SAPTEC
Technology Fundamentals for SAP
S/4HANA and SAP Business Suite
.
.
PARTICIPANT HANDBOOK
INSTRUCTOR-LED TRAINING
.
Course Version: 19
Course Duration: 4 Day(s)
e-book Duration: 24 Hours 50 Minutes
Material Number: 50147793
SAP Copyrights and Trademarks
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National product specifications may vary.
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The only warranties for SAP SE or SAP affiliate company products and services are those that are set forth in the express warranty
statements accompanying such products and services, if any. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional
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In particular, SAP SE or its affiliated companies have no obligation to pursue any course of business outlined in this document or
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functionality. All forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially from expectations. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which
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Typographic Conventions
American English is the standard used in this handbook.
The following typographic conventions are also used.
This information is displayed in the instructor’s presentation
Demonstration
Procedure
Warning or Caution
Hint
Related or Additional Information
Facilitated Discussion
User interface control
Example text
Window title
Example text
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iii
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iv
Contents
vii
Course Overview
1
Unit 1:
2
13
SAP Systems
Lesson: Describing the Architecture of SAP Systems
Unit 2:
Navigation
15
Lesson: Describing SAP GUI and SAP LOGON
25
Lesson: Describing SAP GUI Functions, Help, and Personalization
36
Lesson: Describing Navigation using a Web Browser
39
Lesson: Describing SAP Business Client
44
Lesson: Describing SAP Fiori
50
Lesson: Describing the SAP Enterprise Portal
63
Unit 3:
SAP System Kernel
64
Lesson: Explaining the Basic Architecture of SAP NetWeaver AS
74
Lesson: Describing AS ABAP
96
Lesson: Describing AS Java
108
Unit 4:
110
Software Development in SAP Systems
Lesson: Describing the Data Structure of an SAP System and
Software Logistics
119
Lesson: Accessing and Editing ABAP Repository Objects
133
Lesson: Importing Transport Requests
138
Lesson: Introducing SAP NetWeaver Development Infrastructure
(NWDI) and the Transport Process for non-ABAP Applications
147
158
Lesson: Describing SAP UI Technologies
Unit 5:
Communication and Integration Technologies
159
Lesson: Describing Remote Function Calls and BAPIs
166
Lesson: Explaining Cross-System Business Processes
169
Lesson: Explaining HTTP Based Communication
172
Lesson: Describing Web Services
177
Lesson: Describing SAP Gateway
190
Unit 6:
Application Lifecycle Management
191
Lesson: Describing Application Lifecycle Management
197
Lesson: Implementing Business Processes and Installing SAP
Systems
207
Lesson: Describing Business Process Operations
211
Lesson: Maintaining SAP systems
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v
226
Unit 7:
SAP Portfolio Overview
227
Lesson: Explaining the Role of SAP NetWeaver
232
Lesson: Describing the SAP Software Portfolio
259
Lesson: Describing the SAP Release Strategy
267
Unit 8:
SAP Support Portal and SAP Community
268
Lesson: Describing SAP Support Portal
272
Lesson: Describing the SAP Community
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vi
Course Overview
TARGET AUDIENCE
This course is intended for the following audiences:
●
Systems Architect
●
Technology Consultant
●
Developer IT Adminstrator IT Support
●
Developer
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vii
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viii
UNIT 1
SAP Systems
Lesson 1
Describing the Architecture of SAP Systems
2
UNIT OBJECTIVES
●
Describe the architecture of an SAP system
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1
Unit 1
Lesson 1
Describing the Architecture of SAP Systems
LESSON OVERVIEW
Business processes can be carried out with the help of SAP software. These business
processes are mapped in SAP systems and are called there. This lesson explains the basic
architecture of SAP systems.
LESSON OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
●
Describe the architecture of an SAP system
Solutions and SAP Systems
In SAP systems, business processes are mapped in applications (solutions). These solutions
collect and group related business processes together by subject. From a technical point of
view, these business processes run on SAP systems (components). Therefore, SAP systems
are the technical view of the functions, and solutions are the process-oriented view.
It is possible for the same SAP systems to be integrated in different solutions. A solution is
therefore a type of logical container around a set of SAP systems.
Solutions
SAP S/4HANA
SAP S/4HANA (SAP Business Suite for SAP HANA) is the latest collection of business
applications from SAP. As this product offers many business processes that are already
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Lesson: Describing the Architecture of SAP Systems
optimized for use on the innovative in-memory platform SAP HANA, your enterprise can
quickly benefit from the evaluation speed possible with SAP HANA.
With SAP Fiori, SAP S/4HANA offers an innovative technology for designing user interfaces,
which helps you to provide your employees with easier and faster access to the functions
relevant for them.
The use of SAP HANA enables your enterprise to create new applications in the Big Data
environment and the Internet of Things.
Note:
For more information, seehttp://discover.sap.com/hana and http://
go.sap.com/product/enterprise-management/s4hana-erp.html
.
SAP ERP
SAP ERP (SAP Enterprise Resource Planning) is a market-leading solution for optimizing
business processes in your enterprise and optimizing your IT landscape by reducing IT
complexity. The application supports business-critical, integrated business processes for
financials, human capital management, asset management, sales and distribution,
purchasing, and other important business functions. SAP ERP also supports industry-specific
processes, because it includes industry-specific business functions that can be selectively
activated through the Switch Framework. This keeps the application core stable.
Note:
For more information, seehttp://go.sap.com/product/enterprise-management/
erp.html.
SAP CRM
SAP CRM (SAP Customer Relationship Management) offers marketing, sales, and customer
service employees a comprehensive platform for complete customer intelligence, which can
be used to manage customers and customer-related processes effectively. SAP CRM permits
customer interaction through multiple channels, including smartphones, the Internet, and
social media, and also offers a dedicated communication infrastructure that can be used to
connect up all users at any time, any place.
Hint:
For more information, seehttp://go.sap.com/product/crm.html.
SAP SCM
SAP Supply Chain Management (SAP SCM) enables enterprises to adapt their supply chain
processes in line with a constantly changing competitive environment. SAP SCM converts
conventional supply changes from linear, sequential processes into configurable and open
supply networks. In these networks, customer-oriented, demand-driven companies can
identify the dynamics of supply and demand more intelligently and quickly in a globallydistributed environment, and they can respond appropriately.
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Unit 1: SAP Systems
Hint:
For more information, seehttp://go.sap.com/product/scm.html.
SAP SRM
SAP Supplier Relationship Management (SAP SRM) provides a procurement platform that
helps organizations in all industries improve their centralized sourcing and contract
management. It also enables organizations to interact with suppliers through multiple
channels. SAP SRM accelerates and optimizes the complete, end-to-end procurement
process by supporting integrated processes and ensuring contract compliance, which leads
to viable savings.
Hint:
For more information, seehttp://go.sap.com/product/srm.html.
SAP PLM
SAP Product Lifecycle Management (SAP PLM) helps enterprises to manage, track, and
control all product-related information, both during the product and asset lifecycle and in the
extended supply chain. SAP PLM promotes creativity and frees the product innovation
process from organizational restrictions.
Hint:
For more information, seehttp://go.sap.com/product/plm.html.
SAP Systems and SAP NetWeaver Application Server (SAP NetWeaver AS)
Most SAP systems are based on the SAP NetWeaver Application Server (SAP NetWeaver AS)
and use it as the runtime environment.
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Lesson: Describing the Architecture of SAP Systems
Figure 2: SAP NetWeaver AS as the Basis for SAP Systems
Figure 3: SAP NetWeaver Application Server
SAP NetWeaver AS is the logical result of the further development of the SAP Application
Server technology (previously: SAP Basis), with particular attention on web-based
applications.
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Unit 1: SAP Systems
SAP NetWeaver AS Features
SAP NetWeaver AS offers the following features:
●
●
●
●
A reliable and thoroughly-tested runtime environment that has been regularly developed
for more than 10 years
A framework for executing complex business processes that meet the highest security
standards
A reliable and user-friendly development environment
Support for open standards such as HTTP, HTTPS, SMTP, WebDAV, SOAP, SSL, SSO, X.
509, Unicode, HTML, XML, and WML
●
High scalability
●
Support for different operating systems and database platforms
Since the applications delivered by SAP do not usually require both runtime environments,
that is, ABAP and Java, there are different installation options for SAP NetWeaver AS. These
are:
●
●
●
SAP NetWeaver AS ABAP:Complete infrastructure in which ABAP-based applications can
be developed and used.
SAP NetWeaver AS Java:Complete infrastructure in which JEE-compliant applications can
be developed and used.
SAP NetWeaver AS ABAP+Java (dual stack):
Complete infrastructure in which both ABAPbased and JEE-based applications can be developed and used.
Introduction
SAP systems are used for mapping business processes or business applications. Implement
these applications independently of the hardware environment used (operating system,
database) to the greatest extent possible. SAP NetWeaver provides two different runtime
environments for this, an ABAP runtime environment (usage type
AS ABAP), and a Java
runtime environment (usage typeAS Java).
Note:
If you use an SAP S/4HANA system, you must use the SAP HANA database, and a
Linux operating system is required for SAP HANA.
ABAP
ABAP (Advanced Business Application Programming) is a programming language developed
by SAP. Many business applications of an SAP system are written in ABAP. ABAP has been
optimized for developing highly scalable business applications. Customers can use the ABAP
Workbench for developing completely new applications as well as enhancing and modifying
SAP standard applications. In doing so, the entire infrastructure of the AS ABAP can be used.
The infrastructure also supports the creation of the most complex applications by large
groups of developers. The Application Server ABAP provides the runtime environment for
programs written in ABAP.
SAP not only provides a runtime environment for ABAP programs but also a runtime
environment for Java programs.
AS Javais an application server according to the Java
Enterprise Edition (JEE) standard.
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Lesson: Describing the Architecture of SAP Systems
Java
™
The Java programming language was introduced in 1995 by
Sun Microsystems Inc. . Java is
an object-oriented and platform-independent programming language that has spread across
many areas. The Java concept enables the development of a large range of different
application types — from classical applications to applets used in websites to client/server
applications.
Java Platform Enterprise Edition (Java EE, previously J2EE) is a vendor standard for a whole
range of software components that are primarily created in the Java programming language.
Sun/Oracle uses the Java EE compatibility tests to ensure that the specifications of Java
Enterprise Edition are observed.
The purpose of this specification is to provide a generally accepted framework for using
modular components to develop distributed, multi-level applications. With the Java EE
specification, Sun/Oracle wishes to ensure that Web applications that conform to the
specification run on all Java EE-compatible servers. According to the Java EE specification,
the application logic is packaged in Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB). They represent Java
program components. A container implicitly provides the components with the services of the
runtime environment.
Client/Server-Based Architecture
Before we discuss various client/server configurations in the context of SAP systems, we first
need to define the concepts client and server. There are two ways of doing this.
●
●
In the hardware-oriented view, the term server means the central server in a network that
provides data, memory, and resources for the workstations (clients).
In the software-oriented view, client and server are both defined at the process level
(service). A service in this context is a service provided by a software component. This
software component can consist of a process or a group of processes (such as an SAP
NetWeaver Application Server) and is then called a server for that service. Software
components that use a service are called clients. At the same time, clients can also be
servers for other specific services.
The figure“Hardware-Oriented View and Software-Oriented View”
clarifies the two
approaches to the definitions.
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Unit 1: SAP Systems
Figure 4: Hardware-Oriented View and Software-Oriented View
In the context of SAP systems, the terms client and server are generally used as defined in the
software-oriented view.
Client/Server Configuration for SAP Systems
The following processes are often used for operating business application software:
●
Presentation processes (for example, for displaying screens)
●
Application processes (for example, for executing application programs)
●
Database processes (for example, for managing and organizing database data)
When you are installing and configuring an SAP system, decide how you are going to
distribute the required processes among the available hardware. Configurations are either
single-tier or multi-tier, depending on the number of hardware layers used (see the following
graphic). The SAP ECC system is an example of business application software.
The following list the various ways to distribute the required processes among the available
hardware:
●
●
●
In single-tier configurations, all processing tasks (database, application, and presentation
processes) are performed by one computer. This is classic mainframe processing.
Two-tier configurations are usually implemented using special presentation computers
that are responsible solely for formatting the graphical interface.
In a three-tier configuration, each layer runs on its own host. Many different application
servers can simultaneously work with the data of a database server.
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Lesson: Describing the Architecture of SAP Systems
Figure 5: Simple Client/Server Configurations
Single-tier configurations are generally used for tests and demonstrations (for example, an
SAP system on a laptop). If many users want to work on a system configured in this way, then
the extra hardware costs for each additional user become greater than the costs associated
with implementing additional hardware levels (for example, moving the presentation
processes to other hosts).
The two-tier configuration with distributed presentation processes (as shown in the figure
“Simple Client/Server Configurations”
) can maintain good performance for a significantly
higher number of users, without substantially increasing the hardware costs. The load
resulting from the presentation processes is distributed to the various front-end computers
and so does not influence the performance of the database host.
However, if the number of users exceeds a certain upper limit, the central host, on which both
application and database processes run, risks becoming a bottleneck. To prevent this, you
can improve the performance of the SAP system by distributing the application-layer
processes to several hosts. Another advantage of adding a hardware layer specifically for
application processes is that it facilitates scalability. If the number of SAP users in an SAP
system increases over time, negatively affecting SAP system performance, then this problem
can, in most cases, be solved simply by adding another host for application processes.
An alternative two-tier configuration is to install powerful desktop systems and to use these
for presentation and applications (two-tier client/server). These configurations are especially
suited to applications with high processor demands (for example, simulations or for software
developers), but are not implemented in the SAP environment, other than for test purposes,
due to the additional administration required.
In the SAP Business Suite environment, more complex client/server configurations
consisting of more than three tiers are both theoretically possible and used in practice. An
additional level could be a Web server, for example.
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Unit 1: SAP Systems
LESSON SUMMARY
You should now be able to:
●
Describe the architecture of an SAP system
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10
Unit 1
Learning Assessment
1. Which (process) layers exist in client/server based SAP-Systems (such as SAP ECC or
SAP S/4HANA)?
Choose the correct answers.
X
A Database Layer
X
B Communication Layer
X
C Application Layer
X
D Presentation Layer
X
E Fiori Layer
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Unit 1
Learning Assessment - Answers
1. Which (process) layers exist in client/server based SAP-Systems (such as SAP ECC or
SAP S/4HANA)?
Choose the correct answers.
X
A Database Layer
X
B Communication Layer
X
C Application Layer
X
D Presentation Layer
X
E Fiori Layer
You are correct. Client / server-based SAP systems consist of a presentation layer, an
application layer and the database layer.
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12
UNIT 2
Navigation
Lesson 1
Describing SAP GUI and SAP LOGON
15
Lesson 2
Describing SAP GUI Functions, Help, and Personalization
25
Lesson 3
Describing Navigation using a Web Browser
36
Lesson 4
Describing SAP Business Client
39
Lesson 5
Describing SAP Fiori
44
Lesson 6
Describing the SAP Enterprise Portal
50
UNIT OBJECTIVES
●
List the different variants of the SAP GUI
●
Log on to the SAP system successfully
●
Log off from the SAP system successfully
●
Use various methods to start SAP system functions
●
Create a list of favorites
●
Use the help functions
●
Describe the standard menus "System" and "Help"
●
Successfully log on to an AS ABAP-based SAP system using a web browser
●
Successfully log on to an AS Java-based SAP system using a web browser
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Unit 2: Navigation
●
Describe SAP Business Client
●
Explain the concept of SAP Fiori
●
Use apps in the SAP Fiori launchpad
●
Describe the purpose of SAP Enterprise Portal
●
Describe the screen elements of SAP Enterprise Portal
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Unit 2
Lesson 1
Describing SAP GUI and SAP LOGON
LESSON OVERVIEW
In this lesson, you will learn basic navigation commands using the SAP GUI for Windows as
the example.
Business Example
You want to find out what types of SAP GUI are available to you and use these to log on to an
AS ABAP based SAP system.
LESSON OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
●
List the different variants of the SAP GUI
●
Log on to the SAP system successfully
●
Log off from the SAP system successfully
SAP GUI Overview
The presentation level, the SAP GUI (Graphical User Interface), enables you to interact with
SAP systems that are based on AS ABAP. The SAP GUI implements the graphical user
interface using the functions provided by the relevant presentation environment. The SAP
GUI is based on the Windows Style Guide and is available for several platforms, providing the
same functions for each. There are different variants of the SAP GUI, which can all be
operated in the same way, irrespective of the underlying platform.
The following types of SAP GUI are available:
●
SAP GUI for the Windows environment
●
SAP GUI for the Java environment
●
SAP GUI for HTML
Note:
In the previous list, the official terms of the SAP GUI are used, these terms are only
available in English. Colloquially, the following terms are used synonymously (in
the same order):S AP GUI for Windows, SAP GUI for Java, or Java GUIand Web
GUI. These terms are not“official SAP”terms but are nevertheless widespread.
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Unit 2: Navigation
Caution:
The variants of the SAP GUI are suitable only for working with AS ABAP-based
SAP systems. SAP GUI for Java does not permit access to AS Java-based SAP
systems. The name merely refers to the implementation technology: SAP GUI for
Java was implemented in Java and can therefore be used on front-end systems
on which a Windows operating system is not running (and Mac OS X or Linux, for
example, is running instead).
AS Java-based SAP applications are accessed through a browser.
SAP GUI for the Windows environment (SAP GUI for Windows) is the implementation of the
SAP GUI in a Microsoft Windows environment. SAP GUI for Windows is written in C or C++,
runs on Windows-based platforms, and supports all transactions in an SAP system.
The data flow between the presentation layer and the application layer does not consist of
prepared screens, but rather of logical, compact information about control elements and user
input (DIAG protocol). The volume of data transferred for each screen change is generally a
few KB. You can therefore easily connect presentation servers over WANs.
SAP GUI for the Java environment (SAP GUI for Java) is written in Java and is the platformindependent implementation of SAP GUI. Like the SAP GUI for the Windows environment, this
GUI also uses the DIAG protocol, and so the data volume transferred for every screen change
is also generally only a few KB and the presentation server can therefore be easily connected
through WANs.
You can either install SAP GUI on the front-end, or alternatively you can install it on a terminal
server and access it using terminal clients.
The SAP GUI for HTMLrequires
HTML
the SAP Internet Transaction Server (ITS) that is part of AS
ABAP on the server side and a Web browser on the client side. The SAP ITS provides the
services required to generate responses in HTML format (within the SAP system). These
responses are transferred to the Web Server or Web Client outside the SAP system using the
Internet Communication Manager of the AS ABAP. The primary advantage of the SAP GUI for
HTML is the simpler installation on the front end; a browser installation suffices.
The figure“Variants of the SAP GUI”shows the various alternatives and the flow of
communication with the ABAP dispatcher and Internet Communication Manager (ICM).
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Lesson: Describing SAP GUI and SAP LOGON
Figure 6: Variants of the SAP GUI
Note:
You can find further information on the various SAP GUI alternatives in the
following SAP Notes:
●
●
●
●
SAP Note66971: Supported SAP GUI platforms
SAP Note314568: SAP GUI for HTML: Functionality/Limitations/Special
Behavior
SAP Note146505: SAP GUI for the Java environment (platform-independent
GUI)
SAP Note138869: SAP GUI on Windows Terminal Server (WTS)
SAP System Logon
Many of the solutions shipped by SAP can be accessed using the SAP GUI (SAP Graphical
User Interface). For the sake of simplicity, further descriptions refer to the SAP GUI for the
Windows environment.
SAP provides another program for starting the front end: SAP Logon. After you have called
SAP Logon, a list of SAP systems displays for which the logon process can be started. This list
is taken from a file on the front end:
saplogon.ini. The file is usually preconfigured centrally
and provided to the end user.
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Unit 2: Navigation
During logon, SAP Logon also enables logon load distribution using the resources available for
the SAP system selected.
Figure 7: SAP Logon Program
When logging on to an SAP system, you are prompted to enter the user and password, among
other things. If you have implemented a Single Sign-On (SSO) solution, you may not need to
enter this information. When you log on, you specify a certain client of the SAP system. This
field is often already filled appropriately.
Hint:
A client usually corresponds to the mapping of a company in an SAP system.
That is, multiple companies can be mapped and active in parallel in an SAP
system with multiple clients. The client has a corresponding key field in the
tables of the database used by that SAP system. If you are logged on to a specific
client, then you can only access business data for that client. In this way, clients
correspond to separate business entities.
When logging on, you can select a logon language supported by that SAP system. SAP
systems can support many languages, the minimum being English and one other selected
language. The number of installed languages determines which languages the system
supports.
On the logon screen, you also have the option of using the
New passwordbutton to change
your password, at most once per day.
The SAP system administrator can include additional text on the logon screen.
For more information, see SAP Note205487: Custom text on the SAP GUI logon screen
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Lesson: Describing SAP GUI and SAP LOGON
Note:
SAP Notes contain detailed information on certain functions or corrections for
known errors in SAP products. You can access SAP Notes from, for example, the
SAP Support Portal on the Internet, by using a valid user (S-user) and password.
https://support.sap.com/notes.
In the course of one logon to an SAP system, you can work in several sessions (processing
windows of an SAP system) simultaneously. Your SAP system administrator can use a
system parameter to define how many sessions are permissible for each logon to the SAP
system.
For more information, see SAP Note12466: Logon Restrictions in R/3
Figure 8: SAP System Logon Screen
The user data in SAP systems is called the user master record. User master records are
stored in the SAP system for each client. This means that you can only log on to clients where
your user (master record) exists. If you only have a user for client 100, you can successfully
log on to client 100. If you can log on to several clients, you have several user master records.
These records enable you to execute different activities, depending on which client you are
logged on to.
For reasons of security and monitoring, multiple logons to SAP systems are logged. If the
same user logs on more than once, then for each subsequent logon, the system displays a
warning message that offers the user the following options:
●
Close all existing sessions and log on again .
●
Keep existing sessions open, and open an additional session (this is recorded in the log).
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Unit 2: Navigation
●
Terminate this logon
.
The second option can be centrally deactivated for the entire system.
Changing the Password
The first time you log on to the SAP system, you use the initial password assigned to you.
During first-time logon, you are asked to save a new password. For security reasons, it makes
sense to change the password occasionally.
To Change the Initial Password
1. Enter the new password twice.
The SAP system contains numerous rules relating to the structure of a password.
2. To save your new password, chooseOK.
To Change the Password
Hint:
Users can change their password no more than once a day on the initial screen.
In contrast, user administrators with authorization for transaction
SU01 can
change a user's password as often as they want. In fact, the administrator can
only assign newinitial passwords. An initial passwordmust be changed the next
time the user logs on.
1. On the SAP system log on screen, enter the logon data with the old password.
2. On the top left, choose theNew Passwordbutton.
3. Enter the new password twice.
The SAP system contains numerous rules relating to the structure of a password.
4. To save your new password, chooseOK.
Screen Structure
Once you have logged on successfully, the initial screen of the SAP system appears. This
screen is also known as theSAP Easy Accessscreen.
The SAP Easy Accessscreen is the default initial screen in SAP systems. The left side of the
screen contains a tree hierarchy of the menus available to you in the SAP system. You can use
the right side of the screen to display your company logo. This graphic is made available
centrally by your SAP system administrator and cannot be customized by individual users.
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Lesson: Describing SAP GUI and SAP LOGON
Figure 9: SAP Easy Access
You can find a detailed description of how to configure the graphic SAP
in Easy Accessunder
Extras→ Administration information(if you have the necessary authorization). Please note
that the graphic is stored in the SAP system and transported to the front end every time a
user logs on. Although it is transported in compressed form, the graphic should not exceed 20
KB. You can prevent the graphic being displayed by either choosing the
Low Speed
Connection setting in the SAP Logon program (see
S AP Note161053:
SAP
Note
Using SAP GUI in WAN),
or by deactivating the display of the picture on the SAP Easy Access screen under
Extras→ Settings.
A typical screen (with some common elements) appears when you choose the
Defaults tab
page underSystem → User Profile→ Own Data. You then see the screen shown in figure
“Screen Elements in SAP GUI”with the data for your own user.
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Unit 2: Navigation
Figure 10: Screen Elements in SAP GUI
An SAP user interface can contain the following screen elements, for example:
●
Command field
●
Menu bar, system function bar, title bar, application toolbar, status bar
●
Checkboxes
●
Radio buttons
●
Tab pages
You can start applications directly by entering their transaction code in the
Commandfield.
You can hide and show the field by choosing the small triangle icon to the right of the
command field. You can find the transaction code for an application in the SAP menu on the
SAP Easy Accessscreen, in the status bar (if not hidden), or in the application itself under
System → Status.
The menu baris the top line of any dialog window in the SAP system. The menus shown here
depend on which application you are in.
The buttons in thestandard toolbarare shown on every SAP screen. If they are not available in
an application, buttons that you cannot use on that screen are deactivated. If you place the
cursor over a button for a short time, the system displays a flag with the name or function of
the button. If appropriate, the corresponding function key setting is also displayed.
The title bar gives the name of the function that you are currently using.
The application toolbarshows the buttons available in the application that you are currently in.
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Lesson: Describing SAP GUI and SAP LOGON
The status bardisplays information on the current system status, such as warnings and
errors. You can also change the display variant to show, for example, the transaction code of
the transaction you are currently in.
Within a field group, checkboxes allow you to select several options at the same time.
In the case of radio buttons, you can only select one option.
Tab pages are used to arrange several subscreens clearly.
Input fields and buttons are additional screen elements.
Logging off from the SAP System
You should log off from the SAP system when you have finished your work in the SAP system.
There are several ways to do this.
To Log off via the Menu Bar
1. Choose System → Log Off.
Hint:
Alternatively, you can choose in the SAP Easy Accessmenu or enter the /
NEND command in theCommandfield. If several sessions are open, the yellow
arrow only closes the active window. The dialog field for logging off only
appears in the last window.
Caution:
The /NEX command immediately terminates your logon without querying the
dialog windows first. All sessions of your terminal session are closed and
entries that have not been saved are lost!
2. A Log Offdialog appears and informs you that you will lose data that has not been saved
when you log off.
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Unit 2: Navigation
Figure 11: Log Off Dialog Box
The Log Offdialog appears.
3. To log off, choose Yes .
Hint:
From the perspective of the Windows operating system, an SAP session is a
normal application. Hence, you can also close SAP sessions via the operating
system, such as by using the key combinationAlt+F4. When you close the
last window of your session, theLog Offdialog appears.
Related Information
●
For more information, see the following online documentation.
Help→ SAP
Library→ Introduction to the SAP System.
LESSON SUMMARY
You should now be able to:
●
List the different variants of the SAP GUI
●
Log on to the SAP system successfully
●
Log off from the SAP system successfully
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Unit 2
Lesson 2
Describing SAP GUI Functions, Help, and
Personalization
LESSON OVERVIEW
In this lesson, you learn about various ways of calling functions in SAP systems. You also learn
about the help options that are available in AS ABAP-based SAP systems.
Business Example
You want to know how functions can be started in the SAP system and what help the system
provides you with.
LESSON OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
●
Use various methods to start SAP system functions
●
Create a list of favorites
●
Use the help functions
●
Describe the standard menus "System" and "Help"
User Menu and SAP Menu
The SAP Access menu automatically displays after logging on. It represents the standard
access point to an SAP system for the SAP GUI for Windows. The navigation bar in the left
part of the screen contains a clear tree structure, consisting of menu entries, and favorite
entries. You can adjust the Favorites area to your own particular needs. The entries of the SAP
menus and the user menus can only be changed by system administrators.
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Unit 2: Navigation
Figure 12: Favorites List and User Menu
The end user can switch from therole-based user menuto the SAP standard menu(provided
the system settings permit this).
Hint:
System administrators can use tableUSERS_SSMto determine whether or not
users are allowed to switch between the SAP menu and their user menus. The
availability of the user or SAP menu does not affect a user's authorizations. This
means that a user can always call authorized functions using a transaction code,
independent of the menu structure.
The role-based user menu is created based on the roles assigned to the user, and is
transferred to the front end. Therefore, it makes sense to keep roles as small as possible
because large roles can take a long time to transfer to the front end.
If a user has several roles assigned, then some functions can be repeated in different parts of
the role-based user menu. If you do not want these functions to appear twice, see
SAP Note
357693: Redundancy Avoidance in Easy Access(and the other SAP Notes listed in this SAP
Note) for information on identifying and deleting duplicates and related questions.
Hint:
As long as you have the appropriate authorization, you can also display user
menus other than the ones assigned to you in your user master record. To do
this, choose Other menu. Use Create role to start the role maintenance
transaction,PFCG.
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Lesson: Describing SAP GUI Functions, Help, and Personalization
The user and SAP menus can be structured in quite a complex way. It is, therefore, difficult to
remember the exact path for the transaction you are looking for. As long as the transaction
has not been copied into the favorite area, you can find it more easily with special search
transactions. The transactionsSEARCH_SAP_MENU and SEARCH_USER_MENU search the
corresponding menus for the predefined text pattern. The search result is in a list view from
which you can take the navigation path. The transactions found cannot be started directly
with a double-click.
Favorites Management
In addition to the area menu or SAP menu, the user is also provided with functions in the
Favorites area. Links to frequently used transactions, web links, or files can be stored in the
Favorites area.
The favorites list contains references to SAP system functions or links to internet content or
to files on the end user's front-end computer. The favorites list, which is initially empty, can be
edited by each end user according to their preferences. You can only view your own favorites
list. Since data on the favorites is stored within the SAP system, each user might have
different collections of favorites in different SAP systems.
Hint:
Complete favorites menus, including the folder structures, can be easily copied
by uploading or downloading from one SAP system to another. The downloaded
favorites menus are stored temporarily on the front-end PC.
To improve the structuring, sort the favorites in separate folders. You can edit favorites in the
SAP Easy Accessscreen using the menu optionFavorites.
The Favorites menu gives you the option of adding a function from the user (or SAP) menu to
your personal favorites list by selecting the function and choosing
Favorites→ Add. Here, the
menu path is also written with the text of the favorite entry to a limited extent. If you have
highlighted a menu option by using the mouse, you can copy the selected node in the
Favorites area by right-clicking the node.
Alternatively, you can also drag the elements from the menu area by using the mouse and
store them in theFavorites area. You can add URLs or links to files to your list of favorites by
choosing Favorites → Add other objects. Click the triangle symbol to the left of the file
symbol to expand or collapse the list of favorites.
Hint:
To change the name of a transaction in favorites, highlight the corresponding
favorite entry and select the menu path
Favorites→ Change. You can change and
save the text in the dialog box that opens.
You can delete favorite entries that you no longer need. In doing so, the link to the
corresponding function is deleted from your favorites list. If you want to delete the entire
Favorites menu, highlight the entryFavorites and right-click to call up the available context
menu, then chooseDelete all favorites.
