SAP Community - Software Logistics

Plan, Transform & Operate SAP Landscape: SAP Cloud & Lifecycle Management Day 2023 is Here!

2023-05-30T16:19:10+02:00

Calling all SAP customers and partners! Get ready for an exciting opportunity to plan, transform and operate SAP landscape effectively. Cloud & Lifecycle Management Day 2023 is just around the corner, with events taking place in Mumbai, Bangalore, and Gurgaon. Mark your calendars, spread the word, and join us for a one-day event packed with valuable insights, best practices, and networking opportunities.

Save the Dates:

15^th June 2023 @SAP India, Mumbai

22^nd June 2023 @SAP Labs, Bengaluru

27^th June 2023 @SAP Labs, Gurgaon

Registration:

The event is free of cost, but seats are limited. Visit the registration page to secure your spot today.

Why Attend?

Cloud & Lifecycle Management Day 2023 offers a unique platform for SAP customers and partners to delve into the latest tools and processes to plan smooth adoption of innovations, reduce Total Cost of ownership (TCO) and get maximum value from your IT investments. Whether you are considering a seamless SAP S/4HANA transition, integrating your digital core with cloud LoB solutions, bringing innovations into ABAP systems, or managing your SAP system landscapes on IaaS, this event is tailor-made for you. Here are some key highlights of what you can expect:

We look forward to welcoming you at Cloud & Lifecycle Management Day 2023, where you'll have the chance to hear from SAP leaders and experts, connect with fellow SAP customers and partners. Don't Miss Out! Register today and secure your spot for this exclusive event!!

Two Major News with SUM 2.0 SP 17

2023-05-31T13:05:39+02:00

Hello SUM fans, this blog is a bit long and full of text, but it's worth reading, as we have great news!

1. Homogeneous option for DMO

SUM 2.0 SP 17 (available as of May 26th 2023) offers a homogeneous option for DMO!

Until now, DMO was always heterogenous: the database type was always changed, for example from DB2 to SAP HANA DB. Now, for the first time, SUM allows a homogeneous migration from SAP HANA DB to SAP HANA DB.

But this comes only for specific cases:

Only SAP HANA DB to SAP HANA DB is supported
(no plan to offer homogeneous DMO for other database types)

Only target product SAP S/4HANA is supported
(target "SAP ERP on SAP HANA" is not supported)

Some restrictions apply for schemas and partitioning
(documented in SAP Note 3296427 on DMO)

doDMO and doC are not (yet) supported for homogeneous DMO
(plan is to support this with a later SUM SP version, maybe SP 18 in October, or later)
(with SUM 2.0 SP 17, we accept pilot projects for homogenous DMO with doDMO or with doC)

1.1. Main Use Case

So, "DMO with system move" allows SAP HANA to SAP HANA migration. The main scenario that benefits from this new feature is the combined conversion & transition:
convert "SAP ERP on SAP HANA DB" to SAP S/4HANA and transition the system to SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition (or any hyperscaler) in one step.

Up to now, this was a 2-step approach:

Now, it is a 1-step procedure:

(The illustrations are based on the PCE documentation: Transition Paths | SAP Help Portal)

1.2. Further use case

Another scenario that benefits from this new feature is the transition of an existing SAP S/4HANA (on-prem) system to SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition.

Either upgrading to higher SAP S/4HANA release

Or keeping source product version level, combining it with „DMO without system update“

1.3. Minor further use case

The option can also be used purely on-premise for a change of the SAP HANA database during a conversion from SAP ERP on SAP HANA DB to SAP S/4HANA. Like starting SAP ERP on SAP HANA 1.0 and omitting the separate SAP HANA upgrade to SAP HANA 2.0.

1.4. Overview on new scenarios for "DMO with system move"

The illustration shows the main use case in the middle, the further use case above, and the minor further use case left hand side with a dotted line. All three cases are listed in orange. The thin blue lines on bottom indicate the already existing use case for "DMO with system move" from non - SAP HANA DB on source.

1.5. Further information

SAP Note 3296427 for DMO with SUM 2.0 SP 17
(sections on "Homogeneous database migration")

DMO Guide for SUM 2.0 SP 17
(sections on "Homogeneous database migration")

2. DMOVE2S4: "DMO move to SAP S/4HANA (on hyperscaler)"

2.1. Alternative to "DMO with system move"

For the combined conversion & transition, until now only "DMO with system move" was available and used for projects. Disadvantage is that the approach does not allow downtime-optimization techniques like downtime-optimized DMO (doDMO) or downtime-optimized Conversion. Now with SUM 2.0 SP 17, the DMOVE2S4 approach is available as an alternative to "DMO with system move" - under specific conditions (described below). It allows to use the plain-DMO (plain in the sense of "not-DMO-with-system-move") for the conversion and transition to a hyperscaler.

Note: you may have heard about this approach already, but with other names: "DMO to Azure", or "DMO conversion to hyperscaler".

2.2. Advantages

Proven SUM technology is used
(not brand new coding)

Approach works for source systems on anyDB as well as on SAP HANA DB
because SUM now allows homogeneous migration (SAP HANA DB to SAP HANA DB, see section 1 above)

DMOVE2S4 can be used as is, or additionally with downtime-optimization techniques
like doDMO, or doC (but currently only if source is on non-SAP HANA DB, see section 1 above)

R3load pipe mode is used, not file mode
so no dump files are created like for "DMO with system move"

So the approach comes with three potential usages / flavors:

DMOVE2S4 (plain)
DMOVE2S4 with downtime-optimized DMO
DMOVE2S4 with downtime-optimized Conversion

2.3. Main steps of approach

Install AAS in target
In the target environment, in which the target SAP HANA DB is installed, you install an Additional Application Server (AAS) which belongs to the source SAP ERP 6.0.
Extract and start SUM on that AAS
You start SUM for the conversion on that AAS host in the target environment.
You confirm the "ACSC instance move" offered by SUM
As SUM detects that it is not running on the Primary Application Server (PAS) host, it offers the ASCS instance move. This will install the ABAP central services on the AAS in the target, and the previous PAS will not be started again after downtime.
Post-activities
Some post activities are required which are described in the DMO Guide, like moving the directories sapmnt and trans to the hyperscaler.

Although it is not listed here, it is important to enable the required communication between the source and target environment, like opening ports.
The whitepaper "Converting from SAP ERP on Premise to SAP S/4HANA on Microsoft Azure" (listed below) explains those steps in detail, for the case of target hyperscaler MS Azure.

Note that the "ASCS instance move" will move the ASCS instance to a host on which an AAS is running. If the source system had the ASCS running separately from any Application Server Instances, this setup will not be restored by SUM (see blog post https://blogs.sap.com/2019/04/12/ascs-instance-move-use-sum-to-switch-your-ascs/). It is of course possible to afterwards manually create such a setup. In case of a transition to "SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition", the AAS is anyhow installed (by the executing partner) on the "migration server" which is provided by SAP (ECS). After the partner has finished the conversion run, the migration server will anyhow be dismantled.

Note on point 1: Install AAS in target [added on June 16 2023]
The OS of the AAS host has to be supported, e.g. for MS SQL database, it must run on Windows. You should check if the target environment supports that OS.

Note on point 3: Confirm "ASCS instance move" [added on July 6 2023]
If your ASCS instance is not yet running separately on your source system, SUM will automatically execute the "ASCS instance split" (see SUM guide: ASCS Instance Split | SAP Help Portal). The new ASCS instance will then be created on the AAS.

2.4. Approach is not a SUM option

Note that the DMOVE2S4 approach is the appropriate combination of SUM features and option, but it is not an option which is offered by SUM. The SUM is not aware if it is used for the approach, and will not show this for example in the title of the browser window. This is different to "DMO with system move" which is a SUM option, and which is shown on the SUM browser page.

2.5. Prerequisites and conditions

DMOVE2S4 is only supported for target SAP S/4HANA

It is supported if the technical requirements are met (actual values are listed in SAP Note 3296427 on DMO with SUM 2.0 SP 17)

Note: SUM runs a latency check (result is visible in DBSTAT.LOG file). For higher latency values, a warning is shown in log file CHECKS.log. The latency check is executed for conversion with migration and for an SUM "extended prerequisite check" (with target database).

2.6. Further information

DMO Guide: DMO Move to SAP S/4HANA (on Hyperscaler) | SAP Help Portal

SAP Note 3296427 for DMO with SUM 2.0 SP 17
(sections on "DMO Move to SAP S/4HANA")

White paper: "Converting from SAP ERP on Premise to SAP S/4HANA on Microsoft Azure":
https://www.sap.com/documents/2021/12/a8fcb608-097e-0010-bca6-c68f7e60039b.html

Initial blog post in SAP Community: “DMO to Azure”: combine SAP S/4HANA conversion with the move to Azure (without “DMO with System Move”) | SAP Blogs

2.7. Illustration

The illustration shows both options for a combined conversion & transition.
Note that DMOVE2S4 requires target product SAP S/4HANA, different to "DMO with system move".

So if two options are available, which one to chose?

First question is whether the latency and the bandwidth are good enough for DMOVE2S4. If not, then "DMO with system move" is to be used.

Boris Rubarth
Product Management SUM, SAP SE

Free Learning Journey That Qualifies You to Use Zero Downtime Option (ZDO) in SUM for SAP S/4HANA Updates

2023-07-21T11:13:27+02:00

Many blog posts have been released over the past years explaining the Zero Downtime Option (ZDO) in Software Update Manager (SUM) and how it ensures performing maintenance events without technical downtime. As of SAP S/4HANA 2021 release and with SUM 2.0 SP12, you can make use of Zero Downtime Option for SAP S/4HANA. In this blog, I want to introduce you to the free and self-paced learning journey Leverage SAP S/4HANA Updates and Upgrades with Zero Downtime Option of SUM on learning.sap.com. This self-paced and interactive learning journey provides you with all necessary information that is needed to operate SUM with ZDO, plan, and execute maintenance projects. When you choose in SUM the Scenario Strategy Zero Downtime Option (ZDO), you will be prompted for an authentication. Part of it is to successfully complete this learning journey.

