higher level of HR or other Financial Patch with
lower version of ABAP/BASIS patch level?Never. Because SAP
Basis/ABAP are the most basic components that need to be
updated before you can update any components.
7. Is there any sequence to apply hot packages?Means, BASIS –
ABAP – HR – FIN or HR – FIN – ABAP – BASIS vice versaBasis
and ABAP should be at first then others
8. BASIS and ABAP patch level should be same. So first which
patch level should be updated ABAP or BASIS? If BASIS then
why? If ABAP then why?Not necessary for them to be at same
patch level. Though standard says they should be at same level.
Generally we apply BASIS and ABAP together. If we have to apply
one at first, it should be basis.9. Why you update SPAM version
before applying other patches? What is the logic behind this?A
SPAM/SAINT Update (PAT) contains updates and improvements
to the SAP PatchManager and the SAP Add-On Installation Tool.
10. How you will decompress the downloaded compressed patch
files?After decompression what are the two files generated. State
the names of that files & type of the files?SAPcar –xvf filename.sar
They will contain PTT and ATT files.
11. Why we login as DDIC user at the time of patch
administration?If we logged as different user, what will the
problem?Users are locked generally for SPAM upgrade. Hence
use DDIC, its standard SAP user.
12. Updating the patch level means Updating of SAP system or
Upgrading SAP system?Updating the SAP system.
13. You are updating patch level and kernel version of 4.6c to the
latest patch level of SAP that you found in service.sap.com. So,
will it become 4.7ee to 4.6c version? If not what will be the
changes?4.7c
12. If not then what is upgrading? Upgrading is the process of
increasing the Level like oracle upgrade from 10g to 11g, patching
is going from oracle 10.2.0.2 to 10.2.0.4
13. How from Client 000, all clients exists in SAP system get
effected?
In which table these stored?
It updates standard tables objects and data dictionary objects
which are accessible by all the clients.