Calling Functions
You have several options for navigating in an SAP system:
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Unit 2: Navigation
●
By entering transaction codes in theCommandfield
●
By selecting entries from the SAP menu
●
By selecting entries from the user menu
●
By selecting entries from the list of favorites
●
By choosing items from menus in the menu bar
Figure 13: Various Navigation Options
You can reach the menus in the menu bar using the key combination Alt+<#> (# corresponds
to the underlined letter of the selected menu item) or Alt and cursor navigation using the
arrow keys on the keyboard.
You can use the keyboard to access theSAP Easy Accessscreen or theCommandfield and
call SAP system functions from there.
Hint:
Use the following keys to navigate using the keyboard:
●
●
TAB key moves from one field element to the next within a field group.
Ctrl + TAB goes from one field group to the first element of the next field
group.
You can find further shortcuts by usingCustomizing of local layout (Alt +
F12)→ SAP GUI Help.
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Lesson: Describing SAP GUI Functions, Help, and Personalization
Press F1 in theCommandfield to display the input options for this field. The following entries
are possible:
Possible Entries in the OK Code Field
●
●
/n to cancel the current transaction
/nXXXX to call transactionXXXX directly from another transaction. Without the prefix, you
can only callXXXX from the SAP Easy Accessscreen.
●
/o to display an overview of sessions
●
/oXXXX to call transactionXXXX in a new session directly from another transaction
●
/nend to end the logon session with a confirmation dialog box
●
/nex to end the logon session without a confirmation dialog box
●
/i to delete the session you are currently using
Note:
The Commandfield is an exception, because when you select F4, the input help is
not displayed. The input help in the command field only lists the last 15 different
entries made in this field on the front end. This list is stored in the registry on the
front end and is valid for all sessions on the front end (regardless of the system
used).
Help Options
The SAP system provides you with various help options, which are introduced in the following
section.
The F1 Help
You can use the F1 key to display an explanation of fields, menus, functions, and messages.
The F1 help also displays technical information on the relevant field. It contains the parameter
ID, which you can use when defining user-specific default values for input fields that also refer
to this parameter ID. You can also display interesting information by, for example, calling the
F1 help for the command field.
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Unit 2: Navigation
Figure 14: The F1 Help
You can also use other buttons in thePerformance Assistantdialog box to display information
on the selected field. One of the most important pieces of information, besides the link to the
context-sensitive Application Help, is the link to theTechnical Information. Choose this option
to display detailed information, such as the parameter ID assigned to the field. You can use
parameters to set defaults for frequently used input fields. To do this, the parameters are
stored with the desired values in the user master record.
Note:
You may need to activate the Performance Assistant first using the menu
Help→ Settings→ F1 Help.
Input Help
You can choose F4 to display possible input values. You can also call up the input help for a
field using the button immediately to the right of the selected field. If a field contains a
checkmark symbol, you can only proceed to the next step in that application after entering a
permitted value (required entry). You can use transaction or screen variants, or Customizing
to mark fields as mandatory or optional, hidden, or filled with hidden standard values.
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Lesson: Describing SAP GUI Functions, Help, and Personalization
Figure 15: The Input Help
The input help displays a list of possible entries for a field. If there are many possible entries, a
separate selection screen displays. If there is a long hit list, the input help only displays as
many entries as the user has specified on the
F4 Help tab page underHelp → Settings. The
default value for this is 500.
Hint:
If there are more than 500 hits, you can use the button shown in the figure once
to increase the number of hits for this selection, or change the search variant.
Hint:
Users can also create personal values lists. An S&D employee who is only
responsible for customers in Bavaria wants to see the Bavarian customers, and
defines a corresponding personal value list. However, despite this (depending on
the authorizations assigned) the employee still has the option at all times of
switching to the total view of all customers or of updating or completely deleting
the values list.
SAP Help Portal
The SAP help documentation is a useful aid in getting to know system functions. It also
explains system architecture concepts, gives examples of how you can configure various
processes, and warns you about possible user errors and their consequences. The online
documentation also contains several tips and tricks to help you carry out common tasks in
the SAP system more easily and quickly.
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Unit 2: Navigation
Figure 16: The SAP Library
Hint:
You can also access the SAP documentation on the Internet. To do this, go to
http://help.sap.com. You can access the full product documentation for all
releases here. A user-friendly full-text search-by-solution is also available.
The System and Help Menus
The System and Help menus are always available with the same options on every screen in an
SAP system.
The System menu allows you to access various system functions. This menu also contains
functions that you can only access using this menu (and not in any other way). You can log off
using System→ Log Off, and display useful information on your system and the function you
are currently using, such as the transaction code, by choosing
System→ Status.
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Lesson: Describing SAP GUI Functions, Help, and Personalization
Figure 17: The Menus System and Help
You access the SAP system documentation from theHelp menu. You can also display the
Release Notes and configure the standard settings for the input help. However, you mostly
use the Help menu to navigate to the specific section of the documentation relevant for your
current work in the current context. The context-sensitive help is also called
Application Help.
The tool for accessing the documentation as a whole is the SAP Library.
Personalization of the SAP GUI
The SAP-system contains a wide variety of personalization options.
You can choose Extras→ Settings to influence the design of the initial screen of the SAP
system, for example by including a picture in the right-hand area of the view or including the
technical names (transaction codes) on the
S AP Easy Accessscreen.
In the standard toolbar, use the following button to adapt the local layout: Using the
Customizing of local layoutbutton, you can manage the input history by choosing
Options...→ Local Data.
If it is activated, the input history creates a small database on the front end containing the last
x entries made in input fields in transactions. You can specify the value for “x” yourself. These
entries display as input help for fields that are declared accordingly. There is a slight delay on
the input history. To minimize this display, chooseOptions→ Local
Data→ History→ Immediate.
The Options also enable you to set the speed of quick info, and to display system messages in
dialog boxes (O ptions...→ Messages). Various other aids and settings are available here, for
instance, you can choose a color scheme for your GUI.
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Unit 2: Navigation
Note:
Using the Customizing of local layouts, you can choose
Design Settings→ General
to adapt the font size in the SAP GUI window. However, you need to close the SAP
Logon program, open it up, and log on to the system again before your changes to
the settings take effect.
Figure 18: Two Possible Personalization Options
You can choose System→ User Profile→ User Data can set personal default values. You can
choose between theAddress, Fixed Values, and Parameterstab pages.
Hint:
You can use parameters to enter default values in the fields that you use
regularly. The prerequisite for you to be able to do this is that the input field has
been assigned a parameter ID.
To find the parameter ID, select the input field for which you want to define a default value,
and choose the F1 help, followed by the Technical Information button. This calls up a dialog
box that displays the corresponding parameter ID under Field Data (as long as a parameter ID
is assigned to the field). If, for example, you enter parameter ID XUS in your user profile on the
Parameters tab page, and assign a value to this, all fields with XUS as their parameter ID now
have the value you entered as a default. This is the case in transaction
SU01, for example.
The favorites list on theSAP Easy Accessscreen and the status bar display variants provide
additional personalization options.
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Lesson: Describing SAP GUI Functions, Help, and Personalization
Hint:
You can use the information displayed in the status bar on the bottom right edge
of the GUI window. There, you can, for example, always display the transaction
code of the transaction that is currently being executed.
Related Information
●
Documentation: You can find extended help forS AP Easy Accessunder Help →Application
help.
LESSON SUMMARY
You should now be able to:
●
Use various methods to start SAP system functions
●
Create a list of favorites
●
Use the help functions
●
Describe the standard menus "System" and "Help"
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Unit 2
Lesson 3
Describing Navigation using a Web Browser
LESSON OVERVIEW
In this lesson, you learn about navigation with the AS ABAP-based and AS Java-based SAP
systems using a web browser.
Business Example
You want to use a web browser to work in AS ABAP-based or AS Java-based SAP systems.
LESSON OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
●
Successfully log on to an AS ABAP-based SAP system using a web browser
●
Successfully log on to an AS Java-based SAP system using a web browser
Navigation with Web Browser: AS ABAP-based SAP System
With AS ABAP-based SAP systems you can choose to communicate by either the SAP GUI or
a web browser. You can consult theProduct Availability Matrix (PAM), for example, to find out
which web browser types are supported.
Web browser navigation is used under a range of different conditions:
●
●
●
You log on to the SAP system with the SAP GUI for HTML. SAP GUI for Windows is not
required. Navigation takes place via the web browser only.
You use an SAP GUI for Windows with the SAP system, for example. Some transactions
open in a web browser. In a Solution Manager system, for example, this is the case for
LMDB (Landscape Management Database).
You call a web browser-based web service of an SAP system.
The URL for the web browser-based call starts with
http(s)://<hostname of application
server→ :<Port ppnn>. pp is a number that can be defined by a profile parameter, for
example 80 for http,nn is the instance number, for example 42. The URL could therefore
begin withhttp://fsdhost.wdf.sap.corp:8042.
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Lesson: Describing Navigation using a Web Browser
Figure 19: Navigation with Web Browser: AS ABAP-Based SAP System
The figure“Navigation with Web Browser: AS ABAP-Based SAP System”
shows logon and
navigation with SAP GUI for HTML.
As users always exist per client in AS ABAP, and are therefore client-dependent, the system
prompts you to enter the client at logon.
Navigation with Web Browser: AS Java-based SAP System
With AS Java-based SAP systems, you cannot navigate with the SAP GUI – even with the SAP
GUI for Java or the SAP GUI for HTML. You can use a web browser to navigate. You can
consult the Product Availability Matrix (PAM), for example, to find out which web browser
types are supported.
The URL for the web browser-based call starts with
http(s)://<hostname of application
server→ :<Port 5ppnn>. pp is a number that can be defined by a parameter, for example
01
for https, nn is the instance number, for example 43. The URL could therefore begin with
https://smhost.wdf.sap.corp:54301.
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Unit 2: Navigation
Figure 20: Navigation with Web Browser: AS Java-Based SAP System
The figure“Navigation with Web Browser: AS Java-Based SAP System”
shows logon and
navigation using a web browser.
The AS Java does not have a client concept like AS ABAP. Users are therefore always systemwide. At logon, the system therefore does not prompt you to enter a client.
Related Information
●
For more information, see the following online documentation.
Help→ SAP
Library→ Introduction to the SAP System.
LESSON SUMMARY
You should now be able to:
●
Successfully log on to an AS ABAP-based SAP system using a web browser
●
Successfully log on to an AS Java-based SAP system using a web browser
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Unit 2
Lesson 4
Describing SAP Business Client
LESSON OVERVIEW
In this lesson, you learn about SAP Business Client and the different variants.
Business Example
Your company wants to use SAP Business Client and you want to learn more about its
functions.
LESSON OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
●
Describe SAP Business Client
Overview
SAP Business Client provides users with a local client with role-based navigation. It is used as
the central point of access for all SAP applications and transactions, and therefore bridges
the gap between clients (such as SAP GUI) and browser access.
It is available in two versions:
●
SAP Business Client for HTML
●
SAP Business Client for Windows
A comparison of the two versions is provided in the following table:
Table 1: Comparison of SAP Business Client (BC) Functions
SAP Business Client for HTML
SAP Business Client for Windows
For normal users
For power users
No installation required
Is installed on the front-end host
Integrated in the browser (uses SAP GUI for Includes SAP GUI functionality
HTML)
Restricted functional scope: no search func- Offers full functional scope
tion, no drop-down menus, no drag and drop
No SAP Enterprise Portal functionality
Can be used for SAP Enterprise Portal including role content
Available on Windows, Linux, and Mac OS
Available on Windows, only
Because navigation is role-based, special navigation roles are often assigned in addition to the
standard roles assigned to the user. These navigation roles enable the corresponding
functions to be used in the SAP system.
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Unit 2: Navigation
SAP Business Client (BC) for HTML
SAP Business Client (BC) for HTML is a browser-based interface with a restricted functional
scope. The SAP GUI for HTML function is used for ABAP transactions in order to access AS
ABAP systems.
Caution:
This variant cannot be used to access SAP Enterprise Portal.
Figure 21: SAP Business Clients (BC) for HTML
1. To start the Business Client for HTML, enter transaction
NWBC in the SAP system, or start
the browser and enter the following URL:
https://<fully qualified host
name>:<HTTPS-port>/sap/bc/nwbc
Hint:
Before you can use SAP Business Client for HTML, the service
/sap/bc/nwdc
must be activated in transactionSICF.
2. The business client for HTML then opens in the browser window.
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Lesson: Describing SAP Business Client
SAP Business Client (BC) for Windows
SAP Business Client (BC) for Windows is a UI intended for power users. If installed, the SAP
GUI for Windows itself is used as a rendering engine. It therefore replaces the SAP GUI as the
central point of access for SAP applications. SAP Business Client for Windows can access AS
ABAP based SAP systems with role-based menus, and can access SAP Enterprise Portal
systems with PCD (Portal Content Directory) functions.
For more information see SAP Note
2446515 - SAP Business Client 6.5: Prerequisites and
restrictions.
Figure 22: SAP Business Client (BC) for Windows: Different Types of Logon Entries
Choose theNew button (white sheet) to create a new entry.
The new entry can be one of the following different types:
●
SAP Fiori Launchpad
●
SAP Business Client
●
SAP Logon
●
Shortcut for SAP Logon
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Unit 2: Navigation
Figure 23: SAP Business Clients (BC): Role Based Navigation
SAP Business Client offers a role-based navigation, using a panel, overview pages, and a quick
start bar.
SAP Business Client and SAP Roles
The information displayed with SAP Business Client (BC) depends on the roles assigned to
the user. As this can be defined on a very user-specific basis and depends on the application,
a few functions have been added to transaction
PFCG (role maintenance).
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Lesson: Describing SAP Business Client
Figure 24: SAP Business Clients (BC) and PFCG Roles
The figure“SAP Business Clients (BC) and PFCG Roles”
shows the connection between the
SAP roles, which are maintained in the SAP system in transaction
PFCG, and the display within
SAP Business Client.
Related Information
●
SAP Note2446515 - SAP Business Client 6.5: Prerequisites and restrictions
●
SAP Note2455699 - SAP Business Client 6.5 expected releases
LESSON SUMMARY
You should now be able to:
●
Describe SAP Business Client
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Unit 2
Lesson 5
Describing SAP Fiori
LESSON OVERVIEW
In this lesson, you learn about SAP Fiori.
Business Example
Your company wants to use SAP Fiori and you want to get an overview of the functions.
LESSON OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
●
Explain the concept of SAP Fiori
●
Use apps in the SAP Fiori launchpad
SAP Fiori
Figure 25: What is SAP Fiori?
SAP Fiori is a collection of applications that were created based on the rules of SAP User
Experience (UX). The first 25 apps for managers and employees for queries and approvals
were presented at SAPPHIRE in 2013. Since then, the number of apps has risen sharply.
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Lesson: Describing SAP Fiori
Figure 26: Implementation of SAP User Experience (UX) Strategy
SAP Fiori is an important component of the SAP User Experience (UX) strategy comprising
NEW, RENEW, and EMPOWER. NEW and RENEW are implemented directly by SAP through
the development of completely new applications (NEW) and the adaptation of existing
applications to current standards (RENEW). With EMPOWER, on the other hand, the
customers themselves adapt the applications to their own requirements or develop their own
solutions. For this, SAP offers not only training courses and best practices but also many
tools and technologies, through to UX Design Services, where SAP is directly involved in the
customer’s design process.
Figure 27: SAP Fiori Design Principles
SAP Fiori offers a standardized user experience on a wide variety of clients. Users should have
a consistent, coherent, intuitive, and appealing user experience on all devices and therefore
complete their work more intelligently and efficiently. The five design principles for SAP Fiori
were developed by Design Thinking and are the core properties of every SAP Fiori application
to achieve these goals. The role-based approach is the biggest difference to the classic
interfaces.
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Unit 2: Navigation
Figure 28: Role-Based User Experience
A role-based user experience means that users are provided with all information and
functions for their day-to-day work – but nothing more. The classic SAP user interface (UI)
provides a single, complex transaction for many user roles. A single user’s work then means
that several of these transactions, or additional applications, need to be used.
SAP Fiori splits these large transactions into individual apps for the use roles. All the apps are
linked with each other so all tasks of a transaction are possible, but are only executed if the
user really wants this. The central point of access for all apps is the
SAP Fiori launchpad
.
Figure 29: SAP Fiori
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Lesson: Describing SAP Fiori
The SAP Fiori launchpadprovides a coherent user experience across different solutions by
making it possible to combine separate apps with the help of user roles. Every app is an
individual step in a specific role. Therefore, several apps combined form a complete process
across different solutions and systems.
Figure 30: SAP Fiori Launchpad
The SAP Fiori launchpadoffers many functions to simplify users’ work. Depending on the
selected host and port, the launchpad can be accessed via the following URLs:
Since AS ABAP 7.40: https://<host>:<port>/sap/bc/ui5_ui5/ui2/ushell/shells/abap/
FioriLaunchpad.html
Since AS ABAP 7.50:https://<host>:<port>/sap/bc/ui2/flp
Groups of apps display based on the role of the user. Every app is represented by a tile that
can be clicked or touched. Tiles can also represent a collection of app data. This can be done
using a simple number, additional color coding based on KPIs (key performance indicators),
or even charts (trend, comparison, distribution). The integrated search enables you to search
not only for apps, but also for data in the apps. However, the Enterprise Search with a
connected SAP HANA is required.
The most important thing is that you can adapt the
S AP Fiori launchpadto your requirements.
In addition to general settings such as the language, you can rearrange groups and tiles,
create new groups and add additional tiles. The possible options depend on the settings in the
user role, and the settings in the SAP Fiori system itself.
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Unit 2: Navigation
Figure 31: SAP Fiori 2.0 Viewport
With SAP S/4HANA 1610, SAP Fiori 2.0 is shipped to customers. The
SAP Fiori Launchpad
now offers a viewport consisting of theMe Area to the left, theWorkspace in the center, and
the Notificationsto the right. TheMe Area is an enhanced user menu providing access to
frequently used apps and recent activities. The
N otificationson the other side provide fast
access to information and tasks including simple actions. The
Workspace in between now
offers additional possibilities to navigate between apps like the navigation menu at the top,
and the option to run apps in overlay mode in front of other apps.
The whole design of SAP Fiori 2.0 was rewarded with the Red Dot Design Award in 2015.
Figure 32: SAP Fiori App Types
All SAP Fiori apps use the SAPUI5 and SAP Gateway technologies. Other technologies may be
used depending on the app type:
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Lesson: Describing SAP Fiori
Transactional apps
●
Use of the ABAP options for transactional functions of a business system
●
Available for SAP S/4HANA and Business Suite on Any DB
Analytical apps
●
Use of the analytical options of SAP HANA for insights into the business data
●
Available for SAP S/4HANA and Business Suite on SAP HANA
Fact sheet apps
●
Use of Enterprise Search with connection to SAP HANA for search results
●
Available for SAP S/4HANA and Business Suite on SAP HANA
An overview of all apps and their details such as the app type is available in SAP
the Fiori
Reference Library:
http://www.sap.com/fiori-apps-library
LESSON SUMMARY
You should now be able to:
●
Explain the concept of SAP Fiori
●
Use apps in the SAP Fiori launchpad
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Unit 2
Lesson 6
Describing the SAP Enterprise Portal
LESSON OVERVIEW
This lesson is an introduction to the user interface of SAP Enterprise Portal from the
perspective of the end user.
Business Example
Users want to use the enterprise portal.
LESSON OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
●
Describe the purpose of SAP Enterprise Portal
●
Describe the screen elements of SAP Enterprise Portal
SAP Enterprise Portal Log On
SAP Enterprise Portal provides the core capabilities required to deliver enterprise content to
internal and external users in a uniform and consistent manner, on traditional desktops as
well as on mobile devices. SAP Enterprise Portal, with its role-based access and a modern
web front end, offers a single point of access to the organization’s structured and
unstructured content. Such content includes SAP and non-SAP information sources,
enterprise applications, information repositories, databases and services, regardless of
organizational or technical boundaries.
Technically, SAP Enterprise Portal runs on AS Java.
You access SAP Enterprise Portal using a normal web browser.
Hint:
A list of supported web browsers can be found in the Product Availability Matrix
(PAM). Since the product is continuously being developed, you are advised to
check this information in the current PAM. The PAM is available at
SAP Support
Portal, Quick Link/pam. To access this online service, you need either an SAP
customer ID or SAP partner ID.
Log on using a user ID and password is the standard method after a portal installation. The
portal can then be configured to use the same credentials that are used to log on to the
company network. It is also possible to implement Single Sign-On procedures. SAP supports
access to SAP Enterprise Portal via a dial-in connection. Special URLs for logon can be
provided for this.
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Lesson: Describing the SAP Enterprise Portal
Figure 33: Access to SAP Enterprise Portal
Proceed as follows to log on to the portal (this is not available in this training):
1. Open your web browser.
2. Enter the URL of SAP Enterprise Portal. The typical format http(s)://<portal
is
server host name>.<portal server domain>:<ICM http(s) port>/irj, for
examplehttp://epdhost.wdf.sap.corp:50000/irj or https://
epdhost.wdf.sap.corp:50001/irj.
Note:
For employees of a company, this URL can be configured as the web browsers
home page. Another option is to access the portal by clicking an image on a
company home page, for example.
3. In the User and Passwordfields, enter your user ID and password.
4. Choose Log On, or press Enter on your keyboard.
Portal Language
In SAP Enterprise Portal, every user has a user master record. The portal language that the
user wants can be defined in this user master record. The navigation options and menu texts
are displayed in this language, provided they have been translated into it. If the user opens a
logon screen and is not yet authenticated, the display language of the logon screen is
determined by the browser settings. The portal also contains a default setting for cases when
the language settings cannot be read or the defined language is not available. The same also
applies after registration if a language was not defined in the user master record.
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Unit 2: Navigation
Important Screen Elements and Navigation Functions
For display in the web browser, the output view of SAP Enterprise Portal, known as the portal
desktop, is subdivided into the following areas:
●
Header Area
●
Page Heading Bar
●
Navigation Panel
●
Content Area
In the standard system, SAP provides several portal desktops (which can be adapted by
customers). Two important ones are:
●
The standard is now the intuitive, user-friendly
Ajax portaldesktop.
●
The old default desktop is still available as the
Classic portaldesktop.
The following figures show the most important screen elements of SAP Enterprise Portal for
the two desktops.
Figure 34: Structure of the Ajax-Based Portal Desktop
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Lesson: Describing the SAP Enterprise Portal
Figure 35: Screen Elements of the Classic Portal Desktop
Depending on the portal desktop, the use of some functions may differ slightly. The following
sections relate to the Ajax portal desktop.
Header Area
The header area is located at the top of the browser window. This area does not change when
you navigate from one page to another. The header area contains a portal header, AFP
widgets, and the top-level navigation.
The portal header consists of the following:
●
Company logo
●
Document search
●
Link for logoff
The header area contains the following functions that can be called via links:
●
For navigation (Back, Continue, and History)
●
For managing portal favoritesFavorites)
(
●
For personalizing the portal or the current pagePersonalize)
(
●
For switching to full screen mode or for calling tabsetsView).
(
Since one of the AFP widgets, theHistoryprovides a selection of the portal pages last visited
and enables you to go to these pages quickly. Pages that you have visited more than once are
only stored once in this history.
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Unit 2: Navigation
You can choose Back and Continue to navigate through the history of the pages you have
visited, similar to theBack and Forward functions in your web browser.
The Favorites widget provides a list of links that each user can compile, and that permit direct
access to objects in the portal, such as portal pages, whole-page iViews, KM objects, and
external objects such as websites. Favorites can be organized in a folder structure. In contrast
to the browser favorites, portal favorites are client-independent and are therefore available to
you on every computer after you have logged on to the portal.
The top-level navigationis
navigation directly below the AFP widgets. This is the entry point for
navigation through the content that was assigned to you.
In the standard system, the entries in the top-level navigation are divided into two tab levels
(first-level tab page and second-level subtab) and are predefined by your administrator.
In the classic portal desktop, the administrator can make simple configuration settings to
activate the hover effect. This permits faster navigation, because you merely need to move
the mouse over entries in the top-level navigation level and the entries of the second level are
immediately visible.
Page Heading Bar
The page heading bar is below the top-level navigation. It provides you with functions for
personalizing the page in the content area and offers you efficient navigation options on the
current content page.
Note:
Your content administrator can define which options you have for a page in the
content area.
In the (Page) Optionsmenu, you have additional functions, such as page refresh, opening the
current page in a new window, or adding the current page to your web browser favorites. If
permitted by the content administrator, you can also personalize the current page. This
means that you can decide which assigned content is displayed on the page, and how this is
laid out.
Navigation Panel
The navigation panel is located on the left-hand side of your browser window. You can
minimize the navigation panel using the arrow symbol to have more space within the window.
You can expand it again or change its size to access tools and folders.
Based on the content area, the navigation panel can contain the following navigation iViews:
Detailed navigation
The detailed navigation is the hierarchical continuation of the top-level navigation. It
contains all the content below the second navigation level.
Dynamic navigation
A dynamic navigation iView contains controls for the user interface, for example
dropdown lists and links that can be used to call up data on the content displayed in the
content area. The iView can consist of a list of customers, orders, regions, or employees,
or of data that accesses a database. Every time you select an option in a dynamic
navigation iView, you update only the data that is currently displayed in the portal
content area.
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Lesson: Describing the SAP Enterprise Portal
If no dynamic navigation iViews are assigned to the displayed content, the iView for
dynamic navigation is not displayed in the navigation panel.
Related topics
This iView contains a list of links to topics relevant for the iView or portal page you are
currently working in. The links are predefined at iView and page level (Portal Content
Studio). Click an object underRelated Topics to open the content in a new browser
window.
If no related topics are assigned to the displayed content, the iView for related topics is
not displayed.
The navigation panel is only expanded if the iViews contain content to be displayed. By
changing the navigation panel, you enlarge or reduce the panel or content area. You can only
access the iViews if the navigation panel is expanded.
Content Area
The actual content you accessed displays in thecontent area of the portal desktop.
The content area is filled with data that you access from information sources in your company
or on the Internet with the help of small applications known as
iViews. The content area
displays a page with several iViews or just one iView in full-page mode. iViews can access
document files, e-mails, web pages, and data in company applications. They compile a
personal view of all elements important for your task area. With iViews, you can extend the
scope of your portal to any available information sources – for example SAP system, customdeveloped applications, the Internet, and others. iViews display not only static content, they
can also display dynamic content from various applications.
Figure 36: Examples of iViews
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Unit 2: Navigation
A page runs in the content area of your portal and consists of one or more iViews. In addition
to iViews, a page contains layout information, that is, information about the arrangement of
the individual iViews.
Advanced Navigation Functions
Further navigation methods are provided in addition to navigation using the menu options of
the top-level navigation and in the navigation iViews available in the navigation panel.
Sequence of Top-Level Navigation Nodes
If you use the Ajax portal desktop, you can (provided the option was not deactivated) easily
change the sequence (initially defined by the content administrator) of top-level navigation
nodes by dragging and dropping. The portal permanently saves a selected sequence so it is
applied the next time you log on.
Quick Links
Quick links are used to call iViews and pages using a name that indicates the purpose of the
iViews or page. It is added directly to the portal URL. A content administrator first defines
these quick links at iView or page level. If, for example, the
whoiswhoquick link is defined for
an iView, the call ishttp(s)://<portal server host name>.<portal server
domain>:<ICM http(s) port>/irj/portal/whoiswho. Users can only call quick links to
iViews or pages that are contained in their roles.
Accessibility in SAP Enterprise Portal
SAP is committed to enabling people with motor or vision disabilities to use SAP products and
to comply with standards in this area. This includes operation of SAP Enterprise Portal.
Not all users with a disability need the same support. People with a vision impairment have
different requirements to users who are physically challenged. There is no reason, for
example, why physically challenged users who can see well should have to make keyboard
entries for non-interactive elements of the user interface or work more slowly because of
texts that are not visible for accessibility. For a better understanding of these requirements,
some of these functions are also provided on the standard interface to better support
physically challenged users who have good vision. All accessibility functions are activated
using the Activity Accessibility-Feature switch in the user profile and require a screen reader.
The top-level navigation is affected by the
Activate Accessibility-Feature switch. If the hover
effect was activated, it is deactivated.
The following table shows which functions are available with and without the
Accessibility
option in SAP Enterprise Portal.
Table 2: Accessibility in SAP Enterprise Portal
User Option
With the switch for ac- Without the switch for
cessibility
accessibility
Access all elements of the user interface
with the Tab key
Trigger all events with the keyboard only
Receive text equivalents that the screen
reader reads and communicates to the
user
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Lesson: Describing the SAP Enterprise Portal
User Option
With the switch for ac- Without the switch for
cessibility
accessibility
Skip navigation links and large elements
such as tables, trees, tab pages, and
group boxes to access the desired element of the user interface more quickly
Navigate using hotkeys
If accessibility is activated, users can navigate using hotkeys. Even if accessibility is activated,
hotkeys are used to enable the user to go to and select various navigation elements quickly.
The following hotkeys are then available for navigation:
Table 3: Navigation via Hotkeys
Hotkey
Action
Navigation key
ALT+T
Go directly to top navigation area
ALT+N
Go directly to navigation bar area
ALT+C
Go directly to content area
Action key
SHIFT+F10
Opens a context menu (in the case of navigation via tree control)
ALT+Z
Skip large element for example selection button group, table, tray, TLN,
and so on, if you are currently in it
ALT+B
Return to start of large element if you are currently in it
Related Information
●
SAP NetWeaver 7.4 online documentation, path Getting Started→ Using SAP
Software→ First Steps→ Portal
LESSON SUMMARY
You should now be able to:
●
Describe the purpose of SAP Enterprise Portal
●
Describe the screen elements of SAP Enterprise Portal
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Unit 2
Learning Assessment
1. You can only work in one window (session) at a time in an SAP system.
Determine whether this statement is true or false.
X
True
X
False
2. Which of the following statements accurately describe a client in an AS ABAP based SAP
system?
Choose the correct answers.
X
A A client represents a completely independent business entity.
X
B A client has its own database.
X
C A client corresponds to a customer.
X
D A client may represent an entire company.
3. Which of the following strings are valid entries in the
Commandfield?
Choose the correct answers.
X
A /nend
X
B /nex
X
C ?SM04
X
D /nsm04
X
E From SAP Easy Access:SM04
X
F From SAP Easy Access:search_sap_menu
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Unit 2: Learning Assessment
4. With the help of SAP GUI for HTML, you can log on to both AS ABAP-based SAP systems
and AS Java-based SAP systems.
Determine whether this statement is true or false.
X
True
X
False
5. Which versions of SAP Business Client are available?
Choose the correct answers.
X
A SAP Business Client for Java
X
B SAP Business Client for HTML
X
C SAP Business Client for Windows
X
D SAP Business Client for HANA
6. What is SAP Fiori?
Choose the correct answer.