ZDO decreases the downtime significantly. With the option, technical unavailability of a system can be reduced to a single restart of application servers. This is possible due to the temporary transition to a bridge subsystem. In the meantime, the maintenance is performed on the original system. After the restart of the application servers, there is a switch back and the original system is available in the new release. Since ZDO is part of the SUM tool, it does not require any additional license. You need, however, to ensure that a minimal additional space in the database is available.

The learning journey consists of five units, is 9h long, and describes what you as technical consultant or system administrator need to know. You will learn:

how ZDO is performed

what do you need to prepare

what are the different components in a maintenance project, like original system, bridge subsystem, database, releases

and what other options are there in SUM

One of the units explains the supporting tools, prerequisites and restrictions when using ZDO of SUM for SAP S/4HANA. Backup plan and recovery strategy are also important aspects of a maintenance event. The learning journey highlights how the strategy should be with ZDO.

At the end, you will get an overview of all important resources in one place: SAP Notes, which need to be implemented before and while the maintenance event, where to implement them, and guides describing the execution of the maintenance event in SUM:

What steps are required for a successful execution?

How to analyze errors and troubleshoot if something goes wrong?

What will be the impact on the business process and how to analyze it?

After completing the learning journey, you will get a record of achievement, which is a digital badge on the Credly platform. Only after receiving this badge, you will be able to request a password for SUM when you choose the Scenario Strategy Zero Downtime Option (ZDO).

Fill the gap through upskilling and enjoy SAP’s learning offerings on the SAP Learning site. This article is created and brought to you by SAP Product Learning CoE experts!

Keeping SAP System Landscape Secure and Up-to-Date With SAP Notes Recommendations in Maintenance Planner

2023-08-01T16:41:26+02:00

Introduction

Your SAP system landscape requires regular maintenance, updates, and security checks to ensure optimal performance and compliance. SAP Notes are delivered to address issues related to functionality, performance, security and compliance with legal changes to ensure optimal functioning and security of SAP systems.

In this blog post, we will explore the latest enhancement to Maintenance Planner - the View Recommended Notes feature. Let's explore its key features and how it helps administrators keep SAP systems up-to-date. With View Recommended Notes feature, you can view the SAP Notes that are recommended for your ABAP and JAVA systems in your landscapes. These recommendations provide a detailed list of SAP Notes which should be implemented based on the actual status of your systems and already implemented SAP Notes.

Key Features:

Allows filtering of list of systems using landscapes and other filters to identify and calculate SAP Notes accordingly.

Allows filtering of list of SAP Notes based on Security Notes, Hot News, Performance Notes, and Legal Changes.

Displays SAP Notes and its link to view its details and implementation prerequisites.

Detailed information on SAP Notes and the software components where it is applicable.

Logs show actions performed on SAP Notes including user ID, processing status, date, time, and comments.

Using View Recommended Notes, you can also manage the recommended SAP Notes by changing their processing status. This will help you in segregating which SAP Notes you want to implement. Once an SAP Note is completely implemented and has been registered by the LMDB, you can no longer see them in the application.

Calculating the Recommended SAP Notes

To calculate and view the recommended Notes for the selected systems, follow the below steps:

Choose View Recommended Notes tile from the home page.

Select the systems for which you want to view the Notes and click Calculate Notes.

A list of all the recommended SAP Notes for the selected systems is displayed.

To get more information on the Note, click the SAP Note number. The right panel displays Note details and the system to which it is applicable. It also displays the category, priority, component, CVSS score for security Notes, and logs of the actions performed on the Note.

You can filter the list of recommended Notes using the following options:

Results - Displays all the recommended Notes with their total count for the selected systems.

SAP Security Notes - Displays notes specific to security and protection of the systems.
Note: You need to have 'Security Contact' authorization to access security Notes of any system. For authorization, search and contact your administrator from this

Hot News - Displays Notes that are of the highest priority.

Performance Notes - Displays Notes that are critical for your system's performance.

Legal Change Notes - Displays Notes relevant for any legal changes required for your systems.

You can also perform the following actions:

Search- Search for a Note from the list using its name or number.

Filter- Filter the Notes list based on the displayed columns.

Reset Filter- Remove all the applied filters to view all the available Notes in the list.

Sort- Sort the list in ascending or descending order based on various properties like system, Note number, category, etc.

Group- Group the Notes together in ascending or descending order based on the properties.

Settings- Choose the columns that you want to see on the screen accordingly.

Export to Excel- Download and save the filtered list of Notes in an excel file format.

Edit Processing Status- Change the processing status of the selected Notes.

Processing the Recommended Notes

Maintenance planner not only gives you a way to view these SAP Notes, but you can also manage them using the View Recommended Notes section. It allows you to change the processing status of the Notes based on your requirements.

Pre-requisites

To change the processing status, you need to first enable the Processing Status column in View Recommended Notes. Click Username > Personalize > Notes Recommendation. Select Change Processing Status and click Save.

To change the processing status of the Notes, follow the below steps:

1. From the list of recommended Notes calculated for the selected systems, click the pencil icon displayed in the Processing Status column for the Note whose status you want to change. 2. In the Change Processing Status pop-up, enter the following detailsa. Select Status: Select the appropriate status for the Note from the drop-down list.

- - Transferring - Note is transferred for implementation.
  - In Progress - Note implementation is in progress
  - On Hold - Note is yet to be decided if it needs to be implemented or is irrelevant.
  - Not Relevant - Invalid or irrelevant Note for your system.

b. Comments: Enter additional information related to the Note.

3. Click Save to update the processing status.
Note: To change the processing status of multiple Notes, select the required Notes and click the pencil icon displayed at the right corner of the toolbar. Select the appropriate status from the drop-down list, enter a comment if any, and click Save.

After a Note is implemented on the target system, it's no longer recommended and automatically removed from the list.

Roadmap

For easier implementation of SAP Notes on the applicable systems, we are evaluating a new option to download the recommendations in XML file format. You can then upload the XML file in the Note Assistant tool to experience automated implementation process.

For more information, see FAQs in the SAP Note 3359264.

Downtime-Optimized Conversion using SUM for SAP S/4HANA Conversion : InPlace ~ HANA DB vs Any DB

2024-06-29T06:48:45.569000+02:00

Motivation & Objective :

As most of the Customers are now looking forward to work aggressively on their S/4HANA Transformation Journey by Converting their SAP ECC systems before they are out of Maintenance on 31st December 2027 , one of the most critical challenge for many of them would be to reduce the SUM Technical Downtime.

Over a years minimizing downtime is a key element and number# 1 priority for almost all customers while doing SAP S/4HANA Migration, specifically in a brownfield transition approach. To add complexity , customers now even look forward to take an opportunity to migrate from On Premise DC to Cloud ~ Hyperscaler under one major transformation program.

SAP has been working continuously to help the customers to reduce the technical downtime and complete it in One single maintenance window for such a complex and challenging scenarios.

To satisfy customer's and on their request SAP came up last year via SUM version SP17 a new GA approach - DMOVE2S4.

Below blog from our Product owner does explain in detail about this new approach

https://community.sap.com/t5/technology-blogs-by-sap/two-major-news-with-sum-2-0-sp-17/ba-p/13548361

Along with Standard (~ Plain) approach, the Downtime-Optimized DMO ~ doDMO method is one such another approach which is available to customer to reduce the technical downtime requirement by migrating application tables partially during business uptime. The blog post from Boris.Rubarth will outline further technical details about Downtime-Optimized DMO.https://blogs.sap.com/2014/09/08/dmo-downtime-optimization-by-migrating-app-tables-during-uptime-pre. and SAP Note 2547309 - Downtime-optimized DMO with SUM 2.0.

Along with these 2 commonly used ones, SAP has introduced a methodology called “Downtime-Optimized Conversion” to help the customers in further reducing the technical downtime requirement for application tables for core modules like FI/CO/ML/MM-IM conversion.
This next generation approach is available for SAP customers starting with SUM 2.0 SP10 as a Pilot but last year in May'2023 with SUM version 2.0 SP17, it has been made General Available ~ GA for all the customers who can think of converting to S/4HANA and even migrating to Cloud ~ Hyperscaler or RISE .

Please refer link for more additional details about this approach.

Project requires an educated experts that has taken the respective training ADM329 and successfully passed the Knowledge Assessment ADM329k (requires access to SAP Learning Hub).

Please also refer to this SL Toolset System Maintenance landing page for all the relevant information and for deep dive on different topics - https://support.sap.com/en/tools/software-logistics-tools.html?anchorId=section_18674764 .

Introduction on doC ~ downtime Optimized Conversion:

As compare to other available tools the major advantage of using this tool is to “perform the FI/CO/ML/MM-IM conversion of most of the data in uptime of SUM while running production operations in parallel”. Along with that field conversion for KONV and VBFA table is also moved to uptime.

All these steps are done in downtime for other tools , so this is one big advantage of using doC and below picture speaks itself about it

Downtime Optimized Conversion ~ doC can be used for both - source as any DB (Non-HANA DB) or InPlace conversion ~ HANA DB

Per my recently completed multiple project experiences of working with different customers, i will share some of the key insights related to Key comparison of phases when Source database is Any DB ~ Non-HANA DB vs HANA DB ~ InPlace conversion.

Below tabular data is high level information of each of these phases and it's runtime will vary depending upon the size of the tables in your system.

Downtime/Uptime	SUM Phase Name- HANA DB	SUM Phase Name- AnyDB	Description of the phase

Uptime	RUN_IOC_TOUCH	RUN_SFM_TOUCH SFM ~ Shadow Field Migration	This will handle KONV ~ KOCLU (AnyDB),VBFA and other tables related to SD Migration

Downtime	JOB_KONV_Migration	Delta SFM ~ Shadow Field Migration	This will handle delta KONV ~ KOCLU (AnyDB),VBFA and other tables related to SD Migration

Uptime	SQLRUNTASK_FDCT_TRANSFER_DIRECT	EU_CLONE_CP2STAB_RUN	Copy to Shadow tables happens during this time.

