This benchmark book is indispensable when it comes to planning, implementing, and maintaining SAP system landscapes. Administrators, technical consultants, and project leads are provided with strategies and concepts for change and transport management, including best practices for handling the SAP tools.

First, you’ll learn everything about planning and setting up the SAP system landscape. Then, you’ll be introduced to technical tasks, such as transport relevant measures at installation, configuration of the transport management systems, and creating and configuring clients. From there, the authors introduce you to all of the critical tools and how to handle them for both the ABAP stack and Java.

Although the book is based on SAP ERP 6.0 (SAP NetWeaver 7.0), it provides all critical information back to SAP R/3 4.6. This new edition has been completely revised and includes all-new chapters dealing with the enhanced Change and Transport System (CTS+), Java upgrades, Enhancement Packages, Unicode conversions and more.

Highlights

• SAP system landscapes
• Configuration and maintenance of system landscapes
• Configuration of the TMS
• Creating and configuring clients
• Managing development and Customizing changes
• Releasing, exporting, and importing change requests
• Support and Enhancement Packages, release changes, Unicode
• SAP Solution Manager and Change Request Management
• SAP NetWeaver Development Infrastructure (NWDI)
• Enhanced Change and Transport System (CTS+)

About the Author(s)

Armin Kösegi and Rainer Nerding are members of SAP Active Global Support. The focus of their work is developing and delivering services in the areas of software logistics, upgrades, and Support Packages, as well as strategic planning of upgrades and software change management.

Table of Contents

1 ... SAP ERP Architecture and Data Components ... 31
... 1.1 ... Client/Server Architecture in Brief ... 32
... 1.2 ... The SAP ERP Database ... 35
... 1.3 ... SAP ERP Clients ... 37
... 1.4 ... Questions ... 43


2 ... Realizing Business Processes in SAP ERP ... 45
... 2.1 ... Customizing ... 46
... 2.2 ... Development ... 53
... 2.3 ... Questions ... 63


3 ... The SAP ERP System Landscape ... 67
... 3.1 ... SAP ERP Client Roles ... 68
... 3.2 ... Defining an SAP Client ... 74
... 3.3 ... Multiple Clients in an SAP ERP System ... 79
... 3.4 ... The SAP Three-System Landscape ... 82
... 3.5 ... Alternative System Landscapes ... 86
... 3.6 ... Complex System Landscapes ... 89
... 3.7 ... Questions ... 105


4 ... Managing Changes and Data in an SAP ERP System Landscape ... 109
... 4.1 ... Transporting Customizing and Development Changes ... 109
... 4.2 ... Transferring Data ... 124
... 4.3 ... Copying SAP ERP Systems and Clients ... 134
... 4.4 ... Questions ... 136


5 ... Setting Up a System Landscape ... 139
... 5.1 ... Setting Up the Development System ... 139
... 5.2 ... Setting Up the Quality Assurance and Production Systems ... 146
... 5.3 ... System Copy Strategy ... 158
... 5.4 ... Release Considerations ... 162
... 5.5 ... Questions ... 165


6 ... Maintaining a System Landscape ... 167
... 6.1 ... Implementation Plan ... 168
... 6.2 ... Managing Implementation Projects ... 170
... 6.3 ... Transport Management ... 179
... 6.4 ... Business Validation ... 197
... 6.5 ... Support for the SAP Standard ... 202
... 6.6 ... Questions ... 208


7 ... Transport Setup Activities at Installation ... 213
... 7.1 ... Specifying the System ID (SID ... 213
... 7.2 ... Setting Up the Transport Directory ... 214
... 7.3 ... Configuring a Transport Profile ... 225
... 7.4 ... Activities within SAP ERP ... 238
... 7.5 ... Questions ... 244


8 ... Setting Up the TMS ... 247
... 8.1 ... TMS Terminology and Concepts ... 247
... 8.2 ... Setting Up the Transport Domain ... 254
... 8.3 ... Configuring Transport Routes ... 276
... 8.4 ... Verifying the System Landscape Setup ... 294
... 8.5 ... Questions ... 298


9 ... Client Tools ... 301
... 9.1 ... Creating Clients ... 302
... 9.2 ... Providing a Client with Data ... 309
... 9.3 ... Deleting a Client ... 333
... 9.4 ... Table Logging for a Client ... 334
... 9.5 ... Authorization Profiles for Client Tools ... 341
... 9.6 ... Questions ... 343


10 ... Managing Development Changes ... 347
... 10.1 ... Development Prerequisites ... 347
... 10.2 ... Workbench Change Requests ... 361
... 10.3 ... Repairs and Modifications ... 378
... 10.4 ... SAP Enhancement Concept ... 384
... 10.5 ... The Object Directory ... 398
... 10.6 ... Questions ... 406


11 ... Managing Customizing Changes ... 409
... 11.1 ... Customizing Prerequisites ... 409
... 11.2 ... Customizing Change Requests ... 413
... 11.3 ... Nonstandard Customizing Activities ... 429
... 11.4 ... Support Tools for Customizing ... 436
... 11.5 ... Questions ... 452


12 ... Releasing and Exporting Change Requests ... 455
... 12.1 ... Documenting Change Requests and Tasks ... 456
... 12.2 ... Unit Testing ... 458
... 12.3 ... Releasing a Task ... 462
... 12.4 ... Releasing a Change Request ... 465
... 12.5 ... Transport Logs ... 476
... 12.6 ... Versioning for Repository Objects ... 480
... 12.7 ... Questions ... 484