X
A The successor of SAP GUI for HTML.
X
B A new software component that allows the integration of SAP Enterprise Portal
functions into SAP S/4HANA systems.
X
C A collection of UX-driven apps renewing enterprise business functions.
X
D The implementation method for SAP S/4HANA content.
7. Technically, SAP Enterprise Portal is based on AS ABAP.
Determine whether this statement is true or false.
X
True
X
False
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Unit 2
Learning Assessment - Answers
1. You can only work in one window (session) at a time in an SAP system.
Determine whether this statement is true or false.
X
True
X
False
You are correct: Within one logon, it is possible to work in several windows (sessions) in
parallel.
2. Which of the following statements accurately describe a client in an AS ABAP based SAP
system?
Choose the correct answers.
X
A A client represents a completely independent business entity.
X
B A client has its own database.
X
C A client corresponds to a customer.
X
D A client may represent an entire company.
You are correct: The data for all clients in an SAP system is stored within a single common
database. This data is nevertheless divided by client so that different companies can be
administered and controlled in different clients. A client not
is a customer within an SAP
system.
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Unit 2: Learning Assessment - Answers
3. Which of the following strings are valid entries in the
Commandfield?
Choose the correct answers.
X
A /nend
X
B /nex
X
C ?SM04
X
D /nsm04
X
E From SAP Easy Access:SM04
X
F From SAP Easy Access:search_sap_menu
You are correct. Entering/n in front of a transaction code ends the actual transaction and
starts the new transaction in the same session. From
SAP Easy Accessscreen, you may
also enter the transaction code directly.
4. With the help of SAP GUI for HTML, you can log on to both AS ABAP-based SAP systems
and AS Java-based SAP systems.
Determine whether this statement is true or false.
X
True
X
False
You are correct. SAP GUI for HTML can be used to log on to AS ABAP-based SAP systems
only. SAP GUI for HTML is not available for AS Java-based SAP systems.
5. Which versions of SAP Business Client are available?
Choose the correct answers.
X
A SAP Business Client for Java
X
B SAP Business Client for HTML
X
C SAP Business Client for Windows
X
D SAP Business Client for HANA
You are correct. SAP Business Client provides users with a local client with role-based
navigation. It is available asSAP Business Client for HTML(intended for normal users) and
as SAP Business Client for Windows(intended for power users).
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Unit 2: Learning Assessment - Answers
6. What is SAP Fiori?
Choose the correct answer.
X
A The successor of SAP GUI for HTML.
X
B A new software component that allows the integration of SAP Enterprise Portal
functions into SAP S/4HANA systems.
X
C A collection of UX-driven apps renewing enterprise business functions.
X
D The implementation method for SAP S/4HANA content.
You are correct.SAP Fioriis a collection of applications that were created based on the
rules of SAP User Experience (UX). The implementation method for SAP S/4HANA is
called SAP Activate.
7. Technically, SAP Enterprise Portal is based on AS ABAP.
Determine whether this statement is true or false.
X
True
X
False
You are correct. SAP Enterprise Portal is based on AS Java.
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UNIT 3
SAP System Kernel
Lesson 1
Explaining the Basic Architecture of SAP NetWeaver AS
64
Lesson 2
Describing AS ABAP
74
Lesson 3
Describing AS Java
96
UNIT OBJECTIVES
●
Define the term instance/application server
●
Name the processes of the SAP NetWeaver Application Server
●
Describe how requests to AS ABAP are processed
●
List the AS ABAP processes and describe their purpose
●
Describe how requests to AS Java are processed
●
List the AS Java processes and describe their purpose
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Unit 3
Lesson 1
Explaining the Basic Architecture of SAP
NetWeaver AS
LESSON OVERVIEW
This lesson introduces the basic architecture of SAP systems. Based on simple client/server
configurations, the individual processes of the SAP NetWeaver Application Server are
introduced and the termsinstance and Application Serverare
Server
defined. We also explain the
architecture of the different types of SAP NetWeaver Application Server.
Business Example
In the course of implementing an SAP system, you need to establish the architecture of SAP
systems and how you are going to distribute the required SAP system processes among the
available hardware.
LESSON OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
●
Define the term instance/application server
●
Name the processes of the SAP NetWeaver Application Server
SAP System Architecture
Hint:
Hardware manufacturers often use the term application server to describe a
piece of hardware. Software vendors – like SAP – use it to describe a software
solution. This can be confusing. For example, the prompt
Please restart the
application servercan have two entirely different meanings.
An (SAP) instance or (SAP) application server is an administrative unit that combines SAP
system components providing one or more services. The services provided by an application
server are started or stopped together. You use a common instance profile to set parameters
of all the components of an application server. Each application server has its own buffer
areas in RAM. An application server runs on a host. Multiple application servers can run on a
single host. An application server is identified by its (three-character) SAP system ID (SID)
and a (two-digit) instance number.
Hint:
The terms (SAP) instance and application server are often used as synonyms,
but we speak exclusively of a central services instance.
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Lesson: Explaining the Basic Architecture of SAP NetWeaver AS
Examples of SAP systems include: SAP S/4HANA, SAP ECC, SAP CRM, SAP BW, SAP
Enterprise Portal.
Figure 37: Instances/Application Servers of an SAP System (Example)
When you install an SAP system, you already have the option of separating the processes at
application level from processes at database level. Therefore, the database for an SAP system
can be installed and operated on a separate host, separated from the application servers of
the SAP system. There is (usually) exactly one database for each SAP system. The database
usually has the same SAP system ID (DB SID) as the SAP system (SAP SID).
The following factors have an influence on the application server design of an SAP system:
●
Release of the SAP system (due to architecture changes throughout the releases)
●
Installed usage type of the SAP system (AS ABAP or AS Java)
●
Decision of the SAP customer (scalability, high availability)
The installation options are:
●
●
●
AS ABAP-based SAP system:Complete infrastructure in which ABAP-based applications
can be developed and used.
AS Java-based SAP system:Complete infrastructure for developing and using Java EEbased applications.
AS ABAP+AS Java-based SAP system (dual stack):
Complete infrastructure in which
ABAP- and Java EE-based applications can be developed and used. Such a system should
only be installed if explicitly required by the application, for example, for SAP Solution
Manager 7.1.
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Unit 3: SAP System Kernel
Note:
Dual stack systems are not supported any longer since SAP NetWeaver 7.5!
SAP System Processes
The SAP runtime system consists of a large number of parallel processes that work together.
Here, you can distinguish between the runtime environment for ABAP (AS ABAP) and the
runtime environment for Java (AS Java).
AS ABAP Architecture and Processes
The figure“AS ABAP Architecture”shows the architecture of an AS ABAP based SAP system:
Figure 38: AS ABAP Architecture
The Primary Application Server (PAS) is the application server that was first installed for the
SAP system. If an AS ABAP-based SAP system does not have a central service instance, then
the PAS also includes the enqueue work process and the message server.
The PAS is located at file system level at
\usr\sap\<SID>\D<instance_number>.
Note:
In older releases the PAS was located at
\usr\sap\<SID>
\DVEBMGS<instance_number>.
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Lesson: Explaining the Basic Architecture of SAP NetWeaver AS
The central services instance provides central services of AS ABAP, the message service, and
the enqueue service. The central services instance is optional on AS ABAP-based SAP
systems from AS ABAP 7.00 and it is the default installation option as of AS ABAP 7.31. You
cannot log on to the central services instance as a dialog user. The central services instance is
not called an application server.
The central services instance is located at file system level \usr\sap\<SID>
at
\ASCS<instance_number>.
All other application servers of an SAP system are called Additional Application Servers
(AAS).
An AAS is located at file system level at
\usr\sap\<SID>\D<instance_number>.
If the PAS and database (and the central services instance, if any) are installed on the same
host, this is called a central system.
Hint:
In AS ABAP 7.0 and later, the enqueue work process and message server can
optionally be installed as the central services instance. This is the default
installation option in AS ABAP 7.31 and later.
The following changes to architecture and terminology were introduced with AS ABAP 7.10:
●
The formercentral instancewas renamed asPrimary Application Server (PAS)
●
The formerdialog instancewas renamed asAdditional Application Server (AAS)
Optionally, an integrated SAP Web Dispatcher and an integrated RFC GW can be installed as
part of the central services instance.
The application server that is installed first is often referred to as the Primary Application
Server or PAS for short. Further application servers for a system are referred to as Additional
Application Servers or AAS for short.
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Unit 3: SAP System Kernel
Figure 39: AS ABAP Processes
In AS ABAP, the processes on every application server include the ABAP dispatcher and a
number of work processes:
●
●
●
●
●
●
The ABAP dispatcherdistributes
dispatcher
the requests to the work processes.
Dialog work processesfulfill all requests for the execution of dialog steps triggered by an
active user. Every dispatcher requires at least two dialog work processes.
Background work processesexecute programs that run without interacting with the user.
You need at least two background work processes for each SAP system. You can configure
more than one background work process for each dispatcher.
Update work processesexecute update requests. Similarly to spool work processes, you
need at least one update work process per SAP system, and you can configure more than
one per dispatcher.
Spool work processespass
processes
sequential data flows on to output devices (printers). At least
one spool work process is required for each SAP system. It is possible to configure more
than one spool work process per dispatcher.
The enqueue work processadministers the lock table in the host’s working memory. The
lock table contains the logical database locks of the ABAP runtime environment of the SAP
system. Only one enqueue work process is needed for each SAP system. If a central
services instance is used, then as an
e nqueue server, the enqueue is a process of the
enqueue
central services instance,not
not a dispatcher work process.
To summarize, the dispatcher of an AS ABAP manages different types of work processes:
dialog, background, update, and spool work processes. These work processes take on
different tasks when executing the business workflows in the SAP system.
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Lesson: Explaining the Basic Architecture of SAP NetWeaver AS
The administrator of an SAP system can use profile parameters to configure the number of
different work processes.
In addition to the work processes, the AS ABAP runtime system provides additional services
(these are not work processes) for internal and external communication:
●
●
●
●
The ABAP Message Server(MS) handles communication between the distributed
dispatchers within the AS ABAP, enabling scalability of several parallel application servers.
It is configured exactly once for each SAP system and may be part of the central services
instance.
The Enqueue Server(ES)
Server
manages the lock table with the logical database locks of the
ABAP runtime environment of the SAP system. It exists once for each SAP system and is
part of the central services instance.
The RFC gatewayreader
gateway
(GW) enables communication between SAP systems or between
SAP systems and external application systems. There is one per dispatcher.
The Internet Communication Manager( ICM) enables the communication with the SAP
system using web protocols such as HTTP, HTTPS, and SMTP. The ICM receives requests
from the client and forwards them to the SAP system for processing. It can also direct
HTTP requests from an SAP system to a Web server and send the response back to the
SAP system. There is one ICM process per dispatcher.
Note:
To display an overview of the application servers of an AS ABAP installation, call
transactionSM51.
Call transactionSM50 to obtain an overview of the work processes of the SAP
system. The initial screen of this transaction only displays the work processes that
are configured on the instance on which your logon session is running.
The AS ABAP Message Server provides the AS ABAP with a central message service for
internal communication (for example, for starting updates, requesting and removing locks,
triggering background requests). The message server also provides information on which
application servers of the system are currently available.
The ABAP dispatchers of the individual application servers communicate via the message
server, which is installed exactly once per SAP system.
When you log on to the AS ABAP using the SAP GUI for Windows or the SAP GUI for Java
using logon groups, the message server performs a load distribution of users to the available
instances. This load distribution, which takes place during the logon procedure, is also known
as logon load balancing. After the load balancing by the message server, the SAP GUI
communicates directly with the dispatcher. The user remains logged on to this application
server until log off.
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Unit 3: SAP System Kernel
Note:
To display an overview of users who are logged on to the same application server
you are, call transactionSM04.
To see which application server you are logged on to, choose
System→ Status.
As of AS ABAP 7.40, you can also see all the users logged on system-wide in
transactionSM04.
If you are accessing the AB ABAP via Web protocols such as HTTP using the browser, the
Internet Communication Manager (ICM) receives the request. This forwards the request to
the dispatcher of its application server.
Communication from other SAP systems via Remote Function Call (RFC) is accepted by the
Gateway Reader (GW).
AS Java Architecture and Processes
The figure“AS Java Architecture”shows the architecture of an AS Java-based SAP systems,
with AS Java 7.10 and newer:
Figure 40: AS Java Architecture
The PAS is located at file system level at
\usr\sap\<SID>\J<instance_number>.
The central services instance is located at file system level \usr\sap\<SID>
at
\SCS<instance_number>.
An AAS is located at file system level at
\usr\sap\<SID>\J<instance_number>.
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Lesson: Explaining the Basic Architecture of SAP NetWeaver AS
If the PAS and database (and the central services instance) are installed on the same host,
this is called a central system.
The following changes to architecture and terminology were introduced with AS Java 7.10:
●
The formercentral instancewas renamed asPrimary Application Server (PAS)
●
The formerdialog instancewas renamed asAdditional Application Server (AAS)
●
The Java Dispatcher was replaced by the ICM process.
●
The SDM process has been eliminated.
●
The (Java) central services instance comprises a gateway process.
Figure 41: AS Java Processes
The following processes exist in an AS Java based SAP system, starting from AS Java 7.10:
●
●
●
●
The Internet Communication Manager( ICM) distributes incoming requests to the server
processes. In releases before AS Java 7.10, the
Java dispatcherperformed
Java
dispatcher
this task.
The server processexecutes
process
the Java applications. Every server process is multi-threaded,
which means it can process queries in parallel. Each ICM can have between one and 16
server processes.
The Javamessage
message servicemanages
service
a list of server processes. It is responsible for the
communication within the Java runtime environment.
The Javaenqueue
enqueue servicemanages
service
logical locks that are set by the executed Java
application program in a server process.
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●
The RFC gatewayreader
gateway
(GW) enables communication between SAP systems or between
SAP systems and external application systems. It exists once in each SAP system (in the
central services instance).
Note:
The entirety of the Java environment (all processes and the database scheme) is
also referred to aJava cluster, and the individual processes (ICM and server) as
nodes of the Java cluster.
You can get an overview of started Java processes (Java dispatcher and Java server
processes) via thesystem informationof the Java runtime environment ((http://<Host
name>:<Java dispatcher HTTP port of the Instance>/sap/monitoring/SystemInfo, for
examplehttp://smhost.wdf.sap.corp:59000→ System Information)
Analogous to the AS ABAP, the message service of the AS Java provides a central message
service for internal communication. The Java message service also provides the information
about which application servers and nodes of the AS Java are available. Each node of the Java
cluster can communicate directly with the message service.
In the AS Java, the enqueue service holds logical locks. Each node of the Java cluster can
communicate directly with the enqueue service.
When the AS Java is accessed using a browser, the ICM receives requests, which are then
processed by the server processes.
AS ABAP+Java Processes (AS ABAP+Java 7.03 and older)
In the past there were AS ABAP+Java based SAP systems. For the AS ABAP+Java (meaning
ABAP and Java processes in the same SAP system, under the same SAP system ID), the
same architectural principles apply as for separate AS ABAP and AS Java systems. However,
some special features apply.
Note:
The AS ABAP+Java was also called d
aual-stacksystem.
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Lesson: Explaining the Basic Architecture of SAP NetWeaver AS
Figure 42: AS ABAP+Java (Release 7.03 and Older), such as SAP Solution Manager 7.1
Since both runtime environments are capable of answering requests via Web protocols, the
Internet Communication Manager can decide whether the request is addressed to the AS
ABAP or the AS Java runtime environment. It decides this with the URL of the request. In a
request to the AS ABAP runtime environment, for example, the call of an ABAP Web Dynpro,
the ICM forwards the request to the ABAP dispatcher and the work processes respond to the
request. If the request is a request for the Java runtime environment, for example, the call of a
Java Server Page (JSP), the ICM forwards the request to the AS Java and one of the server
processes responds to the request.
In an AS ABAP+Java-based SAP system, data is also kept in separate database schemas (but
in the same database). That is, only the AS ABAP work processes can access AS ABAP data
and only the AS Java server processes can access AS Java data. In the data exchange, both
runtime environments then communicate using the SAP Java Connector (SAP JCo). This
communication is necessary, for example, if billing data that is stored in the AS ABAP data
schema is supposed to be displayed in an AS Java user interface.
The SAP JCo is integrated in the AS Java and is also used when an AS Java system needs to
communicate with a remote AS ABAP system.
LESSON SUMMARY
You should now be able to:
●
Define the term instance/application server
●
Name the processes of the SAP NetWeaver Application Server
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Unit 3
Lesson 2
Describing AS ABAP
LESSON OVERVIEW
This lesson discusses how the SAP NetWeaver Application Server ABAP (SAP NetWeaver AS
ABAP) works. The processes are introduced and it is explained how they work.
Business Example
Your company has decided to implement SAP ERP. The business core functions such as
accounting in SAP ERP are processed by the ABAP runtime environment. For the employees
in the different, rather technical departments (development, SAP system administration,
work preparation, security, and so on) it is therefore important that they understand how SAP
NetWeaver AS ABAP works in more detail.
LESSON OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
●
Describe how requests to AS ABAP are processed
●
List the AS ABAP processes and describe their purpose
Processing of Requests in AS ABAP
The users can log on to the SAP system using the SAP GUI or a web client (browser), for
example.
Request Processing in the SAP GUI
Users can log on through the (ABAP) message server (load balancing) or they can log on
directly on the ABAP dispatcher, the work processes execute the user entries.
The processing of a user request in AS ABAP, as outlined in the figure
“Processing a User
Request”involves different processes on all three layers (presentation, application, and
database layer).
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Lesson: Describing AS ABAP
Figure 43: Processing a User Request
The screen entries of a user are accepted by a front-end software, for example, the SAP GUI
(SAP Graphical User Interface), converted to an internal format and forwarded to AS ABAP.
The (ABAP) dispatcher is a central process of AS ABAP. It manages the resources for the
applications written in ABAP in coordination with the respective operating system. The main
tasks of the ABAP dispatcher include the distribution of the requests to its work processes,
the integration of the presentation layer and the organization of communication activities.
The dispatcher first saves the processing requests in request queues and then processes
them according to the first in, first out principle.
The ABAP dispatcher distributes the requests one after the other to the available work
processes. Data is actually processed in the work process, although the user who created the
request using the SAP GUI is not always assigned the same work process. There is no fixed
assignment of work processes to users. To process user requests, it is often necessary to
read data from the ABAP schema of the database or to write to it. For this, every work process
is connected directly to the ABAP schema of the database.
Once the process is complete, the result from the work process is sent via dispatcher back to
the SAP GUI. The SAP GUI interprets this data and generates the output screen for the user.
The buffers help to speed up processing of user requests. Data that is read but seldom
changed (for example, programs or customizing data such as currencies or company codes)
can be kept as a copy of the database content in the shared memory of the application server.
This means that the data does not have to be read from the database every time it is needed,
but can be called quickly from the buffer. Each instance has its own buffers.
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Unit 3: SAP System Kernel
Figure 44: Process Flow for Requests
Work processes execute the process logic of application programs. In addition to internal
memory, a work process has a task handler that coordinates the actions within a work
process, software processors, and a database interface. The dynpro processor executes the
screen flow logic of the application program, calls processing logic modules, and transfers
field content to the processing logic. The actual processing logic of ABAP application
programs is executed by the ABAP interpreter. The screen processor tells the ABAP
processor which subprogram are to be executed, depending on the processing status of the
screen flow logic.
The dialog work process selected by the dispatcher, performs a roll-in of the user context
first. That is, the data that contains the current processing status of a running program as well
as data that characterizes the user is made known to the work process. The work process
then processes the user request, which may involve, for example, requesting data from the
database or from the buffers in the shared memory. Once the dialog work process has
processed the dialog step, the work process returns the result, rolls the user context back out
to the shared memory, and is now available again for a new user request from the request
queue. The result is transferred to the SAP GUI and the user sees the new screen.
Database Interface of AS ABAP
Relational Database Management Systems (RDBMS) are generally used to manage large sets
of data. An RDBMS saves data and relationships between data in the form of two-dimensional
tables. These are known for their logical simplicity. Data, tables, and table relationships are
defined at database level in the database catalog (the data dictionary) of the RDBMS.
Within the SAP programming language ABAP, you can use ABAP Open SQL (SQL =
Structured Query Language, database query language) to access the application data in the
database, regardless of the RDBMS used. The database interface, which is part of every work
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Lesson: Describing AS ABAP
process of AS ABAP, translates Open SQL statements from ABAP into the corresponding SQL
statements for the specific database used (Native SQL). This allows ABAP programs to be
database-independent.
Note:
ABAP Open SQL is a database query language based on the (ISO) SQL standard
that also contains enhancements that are not included in the standard.
When interpreting Open SQL statements, the SAP database interface checks the syntax of
these statements and ensures the optimal utilization of the local SAP buffers in the shared
memory of the application server. Data that is frequently required by the applications is
stored in these buffers so that the system does not have to access the database server to
read this data. In particular, all technical data, such as ABAP programs, screens, and ABAP
Dictionary information, as well as a number of business administration parameters, usually
remain unchanged in an operational system and are therefore ideally suited to buffering.
Figure 45: Database Query Flow
In ABAP, it is still possible to send native SQL commands directly to the database. As of AS
ABAP 6.10, the ABAP Database Connectivity Framework (ADBC) is available for this. The
specified commands are neither checked for correctness by the ABAP interpreter nor
processed by the database interface (the local buffers therefore cannot be taken into
account). If you use native SQL, the database independence of the used programs is no
longer guaranteed.
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Unit 3: SAP System Kernel
Note:
Regardless of the AS ABAP release, you can also use an
EXEC SQL.- END EXEC.
Container to send native SQL commands to the database.
Dialog Request Processing
The execution of dialog requests is characterized by the following:
●
●
●
A program dialog step is assigned to one specific dialog work process during execution.
The individual dialog steps for a program consisting of several screens can be executed by
different dialog work processes during program runtime. This is called work process
multiplexing.
A dialog work process sequentially processes dialog steps for various users and programs.
This is illustrated in the figure“Dialog Work Process Multiplexing”
.
Figure 46: Dialog Work Process Multiplexing
SAP application programs differentiate between user interaction and processing logic. The
user actions are technically realized using screens, also called
dynpros (from dynamic
programs), which consist of a screen image and the underlying flow logic. The Dynpro
processor of the work process executes the screen flow logic of the application program, calls
processing logic modules, and transfers field content to the processing logic. The screen flow
logic itself is further divided intoPBO (Process Before Output), which is processed before the
screen image is sent, andPAI (Process After Input), which is processed after a user
interaction on the screen. The PAI part of a dialog step logically belongs to the preceding
screen image, while the PBO part logically belongs to the subsequent screen image. The
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Lesson: Describing AS ABAP
actual processing logic of ABAP programs is executed by the ABAP interpreter. The screen
processor tells the ABAP processor the subprogram that needs to be executed, depending on
the processing status of the screen flow logic.
If, during a dialog step, data needs to be exchanged with the database or the buffers, then this
exchange takes place through the database interface, which enables access to database
tables, ABAP programs or the ABAP Dictionary among other things.
Transactional Processing in AS ABAP
The Term Transaction
Transactions are processing units grouped to provide specific units. They have four principal
characteristics. The initial letters of these characteristics together form the acronym
ACID.
ACID
A transaction is characterized by the following attributes:
●
Atomic
●
Consistent
●
Isolated
●
Durable
Atomic means that a transaction is either fully successful or does not have any effects at all. If
a transaction-oriented system goes down, you need to ensure that inconsistent, partial
results are not stored.
Consistent means that the system status changes from one that is accurate and consistent in
business terms to another that is also accurate and consistent in business terms.
Isolated means that the changes made within a transaction can only be seen by other
transactions, even those that run simultaneously, after the final confirmation (Commit).
The results of a transaction aredurable
durablebecause after the final confirmation they are stored
permanently in the database.
Database Transactions and ABAP Transactions
Every work process is connected to a specific communication partner at database level for
the duration of the application server’s runtime. Work processes cannot exchange
communication partners at runtime. This is why a work process can only make changes to the
database within one database transaction.
A database transaction is, in accordance with the ACID principle, a non-divisible sequence of
database operations, at the beginning and end of which the dataset on the database must be
consistent. The beginning and end of a database transaction are defined by a commit
command (database commit) to the database system. During a database transaction
(between two commit commands), the database system itself ensures that the dataset is
consistent. The database system itself takes on the task of restoring the dataset to its
previous state after a transaction has terminated with an error (rollback).
Business transactions are processing units grouped to provide a specific function; these
processing units execute changes to the database that are consistent and make sense in
business terms. Typical examples are credit and debit updates, which only make sense
together, or creating an order and reserving the relevant materials. Correspondingly, an AS
ABAP transaction is defined as a non-divisible business process that must either be executed
completely or not at all. AS ABAP transactions are implemented as sequences of logically
related dialog steps that are consistent in business terms. A user dialog step is represented
by a screen image.
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Unit 3: SAP System Kernel
Figure 47: Relationship between Database Transactions and SAP Transactions
SAP transactions are not necessarily executed within one single dialog work process. Within a
transaction that changes data on the database, the user requests database changes using the
displayed individual screens. Once the transaction is complete, the changes must result in a
consistent database status. The individual dialog steps can be processed by different work
processes (work process multiplexing), and each work process sequentially handles dialog
steps for unrelated applications. Applications whose dialog steps are executed by the same
work process one after the other cannot run within the same database transaction if they are
not related to each other. Therefore, a work process must start a new database transaction
for each dialog step.
The relationship between database transactions and SAP transactions is illustrated in the
graphic“Relationship between Database Transactions and SAP Transactions”
.
Lock Management
To ensure data consistency within an SAP system, you must ensure that data records cannot
be accessed and changed by more than one user at any one time. To do this, the SAP system
has its own lock management concept.
From a database perspective, every dialog step forms a physical and logical unit: The
database transaction. The database lock administration can only coordinate this type of
database transaction. From an SAP point of view, however, this is not sufficient, because SAP
transactions, which are formed from a sequence of logically related work steps that are
consistent in business terms, are generally made up of several dialog steps. SAP systems
need to have their own lock management. This is implemented using the enqueue process.
This also ensures that the platform-independence of lock management is maintained.
The SAP lock concept works on the principle that SAP programs make lock entries for data
records to be processed in a lock table. Lock entries can only be made if none already exist for
the table entries to be locked.
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Lesson: Describing AS ABAP
The lock table is located in the main memory of the application server with the enqueue
process. The enqueue process manages the logical locks of the SAP transactions in the lock
table.
The enqueue process can be implemented in one of the following ways:
●
●
As a work process (default installation option up to AS ABAP 7.30)
As part of the ABAP central service instance (ASCS, default installation option as of AS
ABAP 7.31)
Since AS ABAP 7.0, it has been possible to choose between these two options. The ASCS
option is preferred for reasons of high availability, for example.
Figure 48: Lock Management in AS ABAP
If a user wants change access to data, the executing dialog work process requests a lock (to
do so, the application developer must program this request explicitly).
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Note:
The following applies only if the enqueue work process is used as the installation
option: If a dialog request is processed on the enqueue work process, the dialog
work process can access the lock table directly. It now checks whether a new lock
can be generated; that is, whether there is a collision with locks that have already
been set. If a lock can be set, the dialog work process creates it and the user (lock
owner) is given the lock key. The lock key is kept in the user context in the shared
memory.
If the dialog work process that processes the user request and the enqueue work
process are not running on the same application server, these two processes
communicate through the message server. In this case, the lock request is
forwarded from the dialog work process to the enqueue work process via the
dispatchers and the message server. The enqueue work process now checks
whether a lock can be set. If this is possible, the lock is set by the enqueue work
process and the lock key transferred to the requesting dialog work process via
dispatcher and message server.
When the lock is requested, the system checks whether the requested lock conflicts with
existing entries in the lock table. If the lock table already contains corresponding entries, the
lock request is refused. The application program can then inform the user that the requested
operation cannot currently be executed.
The application developer can choose between different lock modes:
●
●
●
●
Write locks (lock modeExclusive); the lock data can be edited only by one user. The
requests for another write lock and another read lock are rejected. A write lock protects
the locked objects against all types of other transactions. Only the same lock owner can
set the lock again (cumulate).
Read locks (lock modeShared); several users can have read access to the locked data at
the same time. The requests for additional read locks are accepted, even if they are from
other users. A write lock is rejected.
Enhanced write locks (lock modeexclusive noncumulative); while write locks can be
successively requested and released by the same transaction, an enhanced write lock can
only be requested once, even by the same transaction. All other requests for locks are
rejected.
Optimistic locks (lock modeOptimistic); optimistic locks respond like read lock at first and
can be changed to write locks. An optimistic lock is set if the user displays the data in
change mode. Optimistic locks on the same object do not collide. If the user wants to save
the (changed) data, the optimistic lock must be changed to a write lock (mode E). (This
fails if someone set a non-optimistic lock on the object before.) Other optimistic locks on
the object are deleted in the process.
Locks set by an application program are either released by the application program itself or
by the update program once the database has been changed. Locks that have been passed on
to an update work process, are also written to a file at operating system level and can
therefore be restored if the enqueue server goes down.
Transaction SM12 (Tools→ Administration→ Monitor→ Lock Entries) displays the locks that
are currently held. If a lock has already been inherited to the update process, the
backup flag
has also been set. Such a lock will also be included in the lock table again after restarting the
enqueue server.
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Lesson: Describing AS ABAP
There are two ways of deleting locks held by users:
●
Ending the user session in the user overview (transaction
SM04)
●
Manually deleting the lock entries inSM12
The first method (ending the user session) also results in the original lock owner leaving the
transaction and releasing all locks held. The second method (manually deleting using
SM12)
merely deletes the lock entry from the lock table. This theoretically enables several users to
change the same data records simultaneously.
Caution:
Before deleting locks using transactionSM04, the SAP system administrator
must first check whether the user who owns the lock is still logged on to the SAP
system. Only delete lock entries with transaction
SM12 if the lock owner is no
longer logged on to the SAP system but still owns the lock (for example, if the
connection between SAP GUI and the SAP system has been broken because the
user has switched off his or her front-end computer without logging off from the
SAP system).
Update
In the SAP system, a business process is mapped using an SAP transaction that can contain
several screen changes (for example, the creation of an order). Data changes effected by this
process are supposed to be executed completely or not at all in the database. If the operation
is terminated during the transaction or an error occurs, the transaction is not supposed to
make any database changes at all. The SAP update system, which is described below, takes
care of this.
The update system also offers increased security, performance and restorability in the
execution of database changes.
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Unit 3: SAP System Kernel
Figure 49: The Principle of Asynchronous Updates
The updating system allows SAP transactions to off-load time-intensive database changes.
These are then carried out asynchronously in special update work processes. It also
circumvents the roll-back problems caused by the difference in the concept of the logical unit
of work (LUW) in an SAP transaction and in the database.