Uptime	Not relevant , as tables are already on HANA	EU_CLONE_MIG_OPTDMO_INI_RUN	Uptime table migration of the relevant tables

In the next blog I will share my experiences on challenges faced by customers across different execution project system cycles , how the doC projects should be planned for successful Project completion and which all different teams needs to be involved.

Thank you for taking time for reading !!

-Anand Tigadikar

Simply analyzing and improving maintenance events with Technical Downtime Optimization App

2024-07-31T09:31:09.577000+02:00

Regular maintenance of the SAP landscape is essential for ensuring that it remains high-performing and offers the latest features. However, maintenance events typically require system downtime, during which production operations are paused until the maintenance is completed.

(It is important to note that downtime doesn't just involve the technical unavailability of the system. It also includes activities such as ramping down the system, ramping it back up and testing, all of which is not productive use, that is business downtime. When I mention downtime in this blog, I’m referring specifically to the technical downtime caused by Software Update Manager.)

SAP provides the Software Update Manager for carrying out maintenance events. To ensure that the maintenance using Software Update Manager on the production system goes smoothly and according to plan, test cycles are performed before updating* production. Typically, the first system to be updated is a sandbox system that is separate from the production landscape. This sandbox system is used to validate the upgrade process and identify any necessary preparation steps and fixes.

Once the sandbox has been successfully updated, the next step is to assess the project planning implications of the update. This involves analyzing the overall maintenance runtime and downtime, ensuring that the downtime fits within the planned maintenance window, and finding ways to potentially shorten the downtime if necessary.

To address these concerns, SAP offer the Technical Downtime Optimization App. This app provides multiple features for analyzing the Software Update Manager runtime and improving the maintenance event.

*Note: Update refers to any maintenance in this text, i.e. release changes (upgrades), Feature or Support Package Stack implementation (update) and import of customer transports.

Prerequisites

Software Update Manager offers to send the analysis files of the maintenance event (UPGANA.XML and, in case of system conversion to SAP S/4HANA®, APPLANA.XML) to SAP. Shortly after submission, the event will be visible in the Technical Downtime Optimization app.

Screenshot of Software Update Manager end screen with the feedback window

If the data was not sent by Software Update Manager, the XML files can be uploaded manually in the app.

Accessing the Technical Downtime Optimization App

The app is available here: https://tdo.cloud.sap/.

Using the Technical Downtime Optimization App

The first step is to choose the event for analysis.

The default view upon entry is the Durations tab, which provides a visual overview of the overall Software Update Manager runtime. The overview shows the overall runtime and offers to drill down into the blocks by clicking on them.

Screenshot of the Durations feature

The Rating feature offers numerical ratings that compare the current run to similar events in the database. This feature also provides comments and best practice information for improving the rating.

Screenshot of the Rating feature

The Compare feature allows for a comparison between separate runs. For example, two runs with different parametrization can be compared.

Screenshot of the Compare feature comparing two events

Also, more than two events can be compared.

Screenshot of the Compare feature comparing more than two events

To identify potential measures for improving downtime, the Simulate feature offers simulation approaches applicable to the maintenance event.

Screenshot of the Simulation feature showing the possible simulations for the event

After selecting one of the possible simulations, a detailed view is available.

Screenshot of the Simulation feautre showing the simulation of nZDM

The Cutover Plan feature provides a template cutover plan based on the runtimes reported by the Software Update Manager. You can adapt the timings and export the plan for use in planning runs on the next systems.

Screenshot of the CutoverPlan feature showing the timeline view

What’s next?

Check it out and CLICK HERE!

We’re constantly making improvements to the Technical Downtime Optimization app. Our dedication to innovation means that the screenshots you see today may already be outdated, as we are continuously introducing newer, more intuitive features. Your feedback is crucial to this ongoing process, so please don't hesitate to use the Feedback button to share your thoughts with us.

Thank you for helping us make our app even better!

DMOVE2S4 – your one-step approach into the cloud

2024-09-23T16:32:37.286000+02:00

Highlights

DMOVE2S4 is a one-step solution provided by Software Update Manager that integrates the transition to the cloud with system maintenance. It supports products that are built on SAP S/4HANA and requires a strong and stable network for data transfer.

Introducing DMOVE2S4

With Software Update Manager 2.0, SAP offers the swiss army knife for maintenance scenarios. It supports operating system and database migrations, software updates and upgrades, system conversions to SAP S/4HANA Private Cloud Edition, as well as downtime-optimization scenarios for these tasks.

Database Migration Option to SAP S/4HANA (on hyperscaler), short DMOVE2S4, is an offering by Software Update Manager for the seamless transition to RISE with SAP, combining the move from on-premise to the cloud with either a system conversion from SAP ERP 6.0 to SAP S/4HANA or an update/upgrade of SAP S/4HANA as the following picture illustrates.

And the best part? DMOVE2S4 is built on the proven mechanisms of Software Update Manager, ensuring a smooth and reliable journey into the cloud. Those who are familiar with DMO know, that there are two approaches which differ (not only) in their means of data transfer:

DMO – transfers data based on memory pipes

DMO with System Move (⚠️ not to be confused with DMOVE2S4) – transfers data based on data files

For DMOVE2S4, the approach Database Migration Option (DMO) with system maintenance (either system conversion or upgrade) is combined with the move to a hyperscaler. Sounds simple but offers amazing results: You can do your move to the cloud in one step with the system maintenance and are ready to go. This also means, that DMOVE2S4 is not a separate selection in the Software Update Manager User Interface. On top, DMOVE2S4 can be combined with downtime-optimized DMO as well as downtime-optimized Conversion. It is worth mentioning that the DMOVE2S4 approach can also be used for moving to the cloud even without updating or upgrading your SAP S/4HANA system, although other transfer methods such as tenant copy of SAP HANA may be more suitable in such cases.

To benefit from DMOVE2S4 following prerequisites must be considered:

Only target products based on SAP S/4HANA and SAP S/4HANA Foundation are supported.

The Network connection must be sufficient*.

*Please refer to the latest DMO Guide for details.

If the prerequisites cannot be met, Software Update Manager also got your back with DMO with System Move. The approach also allows for a smooth transition to the cloud; however, it cannot be combined with downtime-optimization approaches such as downtime-optimized DMO or downtime-optimized Conversion.

For further information please refer to the following links:

DMO Guide: DMO Move to SAP S/4HANA (on Hyperscaler) | SAP Help Portal

SAP Note: 3431829 - Database Migration Option (DMO) of SUM 2.0 SP20, section g)

SAP HANA Guide: Copying and Moving Tenant Databases (without software change)

Questions? Feedback? Concerns? Comment below and let us know!

What's new in DTV 1.5

2024-11-05T09:57:26.205000+01:00

It’s a been a while since DTV 1.5 is released, and I am more than happy to share more information regarding the latest release of Data Transition Validation Tool, DTV 1.5.

Partial Execution

In DTV 1.5 partial execution of data simulation, extraction and evaluation is now enabled in work item level. In a real time, scenario, when we define multiple split parameters for greater granularity of data, execution of huge amount of data may lead to failures sometimes. With partial execution enablement, now

users can execute simulation, extraction, and evaluation of individual failed work items instead of the whole test specification saving valuable time during business data evaluation in business down time.

Specify Maximum number of work processes

Whether it is Simulation, Extraction or Evaluation, DTV creates background jobs for processing and executing work items. For optimum system performance, now you can define dedicated number of work processes which can be utilized for DTV for background jobs, further finetuning the DTV overall performance.

You can do the setup in Maintain Systems -> Max. num of Processes.

Result Data

The entire result data of the reports including the hidden fields can now be seen in the Result Data making the analysis easy and intuitive for the end user.

Copy the project including the Test Specification

In DTV 1.5 you have the possibility to copy the project global data and the test specifications to further improve the usability of the tool.

Execution Runtime information is enhanced with delay time calculations

In DTV 1.5, overall execution time is calculated by including the delay time (execution time + delay time). The delay time is nothing but the time a job waits to get a free work process. This gives the end user an opportunity to improve the execution by providing optimum number of work processes and increasing the hardware if necessary.

Useful Links and Notes

SAP Note 3117879 – Central SAP Note for DTV
SAP Note 3511932 – DTV Tool 1.5 Delivery
Help Documentation – Data Transition Validation
Business data validation using DTV tool - Blog post
Best practices to follow during DTV implementation
Work Item Level Execution in DTV

DTV 1.5 Bug Fixing Notes

3584455 - Evaluation Bug Fix for RFBELJ00

3529762 - DTV 1.5 - Bug fixes

3546357 - DTV 1.5: Additional Bug Fixes

From History to Innovation: Analyzing Custom SAP System Evolution - A Primer

2024-12-18T11:06:54.729000+01:00

A Glimpse into the History of Custom SAP Systems

Consider the transport history of a small to medium-sized enterprise (SME). This record captures essential moments in the system's life - when transports occurred, who approved them, and which objects were moved into production. Such insights provide a clear picture of how the system has developed over time.

Example of ERP system workbench transport history (SME customer)Example of ERP system customizing transport history (same SME customer)

The volume of transported objects varies with company size. Larger enterprises often show a higher density of daily transports, reflecting more extensive system usage:

Another customer example of an SAP ECC workbench transport history. The blue hatched area represents the density of the daily transports as additional information

It becomes more interesting when we take the transport history of a software package (DEVLASS) as an example for this customer and plot the individual developers and their activities:

An example software package (DEVLASS) workbench transport history of this customer

Each horizontal line represents the activity of a user within the software package (DEVLASS). The names of the users are grayed out for privacy reasons)

When looking at the activities based on the workbench transport history and considering the time-limited activities of users along with their simultaneous or staggered actions, we can discuss the development history and the developers involved. This makes for a good conversation starter with the relevant development manager, system administrator, or subject matter expert: "Which developer is the most experienced?", "Was knowledge able to be passed on between developers?", "Can I identify development initiatives?", "These two developers are our best procurement process experts!"

The way this information is presented is well-suited for storytelling.