13 ... Importing Change Requests ... 487
... 13.1 ... Understanding Import Queues ... 487
... 13.2 ... Performing Imports ... 495
... 13.3 ... Managing Import Queues ... 502
... 13.4 ... Scheduling Imports ... 509
... 13.5 ... Monitoring Imports ... 513
... 13.6 ... Transporting between Transport Groups ... 515
... 13.7 ... Transporting between Transport Domains ... 517
... 13.8 ... TMS Authorization ... 523
... 13.9 ... Questions ... 524


14 ... Technical Insight into the Import Process ... 527
... 14.1 ... The Transport Control Program tp ... 528
... 14.2 ... Using Log Files for Troubleshooting ... 543
... 14.3 ... Buffer Synchronization ... 554
... 14.4 ... Naming Conventions in the Transport Directory ... 556
... 14.5 ... Understanding Transport Tools ... 560
... 14.6 ... Questions ... 569


15 ... SAP NetWeaver Development Infrastructure ... 573
... 15.1 ... The SAP NetWeaver Application Server Structure ... 573
... 15.2 ... Overview of the Java Development Process ... 575
... 15.3 ... Parts of the SAP NetWeaver Development Infrastructure ... 580
... 15.4 ... Configuration of the SAP NetWeaver Development Infrastructure ... 584
... 15.5 ... Configuration of the SAP NetWeaver Development Infrastructure ... 592
... 15.6 ... Developing in the SAP NetWeaver Development Infrastructure ... 605
... 15.7 ... Transporting Java Projects ... 611
... 15.8 ... Summary ... 614
... 15.9 ... Questions ... 615


16 ... Enhanced Change and Transport System ... 617
... 16.1 ... Overview and Architecture ... 619
... 16.2 ... Performing Transports for Non-ABAP Objects ... 621
... 16.3 ... Configuration of the Enhanced Change and Transport System ... 627
... 16.4 ... CTS+ Transport Landscapes ... 635
... 16.5 ... Questions ... 640


17 ... Maintaining SAP Software ... 643
... 17.1 ... Making Manual Corrections on the Basis of SAP Notes ... 644
... 17.2 ... Implementing Notes with the SAP Note Assistant ... 647
... 17.3 ... ABAP Support Packages ... 669
... 17.4 ... Java Corrections ... 697
... 17.5 ... Support Package Stacks ... 707
... 17.6 ... Side Effects ... 715
... 17.7 ... Questions ... 717


18 ... SAP Software Release Upgrade ... 719
... 18.1 ... Lifecycle of an SAP Production System ... 719
... 18.2 ... Release Change Process ... 724
... 18.3 ... Modification Adjustment ... 735
... 18.4 ... Upgrade Strategies for a Transport Landscape ... 747
... 18.5 ... SAP Enhancement Packages ... 754
... 18.6 ... Upgrades and Unicode ... 768
... 18.7 ... Java Upgrade ... 780
... 18.8 ... Additional Recommendations for a Release Change ... 786
... 18.9 ... Questions ... 798


19 ... SAP Solution Manager ... 801
... 19.1 ... Customizing Synchronization ... 805
... 19.2 ... Change Request Management ... 821
... 19.3 ... Change Analysis ... 842
... 19.4 ... SAP Maintenance Optimizer ... 851
... 19.5 ... Upgrade Support ... 865
... 19.6 ... Questions ... 875


A ... Transport Profile Parameters ... 881


B ... Selected Transaction Codes ... 899


C ... Glossary ... 905


D ... Questions and Answers ... 933
... D.1 ... Chapter 1: SAP ERP Architecture and Data Components ... 933
... D.2 ... Chapter 2: Realizing Business Processes in SAP ERP ... 934
... D.3 ... Chapter 3: The SAP ERP System Landscape ... 936
... D.4 ... Chapter 4: Managing Changes and Data in an SAP ERP System Landscape ... 939
... D.5 ... Chapter 5: Setting Up a System Landscape ... 942
... D.6 ... Chapter 6: Maintaining a System Landscape ... 943
... D.7 ... Chapter 7: Transport Setup Activities at Installation ... 945
... D.8 ... Chapter 8: Setting Up the TMS ... 947
... D.9 ... Chapter 9: Client Tools ... 949
... D.10 ... Chapter 10: Managing Development Changes ... 951
... D.11 ... Chapter 11: Managing Customizing Changes ... 952
... D.12 ... Chapter 12: Releasing and Exporting Change Requests ... 954
... D.13 ... Chapter 13: Importing Change Requests ... 956
... D.14 ... Chapter 14: Technical Insight--the Import Process ... 958
... D.15 ... Chapter 15: SAP NetWeaver Development Infrastructure ... 961
... D.16 ... Chapter 16: Enhanced Change and Transport System ... 963
... D.17 ... Chapter 17: Maintaining SAP Software ... 965
... D.18 ... Chapter 18: SAP Software Release Upgrade ... 967
... D.19 ... Chapter 19: SAP Solution Manager ... 970


E ... Literature ... 973
... E.1 ... SAP Online Help ... 973
... E.2 ... SAP Training Courses ... 973
... E.3 ... SAP Developer Network (SDN ... 974
... E.4 ... SAP Service Marketplace ... 974
... E.5 ... Bibliography ... 974


F ... Authors ... 977