If, during a dialog work process, data temporarily stored for processing is passed to an update
work process for further processing, the dialog work process does not wait for the update
request to be completed: The update is asynchronous (not simultaneous). The asynchronous
update process is illustrated in the figure
“The Principle of Asynchronous Updates”
.
The dialog part is completed with the ABAP command
COMMIT WORK; the update part of the
transaction starts: The update server transfers the update request to an update work
process. Here, each dialog step corresponds to a database transaction (which is executed
either completely or not at all in the database and they’re completed withCOMMIT
a
command). The update part of the SAP transaction is executed in a database transaction. It is
only then that the data is copied to the application tables.
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Lesson: Describing AS ABAP
Figure 50: The Asynchronous Update Process
If users want to change a data record in an SAP transaction, they call the corresponding
transaction in the dialog, make the appropriate entries on the screens and then initiate the
update process by saving the data. This process triggers the following steps:
1. The program locks the data record for other users. The program does this by addressing
the enqueue work process (using the message server if appropriate). The enqueue work
process makes the relevant entry in the lock table or (if another user has already locked
the data) informs the user that the data record cannot currently be changed.
2. If the enqueue work process succeeded in writing the lock entry to the lock table, it passes
the lock key it created to the user, the program reads the record to be changed from the
database and the user can change the record on the screen image of the SAP transaction.
3. In the current dialog work process, the program calls a function module using
CALL
FUNCTION ... IN UPDATE TASK and writes the update request to database update tables.
These are also called VB* tables, because their names begin with
“VB”. They act as
temporary memory and store the data to be changed until it can be collected and written
to the application tables in the database (in a single database transaction).
4. At the end of the dialog part of the transaction (for example, when the user saves the data
– possibly after completing other dialog steps), the program initiates the close of the
transaction with theCOMMIT WORK statement. The work process that is handling the
active dialog step completes the update header and triggers an update work process.
5. Based on the information (key of the update request, lock key) transferred from the dialog
work process, the update work process reads the log records that belong to this SAP
transaction from the VB* tables.
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6. The update work process transfers the changes marked and collected in the VB* tables to
the database as an update request and evaluates the database response. If the changes
were successfully written to the target tables, the update work process triggers a
database commit after the last change to the database and deletes the entries from the
VB* tables. If an error occurs, the update work process triggers a database rollback,
leaves the log records in the VB* tables and marks them as defective.
7. The lock entries in the lock table are reset.
Note:
The application developer decides whether and how to use asynchronous updates
while programming the transaction. Besides the asynchronous update, there are
some other update techniques (for example, synchronous or local).
To increase performance further, application developers can configure different
types of updates:
●
●
●
Time-critical, primaryV1
V1 updates.
updates They are relevant to objects that have a
controlling function in the SAP system, such as a change to the material stock
or an order creation.
Non-time-critical, secondaryV2
V2 updatesthat
updates
depend on the V1 updates. These
are, for example, purely statistical updates such as the calculation of results.
Non-time-critical updates that are collected and processed at a later point in
time (collective
collective run).
The V1 modules for an SAP transaction are processed sequentially in a single
update work process. If your SAP system has a work process for V2 updates (type
UP2), then V2 modules will only be updated there. Once it has successfully
completed processing, the V1 update work process releases the relevant locks
again. This means that the“normal”update work processes are available again
more quickly for time-critical V1 updates, and that the relevant lock entries are
deleted sooner. If you have not configured any V2 update work processes, then
the V1 work process handles all updates.
In the collective run, the modules are not updated automatically but only when a
special program R
( SM13005) triggers the update. All calls of the function modules
are then collected, aggregated and updated at once. In doing so they are handled
like V2 update modules.
If an error occurs during an update, then processing of the active update component
terminates. Users can be notified automatically by express mail when an update terminates.
If a dialog work process terminates while writing data to the VB* tables, the tables contain
data that will not be updated. These entries can be automatically deleted the next time you
start the SAP system or they can be deleted manually. The application tables remain
unchanged.
An asynchronous update may terminate for various reasons. If, for example, several attempts
are made to enter the same data record (using insert) in a table, this triggers the exception
condition “Duplicate Key”in the coding because an entry already exists in the table under this
key. Therefore, the corresponding data record cannot be written to the database table more
than once.
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Lesson: Describing AS ABAP
When an update terminates, the system sends an express mail to the user who triggered the
update. Any additional steps must be carried out by the SAP system administrator.
Transaction SM13 (update requests) provides system administrators with analysis tools to
handle the terminated updates. Once the error that caused the termination has been
corrected (for example, hardware damage repaired), the end user should restart the
processing.
Printing
SAP systems provide a wide variety of options for representing business and other data. This
data, created and formatted in a dialog step, can then be sent to printers and other output
interfaces (fax, e-mail, and so on). A printer must first be set up in the SAP system before it
can be addressed.
You can select a printer that has already been set up by choosing the print icon (Ctrl + P),
then using the input help. A standard printer is usually set as default in your user profile.
Once a printer has been set up, the SAP system has all the information it needs to be able to
create a spool request.
A spool request contains information about data to be output, its formatting, and the printer
model used. The spool request generated is stored in the TemSe (temporary sequential file).
Hint:
Spool requests can be created by dialog work processes or by background work
processes. Spool work processes do not create spool requests.
Figure 51: Printing in AS ABAP
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Unit 3: SAP System Kernel
As you can see from the figure“Printing in AS ABAP”, a spool work process formats the data
specified in the spool request and creates an output request. The output request contains all
data in an appropriate format for the printer. This data can either be passed on to an
appropriate operating system spool process locally (on the same computer) or remotely
(over a network connection).
Note:
In an SAP system, the connection between a spool work process and the
operating system spool process is known as the access method. There are more
access methods than the two displayed above. These are the two most commonly
used access methods for connecting printers to SAP systems. In this context,
remote or local do not refer to the physical location of the output but to the place
where the spool work process is connected to the operation system spool
process.
For print processing, the best performance is achieved by sending the data to be printed to
the operating system as soon as possible. You do this using the local access method. The
operating system then performs all remaining tasks, such as queuing and data transfer to the
selected printer.
Hint:
One minor but indispensable requirement for printing from SAP systems is that
each selectable printer allows printing at operating system level.
You can display your spool and output requests by choosing transaction
SP02.
You can specify personal settings for printing on the
Defaults tab page in theSpool Control
section, by choosingSystem → User Profile→ Own Data(transaction codeSU3).
Background Processing
SAP background processing is a method for automating routine tasks and for optimizing the
use of your organization’s SAP computing resources. In background processing, you instruct
the SAP System to run programs for you. You can use background processing to execute
long-running or resource-intensive programs at off peak times. As a result, you can assign the
SAP system the task of executing programs. There is no strain on your dialog resources and
programs running in the background are not subject to the runtime restrictions of dialog
processing (termination of the program after a runtime of, for example, ten minutes).
The segregation of background processing to special work processes gives you an additional
dimension for separating background processing and interactive work. Normally, background
processing and interactive work in the SAP system take place at different times. For example,
the SAP system is used interactively during the day and background processing takes place
at night. You can use background work processes to separate background processing and
interactive work also by application servers because background jobs are only executed on
application servers that offer background processing.
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Lesson: Describing AS ABAP
Figure 52: Scheduling Background Tasks (Jobs)
The end user can usually schedule the program to be started in the background as a job from
the application transaction. The job thenwaits for the planned execution time in the job
scheduling table. If the time has come and free background work processes are available, the
job is distributed to a background work process by the background scheduler and then
executed. User can display the result in the application transaction or, in case of list
generating programs, look at the spool request belonging to the job (see
Printingsection). To
display your own jobs, chooseSystem→ Own Jobs(transaction codeSMX).
The SAP System Administration and the work preparation have access to a tool for
scheduling various background tasks with transaction
SM36. The system-wide monitoring of
jobs takes place with transactionSM37.
For cross-system scheduling and monitoring of background tasks, you can use SAP Central
Process Scheduling and other licensed partner products.
Communication Through the RFC Gateway
Each application server of an AS ABAP-based SAP system contains an RFC (Remote Function
Call) gateway. It is used for the communication between work processes of different
application servers or SAP systems as well as work processes and external programs. The
gateway reader (usually just called RFC gateway or gateway) is the main process of the
gateway system. The dispatcher starts it and checks it periodically.
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Unit 3: SAP System Kernel
Figure 53: RFC Gateway Communication
When Remote Function Call (RFC) or CPIC (Common Program Interface Communication) is
used to communicate between application servers of an SAP system or between SAP
systems themselves, the gateway is always involved. If a dialog work process has to establish
an RFC connection to a remote SAP system in the context of a request (for example, to
retrieve customer data), it uses a gateway to communicate with the remote SAP system. The
gateway forwards the request to the gateway of the remote SAP system. The remote gateway
then transfers the request to the dispatcher, which, in turn, forwards the request to one of its
work processes, which then communicates directly with its gateway.
Inbound RFC connections are therefore always received by the gateway while outbound
connections are initiated by the work process.
Processing Web Requests
The Internet Communication Manager (ICM) enables SAP systems to communicate using the
protocols like HTTP, HTTPS and SMTP. The ICM can process requests from the Internet
whose URLs contain its combination of server and port. HTTP(S) requests can be processed
in the ABAP work process (for example, ABAP Web Dynpro applications). The ICM can use
the URL to decide to where it forwards the request (if it cannot reply to the request from its
cache). If data is needed from the AS ABAP database, “memory pipes” are used to establish a
connection to a work process.
The ICM forwards it to the ABAP dispatcher, which then handles it like a typical SAP GUI
request (see previous section). The work process that processes the inquiry now
communicates directly with the ICM. The ICM returns the response to the user who sent the
request.
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Lesson: Describing AS ABAP
Figure 54: Communication between the ICM and the Work Processes
Since AS ABAP 6.10, the work processes have been able to directly generate Web-enabled
content, which can then be transferred to the inquiring browser front ends via the ICM.
The ICM enables various UI technologies to be used, for example SAPUI5, Web Dynpro ABAP
or Business Server Pages (BSP). The more recent technologies come at the top of this list.
Administration Tasks for AS ABAP
The transactions shown in figure“Common Administration Transactions”help you to deal
with daily SAP System Administration work. SAP system administrators should be familiar
with the use and interpretation of these transactions.
Figure 55: Common Administration Transactions
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Unit 3: SAP System Kernel
Transaction SM51 lets you display the application servers that are logged on to the SAP
message server. They represent the application servers of the SAP system. Their status
indicates which application servers are active in the SAP system.
Information in the application server display is as follows:
The following functions are available as menu items; important menu items also display as
buttons on the screen. You can navigate to other transactions from here:
●
Display and manage work processes (transaction
SM50)
Display and manage user sessions (transaction
SM04)
●
System logs (transactionSM21)
The following transactions are also available:
●
The gateway monitor (transactionSMGW)
●
The ICM monitor (transactionSMICM)
●
The OS monitor (ST06)
to name just a few.
Hint:
The application server used to call these transactions depends on which
application server is selected from the list:
Transaction SM50 shows a snapshot of the work process status of the application server
where you are logged on. You refresh the display to receive updated information. The process
overview is intended primarily for information-gathering. For example, you can monitor
processes to determine whether the number of work processes in your system is adequate, to
assess whether the application server is working to full capacity, to gather information for
troubleshooting, or for tuning.
Hint:
Since AS ABAP 7.40, you can also display all the work processes system-wide in
SM50: Goto → System-Wide List. This now corresponds to transactionSM66.
Note:
A new feature as of AS ABAP 7.40 is the priority of queries:
●
High: Priority for online sessions and internal system processes
●
Normal: Priority for RFC calls from within online sessions
●
Low: Priority for background processing (batch) and RFC calls of background
programs (batch jobs)
Transaction SM04 enables you to display all the users who are logged on to this application
server in the SAP system. As of AS ABAP 7.40, you can also use transaction
SM04 to display
all the active users system-wide.
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Lesson: Describing AS ABAP
Hint:
As of AS ABAP 7.40, you can also display all users that are logged on to the
system in transactionSM04: Goto → System-Wide List. This now corresponds to
transactionAL08.
The user maintenance transactionSU01)
(
enables you to maintain individual master records.
The user administrator can use it to create new user master records or administer existing
user master records, for example, assign new roles and authorization profiles.
For the mass maintenance of users, you can use transaction
SU10.
You can use transactionSM36 to create background jobs in the SAP system.
Transaction SM37 enables you to display an overview of the background jobs in the SAP
system.
You can use transactionSM21 to analyze the system log.
You can manage lock entries in the lock table of the enqueue work process using transaction
SM12. Lock management is used to monitor the lock logic in the SAP system. It lets you
determine which locks are currently set.
Update management (transactionSM13) lets you perform the following tasks:
●
Display update requests
●
Analyze problems relating to the update
●
Test and clean up canceled update requests
●
Display and reset the status of update requests
●
Delete update requests
●
Display statistics for the update task
This function provides you with an overview of the update requests and a tool to investigate
any problems that may have occurred. It does not display requests that have been updated
successfully.
In addition to the alerts, the SAP system sends express mails to each user whose updates are
canceled, indicating the update error. The mail is sent in the SAP system in which the problem
occurred.
If you want to send a message to all users in your SAP system, you can use transaction
SM02
to send a system message. It is also possible to restrict the recipients to users of a certain
client, or users that are logged on to a particular application server. A message is only
displayed to the recipient once a day. The SAP system displays messages:
●
When a user logs on to the SAP system
●
As soon as a logged on user performs the next dialog step
Functions of the Computing Center Management System (CCMS)
The Computing Center Management System (CCMS) is a collection of integrated tools for
managing, running, and monitoring SAP systems.
The functions of the CCMS include:
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Unit 3: SAP System Kernel
●
Background processing and job monitoringSM37)
(
●
Configuration of the printer landscapeSPAD)
(
●
Tuning of the main memory areas of the SAP systemST02)
(
●
Database management (such as backup)DBACOCKPIT)
(
●
Configuration of SAP system profilesRZ10)
(
●
Dynamic load balancing SMLG)
(
●
SAP System Monitoring R
( Z20)
The call of these functions is located in the SAP menu tree under
Tools→ CCMS and is
structured in categories such as management and monitoring, configuration, DB
administration, printing, and background processing. The previous list shows only a few of the
available functions. SAP system administrators use many of these functions on a daily basis.
Addendum: ABAP Message Server
A single message server runs in each SAP system. It performs the following tasks in the SAP
system:
●
●
●
Central communication channel between the individual application servers of the SAP
system. This enables certain work process types to be used across all application servers
Load balancing of logons using SAP GUI and RFC with logon groups
Information point for the SAP Web Dispatcher and the application servers. Each
application server of the SAP system logs on to the message server first.
When an application server is started, the dispatcher process contacts the message server so
that it can announce the services it provides (DIA, BTC, SPO, UPD, and so on). If the
connection set up to the message server fails, an entry is made in the system log (syslog),
which you can analyze with transactionSM21.
If the message server stops working, it must be restarted as quickly as possible to ensure that
the SAP system continues to operate smoothly.
In some situations it can be important to check the (ABAP) message server of an SAP system
more precisely. There are several options for doing so. One is transaction
SMMS (Message
Server Monitor) in the AS ABAP, to monitor the message server. The initial screen of this
transaction displays the status of all active application servers, similar to transaction
SM51.
You can check and change all the important settings, generate and view trace files, read
statistics, and so on.
The following functions are available as menu items; important menu items are also displayed
as buttons on the screen.
●
●
●
Initial screen: The initial screen of this transaction displays the status of all active
application servers, similar to transaction
S M51
SM51.
Goto→ Logon Data→ Display: You will find information here about the available
communication logs and ports (for example, dialog, RFC, HTTP, SMTP, and so on)
Goto→ Hardware Keys shows the hardware key (also called the “customer key”) of the
message server hardware.
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Lesson: Describing AS ABAP
●
●
Goto→ Parameters→ Display provides comprehensive information about the message
server being used
Goto→ Trace→ File→ Display displays the trace file d
( ev_ms).
In addition, a number of programs are provided and available at the operating system level.
You can normally find the test programs in the kernel directory.
The msmon monitoring program provides the same functions as transaction
SMMS in the SAP
system.
You can use the lgtst test program to check the connection to the message server and to
display the active application servers and logon groups that the message server can currently
see.
You can use the msprot program to monitor the message server. The program continuously
issues the status of the application servers logged on the message server, and stops when the
message server is stopped. You are notified of the termination of the message server and can
respond to it.
LESSON SUMMARY
You should now be able to:
●
Describe how requests to AS ABAP are processed
●
List the AS ABAP processes and describe their purpose
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Unit 3
Lesson 3
Describing AS Java
LESSON OVERVIEW
This lesson discusses how the SAP NetWeaver Application Server Java (AS Java) works. The
processes are introduced and it is explained how they work.
Business Example
To consolidate your heterogeneous SAP system landscapes, your company has decided to
migrate Java EE applications, which were previously executed on a third-party Java EE server,
to AS Java.
LESSON OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
●
Describe how requests to AS Java are processed
●
List the AS Java processes and describe their purpose
Definition of Terms
As part of the SAP NetWeaver AS, SAP NetWeaver AS Java implements a Java EE server. The
following table shows the release dependencies:
Table 4: AS Java Release Dependencies
AS Java
Enterprise Edition
JDK
SAP JVM
7.50
Java EE 5
8 (1.8.0)
8.1
7.20, 7.30, 7.31, 7.40
Java EE 5
6 (1.6.0)
6.1
7.10, 7.11, 7.20
Java EE 5
5.0 (1.5.0)
5.1
7.00, 7.01, 7.02, 7.03
J2EE 1.3
1.4.2
4.1
6.40
J2EE 1.3
1.4.2
4.1
Concerning the explanation:
SAP NetWeaver
SAP's integration and application platform
AS Java
SAP NetWeaver AS Java, part of the SAP NetWeaver Application Server
Enterprise Edition
Officially Java Platform, Enterprise Edition
: Specifications for developing and operating
company-specific application
JDK
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Lesson: Describing AS Java
Java Development Kit: Software development kit developed by Sun/Oracle Java
applications
JRE
Java Runtime Environment: Runtime environment Java applications
SAP JVM
SAP Java Virtual Machine: Certified JVM/JDK provided by SAP for SAP applications
Request Processing in AS Java
The processing of a user request in AS Java, as outlined in the figure
“Request Processing in
AS Java”involves different processes on all three layers (presentation, application, and
database layer).
Figure 56: Request Processing in AS Java
A web browser is the standard user interface for AS Java. A user request for AS Java is usually
an HTTP(S) request that is received by the ICM. The ICM process forwards the processing
requests to one of the server processes of its application server.
The actual processing takes place in the server process, whereby the user who sent the
request is usually assigned the same server process again for the next request.
The server processes of AS Java are also called nodes. All processes of AS Java together with
the database schema form the Java cluster. In contrast to the work processes of the AS
ABAP, the server processes of the AS Java are multithreaded. This means that a server
process consists of many threads and one request can be processed in each thread. One
server process can therefore process many user request in parallel.
To process user requests it is often necessary to read data from the Java schema of the
database or to write to it. To do so, each server process is connected multiple times to the
Java schema of the database via a connection pool (DB pool).
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Unit 3: SAP System Kernel
Once processing is complete, the processing result from the server processes is returned to
the web browser via the ICM.
The buffers help to speed up processing of user requests. This means that the data does not
have to be read from the database every time it is needed, but can be called very quickly from
the buffer. Each server process has its own buffer.
Figure 57: Processing a Request
The server processes are split into different functional modules called managers and services.
The managers form the Java Enterprise Runtime. The Java Enterprise Runtime provides basic
core functions of AS Java. Alternatively known as a kernel.
Together with the interfaces and libraries, the services are called Java EE Engine
Components. The Java EE Engine Components provide programming interfaces (APIs) to the
applications; the applications can then use these APIs to access the AS Java functions.
In the case of an HTTP request, the ICM process uses a Java EE handler, to forward the
request to a server process of this application server.
The cluster manager of the server process receives the request and forwards it to the HTTP
provider service. In the web container service, the presentation logic of the application is then
processed. The Web container service provides the processing of servlets and JavaServer
Pages (JSP). The business structure logic of the application is processed in the form of EJB
beans in the EJB Container Service. If, in the processing of the request, data from the
database is required, the JDBC Connector Service is used to establish a connection to the
database, and the data is requested there. If the same table content has already been queried
by this server process, the content of the table buffer can be queried at application level (if
buffering is permitted for the table).
The response to the web browser using HTTP is then returned in the same way.
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Lesson: Describing AS Java
Transactional Processing in AS Java
The ACID concept has now been implemented in AS Java in the same way as in AS ABAP. In
AS Java, the Transaction Service is responsible for managing transactions. The two Java EE
standards Java Transaction API (JTA) and Java Transaction Service (JTS) are implemented
using the Transaction Service. Applications (application developers) can use the Java
Transaction Service with the JTA interface.
In the Java EE standard, much of the implementation of the transaction logic is left to the
respective database used. Hence, a transaction at application level often corresponds exactly
to one database transaction in the Java EE standard. The figure
“Transactions in AS Java”
illustrates the correlation using a JSP application as the example.
Figure 58: Transactions in AS Java
In AS Java, changes and entries in the user interface (in the web browser) are not made
persistent immediately in the database. When the user saves their entries, the Java
transaction is completed immediately and the data is made persistent in a database
transaction. A Java transaction thus consists of a database transaction.
Persistence
SAP has created Open SQL for Java framework for AS Java. Hence, Java application
developers have access to various database-independent programming techniques as well as
important functions for improved performance and trouble shooting.
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Unit 3: SAP System Kernel
Figure 59: Open SQL for Java
If the Java program is supposed to be portable, that is, run with a database other than the one
used originally, developers can choose between Open SQL/JDBC, Open SQL/SQLJ, EJB
(Enterprise JavaBeans) and JDO (Java Data Objects). If developers use Native SQL in the
program, they loose the portability and cannot use the table buffer of Open SQL Java
Frameworks.
Lock Management
The lock concept of the database is used in the Java EE standard. So if application developers
make sure that they implement database-independent database accesses, the application will
be portable but will respond semantically different on different database platforms. For this
reason and to improve response times, SAP introduced the concept of the enqueue service
analogous to AS ABAP.
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Lesson: Describing AS Java
Figure 60: Lock Management in AS Java
If a user wants change access to data, the executing server process requests a lock (to do so,
the application developer must program this request explicitly).
The application developer uses the interface of the Application Locking Service to request a
logical lock.
The request is forwarded to the Enqueue Server via the Locking Adapter Service and the
Locking Manager. The enqueue server now checks whether a new lock can be generated; that
is, whether there is a collision with locks that have already been set. If a lock can be set, the
dialog work process creates it and the user (lock owner) is given the lock key.
When the lock is requested, the system checks whether the requested lock conflicts with
existing entries in the lock table. If the lock table already contains corresponding entries, the
lock request is refused. The application program can then inform the user that the requested
operation cannot currently be executed.
AS Java Administration
There are also various administration tools available for AS Java, some of these tools are
listed in the figure“Tools for AS Java Administration”.
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Unit 3: SAP System Kernel
Figure 61: Tools for AS Java Administration
SAP NetWeaver Administrator combines the most important administration and monitoring
tools for AS Java systems in a browser-based user interface. For AS Java, SAP NetWeaver
Administrator marks the changeover from various different expert tools to an integrated,
simple, and clear solution. In addition to this, SAP NetWeaver Administrator completes the
integration of the data sources for monitoring. To start the SAP NetWeaver Administrator,
you can enter the following URL in the Web browser:
Http://<host name>:<port
number>/nwa.
●
●
<host name>: The fully qualified server name of on which the AS Java is installed.
<port number>: The HTTP port of the ICM (Internet Communication Manager. Syntax:
5<Java instance number>00. If the number of the Java instance is 60, for example, the
port number will be 56000. The application server you use to call SAP NetWeaver
Administrator is irrelevant. It can be used to administer the entire AS Java system.
SAP NetWeaver Administrator is divided into the following functional areas:
Functional Areas of SAP NetWeaver Administrator
●
Availability and performance (for example system overview, resource monitoring, process
monitoring)
●
Operations (for example application manager, start and stop)
●
Configuration (for example licenses, AS Java system properties, log configuration)
●
Error analysis (for example SAP system information, Java class loader, viewer)
●
SOA (for example destinations, JCo RFC provider)
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Lesson: Describing AS Java
Hint:
To work with SAP NetWeaver Administrator, the system user requires the
following authorizations:
●
●
NWA_READONLY (read authorization)
NWA_SUPERADMIN (write authorization for starting and stopping,
configuration changes, and so on)
In AS Java, the User Management Engine (UME) provides the required functions for managing
user master records. You can use the UME to set up and operate user and authorization
concepts for AS Java. The UME has its own administration console for user management
(UME console, see figure above). It allows the administrator to perform the routine tasks of
user administration, such as creating users and groups, role assignment, and other actions.
Security settings can be used to define password policies, such as minimum password length
and the number of incorrect logon attempts before a user is locked.
Note:
The Visual Administrator is a graphic user interface (GUI) that enables the
administration of all Java cluster elements (Java dispatcher, Java server) and all
the modules running on them. It enables remote monitoring and remote
configuration of Java's manager, services, interfaces, and libraries in one single
interface. This tool is no longer available as of AS Java 7.10. The Visual
Administrator has been replaced by the SAP NetWeaver Administrator.
The Config Tool enables the offline configuration of the cluster elements of Java. It enables
you to add and configure the properties of the individual Java cluster elements.
For more information, see the online documentation which is available on SAP Help Portal
(http://help.sap.com).
Related Information
●
SAP Education course: ADM800: AS Java – Administration
LESSON SUMMARY
You should now be able to:
●
Describe how requests to AS Java are processed
●
List the AS Java processes and describe their purpose
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Unit 3
Learning Assessment
1. What are the advantages of a three-tier client/server configuration as compared to a
single-tier or two-tier configuration?
Choose the correct answers.
X
A Simpler scalability
X
B Simpler administration
X
C Load balancing possible
2. Which AS ABAP process receives the user request?
Choose the correct answers.
X
A Work process
X
B ABAP dispatcher
X
C Server process
X
D SAP GUI
3. Which work process types are there in an AS ABAP system?
Choose the correct answers.
X
A Dialog work process
X
B Message Server
X
C Update work process
X
D Internet Communication Manager (ICM)
X
E Background work process
X
F Spool work process
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Unit 3: Learning Assessment
4. Which process enables the AS ABAP to communicate using the HTTP and SMTP
protocols?
Choose the correct answer.
X
A Dispatcher
X
B Gateway
X
C Internet Communication Manager
5. Which tool combines the most important administration and monitoring tools for AS Javabased systems in a browser-based user interface?
Choose the correct answer.
X
A Config Tool
X
B SAP NetWeaver Administrator
X
C Visual Administrator
X
D SAP Computing Center Management System
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Unit 3
Learning Assessment - Answers
1. What are the advantages of a three-tier client/server configuration as compared to a
single-tier or two-tier configuration?
Choose the correct answers.
X
A Simpler scalability
X
B Simpler administration
X
C Load balancing possible
Implementing an additional hardware layer for application processes makes it easier to
adapt an SAP system if the number of users changes (scalability), and to assign user
groups to specific application servers (software-oriented view), (load balancing). The
additional hardware layer does not, however, reduce the administrative workload.
2. Which AS ABAP process receives the user request?
Choose the correct answers.
X
A Work process
X
B ABAP dispatcher
X
C Server process
X
D SAP GUI
The ABAP dispatcher receives the user request on the AS ABAP and passes it on to an
available work process. The SAP presentation program, SAP GUI, is not part of the
application server (software-oriented view), and the server process is an AS Java process.
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Unit 3: Learning Assessment - Answers
3. Which work process types are there in an AS ABAP system?
Choose the correct answers.
X
A Dialog work process
X
B Message Server
X
C Update work process
X
D Internet Communication Manager (ICM)
X
E Background work process
X
F Spool work process
All of the above processes can in theory be configured on an AS ABAP. However, not all of
the above processes are work processes. The message server and ICM process are not
work processes.
4. Which process enables the AS ABAP to communicate using the HTTP and SMTP
protocols?
Choose the correct answer.
X
A Dispatcher
X
B Gateway
X
C Internet Communication Manager
You are correct. The ICM supports communication using the protocols HTTP(S) and
STMP. The Message Server does not support SMTP and the Gateway is used for RFCbased communication.
5. Which tool combines the most important administration and monitoring tools for AS Javabased systems in a browser-based user interface?
Choose the correct answer.
X
A Config Tool
X
B SAP NetWeaver Administrator
X
C Visual Administrator
X
D SAP Computing Center Management System
You are correct.SAP NetWeaver Administrator (NWA)combines the most important
administration and monitoring tools for AS Java-based systems in a browser-based user
interface. TheConfig Tool enables the offline configuration of the cluster elements of Java.
The Visual Administratoris a graphic user interface (GUI) that enables the administration
of all Java cluster elements. As of AS Java 7.10 it has been replaced by SAP NWA.
SAP
Computing Center Management Systemfinally offers tools for the administration and
monitoring of AS ABAP-based SAP systems.
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UNIT 4
Software Development
in SAP Systems
Lesson 1
Describing the Data Structure of an SAP System and Software Logistics
110
Lesson 2
Accessing and Editing ABAP Repository Objects
119
Lesson 3
Importing Transport Requests
133
Lesson 4
Introducing SAP NetWeaver Development Infrastructure (NWDI) and the Transport Process for 138
non-ABAP Applications
Lesson 5
Describing SAP UI Technologies
147
UNIT OBJECTIVES
●
Describe the data structure of the AS ABAP
●
Explain the basics of software logistics for SAP systems based on AS ABAP
●
Describe the three-system landscape recommended by SAP
●
Describe the procedure for transports
●
Name important tools in the ABAP Workbench
●
Access ABAP Repository objects
●
Write a simple ABAP program
●
Explain the significance of the ABAP Dictionary
●
Outline the two-level domain concept
●
Import transport requests
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108
●
●
●
●
Explain the differences between the single import and the mass import of transport
requests
List the individual components of SAP NetWeaver Development Infrastructure (NWDI)
Outline the integration of SAP NetWeaver Development Infrastructure in the enhanced
Change and Transport System
Gain an overview on SAP UI Technologies
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109
Unit 4
Lesson 1
Describing the Data Structure of an SAP
System and Software Logistics
LESSON OVERVIEW
This lesson presents the data structure of an SAP system based on AS ABAP. You learn the
effects of this data structure when developing separate objects and adjusting objects from
SAP. The lesson also explains why changes between various SAP systems must be recorded
and transported.
Business Example
As an ABAP developer in an SAP system, you have extensive change authorizations.
Therefore, an understanding of the data structure and the development and transport
process between SAP systems is fundamental to your work.