Storytelling and Reconstructed History

Storytelling transforms complex technical processes into relatable narratives. Instead of drowning stakeholders in dry details, the narrative approach fosters collaboration between IT teams and business stakeholders. When technical information is presented as a story, IT professionals can communicate their ideas more effectively, leading to richer discussions about system features and enhancements.

However, storytelling comes with its challenges. One risk is exaggeration or misrepresentation; presenting hypothetical scenarios as facts can create misunderstandings and unrealistic expectations. To maintain trust, it’s crucial that stories are grounded in real data.

Understanding the Evolution of Custom SAP Systems for Better Transformation

Every custom SAP system tells a story shaped by organizational decisions throughout its development. This narrative encompasses not just technical specifications but also the experiences of those involved. Analyzing this evolution helps organizations make informed decisions about their software strategies.

Having spent years in Custom Development and Innovative Business Solutions (IBSO), I’ve seen firsthand how important it is to examine software evolution. The method of Software Evolution Analysis arose from the need for quick communication with clients about custom systems. This analysis captures the essence of a system's history, showing how past choices influence current functions and future developments.

In future blog posts, I will go deeper into this topic, sharing examples and insights that demonstrate how storytelling can clarify the complexities of custom SAP systems. Additionally, I will showcase analyses and modeling techniques that further enhance our understanding of these systems.

References

Change and Transport System (CTS): https://support.sap.com/en/tools/software-logistics-tools/change-and-transport-system.html
Lehman, M. M., & Belady, L. (1974). "Program Evolution: Processes of Software Change." (remark: The article by Lehman was published in 1974, just two years after the founding of SAP in 1972 by former IBM employees.); Lehman, M. M. (1980). "Programs, Life Cycles, and the Laws of Software Evolution." In Proceedings of the IEEE.
Story telling as a term concerning software: Domain Storytelling is a collaborative modeling technique that brings together domain experts and development teams to visualize and narrate business processes, making domain knowledge transparent and actionable for software development (domainstorytelling.org, Quick-Start Guide, Book by Hofer & Schwentner). User Stories in agile development are concise, narrative requirements from the user's perspective, supporting iterative planning and user-centered design (domainstorytelling.org/domain-driven-design). Storytelling is also crucial in software introduction, as it helps communicate changes and benefits, motivates users, and eases adoption by embedding new systems in relatable narratives (gotopia.tech: The Power of Domain Storytelling).
Story telling and it's meaning from different aspects: Jerome Bruner’s influential book, Acts of Meaning (1990), explores how storytelling is fundamental to human sense-making and cultural understanding; the book is available through resources such as MIT’s PDF archive and the Internet Archive. In the field of evolutionary biology, Stephen Jay Gould and Richard C. Lewontin’s seminal article, “The Spandrels of San Marco and the Panglossian Paradigm: A Critique of the Adaptationist Programme” (Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences, 1979), critically examines adaptationist storytelling in evolutionary theory and can be accessed via JSTOR.

Enhanced SAP Notes Recommendations in Maintenance Planner: AI-Based Ranking for Smarter Insights

2025-03-07T06:31:33.342000+01:00

Keeping SAP systems updated and secure is essential. The "View Recommended Notes" feature in Maintenance Planner provides a tailored list of SAP Notes based on the system's current status, helping ensure systems stay up-to-date, secure, and compliant with evolving business and legal requirements.

Proactively implementing SAP Notes can be beneficial in many ways. For instance, Security Notes help safeguard your systems. High-priority Notes should be reviewed for relevance, while Legal Change ensure compliance with new regulations. However, managing SAP Notes, especially across multiple systems, can be both overwhelming and time-consuming. To streamline this process, we are enhancing the Notes list with a ranked view—making it easier for you to prioritize and identify the most critical SAP Notes first.

Intelligent Ranking for Prioritizing SAP Notes

Ranking helps in identifying and prioritizing the most relevant SAP Notes likely to be applicable to your system. This ranking is determined by artificial intelligence, based on the SAP Notes already implemented within your system.

The criteria for ranking include:

Text Similarity: SAP Notes with content that closely resembles already implemented notes.
ABAP Dictionary Object: Notes involving modifications to the same ABAP Dictionary objects as the implemented notes.
Prerequisites: Notes with prerequisites that reference already implemented notes.
System Similarity: Notes that are implemented in similar systems.

The ranking results for recommended SAP Notes are dynamic and continuously recalculated based on new or updated SAP Notes and system changes.

Select "Top Ranked" Notes

Sort based on Ranking to view a ranked list.

The AI-Based Top Ranked View in Maintenance Planner simplifies the prioritization of SAP Notes recommendations, reduces manual effort, and optimizes the process. For more information, please refer SAP Help and blog outlining the View Recommended Notes functionality.

Try out the new feature today and experience the difference! 🚀

Enablement of partial or work item level execution in DTV tool

2025-03-25T06:17:08.905000+01:00

Problem Statement

If you are already using DTV tool for business data validation, you may already know that DTV generates work items as per the split parameters provided in the test specifications.

Customers may sometimes get to a scenario where they wish to.

Execute individual or set of work items of their choice
Execute failed/ cancelled work items only

To address such requirements DTV tool introduces partial execution or work item level execution in the new release DTV 1.5. With this concept Execution of extraction, evaluation and simulation are possible not only at the test specification, but also at the individual split (Work items).

Work Items

With DTV 1.5 release onwards, the tool is introduced with new concept called work item level execution. For each Extraction/Simulation, the tool generates work items explicitly first and then the work item level execution happens for respective work items. In this way DTV facilitates smaller data extraction as well as if extraction for one or more work item fails/cancels, you can run the failed/cancelled work items explicitly which makes the overall DTV execution faster.

You can find the Generate Workitems buttons in both Simulation as well as Extraction screens as highlighted below.

Once the work items are generated by using the above button, the execution status changes to

You can see the generated work items in the Result tab.

Project Global Data and Work Items

In DTV project global data is used to split the business data into smaller chunks and the project global data is also applicable to all the reports. But it is worth to mention that the definition of project global data is directly related to number of work items that will be generated during the Extraction / Simulation phase.

In the below example of project global data, only one work item will be created.

However, it is always recommended to further split the project global data to generate multiple work items for smaller and faster simulation/extraction. Below is a simple example of further finetuning of the project global data.

Define Project Global data wisely to split the data into smaller chunks (work items)

You can define the project global data wisely by splitting, which in turn will create multiple work items. E.g. For the below project global data 5 work items will be generated.

Check the work items created in Result tab.

Once work items are generated you can execute the work items with different options as per your requirement

Execute all the work items together (by default)
You can select multiple work items as per your requirement and execute
You can also execute the failed or cancelled work items only

Select multiple work items and run

If you have generated multiple work items and you would like to execute only few, you have the possibility to select the desired work items and execute simulation or extraction.

Select failed work items and run

If there are failed or cancelled work items, you can simply select the failed work item and execute the simulation or extraction.

DTV Useful links

Business data validation using DTV tool

Best practices to follow during DTV implementation

3117879 - Data Transition Validation DTV Tool - Central Note

3569864 - DTV Tool 1.6 Delivery

Support package stack updates for SAP ABAP systems: Software Update Manager

2025-03-25T19:42:17.697000+01:00

Hello, BASIS Team.
In this article, I'd like to discuss the SPS update procedure from the scratch for ABAP systems.

To obtain approval to carry out the activity, we must first prepare the technical plan document.

Pre-requisites:
1. Request access for the ddic user.
Validate user by logging into the system and collect the following information.

Installed Softwares and their SPS levels and components.
License Information.
SPAM/SAINT Version.
Kernel version and their patch level.

2.For Windows applications, use sidadm and sapserviceSID as user credentials.
Linux requires sidadm and root privileges.

Validate the user credentials using RDP for Windows & Putty/Moba for Linux operating systems and capture the following information.

SAP-Host agent version and their patch levels.
Kernel version and their patch levels.

3. For database types of ASE: sapsa, sapsso, and sa users' credentials.
HANA: system user credentials.

Process:

1.Create a stack XML file and add software components to the download basket.

Follow the below article for Maintenance planner transaction ID generation.

Generation of Maintenance Planner Transaction ID f... - SAP Community

If there is a problem with synchronizing data in maintenance planner and Solman is unavailable, you must manually sync the system data.

Generating the System-info file for ABAP and JAVA ... - SAP Community

Generation of stack xml for sub-sequent systems in the landscape (i.e. Quality and Production)

2419417 - Maintenance Planner - Copy a stack XML for an identical system - SAP for Me

SAP Support Portal Home –>Maintenance –> Maintenance Planner –> Access Maintenance Planner–>Explore Transactions –>

Choose the system from the center of the maintenance planning cycle

Choose Software tab and choose Generate Stack XML Copy

In the Generate Stack XML Copy dialog box, enter or choose the technical system (SID) for which you want to generate a stack XML copy.

Note:

No new transaction is created when you generate a copy of the stack XML.
The feature is only available for update or upgrade transactions and for transactions generated for technical systems with product maintenance dependency.
The feature is not available for SAP S/4HANA conversions and does not include transactions for system tracks.

2.The media files can be downloaded using the SAP download manager.

3. Transfer the media files to the server, ensuring suitable permissions and ownership.

Disk space in the file system for the SUM directory, the download directory, and directory DIR_TRANS.
The space required depends on the product you are updating.

SAP suggested at least 40 GB of free space for both the SUM and download directories, as well as 20 GB for the DIR_TRANS directory.

The Software Update Manager calculates the database's space requirements. The required amount of free space ranges from 50 to 200 GB.

In our case we placed at <Drive>:usr\sap\SID\Downloads

Move the sum.sar file from downloads to <Drive>:usr\sap\SID and extract the sum.sar file with sapcar

After successful extraction, a new directory will be created under the name SUM.

4. Launch the SUM tool with the following command.

Paste the above URL in any web browser.

https://<fully qualified hostname>:1129/lmsl/sumabap/<SID>/slui

Enter the sidadm user credentials and click on the sign in button.

If there is an issue with launching the SUM URL.

It might be attributed primarily to the SAP host agent. (Faulty installation, incorrect permissions, etc.). Dev_saphostexec and sapstartsrv.log (found in the /work directory) are crucial logs for resolving common UI issues on the SAP host agent side.