LESSON OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
●
Describe the data structure of the AS ABAP
●
Explain the basics of software logistics for SAP systems based on AS ABAP
●
Describe the three-system landscape recommended by SAP
●
Describe the procedure for transports
Data Structure of SAP Systems
An SAP system has a specific data structure. Alongside the business settings (customizing)
that are only relevant to specific clients of an SAP system, every SAP system also always
contains cross-application settings (customizing) and development objects (repository
objects).
Hint:
In this lesson, the termSAP systemalways refers to an SAP system based on AS
ABAP.
In SAP systems, you need to differentiate between these data-structure-related terms:
●
Client-dependent user master records
●
Client-dependent master data and-transaction data
●
Client-dependent customizing
●
Client-independent customizing
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110
Lesson: Describing the Data Structure of an SAP System and Software Logistics
●
Client-independent repository objects
A client is a unit within an SAP system that is self-contained in terms of business,
organization, and data. A client is characterized by the fact that it has its own business data
environment, its own master data, transaction data, and user data. This data of a client is
known as client-dependent data. As a rule, client-dependent data is interdependent. For
example, when you enter business application data, the system checks this data against the
customizing settings for the client and reject this data if it is inconsistent.
If you prepare an SAP system (during implementation) for the production use, the system will
make the customizing for every client to be used in the future. You use customizing settings
to define the customer's organizational structures, such as distribution channels and
company codes, and to set parameters for SAP transactions so that they reflect customerspecific processes. Aside from the client-dependent customizing, there are also settings you
only have to make once, and they are then valid for all clients within the related SAP system.
These client-independent customizing settings include the public holiday calendar and
settings for the system change option, for example.
The repository is the totality of all the objects you can access using the ABAP Workbench. The
repository is also client-independent. It contains all dictionary objects (tables, data elements,
domains), and also all ABAP programs, menus, and screens. Because of the repository's
client-independent nature, any repository objects developed or changed in any one client are
used in exactly the same form in every client in that SAP system.
Repository objects are grouped together to form packages. Packages are containers for
semantically linked development objects (programs, tables, and so on). Packages belong
uniquely to a certain software component. The ABAP Repository contains packages from all
software components.
Figure 62: Data Structure of an SAP System
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Unit 4: Software Development in SAP Systems
The Three-System Landscape
There are several reasons for setting up a three-system landscape. First, continuous
maintenance is required for all SAP systems. Either SAP or the customers trigger such
maintenance. Corresponding changes of program code or customizing data might be
mission-critical and should be tested beforehand. Second, a revision requires detailed logging
of transport requests. Thirdly, ABAP repository objects work across clients. In other words,
changes made in one client immediately affect all other clients of the same SAP system after
activation. That is why you should never develop or change customizing settings directly in
the production system. Client settings should prevent such changes. This is why we
recommend that you use a three-system landscape.
You can operate several SAP systems with one SAP license, although you may only use one of
these SAP systems as a production system. Each of these three SAP systems contains a
working client and other clients as required. These three working clients should all have the
same name to facilitate the consistency of customizing settings. In practice, the development
client, test client, and production client sometimes have different names, however. This is not
relevant for SAP software logistics.
A three-system landscape facilitates the following recommended process:
●
You can carry out the required customizing for the SAP standard processes in the
development system.
You can also develop your own programs or modify existing ones in the development
system.
●
●
You then transfer to the quality assurance system (also called test system for short) the
customizing settings you made as well as all changes to the repository (developments,
corrections, and modifications if needed). In the test system, you can check without
impacting the production operation.
All objects and settings imported into the test system can be tested and then transferred
into one or more production systems.
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Figure 63: Three-System Landscape in the ABAP Environment
The SAP systems in a system landscape must have unique, three-character descriptions, for
example, DEV (development), QAS (quality assurance), and PRD (production). These
abbreviations, which also occur in other courses, are used internationally in the SAP
environment.
The SAP system ID (or SID) always begins with a letter, and it may contain letters and digits.
SIDs always consist of three characters. Some SIDs are reserved by SAP. For instance, you
cannot use the SIDSAP to install an SAP system. You can find more information in the
installation guide for the related SAP system type you want to install.
Transports in the ABAP Environment
In a multisystem landscape, you use transport requests to transfer changes for repository
objects (or newly created objects) and customer-defined customizing settings from one SAP
system into another. For these transports, you use transport requests.
The Transport Organizer (transactionSE09) logs and transports changes to repository
objects and to client-independent customizing as workbench requests. The system logs and
transports changes to the client-dependent customizing analogously as customizing
requests. Both request types are also combined under the name transport requests.
Note:
The Transport Organizer (transactionSE09) assigns a number to the transport
request (in the <SID>K9<nnnnn> format, so for example, DEVK900123. A
transport request should contain related objects. Thus a transport request
enables the transport and administration of development objects.
Related transport requests in turn are compiled into projects, so a project groups
one or more transport requests.
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Figure 64: Development and Transport - The Team
The development project leader creates a project and activates it to record transport
requests. Then the leader creates the smallest number of transport requests possible for this
project and then assigns the developers to the transport requests. The development project
leader is also responsible for the later release of the transport requests once the relevant
development is completed.
The development project leader assigns the developer to one or more transport requests. The
developers make developments for their transport requests, which in turn are assigned to a
project. This may concern creating or changing repository objects or customizing settings.
The developers work in the development system.
The testers are responsible for the technical acceptance. This technical acceptance is done in
the quality assurance system. The quality assurance system is a copy of the production
system so that tests are possible with realistic data and realistic process flows.
The transport administrators are responsible for setting up a transport concept. They carry
out imports for the transport requests in a structured manner. Rarely, they have to deviate
from the defined transport concept to deal with special cases.
Note:
These four roles are not necessarily four different groups of people. Thus, in a
smaller environment, the development project leader, and the developer may be
the same person. However, the developer and the tester should not be the same
person. Also developers and transport administrators should be different people.
The Transport Organizer automatically creates a task for this transport request for every
employee to whom the transport request is assigned. If a developer assigns a newly created
or changed repository object to the transport request, the creation or the changes to this
repository object are recorded in the task of that person.
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Transport Requests
Workbench requests are transport requests for transporting client-independent customizing
and repository objects. Here is an example of the flow for repository objects. The flow for
client-independent customizing is the same as that for customizing requests with one
difference that the changes are entered here in workbench requests.
Customizing requests are transport requests for transporting from client-dependent
customizing.
The Transport Organizer creates a task for every developer to whom the transport request is
assigned. If the developers assign a repository object to the transport request, the system
enters the repository object specifically to the task of the developers.
Once the development project is complete from the point of view of the developers, they
release their task. This action transfers the objects in the task specifically to the transport
request. Once the developers all release their task, the development project leader can
release the transport request thus starting the export. So a transport request combines
repository objects that are processed within a development project.
Figure 65: Project, Transport Requests, Tasks
If developers edit a repository object and include it in a transport request, then only those
developers who are assigned to this transport request can edit the object. Only developers
involved with the same transport request are permitted to develop or maintain development
objects up to the release of the transport request. These developers can only display the
related objects.
Every developer who is involved with the transport request and who edits the object receives
a corresponding entry in the object list of their task. In this way, it is possible to determine
later which developer actually edited the object.
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Upon release of the transport request, the system cancels the object blocks. After completing
this step, other developers can again edit the objects (and the system then blocks them
accordingly). You can also make changes to customizing data in the transport requests, but
the system only blocks the tables relevant for customizing during the actual accessing by the
enqueue work process. For customizing, there is no object block.
The Transport Organizer also creates the versions of the repository objects, allowing
comparisons of and access to earlier versions of repository objects. This way, you can display
and retrieve older versions of repository objects. The system generates a new version upon
release of a transport request.
Handling Transport Requests
Figure 66: Transport Request, Development, Release
The development project leader creates a transport request and assigns it to the
development project. All developers involved with the transport request get a task in the
transport request. To this task, the developers assign objects on which they are working.
Once the developers are finished with their parts of the work, they release their tasks to the
transport request. Once all the developers release their tasks, the development project leader
can release the transport request. Releasing the transport request cancels any object blocks
on repository objects for the transport request. Also the system compiles into one version all
repository objects available the transport request and saves it in the database of the
development system. If it involves a transportable customizing request or workbench
request, the system exports the objects contained to the transport directory.
Actions upon Development Completion: Export and Import
Once the development project is complete from the point of view of the developers, they
release the related task. This action transfers the objects in the task to the transport request.
Once all developers have released their task, the development project leader can release the
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transport request. So a transport request combines customizing objects or repository objects
that are created or changed within a development project.
Transport requests may be transportable or local. The Transport Organizer classifies
automatically based on the objects contained in the transport request and the configured
transport landscape. The system triggers the export only for transportable transport requests
after the release. Export means that the system copies the objects of the transport request
from the database of the development system into a file for a file system.
The transport of transport requests is divided into
Export and Import phases: The objects of
the transport request are exported from the development system and then imported to the
target system, such as to the quality assurance system and the production system.
●
●
Export: Once a transportable transport request is released, the customizing objects and
repository objects arecopied
copied from the source database to a central transport directory at
the operating system level. The system records these steps in transport log of the
transport request.
Import: Import into the target system is in general not automatic, but is triggered by the
transport administrator in the Transport Management System (TMS). The customizing
objects and repository objects are then copied from the central transport directory at the
file system level into the target system database. The import logs can then be checked.
Note:
Technically, when exporting the transport request, the system copies the data
from the database of the development system into the central transport directory.
For the import, the transport request that is stored in the central transport
directory is copied to the database of target system.
Figure 67: Transports in a Three-System Landscape
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The central transport directory is physically in a file system where all SAP systems that
belong to the system landscape must have read and write access. Using the profile parameter
DIR_TRANS, each SAP system determines the location of the transport directory to be used.
The default location for the transport directory is
/usr/sap/trans. But you can change the
storage location as needed. You can use several local transport directories instead of a
central transport directory only as an exception. This approach makes the transport action a
bit more difficult, but might be useful in rare cases for security or network reasons.
Related Information
●
●
For more, very detailed information on this topic, attend the training course ADM325 Software Logistics for SAP S/4HANA and SAP Business Suite
.
You can find more information about enhancements and how to deal with modifications in
the training course BC425 –Enhancements and Modifications
.
LESSON SUMMARY
You should now be able to:
●
Describe the data structure of the AS ABAP
●
Explain the basics of software logistics for SAP systems based on AS ABAP
●
Describe the three-system landscape recommended by SAP
●
Describe the procedure for transports
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Unit 4
Lesson 2
Accessing and Editing ABAP Repository
Objects
LESSON OVERVIEW
The ABAP Workbench is the SAP system's integrated software development environment. It
supports, among other things, the development, testing, and administration of applications
written in ABAP. This lesson introduces various ABAP Workbench tools and the connections
between them.
In this lesson, we introduce the ABAP programming language. You learn how you to navigate
the source code shipped by SAP. You also learn how to write your own short ABAP program.
Following that, the meaning of the ABAP Dictionary is explained.
Business Example
As an ABAP developer, you want to familiarize yourself with the most important ABAP
Workbench tools and create your first ABAP program. Display table definitions as well.
LESSON OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
●
Name important tools in the ABAP Workbench
●
Access ABAP Repository objects
●
Write a simple ABAP program
●
Explain the significance of the ABAP Dictionary
●
Outline the two-level domain concept
Changing and Adjusting the Data Structure
You can change the SAP software based on AS ABAP by using customizing functions, or you
can create and edit objects in the ABAP repository.
The SAP software is standard business software, which you adjust according to the
enterprise-specific needs at the implementation. Such adaptations are called customizing
and include client-specific settings and cross-client settings. In SAP systems based on AS
ABAP, there is a special Implementation Guide: The SAP Reference IMG (call via
transactionSPRO). After an upgrade of the SAP system, you may need to adjust customizing
to a minor extent.
Changes to repository objects are not required to use an SAP system. But you can create or
change individual objects as needed. Changes or enhancements to the repository are possible
in various ways:
●
Customer developments
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●
Customer enhancements
●
Modifications
Figure 68: Adjustments to the ABAP Repository
Enhancement of the repository through customer developments. In the SAP system, you can
create separate repository objects such as tables, programs, or transactions. All development
you do on the customer side happens in the customer namespace, in other words, all object
names you created as a customer from a preset namespace that typically starts with the
letters Y or Z. This applies to ABAP programs, tables, and so on. Also SAP offers you the
option to assign separate and globally unique individual namespaces. Such a customer
namespace could be, for example,
/<companyname>/.
Adjusting the repository by customer enhancements: For such a change, you add customerdefined objects to the repository. At predefined parts of the source code, the user exits (also
called customer exit), you can add separate objects to the standard SAP system. There is also
another modern method for the customer-specific enhancement of the standard: Business
Add-Ins (BAdIs). Other techniques useenhancements and enhancement points.
Modifications to the standard SAP system: Changes to SAP objects, such as programs and
table definitions, are called modifications. The repository delivered by SAP is not only
enhanced, but changed. During the next release, change, or when you apply SAP Support
Packages, you need to check these modifications against the new repository. This
modification adjustment takes time, although using the Modification Assistant speeds up the
process substantially.
Software Development Cycle
You can plan and carry out the entire ABAP software development cycle in the SAP system.
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Lesson: Accessing and Editing ABAP Repository Objects
Figure 69: Software Development Cycle
ABAP Workbench from SAP is a programming environment for developing enterprise-wide
business solutions. SAP supports the entire software development cycle. There are tools for
modeling, for ABAP programming, for defining data structures and table structures and for
developing graphical user interfaces. An extensive array of tools for testing, optimizing, and
maintaining software, as well as supporting development in large teams, are also available.
In the concept phase of a project, you enter the results of your analyses into the SAP data
model. Then the models are converted into tables and programs. You can develop individual
program components like the user interface, ABAP code, and so on, in any time-related
sequence by using the development tools especially intended for the respective function. You
only need to combine the different elements into a single application when you want to run it.
Program tests and transport to the production system conclude the development cycle.
Complementary to the tools, SAP delivers a library of predefined business and general
software components, which you can just use in your own developments.
The ABAP Language
ABAP is the programming language of SAP. Most business applications in an SAP system are
written in ABAP. An ABAP program consists of individual statements. Every statement begins
with a keyword and ends with a period.
For example:
REPORT first program.
WRITE 'My first ABAP program!'.
This piece of code contains two statements, one on each line. The keywords are
REPORT and
WRITE. The program issues a list. In this case, the list contains the line
My first ABAP
program!.
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Figure 70: The ABAP Programming Language
The figureThe ABAP Programming Language
shows an excerpt from an ABAP program. You
can use special commands or keywords in ABAP programs to create selection screens
(keywordPARAMETERS), to print lists (keywordWRITE), or to access table content (for
example, using the keywordSELECT). The ABAP commandCALL SCREEN calls a screen
(consisting of a screen image and its flow logic) defined in the Screen Painter.
ABAP generally uses Open SQL commands to access the database Open SQL consists of a
set of ABAP statements that execute operations on the central database of the SAP system.
Open SQL is used in an identical way for all supported database platforms for SAP systems
based on AS ABAP. This means that the programs developed are independent of the type of
database used.
Some characteristics of the ABAP programming language are:
●
Multilingual capability (text elements, such as list headers or input field texts are stored
separately for each supported language)
●
Simple and effective development of graphical user interfaces
●
Object-oriented programming (ABAP Objects)
●
Platform independence (using Open SQL and the database interface)
●
Efficient access to data structures (tables, data elements, and so on)
The ABAP Workbench and its Tools
In AS ABAP, you use the ABAP Workbench to write application programs. The ABAP
Workbench is a graphical programming environment, where you can use programming tools,
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Lesson: Accessing and Editing ABAP Repository Objects
pushbuttons, the context menu (secondary mouse button) or the forward navigation (doubleclick object names). An ABAP application is, for example a transaction or a program.
In SAP Easy Access, you can find the ABAP Workbench tools at
Tools→ ABAP
Workbench→ Development. You can access a range of tools, including
●
●
●
●
ABAP Editor (transactionsSE38 or SE80) to write ABAP programs.
ABAP Dictionary (transactionSE11) to define and describe tables, data elements, lock
objects, and so on.
Screen Painter (transactionSE51, in the subdirectoryInterface) to create interactive user
interfaces
Function Builder (transactionSE37) to create and manage function modules (these are
independent modules of ABAP code with defined input interfaces and output interfaces)
Figure 71: Some ABAP Workbench Tools
The individual Workbench tools combine to form an integrated system. If, for example, you
are working with program objects in the ABAP Editor, then the Editor recognizes objects
created using other tools. When you double-click an object, the system calls the relevant tool
to edit an object. Then you can edit this object.
When working in the Workbench, you see the following development objects and packages:
●
●
Development objects are objects that you can edit using the ABAP Workbench, such as
programs, transactions or screens.
A package contains logically related development objects, for example, all objects for a
specific application
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The Object Navigator from SAP (transaction
SE80) enables you to organize development
processes in the integrated environment of the ABAP Workbench. This means you can access
repository objects and the related development tools in a simple and uniform manner.
Accessing ABAP Source Code
SAP delivers the source code for all ABAP programs. You can view the code and use it, for
example, as a template for your own programs.
In any application, you can chooseSystem→ Status and double-click to navigate to the
relevant ABAP Workbench tool. The Workbench displays the selected object in the
appropriate tool (provided you have the necessary access rights to do this).
Figure 72: Navigating to the Source Code
ABAP Program Creation Using the ABAP Editor
You can use the ABAP Editor (transactionSE38 or link in the Object Navigator, transaction
SE80) to create and edit programs. ABAP programs are stored in the SAP system as entries
in database tables.
When you want to create a new program, you enter both a program title and attributes for the
program. These attributes include program type (such as
Executable program), status (for
example,Test program), and application component. Each repository object is assigned to a
package.
Once you have performed these activities, you can write your own program in the ABAP
Editor.
The Editor provides a range of functions, including a syntax check and an option for ABAP
keyword capitalization. You can also display syntax help for an ABAP keyword by positioning
the cursor on the keyword and pressing the F1 key. It is therefore advisable to develop ABAP
programs with the ABAP Editor alone. From the Editor, you can navigate to other tools in the
development environment such as the ABAP Dictionary, the Screen Painter, or the Menu
Painter, by double-clicking Repository objects in the coding.
If you create or edit a program (or a development object) and then save it, it is always stored
in the repository as an inactive version. This makes it possible to continue developing without
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Lesson: Accessing and Editing ABAP Repository Objects
changing the active system. As long as you have not activated the inactive version you are
currently working in, the most recent ACTIVE version of the object is always called.
To make a Repository object available throughout the system, you must activate it. This
creates an active version of the program that is then used if, for example, a user wants to
execute your program.
You can execute your program in the ABAP Editor using
Direct processing (F8). This executes
the inactive version for test purposes.
Hint:
You can find an extensive collection of example programs for testing by using
transaction codeABAPDOCU.
Figure 73: ABAP Editor and ABAP Documentation
Eclipse for ABAP
The open Eclipse platform offers a first-class user experience, powerful platform capabilities,
and a broad and vibrant ecosystem that can be regularly improved and enhanced.
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Figure 74: SAP and Eclipse
SAP plays an active role in the Eclipse Foundation as a strategic member. Many of the designtime, development, and administration tools already use the Eclipse platform. These include
SAP NetWeaver Visual Composer, SAP NetWeaver Developer Studio for Java development,
Sybase Unwired Platform, and SAP HANA Studio. The ABAP development tools for SAP
NetWeaver (also known as ABAP in Eclipse or ADT) are the latest addition to the family.
ABAP Development Tools
The ABAP development tools are designed to increase developer productivity significantly by
using the tried-and-trusted user friendliness, speed and flexibility of the Eclipse platform. ADT
combines powerful AS ABAP functions from SAP such as Application Lifecycle Management,
server-based development, complete integration, and effective tests and tools for
troubleshooting with the powerful Eclipse UI. The modern and for many people familiar
Eclipse UI is also offered on the ABAP platform.
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Lesson: Accessing and Editing ABAP Repository Objects
Figure 75: Architecture of the ABAP Development Tools in Eclipse
Features of the ABAP Development Tools
ABAP development tools offer the following functions:
●
A completely new ABAP development experience on the Eclipse platform.
●
An open platform for developing new ABAP-based tools.
●
A series of open, language- and platform-independent APIs that developers can use to
build new user-defined tools for the ABAP environment.
ADT is closely linked to SAP HANA Studio, SAP UI5 tools and JAVA.
ABAP development tools use objects in the SAP repository in exactly the same way as the
available ABAP Workbench tools.
The Eclipse Workbench
This term refers to the workbench desktop development environment in Eclipse. The Eclipse
workbench is used to edit objects, manage views and organize the developer’s work area.
Every workbench window contains one or more perspectives. Perspectives contain views and
editors. At any given time, there can be more than one workbench window on the desktop For
example, you can have the ABAP development tools and SAP HANA Studio open at the same
time.
The Online Development Model
Developers who use ADT remain logged on to the SAP system while they work on various
repository objects. In other words, development is still server-based, objects are only saved
on the backend. Apart from a small read-only cache to increase performance and reduce
server load, no objects are saved on the client.
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If you edit an ABAP repository object in Eclipse, an enqueue lock is set for this object on the
client and the latest version is called from the backend. If you activate or save the object, all
changes are saved directly in the SAP system.
There is no complex check-out and check-in mechanism, and no need to create local copies of
objects. Other services, such as the syntax check, search and where-used functions, run on
the backend. As all repository objects are called from the backend, and there is no client-side
ABAP runtime environment, there is no support for offline development.
Before you start developing in ADT, you must create an ABAP project. An ABAP project
always represents a system connection. It acts as the mediator between an SAP system and
the front-end Eclipse-based IDE client, and it offers a framework for creating, editing, and
checking development objects. An ABAP project is always a genuine system logon and also
offers a user-specific view of all ABAP development objects of the SAP system.
The repository contains all ABAP development objects, such as programs, function modules,
and definitions of database tables. It contains the SAP standard development and customers’
custom developments. The terms repository object and development object are often used as
synonyms.
Figure 76: ABAP Editor and ABAP in Eclipse
A selection of ABAP repository objects you can work with in ADT:
●
ABAP programs
●
ABAP dictionary objects, such as database table definitions and data types
●
Screens
●
Web Dynpro components
●
Function groups and function modules
●
ABAP classes and interfaces
Various tools for creating, editing, and displaying ABAP repository objects are available in
ADT. Some of these tools are native Eclipse objects, but some objects are also displayed and
edited in the SAP GUI tool.
Eclipse and SAP GUI Editor
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Lesson: Accessing and Editing ABAP Repository Objects
ABAP development tools integrate two different types of tools for ABAP development Eclipse-based tools and SAP GUI-based tools.
Eclipse-based tools seamlessly integrate into the Eclipse environment. They have the same
look and feel, and the same navigation functions.
The SAP GUI is installed locally together with the Eclipse-based client. In the widest sense,
SAP GUI-based tools are the tools and services of the traditional ABAP Workbench. Typical
examples include the Package Builder tools, the ABAP dictionary, and the tools for
maintaining text elements for ABAP programs.
If you try to open a development object in the Project Explorer view, an Eclipse-based editor
opens - provided one exists. If it does not, an SAP GUI-based tool opens in the Editor area. All
additional objects that require an SAP GUI-based tool are opened in separate tab pages in the
Editor area.
With GUI-based tools, you have full access to the functionality of the traditional ABAP
Workbench. You can, for example, start all applications by entering a transaction code.
Note:
Objects are transported in the usual way with the help of the Transport Organizer
(SE09) and Transport Management System STMS).
(
Hint:
For more about ABAP development with Eclipse, see the ABAP programming
curriculum: BC404, ABAP Development in Eclipse.
The ABAP Dictionary
The ABAP Dictionary is a central component of the ABAP Workbench. It contains both
business and technical definitions and descriptions of SAP data. The ABAP runtime
environment (such as the ABAP Interpreter and Dynpro processor) frequently accesses the
information in the ABAP Dictionary.
The ABAP Dictionary enables all the data definitions used in the SAP system to be centrally
described and managed. It is an integrated and active dictionary, which means the ABAP
Dictionary is completely integrated in the SAP development and runtime environment. The
dictionary information is created only once, but is available throughout the SAP system at all
times. The ABAP Dictionary (transactionSE11) automatically provides all the information that
has been created or modified, ensuring that runtime objects are up-to-date and data is
consistent and secure.
The tasks of the ABAP Dictionary can be subdivided into:
●
Database object definitions (tables, views, and so on)
●
Type definitions (structures, table types, and so on)
●
Services definitions (F1 help, F4 help, lock objects, and so on)
Tables, views, lock objects, and domains are important object types in the ABAP Dictionary:
●
The definition of tables in the ABAP Dictionary is database-independent. This table
definition then serves as the basis for the creation of a table with the same structure in the
underlying database.
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●
●
●
Views are logical views of one or more tables. View structures are defined in the ABAP
Dictionary. This structure is then the basis for the creation of a view on the database.
Lock objects coordinate attempts by several users to access the same dataset. Function
modules are generated from the lock object definition in the ABAP Dictionary; you can
then use these function modules in application programs.
You can use domains to group fields that have similar technical or business purposes. A
domain defines the value range for all table fields and structure components that refer to
that domain.
The documentation (F1 help) and the input help (also called F4 help) for a field on an input
screen are provided by the ABAP Dictionary.
Figure 77: Significance of the ABAP Dictionary
Integration of the ABAP Dictionary in the program flow is based on the interpretative method
of the AS ABAP runtime environment. Instead of working with the original of an ABAP
program, the ABAP processor interprets a runtime object generated from the program text
before its first execution. If time stamp comparison reveals that runtime objects are no longer
consistent with the current status of the ABAP Dictionary, they are automatically generated
again before execution.
The ABAP Dictionary also allows you to manage, in the SAP system, database tables relevant
to the SAP system. Detailed, product-typical database knowledge is therefore not needed in
application development. The ABAP Dictionary transfers the definitions to the database level.
The interaction between the ABAP Dictionary on one side and the development environment
or runtime environment on the other is shown in the figure
“Significance of the ABAP
Dictionary”.
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Lesson: Accessing and Editing ABAP Repository Objects
Hint:
Every database system also contains a dictionary. This dictionary is not the
dictionary referred to in this lesson.
Table Definition and the Two-Level Domain Concept
The definition of tables in the ABAP Dictionary is database-independent. When you activate
the table, a physical table definition is created in the database based on the table definition
stored in the ABAP Dictionary. The table definition in the ABAP Dictionary is converted into a
definition for the database used.
A table is a two-dimensional matrix consisting of columns (fields) and rows (entries). It has a
name and attributes, such as the table type. Every table in the ABAP Dictionary has a primary
key. This is a combination of columns that uniquely identifies every row in the table. Primary
key values therefore cannot exist twice in a table.
A field (that is, a column in a table) has a name and attributes, for example, it may be a
primary key field. A field is not an independent object; it depends on the table and can only be
maintained within that table. You can use domains and data elements to define table fields:
●
●
The domain is used to technically define the table field. The field length, field type, output
properties, and possible value restrictions are defined in the domain using fixed values.
Data elements are used to describe the semantic attributes of a field in the context of the
table. These attributes are only significant within the table, but not generally (as technical
attributes are). In the data element, you can, for example, define a short description of the
table field that is displayed on the screen when you call the F1 help. You can also specify in
the data element the text that is displayed on input fields that refer to the data element
(field label, for example, Destination Airport).
The two-level domain concept (consisting of the data element level and the domain level)
allows technical field attributes to be defined and maintained at the domain level. A domain
can pass its field attributes on to any number of fields, and you only need to explicitly change
the domain itself, but not the individual fields, when modifying the field attributes thus
described. Basing fields on the same domain ensures that field values can be compared safely
and without conversion.
Tables, data elements, and domains are managed centrally in the ABAP Dictionary.
Hint:
If you want to check where in the SAP system a particular data definition (data
element, domain, table, or similar) is used, then you can look in the Where-used
list in transactionSE11 for that data definition.
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Figure 78: Table Definition and Domain Concept
The graphic uses table SPFLI from the flight data model as an example. Flights (for example,
Lufthansa flight XY from Frankfurt to Tokyo) are maintained centrally in this table. The table
contains fields for the departure airportAIRPFROM)
(
and the destination airportAIRPTO).
(
Because departure and destination airports are different things in a business context, two
data elements,S_FROMAIRP and S_TOAIRP, have been defined. However, because both
columns contain the names of airports, both data elements refer to the same domain,
S_AIRPID, which has the technical type CHAR, with the length 3.
Related Information
More information on the ABAP Workbench is provided in the leading courses for ABAPWorkbench (starting with coursesBC400 - ABAP Workbench Basicsand BC430 – ABAP
Dictionary) as well as in the SAP Library for SAP NetWeaver 7.0 in the area
SAP
Library→ SAP NetWeaver Library→ Key Areas of SAP NetWeaver→ Key Areas of the
Application Platform→ ABAP Technology→ ABAP Workbench (BC-DWB).
LESSON SUMMARY
You should now be able to:
●
Name important tools in the ABAP Workbench
●
Access ABAP Repository objects
●
Write a simple ABAP program
●
Explain the significance of the ABAP Dictionary
●
Outline the two-level domain concept
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Unit 4
Lesson 3
Importing Transport Requests
LESSON OVERVIEW
As an SAP administrator, you are responsible for importing transport requests. You therefore
need detailed knowledge about the import process, the available tools and the possible
import options.
Business Example
The changes that developers make in the development system must be transported to the
quality system for testing, and once the tests are successful, they must then be transported
to the production system. Performing transports is the responsibility of the (transport)
administrator.
LESSON OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
●
●
Import transport requests
Explain the differences between the single import and the mass import of transport
requests
Transport Requests and Tasks
Workbench and Customizing requests can both be created with the Transport Organizer
(transactionSE09 or SE10). In a transport request, the development project manager assigns
developers. For each developer, there is therefore initially one task that is assigned to the
transport request. After the individual tasks have been released by the developer, the
development project manager can release the transport request. Depending on the objects in
the transport request, the type of transport request, and the configuration of the transport
landscape, releasing of the transport request leads to the export of the transport request.
After successful export, the transport request can be imported into the target systems.
For the transport request, you can differentiate between a number of terms:
●
●
The termtransport
transport requestis
request the neutral, impartial term.
A change request is often used as a synonym for the term transport request. It is used to
transport changes; objects can of course be transported without being changed, for
example newly created objects.
Hint:
In the context ofIT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) Change Management
,a
change request (request for change) is a document that needs to be approved
before a change can be applied to a system.
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Unit 4: Software Development in SAP Systems
●
●
●
A Workbench requestis
request a transport request in which either repository objects or clientindependent customizing is transported.
A Customizing requestis
request a transport request in which client-dependent objects are
transported; that is, client-dependent customizing, master and movement or transaction
data; of these three, it is usually only client-dependent customizing that is actually
transported.
A consolidation transportis
transport a transport request that is transported to the consolidation
system (usually the quality assurance system).
Import
The transport administrator usually starts the import into the subsequent SAP systems
manually, using the Transport Management System in the corresponding SAP system,
transactionSTMS.
In the subsequent SAP system, you can, in transaction
STMS, see which transport requests
are awaiting import into the SAP system. From a technical point of view, in a three-system
landscape, the transport request is flagged for import into the subsequent SAP system
(quality assurance system) when it is exported from the development system. You can find
this transport request flag for import into the subsequent SAP system in the Transport
Management system (transactionSTMS) by choosingOverview→ Import. There, you see the
import queue for the SAP systems. To display details about the import queues, choose
Import
Queue→ Display.
To import transport requests into the target system, you have various methods in the TMS
import queue. The most important methods are the
import of all transport requestsand the
import of individual transport requests
. The methods can be executed online or in the
background.
Figure 79: Import
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Lesson: Importing Transport Requests
When you import single transport requests, you select one or more individual transport
requests in the import queue of the SAP systems and then import them.
When you import all transport requests in the import queue, all transport requests are
imported.
Note:
Particularly in the production system, you usually select the transport requests of
a specific project, rather than importing all the transport requests in the import
queue.
In both cases, the objects are first imported by order of priority and then in the sequence of
the transport requests in the import queue. For example, a table has a higher priority than a
program, because the program could be dependent of the table. The sequence of transport
requests in the import queue of the quality assurance system is the sequence of the export
from the development system. The sequence in the import queue of the production system,
on the other hand, is the sequence of the import into the production system may be sorted
differently to that of the quality assurance system the quality assurance system. Therefore,
the import queue of the production system may be sorted differently to that in the quality
assurance system. This is correct, because this reflects the sequence of the import into the
quality assurance system and thus functional acceptance in the quality assurance system.
In the SAP system, the transport administrator starts imports in transaction
STMS by going to
the import queue (O verview → Imports), selecting the SAP system to which the request is to
be imported, and choosingImport Queue→ Display. The transport administrator starts the
import by choosing eitherImport All Requestsor Import Request.
Technically, the programtp
tp is used at operating system level for the export and import.
tp is
part of the kernel of the SAP system. During import, always the data files that were generated
during export and stored in the central transport directory are used.
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Checking Transports
Figure 80: Checking Transports
During transport, the executed transport steps are logged in the various transport phases. To
check the transports, you can use the Transport OrganizerSE09):
(
On the right-hand side of
the Transport Organizer screen, the transports are displayed.
By choosing theTransports pushbutton, you see a hierarchical display of the released
transport requests and their transport steps, which are arranged according to the target
systems.
The success of failure of the individual transport steps is indicated by the color coding and the
return code. If transports contained errors, you are informed of the cause of the error in the
transport log. By double-clicking a transport step, you display its transport log.
All import steps are logged during the import performed by the transport administrator in
transactionSTMS. You can display this directly here or in the Transport Organizer.
To obtain further information on the import, you can access the tp system log for the relevant
SAP system in transactionSTMS by choosing Overview→ Imports (or by choosing theImport
Overview) pushbutton. To do this, in the import overview, select the SAP system you want to
check and in the import queue, display the tp system log by choosing
Goto → tp System Log.
From here, you can perform additional error analysis using additional log files.
Alternatively, you can also display the extended view in the import queue
Edit→
(
Display
More). In this view, you can see the return code in column
RC, and can double-click it to go
directly to the detailed log.
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Lesson: Importing Transport Requests
LESSON SUMMARY
You should now be able to:
●
●
Import transport requests
Explain the differences between the single import and the mass import of transport
requests
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Unit 4
Lesson 4
Introducing SAP NetWeaver Development
Infrastructure (NWDI) and the Transport
Process for non-ABAP Applications
LESSON OVERVIEW
In contrast to the AS ABAP environment, in which a central development is carried out (all
developers are registered on the same SAP system), for Java development, typically a
decentralized development philosophy is used.
This lesson first of all provides an overview of the steps that development has to make to
execute a Java application. Following that, typical problems that arise in a team-oriented
development in the Java environment are discussed. These problems should largely be
avoided with the SAP NetWeaver Development Infrastructure (NWDI), by transferring known
and approved concepts from the AS ABAP world into the AS Java environment.
The lesson ends with a section about the enhanced Change and Transport System, which can
be used to transport changes to Java applications to follow-on systems.
Business Example
Your company uses SAP systems that are based on the SAP NetWeaver technology platform
and plans to develop its own Java-based applications. As a member of the SAP system
administration team, you want to have an overview of the development infrastructure and the
transport process provided by SAP for this purpose.
LESSON OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
●
●
List the individual components of SAP NetWeaver Development Infrastructure (NWDI)
Outline the integration of SAP NetWeaver Development Infrastructure in the enhanced
Change and Transport System
The Java Programming Language
Java is an object-oriented programming language, similar to C++ or C#. However, Java is not
fully object-oriented: the basic data types (int, Boolean, and so on) are not objects.
Java makes it possible to write classes that can be executed in various runtime environments.
In this way, it is possible, for example, to run applets in web browsers, which support Java.
Java possesses an extensive class library. This provides programmers with a uniform,
operating system-independent interface (application programming interface, API). With the
help of Remote Method Invocation (RMI) it is also possible to call up objects on other
computers.
Source codes written in Java are first of all translated by the Java compiler
javacinto an
intermediary code that is independent of architecture, the byte code. A class file is created
from every source file .java
(
file). This byte code cannot be executed directly, and is either
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Lesson: Introducing SAP NetWeaver Development Infrastructure (NWDI) and the Transport Process for non-ABAP Applications
interpreted by a virtual machine or is compiled and executed at runtime in native processor
code (viaHotSpottechnology). The virtual machine must have been developed for every
supported platform, if necessary, separately.
To execute a Java program, a runtime environmentJava
( Runtime Environment, JRE) is
required. The JRE consists of the Java Virtual Machine, the standard Java interfaces, and
other components, which are required to execute Java applications and applets. The Java
Virtual Machine is responsible for the independence of the Java EE platform from the
hardware and the operating system.
Hint:
Java EE stands for Java Platform, Enterprise Edition. This is a set of rules that
must be fulfilled by applications if they wish to be regarded as Java EE compliant
and if they are to be executed on a Java EE Server (which must also comply with
these rules).
If a developer wants to write and (locally) test a custom-developed program, they generally
require a development environment and a runtime environment.
Differences Between ABAP and Java Development in the SAP Environment
Due to the different development philosophy between ABAP and Java, it is relatively difficult
to compare the development processes with each other on both sides.
Figure 81: Different Development Philosophies
In the ABAP environment, the developers log on to the central development system (for
example, the development system for SAP CRM applications). In this development system,
ABAP Workbench is used as the integrated ABAP development environment. The developers
only have the SAP GUI installed on their PCs. The central development system is the runtime
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Unit 4: Software Development in SAP Systems
environment for the first test of the written applications (also in context with the programs of
other developers).
In the Java environment by comparison, the developers are used to a decentralized
development. Here, every developer not only has the development environment, but also a
local runtime environment on their PC and can therefore develop and test locally,
independent of all other colleagues. Not until development completion (or at other specified
points in time) are the applications of the individual developers combined in a central system.
After this general comparison, the following sections will deal with the development of Java
applications in the SAP environment in more detail.
SAP NetWeaver Developer Studio
SAP NetWeaver Developer Studio is SAP's own environment for developing multi-level Javabased applications. The development environment is based on the open-source product
Eclipse, whose open plug-in architecture provides a suitable platform that can be enhanced
with special functions.
Eclipse offers all the necessary tools for the development of Java programs. For Java EE
projects, however, additional functions are needed in the SAP environment (for example for
integration with the application server). These are not contained in Eclipse.
Figure 82: Structure of SAP NetWeaver Developer Studio
SAP NetWeaver Developer Studio provides a range of tools for all aspects of application
development, a few of which are listed below as examples:
●
●
●
Web Service Tools can be used to develop web interfaces
Java EE Tools are tools for creating Java EE applications, such as those from Enterprise
Java Beans
Data access is supported by Java Dictionary Tools or other Persistence Tools
The particularity of these development tools lies in their seamless integration into the SAP
infrastructure. All created development object can be stored and managed in this way in a
central repository, the Design Time Repository (DTR), in which an automated build process is
implemented with Component Build Service (CBS), assigned to Change Management and
then distributed using a defined software logistics process.
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Lesson: Introducing SAP NetWeaver Development Infrastructure (NWDI) and the Transport Process for non-ABAP Applications
Architecture of SAP NetWeaver Development Infrastructure (NWDI)
The figure“Overview of SAP NetWeaver Development Infrastructure (NWDI)”
shows the
architecture of SAP NetWeaver Development Infrastructure with the enhanced Change and
Transport System (enhanced CTS or CTS+).
Figure 83: Overview of SAP NetWeaver Development Infrastructure (NWDI)
SAP NetWeaver Developer Studio provides access to the SAP NetWeaver Development
Infrastructure (NWDI). The SAP NWDI is composed of a local development environment (IDE)
on the PCs of the developers and server-side services that provide the development team
with a single, consistent development environment, and support software development
throughout the entire life cycle of a product.
On the side of the central infrastructure, you can find (among others) the
Design Time
Repository, the Component Build Service, and the Name Serveras part of theSystem
Landscape Directory.
The Design Time Repository (DTR) enables a versioning of the source code management and
therefore the shared development of software in teams as well as the transport and
replication of sources.
The Component Build Service (CBS) is used for the central build of the source texts. The
operation for the developers is integrated into SAP NetWeaver Developer Studio. For the build
process, the CBS communicates automatically with the Design Time Repository. For further
processing, the CBS communicates with the system logic of the Change Management
Service. It provides the following core functions:
●
Build on demand
●
Central storage of build results and build tools
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Unit 4: Software Development in SAP Systems
●
Activation concept
The Change Management Service (CMS) is used to centrally manage the Java development
landscape and transports over the entire software life cycle. It can be used to configure
development landscape and transport software changes. The functions of the CMS are
closely linked with the DTR, the CBS, and the System Landscape Directory (SLD). As an
administrator tool, the CMS incorporates these components and links the individual parts into
one unit, with which even distributed development projects can be realized. The CMS can be
connected to the Change and Transport System (CTS) of the AS ABAP so that import to
follow-on systems (such as the quality assurance system or production system) can be
carried out with the help of the CTS.
Hint:
As of Enhancement Package 1 for SAP NetWeaver 7.0, SAP provides the CM
Services (Change Management Services). Thanks to the close integration
between the CM Services and the mechanism of the enhanced Change and
Transport System (CTS+), you can, in this scenario, manage your development
configuration together with your transport landscape using the central CTS
system.
The Change and Transport System (CTS) is used for the transport of changes into
subsequent systems. As of a specific SP Stack for SAP NetWeaver 7.0, the CTS is able to
transport non-ABAP changes (such as Java applications) as well.
Hint:
The Change and Transport System (CTS) contains tools for exporting transport
requests (Transport Organizer– transactionSE09) and tools for defining the
landscape as well as importing transport requestsTransport
(
Management
System – transactionSTMS).
Software development worldwide requires a conflict-free method for creating names for
software objects. Without such a method, different software teams may use the same names
by chance for software objects with different uses. If the software objects are then combined
in the same runtime environment, this could even deactivate applications because of a simple
name conflict. To avoid name conflicts, the System Landscape Directory (SLD) contains a
name reservation service Name
(
Server), which enables globally unique names to be
reserved.
The following list summarizes the components of SAP NWDI and their characteristics
properties:
Components of the SAP NetWeaver Development Infrastructure
●
Design Time Repository (DTR)
-
●
Central source code management and versioning
Component Build Service (CBS)
-
Build on-demand
-
Central storage of build results and build tools
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Lesson: Introducing SAP NetWeaver Development Infrastructure (NWDI) and the Transport Process for non-ABAP Applications
-
●
Change Management Service (CMS)
-
●
Imports to follow-on systems (quality assurance system, production system)
System Landscape Directory (SLD)
-
●
Central management of the transport landscape
Change and Transport System (CTS)
-
●
Activation concept
Overview of SAP systems, installed products, and software versions (releases, SAP
support packages)
Name Service
-
To avoid naming conflicts
Comparison of Development Tools for AS ABAP and AS Java
To develop and execute applications, regardless of the selected programming language, you
require at least an editor, a compiler (or interpreter) and a runtime environment. In addition to
this you require a transport mechanism (which may consist of a simple
“Copy & Paste”
process) if the applications are to run on other computers at a later stage. Especially for
developments in which several developers are participating, a source code administration and
versioning system is also desirable.
All of these requirements are met in the AS ABAP area. The Object Navigator (transaction
SE80) is available as an editor (as entry point). ABAP is an interpreted language. The ABAP
Interpreter is a component part of every ABAP work process. The ABAP kernel (the
application server) therefore acts generally as the interpreter and runtime environment. The
ABAP Transport Management Systemis available for transports between the development
environment and the production environment, the
ABAP Workbenchprovides source code
versioning in the corresponding development system.
The Java Software Development Kit (for example JDK 1.8 for AS Java 7.50) includes a
compiler (javac) and a runtime environment (the Java Virtual Machine, Java VM). However,
there is no actual editor, source code administration system, or transport mechanism. These
areas are also not specified exactly in the Java standard (Java SE Standard and Java EE
Standard). The Java developers are therefore required to use commercially available tools
(for example for editors) or to develop their own tools and processes (for example for
transport mechanisms).
This is where SAP and the SAP NetWeaver Development Infrastructure (NWDI) comes in.
SAP NWDI provides an editor, a source code administration system and a transport
mechanism.
Table 5: Comparison Between ABAP Development and Java Development (with SAP
NetWeaver Development Infrastructure)
AS ABAP
AS Java
Editor
Object Navigator (SE80),
Eclipse
SAP NetWeaver Developer
Studio
Compiler / Interpreter
Kernel (instance)
Component Build Service
(CBS)
Runtime environment
Kernel (instance)
Kernel (instance)
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Source code management Versioning in the development Design Time Repository (DTR)
and versioning
system
Transport mechanism –
landscape definition
Transport Management System (STMS)
Transport mechanism – ex- Transport Organizer (SE09)
port
Transport mechanism –
import
Change Management Service
(CMS)
SAP NetWeaver Developer
Studio
Transport Management System S
( TMS)
SAP NetWeaver Developer Studio is used as an editor, the Design Time Repository (DTR) acts
as a central source code administration and versioning system and the Transport
Management Service (TMS) of the AS ABAP is used for transport from the development
environment to other systems. In addition to these components, the Component Build
Service (CBS) enables central building. These components have already been discussed in
detail previously.
Enhanced CTS – Transport of Non-ABAP Objects
The existing tools for ABAP and Java transports had their limitations. For example, there was
no automatic synchronization for mixed applications (such as parts in an SAP ECC system,
other associated parts in an SAP NetWeaver Portal system). To transport the individual parts
of an application, different tools were required. In addition, there was no central control of the
transport in the SAP NetWeaver Portal environment.
With some Support Package Stack of SAP NetWeaver 7.0, the ABAP Change and Transport
System (CTS) was enhanced, so that it can now transport non-ABAP objects. This
enhancement makes it possible to synchronize ABAP and Java transports. Furthermore, SAP
NetWeaver Portal or native SAP HANA development objects content can be transported in
this way.
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Lesson: Introducing SAP NetWeaver Development Infrastructure (NWDI) and the Transport Process for non-ABAP Applications
Figure 84: Enhanced CTS Provides a Central Transport Tool for the Entire Business Process Platform
The enhanced CTS offers the option to transport objects created in languages other than
ABAP through the ABAP Change and Transport System. The aim is to support transport for
all workbenches and applications through a single, central transport tool (CTS). The tools for
creating applications and content are not touched. Options for attaching applications or
content to a CTS transport requests are integrated in the various workbenches. The degree of
integration differs for the different workbenches. The purpose of the enhanced CTS is to
simplify the work of the administrator responsible for imports by offering a uniform transport
tool. The administrator can then start the imports for different backends using a single tool.
Deployment tools are called automatically. It is easy to monitor what has already been
imported, and whether the import was successful. The queues in CTS provide an overview of
what needs to be imported.
A prerequisite for existing transports of non-ABAP objects using the enhanced CTS is that for
defining the transport landscape, an AS ABAP-based SAP system (for example an SAP
Solution Manager ABAP system) is needed. Furthermore, dependent on the target system, an
AS Java-based SAP system with a CTSDeploy Web Service may be required to transport Java
applications, for example.
Note:
For more information on the enhanced CTS, see SAP Note
1003674 –
Enhancement for non-ABAP systems in CTS.
SAP provides a close integration into CTS for some SAP applications. This means that nonABAP objects can be attached to transport requests directly from the SAP application.
Examples of closely integrated applications are:
●
SAP HANA
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●
SAP NetWeaver Development Infrastructure (NWDI)
●
Lifecycle Management Console (LCM) of SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence (BI)
●
SAP NetWeaver Portal
●
Process Integration (PI)
You can import these objects to the target systems together with ABAP development objects.
Deployment is performed automatically.
Note:
Note that in some scenarios, additional manual steps may need to be performed
to add Java objects to the transport requests. You may also need to perform
additional steps after deployment for some object types.
The enhanced functionality of the CTS simplifies many transport scenarios in a
heterogeneous SAP system landscape. The use of the CTS is optional (not mandatory).
However, the benefits make it worth considering.
Note:
The use of SAP NWDI is not invalidated by this scenario, as SAP NWDI is the
recommended environment for a Java-based development. To standardize
transports to the production system, you should however consider using SAP
NWDI in combination with the CTS.
For more information, see the online documentation for
SAP NetWeaver AS for ABAP 7.51
innovation package(Application Help), areaSAP NetWeaver Library: Function-Oriented
View→ Solution Life Cycle Management→ Software Logistics→ Change and Transport
System→ Change and Transport System - Overview
→ Transporting Non-ABAP Objects in
Change and Transport System. Here, in areaMore informationyou may find links to further
documentation on transporting objects of the individual applications.
LESSON SUMMARY
You should now be able to:
●
●
List the individual components of SAP NetWeaver Development Infrastructure (NWDI)
Outline the integration of SAP NetWeaver Development Infrastructure in the enhanced
Change and Transport System
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Unit 4
Lesson 5
Describing SAP UI Technologies
LESSON OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
●
Gain an overview on SAP UI Technologies
SAP UI Technologies
Figure 85: SAP User Interface (UI) Technology Timeline
The user interface (UI)is the visual and functional interface users use to interact with
computer programs. In its history, SAP has developed many interface technologies. The two
oldest are the list and thedynpro, which were both conceived inR/2 in 1979. Together with
the selection screen, these were the UI technologies of the first shipmentR/3
of in 1992.
With the BusinessHTMLframework, theInternet Application Components (IAC)with
AS ABAP 3.1Iof R/3 were, in 1998, the first HTML-based UI technology. Today,
BusinessHTMLis scarcely known as a programming framework, and is instead known as the
technology behind theInternet Transaction Server (ITS). The Enjoy Controlsthat appeared in
the same year withAS ABAP 4.6A, are, embedded indynpros, living up to their name to this
day. In 2002, Business Server Pages (BSP)
took over the task of programmable web
interfaces inAS ABAP 6.10.
In 2004, the firstAS Javawas released in version 6.20 and included the
Java Server Pages (JSP)
developed in 1999 bySun. In 2009, Oracle transferred these to
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maintenance. In 2004, the SAP’s first own Java-based UI technology was introduced in
AS Java 6.40 in the form ofWeb Dynpro Java (WDJ). The success ofWeb Dynpro continued in
2006 in AS ABAP 7.00 as Web Dynpro ABAP (WDA)and reached its peak in 2009 in
AS ABAP 7.01 in the Floorplan Manager (FPM)
.
In Customer Relationship Management (CRM) 2007
the (CRM) Web UI Framework (WebUIF)
in AS ABAP 7.00 based on the BSPs was created in parallel in 2008. It offers a similar
structure to Web Dynpro ABAPand is used almost exclusively in CRM. The solutionindependent breakthrough was achieved by the BSPs in 2013 with their ability to serve as a
container forSAP UI Development Toolkit for HTML5 (SAPUI5)
. Since 2013, therefore, it has
been possible to useAS ABAP 7.31 or higher as a Web server for HTML5-based Web pages.
Figure 86: List and Selection Screen
Although the (ABAP) list and selection screen are the oldest interface technologies in
AS ABAP, they are still used today. Their general popularity relates not to the functionality or
appearance but rather to the ease with which programs can be created here. A simple
WRITE
statement in an ABAP program is sufficient to obtain output in the list. For a selection screen,
a simplePARAMETERS statement is also sufficient to obtain an input field. It can of course be
far more complicated, but the complexity of other UI technologies is never reached – but then
nor are their possibilities.
Lists and selection screens are usually programmed reports
in
(program type 1). The
associated transactions areSA38 for execution andSE38 or SE80 for programming. In all
other program types, the creation of lists and selection screens is possible, but is rarely used
in practice. The output itself requires SAP GUI.
The appearance of lists and selection screens no longer meets the expectations placed on a
modern UI. Time has simply left its mark. Nevertheless, there are still areas in which reports
consisting of selection screen and output list can shine:
1. Background processing
2. Storage of table content in storage systems
3. Introduction to ABAP programming
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Lesson: Describing SAP UI Technologies
Thanks to the simplicity of the programming, lists, and selection screens are often used as an
introduction to ABAP programming. However, the option of (digitally) printing lists is far more
relevant in practice. In addition to the regular backup of database content, copies in the form
of lists are created in document storage systems for archiving purposes. These lists are often
created for the evaluation of mass data overnight or at the weekend during mass processing.
The data is delimited via the selection screens.
The sheer number of programs with lists and selection screens means that these UI
technologies will be around for a long time – even if just as a short dump following an error in
the SAP GUI.
Figure 87: Dynpro and Enjoy Controls
The dynpro interface technology is just as old as the list, but has been adapted to today’s UI
technology requirements through theEnjoy Controls. Dynpro itself is a dynamic program
relates to the flexible program flow that it allows. There are various UI elements and an editor,
called theGraphical Screen Painter, but compared to modern UI technologies, the possibilities
are very limited. Thedynpros have survived by offering a framework for
Enjoy Controls.
In contrast to the proceduraldynpros, the object-orientedEnjoy Controlsprovide many
options for user interaction. There are various
controls for representing screens, trees, tables,
and more. The best-knownEnjoy Control is ABAP List Viewer (ALV), which is the successor to
the list for end users. This table cannot only be personalized in many places, charts can also
be displayed, and the table content can be downloaded.
Dynpros and the embeddedEnjoy Controlscan be created inreports, function groups, and
module pools, the latter having been developed especially for
dynpro processing. The
associated programming tools such as
Class Builder(SE24) are integrated inSE80.
Module poolsare started using transactions created especially for this purpose. The output
itself requires SAP GUI.
Almost all transactions in anAS ABAP are based ondynpros. It is the technology for when
applications are to run in the SAP GUI.
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Unit 4: Software Development in SAP Systems
Figure 88: Java Server Pages (JSP) and Web Dynpro Java (WDJ)
Java Server Page (JSP)
was the first UI technology that was used across the board by SAP
but was not developed by SAP. As a Web UI technology, a JSP consists of an HTML Web page
with embedded Java coding. As a result, a dynamic Web page structure is possible with many
variants but also few limits. To obtain clearly structure interfaces as with ABAP in the form of
dynpros, Web Dynpro Javawas launched by SAP in the same year.
Web Dynpro Java (WDJ)defines a clear architecture consisting of
model (data processing),
view (interface definition) andcontroller(program logic). Thus the tasks within an application
are distributed over different areas. The
Web Dynpro Componentforms the frame around the
different areas. With Java as the programming language, the entire application is objectoriented. The key feature of theWeb Dynpro interface is the use of
Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX)
, which allows an HTML page to be changed
without it being completely reloaded. The user has the impression of using a local application.
JSPs and WDJ are called as Web pages via a URL using HTTP(S). Therefore a browser is all
that is needed to use the applications. For a better link with SAP GUI applications, use
SAP
Business Client. SAP NetWeaver Developer Studio (NWDS)based onEclipse serves as the
development environment.
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Lesson: Describing SAP UI Technologies
Figure 89: Web Dynpro ABAP (WDA) and Floorplan Manager (FPM)
Following the success ofWeb Dynpro Java, the principle was also applied for ABAP. The
concept of theModel View Controller (MVC)was largely retained, as was the
Web Dynpro Componentas the frame for all components. The most important difference is
the use of ABAP instead of Java. At first glance, it is not apparent whether an application is
implemented inWeb Dynpro ABAPor Java. Thanks to the integration ofWeb Dynpro as a
transactional technology inAS ABAP there are whole new possibilities for accessing data and
functions, as compared to those offered by
AS Java.
In contrast to previous UI technologies,Web Dynpro ABAP (WDA)is still being enhanced. The
best example of this is theFloorplan Manager (FPM)
, which defines further architecture
details such asApplication Building Blocks (ABB). With FPM, it is possible to use Customizing,
in other words settings, rather than programming to generate or change applications. The
relationships can be complex, but offer many opportunities for customers to make
adjustments.
As with WDJ, WDA and FPM are called via a URL using HTTP(S). Therefore the
recommendation to useSAP Business Clientalso applies here. However, transaction
SE80 or
the ABAP Development Tools (ADT) based onEclipse are used as the development
environment.
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Unit 4: Software Development in SAP Systems
Figure 90: SAP UI Development Toolkit for HTML5
The latest UI technology from SAP is theS AP UI Development Toolkit for HTML5 (SAPUI5)
.
After the JSPs, SAPUI5 is therefore the second Web UI technology used across the board at
SAP that was not solely developed by SAP. It is based on HTML5 with
JavaScriptas the
programming language. This combination is popular in the
World Wide Web (WWW)for
generating modern, flexible and “pleasant” interfaces. “Pleasant” here also means the use of
touchscreens for interaction, and the option of literally touching the interfaces. For this
reason, the termuser interface (UI)is replaced by the termuser experience (UX)
.
Strictly speaking, SAPUI5 is a collection of program libraries based on the open-source library
jQuery. With this open-source approach, SAP offers not only SAPUI5, which is adapted for
SAP systems, but also the freely usable
OpenUI5. The functional scope is practically identical,
with SAPUI5 clearly recommended for use with SAP systems.
SAP Fioriis the main area of
use for SAPUI5.
In principle, SAPUI5 is nothing more than a Web page that is called via a URL using HTTP(S).
However, a HTML5-enabled browser is required, which all current browsers are. As before,
SAP Business Clientis recommended particularly for use in
S AP Fiori. The development
environment isSAP Web IDE (Integrated Development Environment), which is based on
Eclipse Orion.
LESSON SUMMARY
You should now be able to:
●
Gain an overview on SAP UI Technologies
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Unit 4
Learning Assessment
1. Which data can be stored in a client?
Choose the correct answer.
X
A Client-independent customizing, user data, and application data
X
B Customizing objects and repository objects
X
C Client-dependent customizing, user data, and application data
X
D Only user data that was entered in this client
2. At the end of the development project, the tasks and transport requests must be released
so that they can be exported. Who releases what here?
Choose the correct answers.
X
A Developers release their tasks.
X
B The development project leader releases the entire transport request.
X
C The system automatically releases the transport request once all tasks are
released.
3. Which tools are included in the ABAP Workbench
Choose the correct answers.
X
A Object Navigator
X
B SAP Reference IMG
X
C Function Builder
X
D Screen Painter
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Unit 4: Learning Assessment
4. What is the purpose of a domain in the context of the ABAP Dictionary?
Choose the correct answers.
X
A For defining the technical attributes of a field.
X
B For including a foreign key dependency.
X
C For defining the semantic attributes of a field.
X
D For entering data in a table.
5. Which tool is used to manage imports of transport requests into subsequent systems
(such as the production system)?
Choose the correct answer.
X
A Transport Organizer (transactionSE09)
X
B Transport Management System (transactionSTMS)
X
C Object Navigator (transactionSE80)
6. Which of the following services are elements of SAP NetWeaver Development
Infrastructure (NWDI)?
Choose the correct answers.
X
A Design Time Repository (DTR)
X
B Object Development Tool (ODT)
X
C Component Build Service (CBS)
X
D Change Management Service (CMS)
X
E Central Make Tool (CMT)
7. You are running an SAP system based on AS ABAP 7.00. Which UI technologies can you
use within this SAP system?
Choose the correct answers.
X
A (ABAP) Dynrpo
X
B SAPUI5
X
C Web Dynpro ABAP
X
D Java Server Pages
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Unit 4
Learning Assessment - Answers
1. Which data can be stored in a client?
Choose the correct answer.
X
A Client-independent customizing, user data, and application data
X
B Customizing objects and repository objects
X
C Client-dependent customizing, user data, and application data
X
D Only user data that was entered in this client
You are correct: A client contains of client-dependent customizing, user data, and
application data.
2. At the end of the development project, the tasks and transport requests must be released
so that they can be exported. Who releases what here?
Choose the correct answers.
X
A Developers release their tasks.
X
B The development project leader releases the entire transport request.
X
C The system automatically releases the transport request once all tasks are
released.
You are correct. First, all developers release their own tasks. Then the development
project leader can release the entire transport request. The release of the transport
request is not performed automatically.
3. Which tools are included in the ABAP Workbench
Choose the correct answers.
X
A Object Navigator
X
B SAP Reference IMG
X
C Function Builder
X
D Screen Painter
You are correct.Object Navigator, Function Builderand Screen Painter are part of the
ABAP Workbench.SAP Reference IMG, however, is a customizing tool.
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Unit 4: Learning Assessment - Answers
4. What is the purpose of a domain in the context of the ABAP Dictionary?
Choose the correct answers.
X
A For defining the technical attributes of a field.
X
B For including a foreign key dependency.
X
C For defining the semantic attributes of a field.
X
D For entering data in a table.
You are correct. You use domainsfor defining the technical attributes of fields in a table.
The semantic attributes of a field are defined in the
data element.
5. Which tool is used to manage imports of transport requests into subsequent systems
(such as the production system)?
Choose the correct answer.
X
A Transport Organizer (transactionSE09)
X
B Transport Management System (transactionSTMS)
X
C Object Navigator (transactionSE80)
You are correct. The import of transport requests is performed with the help of the
Transport Management System (TMS). TheTransport Organizeris used to create and
release transport requests, theObject Navigatorcan be used to create / change
repository objects.
6. Which of the following services are elements of SAP NetWeaver Development
Infrastructure (NWDI)?
Choose the correct answers.
X
A Design Time Repository (DTR)
X
B Object Development Tool (ODT)
X
C Component Build Service (CBS)
X
D Change Management Service (CMS)
X
E Central Make Tool (CMT)
You are correct.SAP NetWeaver Development Infrastructure(NWDI) includes theDesign
Time Repositoryfor versioned source code management, the
Component Build Servicefor
the central Build based on the component model and the
Change Management Servicefor
the transport of Java objects to follow up systems.