If no apparent problem is observed in these logs, try increasing their trace level by following.

Open the SAP Host Agent profile ( host_profile ) which is located in the exe directory of the SAP Host Agent (/usr/sap/hostctrl/exe/ or C:\Program Files\SAP\hostctrl\exe\).
Add or modify the required values, for example:
hostexec/trace = 3
service/trace = 3
Restart SAP Host Agent by executing saphostexec -restart.

Resolution can be found from the below KBA's

2475146 - SUM : logon via SAP Host Agent is failing "Unable to locate the requested resource" or "<hostname>\<sidadm> is not authorized to process the operation ExecuteOperation" - SAP for Me

The Software Update Manager internally calls the SAPup executable. Technically, SAPup is started twice,
which is visible in the process list. One entry with gt=httpchannel represents the SAPup handling the
requests coming from the SAP Host Agent. The second SAPup with parameter guiconnect triggers tools
such as R3trans, tp, or R3load.

For windows: Task manager will list ou

###############################Roadmap-Phase###################################

Specify the path of stack XML file i.e. Drive<Name>:\usr\sap\SID\Downloads and click the next button.

Click the next button after selecting the Standard Configuration scenario for the strategy.

Check Archive Authenticity: Select the check box if the authenticity of all archives in the download directory shall be checked.
Switch expert mode on: Select the checkbox if you want to decide on additional options to adapt the tool configuration. If you want to enter a specific instance number and a password manually, choose the option Switch expert mode on in the initial dialogs. Make sure that you enter an instance number that is not used in your system landscape.

Customer Transport Integration: Include customer transport requests to reduce business downtime.
This option is only available for strategy modes Standard or Downtime-optimized. It is not displayed if
Single System has been selected.
Select the checkbox Customer Buffer File, if a customer buffer file shall be considered that contains
customer transports for the target release. A subsequent dialog prompts you to enter the path and the
name of the buffer file.

Select the radio buttons Check archive authenticity & Switch expert mode.

Download the file from this link: https://tcs.mysap.com/crl/crlbag.p7s.
Move the downloaded file to <Drive>:\usr\sap\SID\Downloads.
Then click the next button.

###################################Extraction-Phase###############################

These passwords are stored in the memory file MEMSAPup.dat and it is located in /usr/sap/SID/SUM/abap/mem
Although the passwords are encrypted, you have to deny the access to the mem subdirectory for other
operating system users. Only the <sapsid>adm user needs access to this subdirectory. In addition, you should not share this subdirectory in the network. If you save the SUM directory for later analysis After the update has finished, delete the file MEMSAPup.dat.
ddic credentials are needed for the RFC connection to the SAP system. To be able to perform all necessary actions, the user DDIC needs the authorization SAP_ALL.

Usually, it is not necessary to change the password of the user DDIC during the upgrade. If you do change
the password, you have to change it in the original system, the shadow system, and in the Software Update Manager.

Enter the credentials for ddic, sapserviceSID, and system.

Click the Next button.

Scans the entire update directory i.e. /usr/sap/SID/SUM/Downloads

Extracts all sar files into /usr/sap/trans/EPS/in, excluding the files indicated below.

SAP hostagent
SUM
Kernel files

If a newer version of spam/saint is found in the update directory, sum will update the spam tool.

Extracting the kernel executables from either the update directory or the global directory (depending on your system kernel version) to /usr/sap/SID/SUM/abap/exe (such as sapexe, sapexedb, R3trans, igs, igshelper, and vc_redist.

If installed kernel is the latest, then kernel extraction will be done from global directory to <Drive>:usr\sap\SID\abap\exe.
For example, if the system kernel is the most recent version, the SUM will appear as shown below.

Drop down each step to get more information, then click the next button.

#################################Configuration- Phase##############################

Select the radio option for "No disabling of the database archive mode."

ABAP Processes (Uptime & Downtime):

This parameter determines the number of processes used in job phases. It affects all job-run phases, including long runtime ones such as DBCLONE (in update situations), ACT_UPG and PARDIST in uptime, and XPRAs in downtime.

The DBCLONE phase has a technical restriction of 10 parallel processes at most, therefore increasing the number would not assist.

SQL Processes (Uptime & Downtime):

This option specifies the number of parallel SQL statements to be executed on the database at the same time. This setting is especially beneficial for the DDL (data definition language) phases, such as MVNTAB and PARCONV, where commands like "create table," "alter table," "create index," and others are executed. This parameter is also used by the phases that construct aliases/synonyms for the shadow system (SCEXEC_GRANT + SCEXEC_ALIAS), albeit to a lesser extent. The recommended value is the total number of physical CPUs.

R3trans Processes (Uptime & Downtime):

This parameter is used for tp and R3trans transport tools in parallel during the phases where support packages are imported (DDIC_UPG, SHADOW_IMPORT*, and TABIM_UPG).

Recommended value is 1 to 2 times the CPU, with a maximum of 50 CPUs.

If your CPU is multi-core, the SAP system will treat it as a physical, available CPU.
For example, if you have four quad-core CPUs, the SAP system will recognize them as sixteen CPUs in ST06. In this situation, you can put '16' for both the UPTIME and DOWNTIME R3TRANS PROCESSES fields (note that standard transport requests import may still occur during uptime, and they share the same tp/R3trans resources). So, avoid importing requests during upgrades.

R3load Processes (Uptime & Downtime):

This parameter guides the upgrade tool how many R3load processes will be executed during phases EU_IMPORT* (in system releases upgrade) and DMO (data migration option) scenarios to transfer data from the old database to the new HANA one. Because R3load uses modest CPU processing, you can safely specify a large value for this parameter: 3 to 5 times the number of CPUs.

Select the radio button Automated batch job distribution (If you have multiple instances and batch job load scheduling is scheduled)

In our case, select the radio button HOSTNAME_SID_<nn>

Uncheck the Start ABAP Load Generation During Update checkbox and then click the Next button.

SAP Load Generator (SGEN) is a transaction that compiles ABAP repository objects that are newly supplied into the system, either through an installation or an upgrade/support package import. The term "Load" refers to an ABAP runtime object used in ABAP settings.
The ABAP objects are stored on their source code in table REPOSRC and on their runtime state in table REPOLOAD.

If you selected the Advanced pre-configuration mode in SUM, you would get the following prompt

Choose an execution strategy for transaction SGEN.

Do not start ABAP load generation during the update

If you plan to apply a high number of relevant changes to your system in the form of SPS updates or upgrades. We recommend that you generate the ABAP loads manually at end of post-processing phase.

Generate ABAP loads on shadow system during uptime.

With this option, the Software Update Manager uses the maximum number of processes entered below to generate the loads in the shadow instance during the uptime in the update phase SUBMOD_SHD2_RUN/RUN_RSGEN.

Usually, the shadow SGEN prolongs the uptime part of the update procedure or several hours. If you run into unexpected time issues with your update schedule and you want to save the SGEN time, you can abort a running shadow SGEN by executing the report RSUPG_SGEN_ABORT_SHADOW in the shadow system. Use the DDIC user for the logon. Note that as soon as the SUM run is completed, you have to perform a manual SGEN run to generate the missing loads.

Generate ABAP loads on shadow system during uptime and start asynchronously in post downtime.

With this option, the Software Update Manager uses the maximum number of processes entered below to generate the ABAP loads in the shadow instance during the uptime in the update phase SUBMOD_SHD2_RUN/RUN_RSGEN

The transaction SGEN automatically starts again after the downtime during the Postprocessing roadmap step to regenerate the ABAP loads that were invalidated during the downtime in phase MAIN_POSTP/RUN_RSREGENLOD

In the development system, we'll select our own SPDD transport request radio button.
Don't fill anything in SPDD and SPAU transport
then click the next button.

For sub-sequent systems in the landscape SPDD request will be displayed as radio button.
Fill the SPDD and SPAU transports.
Check the radio button Yes, I want to check the modification requests and click on the next button.

Click on the next button.

In our case, we will not change the version of the add-on product.
Click the "Next" button.

If the SUM identifies more support packages in the download directory or TRANS folder that are acceptable for upgrading the target system, the notification "Deviations to calculated level found" appears.

You can mark the checkbox "Take over calculated level" to take over the calculated support package level.
For Example:

If you do not click the box, the SUM process will continue with the support package level given in the column "Current Level".

Click on the next button.

Assign the instance number to the shadow instance and then click the Next button.

Assign the password for the Database Shadow user and click the next button.

Choose the radio button "no" and click the next button.

Drop-down each step for more information, then click the next button.

################################Checks- Phase##################################

No manual input is required.
DB related parameters and DB space verified here.

Click on the next button.

###############################Preprocessing- Phase##############################

After getting approval from the Application Development Manager, click the radio button to lock the development environment now before proceeding to the next step.

Approval from several teams is required because the landscape has been locked, and no changes will be allowed.

If there are any modifiable state requests in the system, it will display a list of open repairs.
Inform the corresponding team, who will include all changes into the request and release it.
Click on the next button.

DB Clone Phase:

During this phase, the target system (shadow system) is copied from the current system. The Software Update Manager initiates background processes to copy the necessary tables for the shadow system's operation.

Depending on your system and your hardware, this operation can take several hours. These background jobs are executed on the background server that is configured with the BATCH HOST parameter. The number of jobs is determined by the parameter MAX BATCH PROCESSES. It cannot be higher than nine or the number of background processes configured on the background server.
Each table is copied with a single INSERT statement. Therefore, the administrator has to take care that the undo-logs can grow accordingly.

Each cloning job writes a log file called DBCLONE<NUMBER>.<SID>.
At the end of the phase, all errors found in these log files are collected in the DBCLONE.ELG file.
The information in the DBCLONE.ELG file is rather sparse. Therefore, you also have to check the corresponding log files to find detailed information about the error.

SAPup automatically starts the shadow instance in the START_SHDI_* phases. You can manually start or
stop the shadow instance using the commands SAPup startshd or SAPup stopshd.
To lock or unlock the shadow instance, use the commands SAPup lockshd or SAPup unlockshd.