Central Make Tool and Object
Development Tool are imaginary names, Java EE applications are developed using the SAP
NetWeaver Developer Studio, based on Eclipse.
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Unit 4: Learning Assessment - Answers
7. You are running an SAP system based on AS ABAP 7.00. Which UI technologies can you
use within this SAP system?
Choose the correct answers.
X
A (ABAP) Dynrpo
X
B SAPUI5
X
C Web Dynpro ABAP
X
D Java Server Pages
You are correct.(ABAP) Dynprocan be used in any release of AS ABAP.
Web Dynpro
ABAP is available as of AS ABAP 7.00.SAP UI Development Toolkit for HTML(SAPUI5)
requires at least SAP_BASIS 7.31 and therefore at least AS ABAP 7.03, however.
Java
Server Pagescan be executed on an AS Java.
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UNIT 5
Communication and
Integration
Technologies
Lesson 1
Describing Remote Function Calls and BAPIs
159
Lesson 2
Explaining Cross-System Business Processes
166
Lesson 3
Explaining HTTP Based Communication
169
Lesson 4
Describing Web Services
172
Lesson 5
Describing SAP Gateway
177
UNIT OBJECTIVES
●
List various interface technologies used by SAP systems
●
Describe the process for a Remote Function Call
●
Explain the significance and use of business objects and their BAPIs
●
Make a Remote Function Call
●
Give an example for cross-system business processes
●
Explain the ideas behind the ALE concept
●
Explain the basics of HTTP based communication with AS ABAP based SAP systems
●
Explain the basic idea of Web services
●
Describe how to use SAP Gateway
●
Test SAP Gateway services
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Unit 5
Lesson 1
Describing Remote Function Calls and BAPIs
LESSON OVERVIEW
This lesson provides an overview of the interface technologies available to you in the SAP
system, while focusing on the significance of RFCs and BAPIs.
Business Example
You want to integrate existing applications with SAP applications. Standard interfaces are of
particular interest here.
LESSON OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
●
List various interface technologies used by SAP systems
●
Describe the process for a Remote Function Call
●
Explain the significance and use of business objects and their BAPIs
●
Make a Remote Function Call
Overview of Interfaces
SAP systems have interfaces at different communication levels. These interfaces range from
highly technical connection options, for example, using the TCP/IP protocol or CPI-C, to
highly specialized interfaces designed for business objects, such as BAPIs or the IDoc
interface used in the ALE environment. All higher interfaces, that is, those that access
business objects or processes, use the same technology, the Remote Function Call (RFC).
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Unit 5: Communication and Integration Technologies
Figure 91: Interfaces Technologies Used in SAP Systems
SAP systems use the following interface technologies that are listed in the figure
“Interfaces
Technologies Used in SAP Systems”
:
●
ALE: Application Link Enabling
●
BAPI: Business Application Programming Interface
●
CPI-C: Common Program Interface Communication
●
EDI: Electronic Data Interchange
●
HTTP(S): HyperText Transfer Protocol
●
LU 6.2: Logical Unit Type 6.2
●
RFC: Remote Function Call
●
OLE: Object Linking and Embedding
●
SMTP: Simple Mail Transfer Protocol
●
SOAP: Simple Object Access Protocol
●
TCP/IP: Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol
●
OData: Open Data Protocol
●
XML: Extensible Markup Language
Remote Function Call
The Remote Function Call interface is an SAP interface protocol based on CPI-C and TCP/IP.
It simplifies the programming of communication processes between different SAP systems.
RFCs enable you to call and execute predefined functions in a remote SAP system – or within
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Lesson: Describing Remote Function Calls and BAPIs
the same SAP system. RFCs manage the communication process, parameter transfer, and
error handling.
RFC describes an interface, not the programming language in which the function runs. You
can also use RFCs to call functions in non-SAP systems. The procedure for RFC
communication between two SAP systems is that the calling SAP system uses an RFC
definition in the SAP system called to access a specific function.
Figure 92: RFC Connection Possibilities
If you want to start external programs remotely, you need an RFC interface outside the SAP
system. For example, a simple Dynamic Link Library (DLL). Every RFC interface is
bidirectional, so external programs can also use RFC to access functions in SAP systems.
Note:
All function modules (including those that are remote-enabled) are created,
together with their import and export parameters, using the Function Builder. You
can call the Function Builder from theSAP Easy Accessmenu by navigating to
Tools→ ABAP Workbench→ Development→ Function Builder, or by using
transaction codeSE37.
To call an RFC module from an SAP system, you need to know the import and export
parameters (defined in the Function Builder), and there must be a technical connection
between the two systems. This connection is called an
RFC connectionor
RFC
connection anRFC
RFC destination.
You can manage your RFC connections from theSAP Easy Accessmenu by navigating to
Tools→ Administration→ Administration→ Network→ RFC Destinations, or by using
transactionSM59.
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Unit 5: Communication and Integration Technologies
Figure 93: Remote Function Call in Detail
In the figure“Remote Function Call in Detail”
, you can see, on the left side, the calling system,
in which an RFC destination namedDEST has been created. An RFC destination in transaction
SM59 should not be confused with an SAP system, since an RFC connection can only point to
one specific client in an SAP system. These are also referred to as connections between
logical systems; this term is used, above all, in the ALE environment.
This means that you can have at least as many RFC connections between two systems as
there are clients in the target system. Because you can specify a logon user for the
destination in each RFC connection, you can also access clients in the target system several
times, for example, with a different logon user each time. If you need a bidirectional RFC
connection between two systems, that is, the system called can also execute RFC modules in
the calling system, then you need to set up an equivalent second RFC connection in the
system called.
When defining RFC destinations in AS ABAP-based SAP systems:
●
●
RFC connections are always directed toone particular client if their destination is an AS
ABAP-based SAP system
RFC connections can be accessed fromall clients of an SAP system (provided the user has
the required authorizations)
In ABAP, you use RFCs to call a function module in another system as follows:
CALL FUNCTION <Name>
DESTINATION <Destination to Target>
EXPORTING ...
IMPORTING ...
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Lesson: Describing Remote Function Calls and BAPIs
The function to be executed in the target system needs to be specified. The name of the
<destination to target> must refer to one of the RFC connections available. When you
are creating an RFC connection, you can specify logon data for the target system; if you do
not do this, you need to enter logon parameters when you start the RFC.
EXPORTING and
IMPORTING are used to pass parameters to the target function and to receive the returned
parameters. The function called in the target system is executed using the user ID that has
been entered for the connection.
Note:
You can also create RFC connections for which the user ID of the user making the
call is used in the target system. That means different users can use the same
connection in the target system. This procedure is called Trusted RFC. It is, of
course, a prerequisite that identical users are created in the source and target
systems. Trusted RFC is covered in the course ADM960 – Security in SAP System
Environments.
The RFC has become the most important interface in the SAP environment. Some special
RFC modules, which follow certain conventions, are known as BAPIs (Business Application
Programming Interfaces).
BOR and BAPIs
A Business Application Programming Interface (BAPI) is a standardized programming
interface that facilitates internal and external access to business processes and data in SAP
systems. BAPIs are defined in the Business Object Repository as methods of SAP business
objects and enable an object-oriented view of business data in an SAP system. Functions that
can be called using BAPIs are normally implemented and stored in the ABAP Workbench
Function Builder as RFC-enabled function modules. You can display an overview of available
BAPIs in the BOR, for example, by activating the Business Object Repository pushbutton in
the Business Object Builder Tools→
(
ABAP Workbench→ Development→ Business Object
Builder), transactionSWO1. You can access the BOR directly using transaction codeBAPI.
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Unit 5: Communication and Integration Technologies
Figure 94: BOR and BAPIs
BAPIs, which represent methods for business objects in an SAP system, are used in a variety
of contexts.
Possible Uses for BAPIs
●
To link business processes across system boundaries (for example, when using ALE)
●
Used by SAP to integrate various solutions in the framework of SAP Business Suite
●
To connect an SAP system to the Internet
●
Used in conjunction with SAP Business Workflow
●
To connect to external programs
Note:
BAPIs are created and tested in exactly the same way as other function modules,
using the Function Builder, transactionSE37, and are then defined as BAPIs in the
BOR.
Related Information
For information about additional interfaces, go to the following address:
https://
support.sap.com/connectors.
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Lesson: Describing Remote Function Calls and BAPIs
LESSON SUMMARY
You should now be able to:
●
List various interface technologies used by SAP systems
●
Describe the process for a Remote Function Call
●
Explain the significance and use of business objects and their BAPIs
●
Make a Remote Function Call
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Unit 5
Lesson 2
Explaining Cross-System Business Processes
LESSON OVERVIEW
This lesson explains the fundamentals of the Application Link Enabling (ALE) concept.
Business Example
Your company wants to implement the E-Commerce functions of SAP CRM to sell goods to
end customers over the Internet.
LESSON OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
●
Give an example for cross-system business processes
●
Explain the ideas behind the ALE concept
The Significance of Cross-System Business Processes
Let's start by defining cross-system business processes, using common situations as
examples.
For example, it may be the case that within a company, the human resources system is
separate from the rest of the business software system. Obviously, the systems cannot be
completely separate, since the accounting system needs the employees' wage data. In this
situation, you need cross-system business processes to exchange the relevant data.
Cross-system business processes are used, for example, if two companies collaborate closely
and send joint orders to a vendor. The companies' business IT systems need to communicate
with each other to consolidate the quantities to be ordered. In this case, the business process
does not just cross system boundaries, but also company boundaries.
An additional example is the transfer of a limited quantity of specific data, for example, the
electronic transfer of account statement data from a bank to a company.
The developments of the past in the area of cross-system business processes indicate that
the importance of these processes will continue to grow rapidly.
Application Link Enabling (ALE)
Application Link Enabling (ALE) is a means of creating and operating distributed applications.
The basic concept of ALE is to ensure the operation of a distributed, yet integrated system
landscape. This involves business-controlled message exchange using consistent data across
loosely linked application systems. The applications are integrated through synchronous and
asynchronous communication, not through a central database.
Systems that use ALE to exchange data can be located at the same company, or they may
belong to different companies. One of the characteristics of ALE is that different systems are
linked in business terms through secure and consistent data transfer.
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Lesson: Explaining Cross-System Business Processes
Figure 95: Business Process Distribution Using ALE
You could also describe ALE as being composed of the elements: who exchanges what data
when, with whom, and by what means.
Implementing ALE therefore requires that you clarify the following points in detail:
1. Identify the business process and the objects involved.
2. Identify the information to be transmitted.
3. Specify the format for the data to be transferred.
4. Decide on the transfer technology to be used.
5. Decide on the transfer type.
6. Specify the destination of the data transfer.
The following table contains an example for implementing ALE:
Table 6: Data Synchronization in the Business Process – Example
Process
E-Commerce for consumers who use SAP CRM
Identify the information to Order data from the SAP CRM server system, which is to be
be transmitted
passed to an SAP ECC system
Format of the data
IDoc format
Transfer technology
by RFC
Transfer type
asynchronously, every 60 seconds
Purpose
Provide goods and services for sale in the Internet
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Unit 5: Communication and Integration Technologies
The data is often identified within the SAP system using a business object and its Business
Application Programming Interfaces (BAPIs). A BAPI is a method of a business object, for
example, the material master record. A permissible method could be creating or changing the
material master data. BAPIs normally enable you to edit all data belonging to the object.
The IDoc format describes the structure of intermediate documents. There are various kinds
of IDoc formats for different types of data to be exchanged. Alternatively, you can use ALE to
transfer data in an agreed XML format.
You can select your preferred data transfer technology within the constraints imposed by the
system. For example, you can transfer data by Remote Function Call (RFC) or using HTTP or
HTTPS.
There are two basic types of transfer: synchronous and asynchronous. Synchronous transfer
means that the data is transferred at the time of creation or change. In contrast, you can start
asynchronous transfers at intervals of your choice.
There are very few restrictions on the systems that can be linked. The systems involved must
have the technical capability to receive the communications (RFC-enabled, HTTP-enabled)
and interpret the format transferred (IDoc, XML). SAP systems of different releases can be
linked using ALE.
Related Information
●
BIT300 and BIT350 are more advanced training courses on ALE.
LESSON SUMMARY
You should now be able to:
●
Give an example for cross-system business processes
●
Explain the ideas behind the ALE concept
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Unit 5
Lesson 3
Explaining HTTP Based Communication
LESSON OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
●
Explain the basics of HTTP based communication with AS ABAP based SAP systems
Introduction into HTTP Based Communication
The Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is an application protocol for distributed,
collaborative, and hypermedia information systems. HTTP is the foundation of data
communication for the World-Wide Web. Hypertext is structured text that uses logical links
(hyperlinks) between nodes containing text. HTTP is the protocol to exchange or transfer
hypertext.
AS ABAP-based SAP systems can process HTTP requests (and other protocols) directly from
the internet or to send HTTP client requests to the internet. To achieve this, the SAP Kernel
has been extended with the Internet Communication Manager (ICM) process.
Example for a System Landscape for HTTP Based Communication
The figure“Example for a System Landscape”shows an example of a system landscape in
which Web Browsers from the internet and intranet are connected with an SAP system based
on AS ABAP (which in this case is connected to other SAP and non-SAP systems).
Figure 96: Example for a System Landscape
Important features are:
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Unit 5: Communication and Integration Technologies
●
Support for standard Web protocols such as HTTP, HTTPS, WebDAV, SOAP, and SMTP
●
Display of standard Web formats such as HTML, XML, OData and XSLT
●
Complete integration into the SAP environment (development environment, user
administration, authorization concept, system monitoring, and communication protocols)
The AS ABAP can act both as aWeb server(server
server
role) and as aWeb client (client role). In
this lesson, we will discuss the server role, in which the AS ABAP can accept and process
HTTP requests from any web client (such as a web browser) and send back an HTTP
response.
Work processes of the AS ABAP can directly generate Web-compatible content in a way that
can be forwarded to a browser using the ICM. One way of creating content of this type is to
use applications with Business Server Pages (BSPs) that were developed in the SAP system
using a tool of transactionSE80, the Web Application Builder for BSPs. Other options are to
use applications that are based on:
●
Web Dynpro for ABAPtechnology
●
SAPUI5 (which in turn is based onHTML5)
Internet Communication Framework (ICF)
Within a work process, the Internet Communication Framework (ICF) provides the
environment for handling HTTP requests. The ICF is the bridge between the C kernel of the
SAP system and the application program created in ABAP.
The ICF provides a way for different systems to communicate with each other over the
internet/intranet using standard protocols (such as HTTP and SMTP). As of AS ABAP 7.40,
the ABAP library for REST-based services Representational
(
State Transfer– a programming
paradigm for Web applications) is part of AS ABAP-based SAP systems. Therefore, as of AS
ABAP 7.40, no additional programming libraries (for AS ABAP) are required from SAP.
However, for the HTTPS protocol, certain configuration steps need to be performed (see SAP
Note 510007 – Setting Up SSL on Application Server ABAP
). Your system platform only must
be configured to be internet capable. This scenario allows for the most flexible setup of the
overall communication requirements.
The ICF allows a response to a request to be generated using an application. An HTTP request
is sent from a client (such as a Web Browser) to the server. It is then forwarded to an
application by the ICF. Here, data is collected and sent back to the client as a response by the
ICF. The response data is then displayed in the browser.
The task of ICF services is to link a particular URL with an HTTP request handler. An ICF
service therefore creates a connection between a URL to which an HTTP request is sent and
development objects that process this request (see the following figure).
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Lesson: Explaining HTTP Based Communication
Figure 97: Concept of the Internet Communication Framework
ICF services can beactive or inactive, which is indicated by different colors in transaction
SICF. Active services are displayed in black.
If you try to call an inactive service, the system will display a message stating that access to
this page is blocked. Activated ICF services are a security risk since they can be accessed
directly using HTTP(S) or SMTP from the intranet or internet (depending on your network
configuration). You should therefore restrict access using suitable measures, such as by
activating only the required ICF services and assigning the relevant authorizations to users.
Note:
More information on HTTP-based communication with AS ABAP-based SAP
systems are provided in class ADM103 –
System Administration II for SAP S/
4HANA and SAP Business Suite
.
LESSON SUMMARY
You should now be able to:
●
Explain the basics of HTTP based communication with AS ABAP based SAP systems
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Unit 5
Lesson 4
Describing Web Services
LESSON OVERVIEW
A Web service is a standardized way of integrating web-based applications using the open
standard XML over an Internet Protocol backbone.
This lesson first explains some basic terms in the context of Web services. Then it explains the
basic steps to create a Web service from an existing function module.
Business Example
Your company is running a heterogeneous system landscape using different technologies.
They want to use Web services for data exchange between these different technologies.
As a developer, you want to know how you can create Web services from existing function
modules in your AS ABAP based SAP system.
LESSON OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
●
Explain the basic idea of Web services
Introduction to Web Services
A web service is an independent, modular, and self-describing application function or service.
Based on XML standards, these application functions can be described, made available,
located, transformed, or called using standard Internet protocols.
Each web service therefore encapsulates a function, which is used, for example, to forward a
price query to a provider, check the availability of an item in a retail system, locate a telephone
number, or run credit card checks, convert currencies, or execute payroll functions.
The following figure shows the web service paradigm:
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Lesson: Describing Web Services
Figure 98: Web Service Paradigm
A service provider provides access to a service. If a service is a web service, the service
provider has a corresponding XML-based description that is a Web Services Description
Language (WSDL) document. Any programming language can be used to implement the web
service. In a client/server relationship, the service provider can be regarded as the server.
When publishing a service, the service provider transmits information about itself and a
description of the service it offers to the Service Registry (SR). A Service Registry is a type of
yellow pages for web services. It provides, among other things, information about calling the
web service. The Service Registry therefore provides only a description of the web service.
This description forms an abstraction layer, independent of the corresponding
implementation. The web service itself is hosted by the service provider.
A web service user is referred to as a service requester. A service requester can, for example,
be someone who locates a web service using a web browser and then uses the service. In
most cases, however, the service requester is an application that accesses the web service.
The application can also bind to the service dynamically if required, that is, the application can
dynamically create a web service client proxy at runtime and use this proxy to access the web
service. The application obtains the necessary information for accessing the web service from
the service description.
This information is then stored in the SR. However, if the application knows the provider and
the call details, it can use the web service without having to access the SR. In a client/server
relationship, the service requester is the application client.
Standards for Web Service
web services can exist in any implementation. Therefore, a standardized description is
required if web services are to be called from any application. The WSDL best meets this
demand. However, a web services description in WSDL alone is not sufficient. To find the right
business partner and corresponding service quotation, you need a company registry to help
you to find the required service.
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The web service provider must also be able to make its offer publicly available as easily as
possible. TheUniversal Description, Discovery and Integration(UDDI) offers a solution. For
more information, seehttp://uddi.xml.org.
The following list explains some standards that are used with web services:
●
●
●
UDDI Registry (Universal Description, Discovery and Integration)
: With its UDDI Registry
and UDDI specification, UDDI provides the necessary tools for making services public. The
specification provides a detailed description of how to locate and register services. The
UDDI Registry contains a list of registered web services in WSDL format. The UDDI
Registry does not store documents or specifications, but only references them.
SOAP (originallySimple
(
Simple Object Access Protocol): To call web services based on Internet
technologies, a suitable protocol definition is needed. SOAP has created a simple standard
that allows web services to be accessed in decentralized, distributed landscapes. SOAP
specifies a package of XML documents for transport via Internet protocols such HTTP(S),
SMTP, or FTP. SOAP defines a so-called envelope. In this envelope, you will find the actual
XML-based message with a header and a body, as well as further information about how
the message should be processed.
WSDL (Web Service Description Language)
: WSDL is an XML-based description language
for web services. The WSDL Service definition includes the description of distributed
systems and provides instructions for automating data exchange between applications.
The Web Service Description Language is used to describe web services or electronic
services in XML format. A service is defined as a collection of endpoints (ports) and the
messages they work with. By using WSDL, a service provider can describe the
requirements and features of their web service so that a potential customer understands
them and interacts properly with the service.
Creation of a Web Service Using the Inside-Out Approach and Synchronous
Communication
There are two different development approaches for developing ABAP Web Services: InsideOut and Outside-In.
●
●
With the Inside-Out approach, independent function modules that have been implemented
as RFC-enabled function modules, as function groups, or as BAPIs are provided as a web
service. The web service can be used across the entire Internet using standard protocols
and can easily be added to any development environment.
In the Outside-In approach, development of Service Interfaces starts in a platformindependent format, mostly XML. With the Enterprise Services Builder, SAP offers a tool,
that supports the platform-independent development of Service Interfaces. Connected
application systems can read these interfaces. Using the ABAP Proxy technology, a
developer can create an ABAP Object, that consists of one or more ABAP Methods. Since
development begins outside the application system, this approach is called Outside-In.
This lesson focuses on the Inside-Out approach.
The figure“Creation of a Web Service”explains how to create a web service from an existing
function module (such asZ_BAPI_FLIGHT_GETDETAIL):
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Lesson: Describing Web Services
Figure 99: Creation of a Web Service
This consists of the following three main steps:
●
●
●
Step 1: ABAP Implementation: As a starting point, you need a function module (such as
Z_BAPI_FLIGHT_GETDETAIL in the figure above). Among others, this function module
consists of import and an export parameters (interfaces). These interfaces need to be
used to make use of the functionality that this function module offers.
Step 2: Create Web Interface – ABAP to XML
: For use with web services, the input and
output interfaces need to be provided in XML. The mapping of the ABAP structures (such
as parameters) to XML will be done with the help of a generator which can be called from
the Function Builder(transactionSE37) which in turn is part of the ABAP Workbench. As a
result, you get the Service definition for the function module. Among others, this Service
definition consists of an (abstract) WSDL and a first configuration.
Step 3: Configuration in transaction SOAMANAGER
: With the help of transaction
SOAMANAGER, all necessary configurations are finally performed. This includes the creation
of a concrete WSDL according to the WSDL 1.1. definition and the creation of a Service in
transactionSICF so that the web service can then be called.
Tools
For developing web services at SAP, some tools are needed:
●
●
●
For the implementationof the functionalities on the provider side and the call of these
functionalities on the consumer side, you need the ABAP Workbench for the development.
For the configurationof the web service on the provider side and on the consumer side,
SAP offers transactionSOAMANAGER.
For testing web services SAP offers theWeb Service Navigator(WSNavigator) , which is a
web service client, implemented in Java.
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For developing web services, SAP offers the transaction
SOAMANAGER in the SAP back-end,
which allows you to configure web services based on the Proxy technology. You can use
SOAMANAGER for the complete configuration of service provider and consumer proxies for a
local system.
Figure 100: SOAMANAGER – Initial Screen
The Service Administrationtab (see figure“SOAMANAGER – Initial Screen”
) offers
functionality to set up configuration to support business processes with web services. This
functionality is intended for business administrators who manage business processes across
systems in a system landscape.
Additional Information
For more information on ABAP web services, see SAP training class BC416ABAP
–
Web
Services and the online documentation forS AP NetWeaver AS for ABAP 7.51 innovation
package(function-oriented view), for example: area
SAP NetWeaver Library: FunctionOriented View→ Application Server ABAP→ Application Development on AS ABAP
→ ABAP
Development Tools – Eclipse→ SAP – ABAP Web Services.
LESSON SUMMARY
You should now be able to:
●
Explain the basic idea of Web services
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Unit 5
Lesson 5
Describing SAP Gateway
LESSON OVERVIEW
This lesson provides you with an overview of SAP Gateway and the use of the OData protocol
at SAP.
Business Example
Your company wants to use applications that are running in the browser or on mobile devices.
As part of the project team, you want to know how you can access SAP system data from
mobile devices via open standards such as
OData.
LESSON OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
●
Describe how to use SAP Gateway
●
Test SAP Gateway services
SAP Gateway and OData
Figure 101: SAP Gateway Architecture
SAP Gateway is located between SAP (back-end) systems and the outside world, thus making
data from the SAP systems available externally. Outside world means any software outside
the SAP back-end system landscape. This is usually a client-based application that consumes
a gateway service and interacts directly with the end user. Applications in the browser are a
common example.
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However, it is also possible for a gateway service to be used by a server-based application to
forward information to one or more clients. Typical examples here are mobile applications
that have a secure connection to information via the
SAP Mobile Platform(SMP) or are
informed about new information in the form of a workflow.
Hint:
Up to the end of 2014, SAP Gateway was called SAP NetWeaver Gateway. SAP
Gateway is used to exchange data via OData. SAP Gateway must not be
confused with the Kernel’s RFC gateway process – that process is still used for
communications via RFC.
Figure 102: Open Data (OData) Protocol
SAP Gateway uses the Open Data (OData) protocol for communications between applications
and the SAP system. OData has been developed by Microsoft and is an extension of the Atom
Publishing and Atom Syndication Standards, which in turn are based on XML (Extensible
Markup Language) and HTTP(S) (HyperText Transfer Protocol (Secure)). With this extension,
OData provides database like access to server-side resources. In this context, OData is also
called ODBC for the Web.
Note:
Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) is a widespread database access method.
In practice, JSON is usually used today rather than the combination of Atom and XML. This
requires far less meta information, which hugely reduces the amount of data to be
transferred. Atom and XML, on the other hand, are often during development precisely
because of the detailed meta information.
OData can be freely used without any licenses or contracts. OData is also extensible. This
enables SAP to add additional information from the ABAP Data Dictionary to the OData data
types.
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Lesson: Describing SAP Gateway
Figure 103: Gateway Service Document
The starting point for consuming an OData or gateway services is the call of the URL of the
service document in the browser. The service document is the highest-level description of a
gateway service. It shows the basic information about the available data. From here, it is
possible to call further information on the service and of course the data itself by adding URL
parameters.
Hint:
In the example shown in the figure“Gateway Service Document”
, adding
ProductSet to the URL causes a set of products to display.
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Unit 5: Communication and Integration Technologies
SAP Gateway Usage
Figure 104: SAP Gateway Components
Before AS ABAP 7.40, SAP Gatewayconsisted of individual add-ons that provide the OData
functionality. These can be divided into the following areas:
OData runtime
Provides the OData and thus gateway service externally via the URL.
Design time and service provider runtime
Contains the development environment and programs for processing the requests to the
service.
The OData runtime consists of theGateway Core (GW_CORE)and the
Information Worker Foundation (IW_FND)a nd thus contains the service registration as well
as the runtime. The central add-onBusiness Enablement Provisioning (IW_BEP)
of the design
time and service provider runtime contains the tools for service implementation. Other addons can also be installed, for example:
●
Business Workflow (IW_PGW)
●
Generic Interaction Layer (IW_GIL)
●
Service Provider Infrastructure (IW_SPI)
As of AS ABAP 7.40, GW_CORE, IW_FND, IW_BEP, and IW_HDB (SAP HANA Database) have
been merged in software component
SAP_GWFND (Gateway Foundation)
. This offers
everything needed for the OData runtime and implementation. The additional add-ons that
are still possible are grouped together in data model consumption and generators.
As of AS ABAP 7.51, in addition IW_PGW has been merged into software component
SAP_GWFND. This offers general Workflow functionality via SAP Gateway especially used in
the area of SAP Fiori. In addition, all other SAP Gateway add-ons are deprecated and should
be uninstalled. Either the functions are now part of software component
SAP_GWFNDor they
are no longer supported.
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Lesson: Describing SAP Gateway
Figure 105: Options for Using SAP Gateway
There are three possible deployment options for SAP Gateway (see the figure above):
●
Hub deployment with development in Back-End Server
●
Hub deployment with development in Front-End Server
●
Embedded deployment
A Gateway hubis an AS ABAP in which at least the OData runtime is installed. This
Gateway hubcan be set up in ademilitarized zone(DMZ), a security area between the local
company network and the Internet.
Note:
For more information about deployment options, see the document
SAP Fiori
Deployment Options and System Landscape Recommendations
which is available
from the blogSAP Fiori Deployment Options and Recommendations
(https://
blogs.sap.com/2018/02/16/sap-fiori-deployment-options-andrecommendations).
The design and service provider runtime defines the system in which development and
processing of the gateway services are carried out. As many companies already use SAP
systems and data is to be provided from different systems, this can also be done in the
gateway hub. The SAP systems are then accessed via RFC.
Two separate ABAP classes are required to generate a gateway service:
●
Model Provider Class (MPC)
●
Data Provider Class (DPC)
The Model Provider Class supplies the consumer with a complete description of the gateway
service, the Data Provider Class represents the implementation of this business logic. The
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Unit 5: Communication and Integration Technologies
connection between these two classes is created through the configuration of a Technical
Service or Technical Model. All this is implemented in the design and service provider
runtime.
In the OData runtime, the gateway service is generated by entering the
Technical Service in
the Service Catalog. This entry can then be used by a browser as the service name.
Figure 106: Gateway Service Management
Gateway Service Management (transaction
/IWFND/MAINT_SERVICE) provides a list of all
the OData services registered in the system. The complete administration of the gateway
services is performed here. The transaction is divided into three areas (see figure
“Gateway
Service Management”):
●
Service Catalog(service name, description, and many other settings)
●
ICF Nodes (maintenance of the ICF services and testing of the service)
●
System Aliases (maintenance of the connection to the back-end)
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Lesson: Describing SAP Gateway
Figure 107: Gateway Client
SAP Gateway Client (transaction/IWFND/GW_CLIENT) enables all functions of a gateway
service to be tested. For read access, you merely need to enter and execute the request URI.
For a request to create, change or delete, further settings are needed, for example a valid
HTTP request body. All settings can be saved in the form of test cases.
In addition to these two transactions, there are a few more relating to SAP Gateway. All
transactions are linked with each other by buttons or menu options. You can therefore go
directly from service administration to the gateway client or from the gateway client to the
service administration.
Figure 108: Electronic Medical Record (Application Example)
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Unit 5: Communication and Integration Technologies
You can use any programming language to consume a gateway service, provided this
language enables HTTP(S) communication and the parsing of an XML document. Most
modern languages automatically offer this. A list of popular languages and detailed
documentation with predefined libraries is available http://www.odata.org.
at
Hint:
The Electronic Medical Records (EMR) (see figure
“Electronic Medical Record
(Application Example)”) was one of the first applications that used
S AP Gateway.
LESSON SUMMARY
You should now be able to:
●
Describe how to use SAP Gateway
●
Test SAP Gateway services
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Unit 5
Learning Assessment
1. Which interfaces or communication options are supported by SAP systems?
Choose the correct answers.
X
A HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol)
X
B SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol)
X
C RFC (Remote Function Call)
X
D BAPIs (Business Application Programming Interfaces)
X
E XDTP (Extended Data Transfer Protocol)
X
F STP (SAP Transfer Protocol)
2. What can BAPIs be used for?
Choose the correct answers.