To perform SPDD modifications, proceed as follows:

1. The Software Update Manager prompts you to confirm that you want to perform a modification adjustment.
2. Add an entry for the shadow instance to the SAP Logon. For the server and system ID, use the values from the original system
For the instance number, use the value you specified in the preparation units for the shadow instance. The default value is the instance number of the original system plus one.
Since the original system is still running if you use the scenario strategy Standard or Downtime-optimized, you can also log on to the shadow instance in transaction SM59 with the RFC connection SAP_UPGRADE_SHADOW_SYSTEM.

3. Log into the shadow instance as user DDIC with the DDIC password of the original system.
Only the users DDIC and SAP* exist in the shadow instance.
4. To set the system change option, call transaction SE06. Perform the following actions
Set the global setting to Modifiable.
Set the change option for the software components to Modifiable or Restricted modifiable.
Set the SAP namespace to Modifiable.
5. Call transaction SU01 to create one or more users to perform the modification adjustment. The new users exist only on the shadow instance and are not copied to the original system.
Release upgrade only: Copy the user DDIC of client 000. SPS update: Since all users of client 000 are copied in the DBCLONE phase to the shadow instance, any of them can be used for the modification adjustment.
6. Log into the shadow instance with one of the new users. Modification adjustment of ABAP Dictionary objects has to be performed in client 000.
7. To determine the ABAP Dictionary objects that must be adjusted, call transaction SPDD.

Error related to SPDD.

Applied the resolution (cause-B) available in the 1735879 - Error occurs in phase MAIN_POSTP/UEXP_SPAU or MAIN_POSTP/UEXP_SPDD or MAIN_SHDRUN/UEXP_SPDD_SAV - SAP for Me

Ensure that the following actions are done.

Stop all production activities.
Ensure that no scheduled batch jobs can start anymore, and await regular completion of currently running jobs
Make sure that all users have logged out.
Isolate the application server instance (AS instance) as described in the SUM guide, section “isolating the instance’’

Check the radio button Actions completed, then click the next button.

Perform the full DB backup and take backup of SUM directory
Select the radio button Backup completed

Click the next button.

#############################Execution- Phase##################################

Possible Errors in this phase:

1. There is a mismatch in the kernel versions and their patch levels in the ASCS and D00 instances.
During the KX_switch phase, D00 upgraded to the latest kernel from the /usr/sap/SID/SUM/abap/exe directory, but ASCS still had the old kernel executables in the instance specific instance.

Please check the dev_disp log in Drive<Name>: \usr\sap\SID\D<nn>\work
Error: Kernel is not compatible with the system

Please check the kernel version and patch level by executing disp+work in instances like ASCS and PAS by going to path
Drive<Name>:\usr\sap\SID\ASCS<nn>\exe

Drive<Name>: \usr\sap\SID\D<nn>\exe

If any mismatch in Kernel version, then execute the below command in the global profile

Drive<Name>: \usr\sap\SID\SYS\profile: sapcpe pf=<Instance Profile>

Check kernel versions now and restart the application

Resolution: Using the sapcpe command, copy the global kernel executable to the directory appropriate to the ASCS instance.

2. Follow the resolution in the below KBA's

2963518 - FAIL: process igswd.EXE IGS Watchdog not running - SAP for Me

3. Manually move the executables to another location

################################Postprocessing- Phase################################

Downtime:

The time during which you cannot use the system productively.
The upgrade strategy determines when downtime begins during an upgrade.

The duration of the downtime depends on several factors, including:
• Hardware
• Modifications and enhancements of SAP Objects
• Customer developments
• Add-on software
• Integration of Support Packages

Business downtime: The total time during which the SAP system is not available to end users.

Technical downtime: The time during which the SAP system is not available due to processing routines in the system launched by the SUM tool.

SUM technical downtime: The time during which the system is not available due to processing during the
SUM runs.

UPGANA File: The report generated upon successful execution additionally contains the time statistics of the performed update, for example, the calculated SUM technical downtime value.

This file will be very useful for taking downtime approval and addressing issues in each phase for the sub-sequent systems in the landscape.

For SUM 1.1: <Drive>:\usr\sap\SID\SUM\abap\doc

For SUM 2.0: <Drive>:\usr\sap\SID\SUM\abap\htdoc\analysis

If you encounter any problems when opening the UPGANA file, please refer to the KBA below.

3412465 - UPGANA.XML not visible (blank page) - SAP for Me

Post-Steps:
1.To release the suspended jobs, execute the report BTCTRNS2 in sa38.

2. Triggering SGEN

Select the check box Regenerate after SAP system upgrade option and click on the components

Select all the components and click on the continue.

Click on the continue button.

Select all the application servers and click on the continue button.

In the event that the system has many applications server's setup, you will get the following screen.

A time out error may occur when the generation set is calculated. You must increase the value of the profile option max_wprun_time, which determines the maximum runtime of a dialog procedure.

In our case Generation set contains 432,668 objects.
Select the job and click the flag button (Execute immediately), which will run the RSPARAGENER8M background job.

You can check the status of the job by using the refresh button.

You need to analyze SM37(RSPARAGENER8M), SM21, ST22 and ST11.

Following the execution of SGEN, you can verify table GENSETM.

If the GENSTATUS flag is X, it indicates that the object's generation has been completed.
If the GENSTATUS flag is set to S, the object's generation failed due to a syntax errors.
If the GENSTATUS flag is E, this indicates that the object's generation failed due to a system error.
If you do not see an entry for the object in GENSETC or GENSETM, it signifies that it was not selected during SGEN execution or that a new SGEN execution was initiated.

432,575 Objects generation has been completed.

91 objects generation failed due to syntax error.

Involve the ABAP and functional teams for better understanding.

There are several reasons that cause syntax error. In any case, you need to identify the component of the objects and query the component about whether the syntax error can be ignored.

Program does not have a main program defined.
Old programs that are not used anymore.
Switch linked to the object is off, and program will not be executed until it is turn on.
A real syntax error issue.

2 object's generation failed due to a system error.

You need to analyze SM37(Job name: RSPARAGENER8M), SM21, ST22 and ST11.

Possible Errors during the launch of SUM URL:

Possible errors during Extraction Phase:

3154296 - [ASE Error SQL4601] or DBSL error 99 (db code 4002) in SUM - SAP for Me
If there is a conflict between the Stack.xml content and the download directory

Possible errors during Configuration Phase:

Possible errors during Checks Phase:

All DB related errors like

DB free Space
DB specific parameters
DB Patch Update
Implementation of Snotes (Depends on the SUM version and patch level. Sometimes it occurs in the extraction and configuration phases.

Possible errors during Pre-processing Phase:

1901463 - How to unlock the SAP system to perform correction(s) during an upgrade. - SAP for Me
1790486 - SAP_ABA is in an undefined state that is not safe to be upgraded - SAP for Me
1972214 - Error during Upgrade: ABAP batch job fails with error "Log writer aborted with RC 1" - SAP for Me
2530440 - How to configure DIR_PUT in AL11 for the upgrade directory - SAP for Me
Starting and stopping issues with shadow instances.

Possible errors during Execution Phase:

2963518 - FAIL: process igswd.EXE IGS Watchdog not running - SAP for Me
Startup issues with system.

For any kind of error during update, please refer to the KBA below

2920107 - How to analyze detailed error log files of SUM during the update/upgrade of a NetWeaver ABAP system - SAP for Me

Thank you for reading. If you find this informative, do not forget to hit a like or leave a comment.

Thanks,

Mani

Webinar Entitlement Management: Preview for Scope Item “5SW – Subscription Management for Software"

2025-04-25T14:00:00.031000+02:00

Join us for this webinar on SAP Entitlement Management, offering a deep dive preview of the planned Scope Item "5SW – Subscription Management for Software" on Tuesday, May 13, 2025, at 5:00 PM CEST / 11:00 AM EST.

This one-hour session will explore the business value and key capabilities of the scope item template, planned for 2508, for managing software subscriptions, with support for flexible software license bundling for multiple applications, tenant types, license metrics, and application capabilities/features. Learn how SAP enables end-to-end integration from sales to fulfillment, billing, and revenue recognition. Discover how to achieve fully automated fulfillment, provisioning, usage measurement, decommissioning and billing — with seamless integration across SAP Entitlement Management, SAP Subscription Billing, S/4HANA Cloud, public edition (optional integration to S/HANA Cloud, private edition with BRIM) and third-party systems.

A live demo will showcase contract setup, automated provisioning, license and software usage tracking providing insights for customer success, billing and revenue recognition, as well as and dynamic scenarios like contract upgrade and contract replacement with a higher edition without tenant disruption, and decommissioning. We’ll also preview the future roadmap, featuring AI-driven insights and analytics.

Wrap up with an interactive Q&A — register now and review the detailed agenda below!

More information on EMS - see my Summary Blog on SAP Entitlement Management

Customer Webinar SAP Entitlement Management:
Deep Dive Preview for Scope Item “5SW – Subscription Management for Software”

Date: Tuesday, May 13, 2025
Time: 5:00 PM Central European Summer Time / 11:00 AM EST
Duration: 1 hour

Agenda:

1. Introduction & Overview of Scope Item 5SW

Purpose & business value of Subscription Management for Software
Key capabilities: End-to-end integration and automation from sales to fulfillment/provisioning, billing, and revenue recognition

2. Key Features & Capabilities

Predefined Integration Content

Software subscription modeling, sales, and automated fulfillment/provisioning

Automated Lifecycle Management in SAP Entitlement Management (EMS)

Provisioning, upgrades, decommissioning of applications, tenants, license metrics, and capabilities/features

Flexible Licensing & Tenant Management

Support for multiple applications, tenant types, license metrics, and capabilities/features
License editions & add-ons (upselling/downgrading without tenant disruption)

End-to-End Integration

SAP Entitlement Management + SAP Subscription Billing + S/4HANA Cloud, public edition
Optional integration with S/4HANA Cloud, private edition with BRIM & other contract systems

Revenue Recognition & Split

Handling revenue recognition and revenue allocation across multiple product areas

3. Live Demo: Subscription Management in Action

Contract Creation & Management

New subscription / extension in S/4HANA Cloud Solution Order
Subscription contract setup in SAP Subscription Billing

Entitlement & Provisioning Workflow

Automated tenant, license metric, and capability provisioning in SAP Entitlement Management (EMS)
Record license consumption, software usage and adoption - basis for data driven insights

Billing & Revenue Recognition

Handling one-time, recurring, and usage-based billing models
Revenue recognition and revenue split

Change & Upgrade Scenarios

Scaling users, extending duration, adding test tenants, trial licenses
Contract replacement (e.g., upgrading to a higher software edition)

Decommissioning Process

Handling end-of-subscription for licenses, capabilities, and tenants

4. Future Roadmap & Innovation

Enhancing Customer Success with Data-Driven Insights

Integrating software usage & adoption data to reduce churn & revenue leakage

AI, Analytics, and Integration

AI-powered agents & Insight Apps (leveraging SAP Business Data Cloud and SAP Business AI)
Leverage SAP Business Data Cloud for integration to 3rd party customer success applications

5. Q&A & Next Steps

Open discussion & feedback

Simplify the downtime-optimized System Conversion to SAP S/4HANA with Uptime Customizing for FI

2025-05-26T12:26:06.441000+02:00

---

TL;DR

Software Update Manager’s downtime-optimized conversion approach significantly reduces downtime during a system conversion to SAP S/4HANA. This approach is now significantly improved, resulting in fewer conversion cycles which means reducing the overall project runtime.

The key idea here is making the required Customizing settings on a temporary instance. This approach allows you to adjust the required Customizing settings during a downtime-optimized conversion run, therefore eliminating the need for additional standard conversion cycles.

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If you want to convert your system to SAP S/4HANA (also sometime referred to as brownfield approach), you're talking Software Update Manager. This tool is well-known to SAP Basis and Technology folks as it is the standard tooling for SAP system maintenance.

Software Update Manager also covers the important conversion step from SAP ERP to SAP S/4HANA. If you’re familiar with system conversions, or are already in the planning phase, you know by now that it is NOT just another upgrade. It is not only a technical step to enable the system to consume latest technologies (AI is calling!), but also requires thorough preparation at application level. And in addition, using Software Update Manger for the conversion might result in a longer downtime than your business is willing to accept.

Recap of downtime-optimized Conversion

But here's the amazing news: There is a downtime-optimized approach available with Software Update Manager that moves activities that normally require the business to be stopped, into an uptime window in which the Software Update Manager works in parallel to the ongoing business.

More information on this approach called downtime-optimized conversion is available here.

The magic of this approach, in addition to utilizing the capabilities of downtime-optimized Database Migration Option (DMO) - lies in moving data conversion activities to uptime. This even includes activities which normally have to be executed manually after the conversion with Software Update Manager is complete. This reduces downtime significantly. The image below illustrates the standard conversion, the block FIN (Finance) & ML (Material Ledger) Data Conversion represents the manual activities.

With a downtime-optimized conversion, the process looks like this:

The big downside...

HOWEVER, there is one major challenge: To automate the manual FI&ML conversion activities, Software Update Manager requires information on what to do. To provide this information, a standard conversion run is required that also includes the manual FIN&ML conversion. This is typically done on a copy of the production system. The resulting Customizing settings are saved in a customer transport, which is then included in the next downtime-optimized Software Update Manager run.

Doesn't sound like a challenge? Well - that's true. But the Knackpunkt (excuse my German, crucial point simply doesn't sound dramatic enough 🤔) arises with time. As the initial standard conversion that runs on a copy of production and the actual production go-live are often some months apart, the Customizing on the production system very likely changes in the course of time.

And the result ⁉️

The content of the initial Customizing transport and the actual existing Customizing in the production system no longer match. If you were to run a downtime-optimized conversion using said Customizing transport Software Update Manager would apply the "old" Customizing, overwriting any changes on production that are not reflected in the customer transport.

Obviously, one solution is to copy production again to a sandbox system, complete a standard conversion run and afterwards manually execute the FI&ML conversion activities which result in a new, updated Customizing transport.

☹️This basically means, that any downtime-optimized conversion cycle (e.g. sandbox, load verification, dress rehearsal, go-live) needs a preceding standard conversion run - which massively bloats the project plan. This is a major drawback of the approach as it leads to a longer project runtime and therefore introduces complexity to the planning.

Well, I should say this has been a major drawback...

... mitigated with Uptime Customizing for FI Conversion

As the downtime-optimized conversion approach is constantly evolving it also covers a solution for the outdated Customizing issue. With Uptime Customizing for FI Conversion on the Temporary Instance, Software Update Manager offers the possibility to adapt the respective Customizing during the downtime-optimized conversion run itself - eliminating the need for an additional standard cycle. Note that the first standard conversion cycle is still required.

The following screenshot of Software Update Manager shows the dialog where you confirm that the relevant Customizing activities are complete (version 2.0 SP23 PL0):

In this phase, your application experts can log on to the temporary instance (which "reuses" of the shadow instance). The temporary instance exists on the same host with the same SID as the original instance but has a different instance number (the shadow instance number chosen in an earlier Software Update Manager dialog).

Once the Customizing settings have been adjusted, the downtime-optimized conversion run continues. These Customizing settings are saved in a transport which can then be added to the list of customer transports that are provided to the Software Update Manager in the upcoming downtime-optimized conversion cycles - ensuring that the latest changes are reflected.

Additional Resources

To get started with your transition to SAP S/4HANA with this optimized flavor of the system conversion, here's a collection of information:

Support Portal Page of Software Update Manager: https://support.sap.com/en/tools/software-logistics-tools/software-update-manager.html
Support Portal Page of downtime-optimized conversion approach of Software Update Manager: https://support.sap.com/en/tools/software-logistics-tools/software-update-manager/downtime-optimized-conversion-approach.html
Guide for downtime-optimized Conversion with Software Update Manager: https://help.sap.com/docs/help/c4ebc2b5d928446180d9ad2667f11faa/c603616d71104e36a48330be959ed8dc.html?locale=en-US
Additional information on Uptime Customizing for FI Conversion: SAP Note 3444013

Let us know what you think and feel free to comment below!

For any technical issues, please open an SAP case on component BC-UPG-DTM-TLA.

All the best for your project!

Part 2 Webinar Entitlement Mgmt: Preview for Scope Item “5SW – Subscription Management for Software"

2025-05-28T14:00:00.043000+02:00

Join us for this webinar on SAP Entitlement Management, offering Part 2 of the deep dive preview of the planned Scope Item "5SW – Subscription Management for Software" on Tuesday, June 24, 2025, at 4:00 PM CEST / 10:00 AM EST.

This one-hour session is Part 2 of the webinars on scope item 5SW, starting with a short recap of the content of the first webinar held on May 13, 2024, which you can review here,

Part 2 of the webinar will explain and show demos for various subscription change processes which are planned to be supported by the scope item, as well as automated application, tenant and capability decommissioning.

In addition, we will also have a look into key elements of the system setup for the scope item, for which a detailed setup guide and end to end test script is planned to be made available with the 2508 release.

We will also give an outlook on the product direction and product vision for "Subscription Management for Software", with SAP Business Data Cloud leveraging license consumption, software usage and adoption data as the basis for customer success, using Analytics Cloud stories, AI Agents, or integration to Gainsight Customer Success.

More information on EMS - see my Summary Blog on SAP Entitlement Management

Customer Webinar Part 2 – SAP Entitlement Management:
Deep Dive Preview for Scope Item “5SW – Subscription Management for Software”

Date: Tuesday, June 24, 2025
Time: 4:00 PM Central European Summer Time / 10:00 AM EST
Duration: 1 hour

Agenda:

Introduction & Overview of Scope Item 5SW
- Purpose & business value of Subscription Management for Software
- Key capabilities: End-to-end integration and automation from sales to fulfillment/provisioning, billing, and revenue recognition
Live Demo: Subscription Management in Action – Subscription Change Processes, System Setup for Automated Provisioning, Business Data Cloud and AI Providing Insights for Customer Success Processes
- Summary of demo flow in first session on May 13, 2025 (review here)
- Demo of different change processes, e.g.
  - Change of licensed quantity and subscription end date
  - Add-on contract items for more users, more documents, additional test tenants, free trial licenses
  - Contract replacement moving to higher license edition without tenant disruption
  - End of subscription and entitlement license and tenant de-commissioning
- Key elements of the system setup to achieve automated application, tenant, license metric, and application capability provisioning and de-commissioning
- SAP Business Data Cloud – leverage license consumption, software usage and adoption data as the basis for customer success, using Analytics Cloud stories, AI Agents, or integration to Gainsight Customer Success
Summary, Q&A

Earn your badge for downtime-optimized Conversion

2025-08-01T09:10:00.020000+02:00

You’re looking for a deep dive into downtime-optimized system conversion to SAP S/4HANA?

📢I have excellent news for you!

The system conversion to SAP S/4HANA, potentially combined with a move to the Cloud, elevates your company the text level Enterprise Resource Planning. As the system conversion is not just another software upgrade, the project needs additional considerations such as the Simplification Item Check. Check out the SAP Readiness Check for SAP S/4HANA Conversion to start your system analysis.

As soon as you're ready for the technical execution, Software Update Manager 2.0 will be the tool of choice. After your first system conversion of a sandbox system, you might wonder how to optimize the downtime required for the event.

Check out the Technical Downtime Optimization App as a starting point for runtime analysis! 📈📉

Quickly you'll stumble across downtime-optimized conversion approach of Software Update Manager. This is THE approach if you're looking for reducing the downtime of a system conversion and database migration. The approach offers amazing time-saving potential by moving part of the data migration to uptime (downtime-optimized Database Migration Option) as well as moving part of the data conversion to uptime (🤫 Psst, you may get a glimpse on potential time savings in the Technical Downtime Optimization app simulation.) This savings come with additional phases and aspects of planning compared to a standard system conversion.

To have you well prepared for this, it is mandatory to dive into the details of downtime-optimized conversion before using the approach. To do so, the SAP Learning Journey Minimizing downtime of System Conversion to SAP S/4HANA with downtime-optimized Conversion of Software Update Manager is available to let you get to know the approach at your own pace and free of charge!

👉 Check it out: Minimizing Downtime of System Conversion to SAP S/4HANA with Downtime-optimized Conversion

After completing the SAP Learning Journey and passing all quizzes, you'll receive a knowledge badge which is necessary to register your downtime-optimized conversion project at SAP. For anyone following this approach since some time: This Learning Journey replaces the instructor-led training ADM329. Any badges out of the training stay valid. ✅

🎓Take some time for your education and let me know what you think!

Homogeneous Update and Copy to SAP Cloud using RISE with SAP System Transition Workbench

2025-09-26T12:29:06.289000+02:00

What’s new in DTV 1.7

2025-11-05T06:22:22.183000+01:00

DTV 1.7 is now released and generally available for SAP customers. In this blog you will find the new features available in the latest DTV release

Enhanced pre-delivered content

Pre-delivered content has been enhanced with additional SAP reports and transactions. Below are the additional SAP reports and transactions which are now supported with the new release.

You can also check SAP Note: 3258383 - DTV : SAP Pre- delivered Content

Validation support for transparent tables

With the latest release of DTV (DTV 1.7), the tool now supports validation of standard database transparent tables and custom transparent tables. You can find the Tables tab in the test specification screen as highlighted below.

Mass upload of custom reports and custom name space reports

With the latest DTV 1.7 release customers can now perform mass upload of custom and custom name space reports at one go using the option Add Multiple (highlighted in the below screen shot)

Runtime Analysis - statistics information related to DTV can be sent to SAP

With the new release DTV 1.7, customer can send runtime statistics to SAP using the feature “Runtime Analysis”

Integration enhancements for Lean SDT using BTC scenario

In DTV 1.7 release, integration of DTV with lean SDT using Business Transformation Center (BTC) scenario is enhanced with following

Upon selecting Use DTV Tool option while creating the cycle in BTC

Automatic creation of DTV project in source and target system happens
Project global data filled with the time slice data automatically
Automatic import of certain business reports for validation in the test specification screen

DTV related useful links and SAP Notes

SAP Note 3117879 – Central SAP Note for DTV
3657674 – DTV 1.7 Delivery Note
Help Documentation – Data Transition Validation
Business data validation using DTV tool - Blog post
Best practices to follow during DTV implementation
Work Item Level Execution in DTV

Transparent Table Comparison

2025-11-12T04:19:47.452000+01:00

Table Comparison in DTV 1.7

With the newest release of the Data Transition Validation tool, DTV 1.7, transparent tables can now be validated. The tool has been enhanced to support the validation of both standard and custom transparent tables.

This recent feature expands the tool's validation capabilities, enabling it to support validation for

SAP Reports and transactions (70+)
Custom reports of ALV output type
Custom namespace reports of ALV output type
Standard and custom transparent tables

This blog will demonstrate how you can utilize this new feature to compare transparent tables and view the validation results.

Table comparison

Click on “Define Test Specification” of the DTV project.

And then click on “Table”.

Click on Insert Row

Provide the table information as below

Transparent table name
Description
Functional Area
Functional Group

You can add multiple tables here.

You can use the Variant if you have any, and/or also provide split and condition parameter as per the requirement.

You can then perform Simulation (Not mandatory) and extract the result in the source system.

Once source extraction is done, similar process can be followed to extract the data in the target system.

Note: Use “Import Simulation Results” functionality to reuse the extraction result in “Data Extraction” step.

Once extraction is complete for both source and target systems, Data Evaluation can be triggered by selecting the tables and clicking on “Run Selected”

You can then check the evaluation result in the result tab.

Conclusion

With the addition of the table comparison feature, the scope of DTV validation has significantly broadened, making it more valuable in transition scenarios.

Behind the Curtains - what's new about Maintenance Certificates

2025-12-16T13:49:16.622000+01:00

Blog posts often highlight changes that are severely impacting your business if you do not read the documentation or release notes thoroughly (and let's be honest - who has time for that?!). But not this time – relax, there’s no immediate call to action and no big changes impacting your daily business. This is all about a small improvement that highlights SAP’s ongoing push for automation and simplification of processes. And even more: It's one puzzle piece to reduce your dependency of SAP Solution Manager on your journey to SAP Cloud ALM.

Maintenance Certificates are a crucial safety mechanism that ensures your system is part of a valid maintenance contract, allowing SAP to provide proper support. Until now, it was your responsibility to ensure that the certificate was properly renewed and distributed to the SAP system. Tools like SAP Solution Manager offered automation for this, but it was still a customer obligation to make sure the process was in place.

Now, upfront distribution is not required anymore, and the eligibility check is fully automated. Here’s how it works:

One central SAP Host Agent in customer landscape is configured to communicate with SAP Support Backbone.
SAP Host Agents of other systems communicate via the central SAP Host Agent.
The SAP Support Backbone holds the information about the valid certificates which is automatically requested via the Host Agent mechanism if needed.

And the best part? After an initial configuration of the federated SAP Host Agent Setup you do not need to worry about License Management anymore! This functionality is delivered via (minimum) SPAM version 91 that is all part of Software Logistics (SL) Toolset 1.0 SPS 45, and requires minimum SAP Host Agent version 67. You can find more information on the necessary configuration steps for SAP Host Agent here:  SAP Host Agent Federation | SAP Help Portal 

Of course, there’s a fallback solution: If the automated process is not set up, you can still manually request a valid maintenance certificate in the SAP Support Portal and install it manually in the system or distribute it via SAP Focused Run or via SAP Solution Manager (please keep in mind that mainstream maintenance for SAP Solution Manager 7.2 is only available until the end of 2027).

For the Tech-Savvy:

The entire flow is a collaboration between License Management (transaction SLICENSE), SPAM, and SAP Host Agent. It is used also by Software Update Manager (SUM). All the tools are combined in the SL Toolset.

When the configuration steps are completed, you can check by executing the report RSSPAM_TEST_ONLINE_MAINT_CHECK, whether the connectivity to the SAP Support Portal works and whether the online maintenance certificate check is successful or not.

If you encounter any issues, please open an incident under component SV-SMG-LIC. Feel free to ask questions below this post and let us know what you think!

SAP Community - Software Logistics

Plan, Transform & Operate SAP Landscape: SAP Cloud & Lifecycle Management Day 2023 is Here!

Two Major News with SUM 2.0 SP 17

1. Homogeneous option for DMO

1.1. Main Use Case

1.2. Further use case

1.3. Minor further use case

1.4. Overview on new scenarios for "DMO with system move"

1.5. Further information

2. DMOVE2S4: "DMO move to SAP S/4HANA (on hyperscaler)"

2.1. Alternative to "DMO with system move"

2.2. Advantages

2.3. Main steps of approach

2.4. Approach is not a SUM option

2.5. Prerequisites and conditions

2.6. Further information

2.7. Illustration

Free Learning Journey That Qualifies You to Use Zero Downtime Option (ZDO) in SUM for SAP S/4HANA Updates

Keeping SAP System Landscape Secure and Up-to-Date With SAP Notes Recommendations in Maintenance Planner

Introduction

Calculating the Recommended SAP Notes

Processing the Recommended Notes

Pre-requisites

Roadmap

Downtime-Optimized Conversion using SUM for SAP S/4HANA Conversion : InPlace ~ HANA DB vs Any DB

Simply analyzing and improving maintenance events with Technical Downtime Optimization App

Prerequisites

Accessing the Technical Downtime Optimization App

Using the Technical Downtime Optimization App

What’s next?

DMOVE2S4 – your one-step approach into the cloud

Highlights

Introducing DMOVE2S4

What's new in DTV 1.5

Partial Execution

Specify Maximum number of work processes

Result Data

Copy the project including the Test Specification

Execution Runtime information is enhanced with delay time calculations

Useful Links and Notes

DTV 1.5 Bug Fixing Notes

From History to Innovation: Analyzing Custom SAP System Evolution - A Primer

A Glimpse into the History of Custom SAP Systems

Storytelling and Reconstructed History

Understanding the Evolution of Custom SAP Systems for Better Transformation

Enhanced SAP Notes Recommendations in Maintenance Planner: AI-Based Ranking for Smarter Insights

Enablement of partial or work item level execution in DTV tool

Problem Statement

Work Items

Project Global Data and Work Items

Define Project Global data wisely to split the data into smaller chunks (work items)

Select multiple work items and run

Select failed work items and run

DTV Useful links

Support package stack updates for SAP ABAP systems: Software Update Manager

Webinar Entitlement Management: Preview for Scope Item “5SW – Subscription Management for Software"

Customer Webinar SAP Entitlement Management:Deep Dive Preview for Scope Item “5SW – Subscription Management for Software”

Simplify the downtime-optimized System Conversion to SAP S/4HANA with Uptime Customizing for FI

TL;DR

Recap of downtime-optimized Conversion

The big downside...

... mitigated with Uptime Customizing for FI Conversion

Additional Resources

Part 2 Webinar Entitlement Mgmt: Preview for Scope Item “5SW – Subscription Management for Software"

Customer Webinar Part 2 – SAP Entitlement Management:Deep Dive Preview for Scope Item “5SW – Subscription Management for Software”

Earn your badge for downtime-optimized Conversion

Homogeneous Update and Copy to SAP Cloud using RISE with SAP System Transition Workbench

What’s new in DTV 1.7

Enhanced pre-delivered content

Validation support for transparent tables

Mass upload of custom reports and custom name space reports

Runtime Analysis - statistics information related to DTV can be sent to SAP

Integration enhancements for Lean SDT using BTC scenario

DTV related useful links and SAP Notes

Transparent Table Comparison

Table Comparison in DTV 1.7

Table comparison

Behind the Curtains - what's new about Maintenance Certificates

Customer Webinar SAP Entitlement Management:
Deep Dive Preview for Scope Item “5SW – Subscription Management for Software”

Customer Webinar Part 2 – SAP Entitlement Management:
Deep Dive Preview for Scope Item “5SW – Subscription Management for Software”