X
A Request data from an SAP system
X
B Pass data to an SAP system
X
C Transfer SAP screen images to third-party applications (such as Microsoft Word)
X
D Access business processes in SAP systems
3. You access BAPIs in SAP systems using an RFC interface.
Determine whether this statement is true or false.
X
True
X
False
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Unit 5: Learning Assessment
4. What is the purpose of Application Link Enabling (ALE)?
Choose the correct answers.
X
A To provide a platform for the development of SAP based applications.
X
B To exchange application data between collaborating companies, using certain
formats and technologies.
X
C To communicate between different production systems of your system landscape.
X
D To transport software changes from the development system to the production
system.
5. Which SAP technologies /applicationsare supported by the Internet Communication
Manager (ICM) process?
Choose the correct answers.
X
A SAPUI5
X
B ABAP Dynpro
X
C Web Dynpro for ABAP
X
D Business Server Pages (BSP)
6. Which tool is used for the configuration of the Web Service on the provider side?
Choose the correct answer.
X
A ABAP Workbench
X
B SOAMANAGER
X
C Web Service Navigator
7. For which protocol plays SAP Gateway (software component
SAP_GWFND) the role of the
communication interface?
Choose the correct answer.
X
A DIAG
X
B SMTP
X
C OData
X
D RFC
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Unit 5
Learning Assessment - Answers
1. Which interfaces or communication options are supported by SAP systems?
Choose the correct answers.
X
A HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol)
X
B SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol)
X
C RFC (Remote Function Call)
X
D BAPIs (Business Application Programming Interfaces)
X
E XDTP (Extended Data Transfer Protocol)
X
F STP (SAP Transfer Protocol)
You are correct. From an SAP system, you can communicate with other systems using,
for example, HTTP, SMTP, RFC, or BAPIs. XDTP and STP do not exist.
2. What can BAPIs be used for?
Choose the correct answers.
X
A Request data from an SAP system
X
B Pass data to an SAP system
X
C Transfer SAP screen images to third-party applications (such as Microsoft Word)
X
D Access business processes in SAP systems
You are correct. You can use BAPIs to access business processes in an SAP system and to
request and transfer data between SAP systems. GUI functions cannot be transferred to
third-party products.
3. You access BAPIs in SAP systems using an RFC interface.
Determine whether this statement is true or false.
X
True
X
False
You are correct. BAPIs are nothing other than special, remote-enabled function modules.
They can therefore also be addressed using RFCs.
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Unit 5: Learning Assessment - Answers
4. What is the purpose of Application Link Enabling (ALE)?
Choose the correct answers.
X
A To provide a platform for the development of SAP based applications.
X
B To exchange application data between collaborating companies, using certain
formats and technologies.
X
C To communicate between different production systems of your system landscape.
X
D To transport software changes from the development system to the production
system.
ALE is a very powerful method of exchanging client-specific data (such as application
data) between different systems. These systems may be located within the same
company, or they may be distributed between several companies. The data is transferred
by RFC in a previously defined format. The transfer type may be synchronous or
asynchronous.
5. Which SAP technologies /applicationsare supported by the Internet Communication
Manager (ICM) process?
Choose the correct answers.
X
A SAPUI5
X
B ABAP Dynpro
X
C Web Dynpro for ABAP
X
D Business Server Pages (BSP)
You are correct. The ICM supportsSAPUI5 applications as well asWeb Dynpro for ABAP
applications andBusiness Server Pages(BSPs). ClassicalABAP Dynprosare processed by
the ABAP dispatcher, however.
6. Which tool is used for the configuration of the Web Service on the provider side?
Choose the correct answer.
X
A ABAP Workbench
X
B SOAMANAGER
X
C Web Service Navigator
You are correct. SAP offers transactionSOAMANAGER for the configuration of the web
service on the provider side and on the consumer side. The
ABAP Workbenchis used for
the implementationof the functionalities on the provider side and the call of these
functionalities on the consumer side, theWeb Service Navigatorcan be used for testing
web services.
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Unit 5: Learning Assessment - Answers
7. For which protocol plays SAP Gateway (software component
SAP_GWFND) the role of the
communication interface?
Choose the correct answer.
X
A DIAG
X
B SMTP
X
C OData
X
D RFC
You are correct, SAP Gateway is the communication interface for the Open Data (OData)
protocol in an AS ABAP.DIAG requests are processed by the ABAP dispatcher,
SMTP
requests are processed by the ICM but they do not use SAP Gateway.
RFC requests are
processed by the gateway process of the SAP Kernel which has not to be mixed with SAP
Gateway (software componentS AP_GWFND).
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UNIT 6
Application Lifecycle
Management
Lesson 1
Describing Application Lifecycle Management
191
Lesson 2
Implementing Business Processes and Installing SAP Systems
197
Lesson 3
Describing Business Process Operations
207
Lesson 4
Maintaining SAP systems
211
UNIT OBJECTIVES
●
●
Outline the concept of Application Lifecycle Management
Explain the importance of the SAP Solution Manager system and the System Landscape
Directory in Application Lifecycle Management
●
Describe aspects of the technical implementation of SAP systems and business processes
●
List the tools in the SAP Solution Manager system for Business Process Operations
●
List tools for maintaining SAP systems
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Unit 6
Lesson 1
Describing Application Lifecycle Management
LESSON OVERVIEW
This lesson provides an introduction to application lifecycle management in SAP systems. We
begin by discussing the individual steps in the lifecycle of an application. We then examine two
of the tools that support you in managing this lifecycle: the System Landscape Directory
(SLD) and the SAP Solution Manager system.
Business Example
Your company plans to implement new business processes. As the project manager, you
want to know how you can use SAP tools to simplify lifecycle management for your SAP
applications.
LESSON OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
●
●
Outline the concept of Application Lifecycle Management
Explain the importance of the SAP Solution Manager system and the System Landscape
Directory in Application Lifecycle Management
What Is Application Lifecycle Management?
Software, like any other product, has a certain lifecycle. A software product's lifecycle is the
time span between its conception and market launch (in the company) and its removal from
the market. Software lives as long as it is still in use and continues to be a profitable product
on the market. Planning a software lifecycle is a task for a company's strategy management.
In the SAP environment, the focus is more on the applications (that is, the business
processes) than the individual SAP systems involved. Therefore, Application Lifecycle
Management (ALM) is a top priority for SAP. ALM is an ongoing process for managing the
entire life span of an application through active control, development, and maintenance. In
contrast, Software Lifecycle Management contains tools and processes to install, maintain, or
upgrade a specific SAP system, which is needed for certain applications and business
processes.
Due to the increasing complexity of solution landscapes, every business has integration needs
specific to its mission-critical applications. The more integrated and more complex the
software applications and solutions are in the customer landscape, the greater the need for
an end-to-end approach to lifecycle management. Application Lifecycle Management
guarantees extensive support to cover the entire life cycle of IT applications, from design to
decommissioning.
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Unit 6: Application Lifecycle Management
Figure 109: Phases in Application Lifecycle Management
The IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) forms a set of predefined, standardized processes,
functions, and roles for the lifecycle of typical IT services (IT service management (ITSM))
that typically occur in every IT infrastructure at larger companies. They involve suggested
best practices that can be adapted to the specific needs of a company.
In line with the six phases of application management defined under ITIL, the lifecycle also has
six phases:
●
●
●
●
The most important task in the requirements phase is to evaluate scenarios and the
corresponding business processes and to check whether they can be realized in the
project.
In the design phase, an implementation project manager oversees and directs the
deployment of new products, services, or projects for an organization. The project
manager creates a blueprint for the project, defines the milestone, and creates the work
breakdown structure.
In the build & test phase, the changes are implemented first. These changes might be a
solution extension with custom development activities, Customizing changes, or
integration of a partner or third party application. Developers perform tests of the
functions, while quality assurance prepares functional tests and tests of user acceptance
for the next phase. The list of relevant business processes determines which tests are
covered. Therefore, the build & test phase involves all relevant kinds of tests, including the
following:
-
Regression tests
-
Integration tests
-
Scenario tests
-
User acceptance tests
-
Performance tests
The objective of the deployment phase is to transition from the preproduction
environment to live operations. In this phase, support structures are created for end users
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Lesson: Describing Application Lifecycle Management
that are available not only during the critical period after going live, but also in the long
term.
●
●
The longest phase in the lifecycle is the operate phase, in which the end users work with
the product. In this phase, any errors that occur are fixed by SAP developers in the form of
error corrections.
During the operate phase, it may become apparent (through an analysis of compliance
with service level agreements, for example) that optimizations are needed. In the optimize
phase, you carry out the activities that are required to improve the results. This can also
result in new requirements.
Importance of the SAP Solution Manager System in Software Lifecycle
Management
The SAP Solution Manager system supports customers at the start of the project (to
implement an SAP application), during functional and technical implementation, during
running operation, and during the optimization of their system landscapes. The SAP Solution
Manager system also makes it possible to communicate with SAP and its partners at any time
and therefore enhances the extensive on-site service.
The SAP Solution Manager Launchpad is the central starting point for all functions for
administrative tasks in the SAP Solution Manager system. SAP Fiori apps are also available
for various applications.
The different areas in the SAP Solution Manager Launchpad cover the different aspects of
Application Lifecycle Management and enable access to role-specific functions. The structure
of the launchpad depends on the user’s respective role: You have access to relevant
messages, alerts, reports, and documents for which your role is authorized.
Figure 110: User Experience Monitoring
The figure“User Experience Monitoring”shows the SAPUI5-based app for User Experience
Monitoring as an example. This app is the central starting point for the administrator for
monitoring the availability of the systems and performance of the connections from the end
user perspective in real time.
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Unit 6: Application Lifecycle Management
Figure 111: SAP Solution Manager as Link to the SAP Support Infrastructure
SAP Solution Manager System gives you the benefits of a number of additional functions,
such as implementation support, as well as monitoring functions and IT Service Management
and its functions for reporting incidents. SAP Solution Manager 7.2 also supports SAP S/
4HANA and hybrid solutions.
SAP Solution Manager links the customer’s support organization (Customer Center of
Expertise – CCoE) with the SAP Support Portal. This enables workflows that use both
platforms. In IT Service Management, for example, you can forward the incidents from end
users directly to SAP Support.
The interaction between the SAP Solution Manager system, which has direct access to the
customer landscape, and the SAP Support backbone to the SAP Global Support organization
offers a platform for professional service and support processes. In turn, these processes
enable the delivery of proactive services that are custom-tailored to the CCoE’s specific
needs and requirements. This structure helps to improve the reliability and performance of
the customer’s business processes, reducing the total cost of ownership and providing a
better return on investment.
SAP System Landscape Directory and the Landscape Management Database
The complexity of modern software landscapes and the dependencies between individual
software components and applications make support for landscape planning, monitoring and
maintenance, as well as for implementation and upgrades, absolutely indispensable.
A description of the system landscape is needed for various SAP Solution Manager
applications, such as monitoring and alerting, as well as for calculating updates and upgrades
with the Maintenance Planner. The SAP Solution Manager system collects and saves detailed
information on the system landscape, for example:
●
●
Information about the technical system
Details of technical systems that are often used for communication with other systems,
such as host names, ports, and clients.
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Lesson: Describing Application Lifecycle Management
Landscape descriptions are based largely on data that is provided automatically: on the SAP
software catalog and the information that the technical systems send automatically via the
System Landscape Directory (SLD). The landscape data is often completed manually, based
on human decisions.
●
●
The System Landscape Directory (SLD) is the central directory for SAP system landscape
information that is relevant for software lifecycle management. It contains a description of
the current SAP system landscape (that is, which software components are installed on
which SAP systems) and a repository of the software components that could theoretically
be installed (for example, the software components developed by SAP). As this data is
automatically updated, the SLD provides current SAP system landscape information with
minimal administrative effort. This makes the SLD the central information provider for SAP
(and non-SAP) tools that require this data.
The Landscape Management Database (LMDB) in the SAP Solution Manager system lets
you centrally display, edit, and create information about technical systems, hosts, and
logical component groups. The LMDB collects information about the technical system,
including its installed product instances and software component versions. Technical
system information is needed for monitoring, for example.
Figure 112: Areas of the System Landscape Directory
More Information
Additional information on SAP Solution Manager is available in the
SAP Community Network
under the quick linkhttps://www.sap.com/community/topic/solution-manager.htmland
under the quick link/solutionmanagerin the SAP Support Portal.
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Unit 6: Application Lifecycle Management
Specific information on the System Landscape Directory is available in corresponding WIKI
System Landscape Directory (SLD) – Overviewon the SAP Community Networkin (https://
wiki.scn.sap.com/wiki/display/SL/System+Landscape+Directory+%28SLD%29++Overview).
SAP training courseSM100 – SAP Solution Manager Configuration for Operations
describes
the different activities, functions, and features that belong to the
Operationsarea in SAP
Solution Manager and provides information about the basic configuration of SAP Solution
Manager.
LESSON SUMMARY
You should now be able to:
●
●
Outline the concept of Application Lifecycle Management
Explain the importance of the SAP Solution Manager system and the System Landscape
Directory in Application Lifecycle Management
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Lesson 2
Implementing Business Processes and
Installing SAP Systems
LESSON OVERVIEW
SAP Software Lifecycle Management can be broken down into different parts:
Implementation and installation, operation and monitoring, and maintenance and upgrades.
This lesson covers theimplementation and installationphase of an SAP application.
The lesson begins with some important considerations that need to be addressed before the
actual installation of an SAP system. You then learn about the available installation tools and
documentation.
Business Example
As part of its upgrade to SAP enhancement package 8 for SAP ERP 6.0, your company wants
to install additional SAP systems. As a member of the project team, you want to find out
about the concepts and tools available for implementing SAP applications.
LESSON OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
●
Describe aspects of the technical implementation of SAP systems and business processes
The Role of the SAP Solution Manager System in the Implementation of SAP
Business Processes
The SAP Solution Manager system gives you central access to tools, methods, documents,
and other data that you need to implement SAP business processes. You can make good use
of the implementation content, which is delivered with the SAP Solution Manager system and
updated regularly, by adapting it for use in your company-specific context.
Processes of the SAP Solution Manager System
The SAP Solution Manager system provides comprehensive tools for the implementation of
business processes (characterized by the lifecycle phases
Requirements, Design, and Build &
Test in application lifecycle management). These tools include the following:
●
Solution Documentation
●
Test Management
●
Custom Code Management
The solution documentation process supports you with the automatic evaluation of business
processes in the SAP Solution Manager system. It thus helps you to optimize your business
processes. You can analyze the actively used business processes and the use of new
applications, for example. The wizard for the solution documentation performs a structurespecific analysis of the business processes, which helps you to prepare for upgrade projects
and to evaluate new functions and customer developments.
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Figure 113: Documentation of Business Processes
Test management helps you determine the testing scope needed for cross-system business
processes, manage the tests centrally, and carry out the tests. Test management involves the
phasestest scope identification, test planning, test execution, and change deployment.
SAP standard software is developed, comprehensively tested, and documented according to
proven standards. The individual applications are integrated with one another. Customers can
develop their own applications to enhance the SAP standard software. These custom
developments meet special requirements or offer functions that the SAP standard software
does not provide yet. However, custom developments do not always meet the quality
standards of SAP standard software, they are often not documented sufficiently, and there is
no overview for making the number or use of custom developments transparent. The SAP
Solution Manager system provides a process that enables you to structure, coordinate, and
optimize your custom developments, starting with the current situation. The custom code
management process is the central starting point for accessing all the functions you need to
generate a comprehensive overview of custom developments. In turn, this enables you to
continuously optimize their quantity and quality, as well as the implementation methods, and
even the impact of changes on the SAP objects used.
Integration between the SAP Solution Manager system and the project management
functions of SAP Portfolio and Project Management (SAP PPM) make it possible for you to
manage project times, project resources, and status values, for example.
SAP Activate
With SAP Activate, SAP provides an innovation implementation framework that accelerates
the implementation of SAP S/4HANA during the entire customer lifecycle. It features directly
executable digitized business and technology processes, guided configuration, and a nextgeneration methodology.
This SAP Activate methodology provides an end-to-end approach for any SAP S/4HANA
implementation type: cloud, on-premise, hybrid, or mobile. It is scalable and flexible enough
for small implementations, but also robust enough for major projects.
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●
●
SAP Best Practices packages offer deployable digitized business and technology
processes that have been optimized for SAP S/4HANA. They enable you to benefit from
SAP’s knowledge and experience with standard processes and concentrate on your
innovations.
Guided configuration is the content lifecycle management tool for configuring and testing
the selectedSAP Best Practices.
The SAP Activate methodology consists of the following four phases:
1. Prepare — Initial planning and project preparation
2. Explore — Determine the extent to which your business requirements can be met SAP
by
Best Practices, conduct solution design workshops, and document and prioritize
requirements and open items
3. Realize — Iterative development and testing of the entire solution landscape, based on the
requirements and documents from theExplore phase
4. Deploy — Transition to the production environment
The project team generates documents and results in each of these phases, which serve as
templates for the subsequent phases.
Figure 114: SAP Activate - Implementation Methodology for SAP S/4HANA
The implementation contents consist of structures for scenarios, processes, and
configurations that are predefined for SAP S/4HANA applications. In addition,
implementation-relevant utilities are provided in the form of general documentation,
preconfigurations, and test cases.
After the implementation project is complete, the implemented business scenarios and
processes, along with the corresponding SAP system information, is transferred to a
customer-specific store (production branch). It is available here for operations and can be
used in theOperate phase (and for business process monitoring).
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Note:
A branch represents a version of the solution documentation that contains both
the processes and the involved systems.
Installation Considerations
Before you begin with the actual installation of one or more SAP systems, you should first
consider several fundamental questions regarding the SAP system architecture. Some of
these questions are listed in the figure
“SAP Systems Installation Questions”
.
Figure 115: SAP Systems Installation Questions
These questions are discussed in more detail in the remaining part of this lesson.
Figure 116: Installation Considerations
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Lesson: Implementing Business Processes and Installing SAP Systems
Sizing
To get an initial idea of what hardware is necessary to operate the SAP system, estimate the
hardware requirements of your SAP system (sizing). This includes the required network
bandwidth, physical memory, CPU size, and I/O capacity. The size of the hardware and
database is influenced by business considerations as well as technical aspects (i.e. the
number of users, the applications used, and the data volume caused by these applications on
the network).
SAP provides its own tool for the initial assessment of the required hardware: Quick
the Sizer.
Based on questions on the expected number of users, applications, and so on, Quick Sizer
determines an SAPS value (SAP Application Performance Standard) which the hardware
partner can use to determine a hardware configuration for the SAP system.
Hint:
For more information about sizing, go to
https://www.sap.com/about/
benchmark/sizing.quick-sizer.html. There is also a link directly to theQuick Sizer
(tab Quick Sizer).
Note that sizing is an ongoing process. You may have to adjust the sizing
whenever additional users access the SAP system or new applications are
deployed.
Supported Platforms
The Product Availability Matrix (PAM) provides technical information and release planning
information for the individual SAP products and their versions.
Using PAM, you can find information about the availability of SAP component releases
(product versions), the end of their respective maintenance periods, upgrade paths, and
technical release information (such as database platforms, operating systems, and supported
languages).
Hint:
To access the Product Availability Matrix, go to the SAP Support Portal and
choose quick link/pam.
Load Balancing
In SAP systems that have multiple application servers and large numbers of users, the
question of how best to distribute the users among the application servers of the SAP system
frequently arises. The SAP system provides various mechanisms for load balancing:
●
●
●
When logging on with the SAP GUI, the (ABAP) Message Server can distribute individual
users to the various application servers when they log on to the SAP system. Since this
distribution takes place at the time of the SAP system logon and cannot be changed before
logging out, it is known aslogon load balancing
.
Once a user is logged on to a specific application server under the SAP GUI protocol, the
ABAP dispatcher takes care of balancing the individual work processes.
HTTP requests received via the Internet Communication Manager (ICM) of an application
server are – if the ICM cannot answer the request itself from the cache – forwarded by the
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ICM to the responsible ABAP dispatcher (or a Java server node). In other words, the ICM
distributes HTTP requests within an application server to the ABAP (or Java) runtime
environment.
●
Finally, the SAP Web Dispatcher (or a non-SAP, commercial web switch) – in the
demilitarized zone (DMZ) before the SAP system – distributes incoming HTTP requests to
the individual application servers of the SAP system according to specified rules.
Figure 117: Load Balancing in the SAP System (in an AS ABAP-Based SAP System)
High Availability
In many cases – especially in the area of intercompany processes – the availability of
production systems is crucially important.
SAP provides a proven, scalable, multi-tier architecture. The individual elements of this
architecture can be protected either by horizontal scalability – that is, the use of multiple
components that tolerate the failure of individual components – or by cluster and switchover
solutions. All SAP hardware partners provide proven solutions that, together with other
hardware and software products, ensure high availability for SAP applications.
The following figure emphasizes the single points of failure (SPOF) for an SAP system based
on AS ABAP. These are:
●
ABAP message server (or Java message server in systems based on AS Java)
●
ABAP or Java enqueue (work) process
●
Database
●
SAP Web Dispatcher (if used)
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Figure 118: High Availability – Single Points of Failure in SAP Systems
Installation Tools and Utilities
Once all architectural considerations have been completed, preparations for the actual
installation of the SAP systems (or SAP systems) can begin. We recommend acquainting
yourself with the documentation before doing so. Special SAP tools are available for the
actual installation and basic configuration.
Documentation
The figure“Documentation Types”lists different types of documentation that are required for
the installation, configuration, and operation of SAP systems.
Figure 119: Documentation Types
Once you have determined the scenarios that you want to implement and you know your
performance requirements (such as the expected number of users or data throughput), you
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can use the Master Guide to get an idea of which building blocks (SAP systems with usage
types, for example, or independent engines) you need. You can then use this information to
plan the mapping of these building blocks to your SAP system landscape.
The Master Guide (for example, Master Guide – SAP ERP 6.0) contains information about the
SAP system landscape you need for the scenario you want to implement (such as
Procurement and Logistics Execution), along with the required system landscape.
Note:
In addition to the master guide for the product, there may be another master
guide for an SAP Enhancement Package, which provides additional information.
Once you have worked your way through the Master Guide, you will know which usage types
you should install on which hosts and which SAP system in the SAP system landscape. We
recommend working through the Master Guide before you begin the installation.
In SAP Enhancement Package 5 for SAP ERP 6.0 and later, there is another guide for
technical planning of the implementation of the SAP Business Suite landscape. This guide
contains essential information about:
●
Building blocks for SAP system landscapes
●
Planning the SAP system landscape
●
Distribution scenarios and example implementations
Hint:
The guide is available for example on SAP Help Portal for SAP SCM
https://
(
help.sap.com/viewer/p/SAP_SUPPLY_CHAIN_MANAGEMENT
) in area
Administration→ Planning Guide – SAP Business Suite Landscape
Implementation (<Language>)
.
You also need the installation guide for the SAP system itself (such as Installation Guide –
SAP Enhancement Package 8 for SAP ERP 6.0 – Java and ABAP). The installation guides
contain planning information about the software units to be installed (such as settings that
need to be made before the actual installation).
Hint:
For SAP NetWeaver, this documentation is available also at
https://
help.sap.com/viewer/nwguidefinder.
For the actual work with the installed SAP system, SAP provides documentation for the
respective releases.
Installation Tools
The technical installation of an SAP system is performed with the tool Software Provisioning
Manager (SWPM). Depending on which scenario is used, a configuration wizard may also be
available to simplify and speed up the configuration.
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Note:
Software Provisioning Manager 1.0 is the successor to product-specific and
release-specific installation tools, such as SAPinst. This tool is part of the Software
Logistics Toolset and contains the latest SAPinst version with software
provisioning services various products and versions and for all platforms.
For more information about the Software Logistics Toolset, go to SAP Support
Portal on pagehttps://support.sap.com/en/tools/software-logistics-tools.html
(or its successor).
Figure 120: SAP Software Provisioning Manager (SWPM)
The SWPM installation tool checks the required system prerequisites (Prerequisites Check)
and performs the installation. Depending on which usage types are to be installed, a wizard
may guide you through the installation process. After you have answered all the questions
about the installation, SWPM installs the desired SAP system. The tool also executes the first
configuration steps.
Addendum: SAP Rapid Deployment Solutions
Every department at a modern company wants software that is easy to implement.
To cut the costs of the conventional development and implementation process, SAP provides
a variety of best practices that can be used instantly. These
SAP Rapid Deployment Solutions
contain standard software that you integrate in your existing IT landscape and can still be
adapted flexibly according to your company’s future requirements. These solutions were
designed for customers who attach great importance to the rapid implementation of new
software solutions – whether to streamline key business processes or to benefit quickly from
the latest SAP innovations.
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Note:
More information on SAP Rapid Deployment Solutions and about SAP Best
Practices is available in SAP Best Practices Explorerhttps://rapid.sap.com/bp).
(
Additional Information
Additional information on the topics covered in this lesson is available SAP
on Help Portal
(http://help.sap.com) andSAP Support Portal(http://support.sap.com) under the following
links:
●
https://www.sap.com/about/benchmark/sizing.htmlon the subject of sizing
●
https://support.sap.com/pam for supported hardware and software versions
●
https://help.sap.com/viewer/nwguidefinderfor SAP NetWeaver
●
https://support.sap.com/en/tools/software-logistics-tools.htmlfor information about
the Software Logistics Toolset
The training courseACT100 – SAP Activate Methodologyintroduces theSAP Activate
framework and the methods that are needed for the efficient, successful implementation of
software solutions in the SAP S/4HANA framework. In addition, in training course
E2E600 –
SAP Solution Manager 7.2 for SAP S/4HANA Implementations
, you can learn how SAP
Solution Manager 7.2 helps your business to transition to SAP S/4HANA.
LESSON SUMMARY
You should now be able to:
●
Describe aspects of the technical implementation of SAP systems and business processes
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Unit 6
Lesson 3
Describing Business Process Operations
LESSON OVERVIEW
This lesson introduces the tools that the SAP Solution Manager system provides for your
business process operations.
LESSON OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
●
List the tools in the SAP Solution Manager system for Business Process Operations
Tools in the SAP Solution Manager System for Business Process Operations
The SAP Solution Manager system provides comprehensive functions and tools for the
regular operation of business processes (characterized by the
Deploy, Operate, and Optimize
phases in Application Lifecycle Management). These tools include
Tools in the SAP Solution Manager System for Operations (Selection)
●
Monitoring Business Processes and Interfaces
●
Root Cause Analysis
●
Delivery of SAP Services
●
Gateway to the SAP Support infrastructure
Business process and interface monitoringin the SAP Solution Manager system enables you
to identify and solve potential problems before critical situations occur. This helps you to
avoid expensive downtimes of systems and business processes while minimizing the risk of
data inconsistencies. Graphical illustrations give you an overview of entire business
processes. You collect application-specific KPIs automatically.
Today’s distributed, multi-technology customer solutions give users multichannel access
through various devices and client applications. To analyze the root cause of an incident in
such cases, a systematic, top-down approach is required. This approach can be managed
using tools that enable the most efficient analysis possible and implement SAP’s proven
methods. The objective of root cause analysis is either to solve a given problem completely or,
in cases where that is not possible, to localize the problem and find a short-term
countermeasure (workaround) to restore service operations as quickly as possible and with
minimal interruption for end users. The tools for root cause analysis are designed to minimize
the resources required in every step of the solution process. In addition, the infrastructure of
the root cause analysis is open for the integration of new SAP technologies, SAP applications,
and third-party software.
The service delivery enables you to use the different services from SAP for supporting your
live operations. You can send a service request to SAP, create your own services locally and
edit the requirements accordingly, or accept or reject a service suggested by SAP. The
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session details let you save your own context information for the sessions, assign service
sessions directly to projects, and display documents, among other features.
The SAP Solution Manager system also serves as the gateway to SAP Active Global Support
(SAP AGS) and the SAP Support infrastructure. In turn, SAP AGS can collaborate with many
other SAP organizations (such as Development and SAP Consulting) to give customers the
right assistance at the right time.
Application Example: Application Operations
Application Operations in the SAP Solution Manager system includes all the functions for the
central monitoring, alerting, analysis, and administration of SAP solutions.
The components for application operations offer the following functions:
●
●
●
●
●
System and application monitoring
: You can monitor the status of complex landscapes
and manage alerts with the end-to-end monitoring and alerting infrastructure. An example
for system monitoring is shown in the figure below.
Technical analyses and dashboards
: Interactive, technical analysis functions enable you to
run analyses for a wide range of aspects in multiple solutions. The dashboards for
application operations give you a quick overview of the availability and performance of the
systems you manage.
Data volume management
: You can monitor the data volume in your system landscape
and reduce overall operating costs by reducing the size of your databases and the monthly
data growth.
Technical administration and guided procedures
: Technical administration enables the
efficient planning, implementation, execution, and analysis of your daily operating
activities.
Root cause analysis and exception management
: You can analyze the root cause of a
message and apply a top-down approach to develop solutions for distributed, multitechnology systems.
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Lesson: Describing Business Process Operations
Figure 121: Application Example: Graphical System Monitoring
Application Example: IT Service Management
With IT Service Management, the SAP Solution Manager system provides a central message
management and processing instance. It makes it possible for you to contact all the parties
involved in a message. This could be all users of your company’s system landscape or
solutions, such as employees, customers, consultants, or support staff.
The integration between Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) and the SAP Solution
Manager system lets you integrate the features of IT Service Management with ALM, as
shown in the figure“SAP IT Service Management on the SAP Solution Manager System –
Integrated IT Support Processes”
.
Figure 122: SAP IT Service Management on the SAP Solution Manager System – Integrated IT Support
Processes
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When a defined threshold value is exceeded in monitoring, for example, an incident can be
generated. The tools of the SAP Solution Manager system (such as root cause analysis) can
then be used to fix the incident.
Note:
Many processes of the SAP Solution Manager system, such as
Incident
Management, Service Request Management, Problem Management, Change
Request Management, and Service Level Management, have been externally
certified and are compliant with the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) processes.
LESSON SUMMARY
You should now be able to:
●
List the tools in the SAP Solution Manager system for Business Process Operations
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Lesson 4
Maintaining SAP systems
LESSON OVERVIEW
Once SAP systems have been installed and are in productive use, they have to be maintained
at regular intervals as part of software lifecycle management.
This lesson provides first an overview of the different types of maintenance for SAP systems,
followed by an examination of the tools provided by SAP for this purpose.
Business Example
Your company plans to implement SAP software. As a member of the project team, you want
to find out which part of the SAP software can be maintained with the help of which tools.
LESSON OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
●
List tools for maintaining SAP systems
Overview
One important element of SAP Software Lifecycle Management is the maintenance and
updates of SAP systems. A number of different terms are used in the SAP context, depending
on the type of maintenance involved. They are delimited from one another – together with the
names of the tools used – in the figure
“Overview of SAP System Maintenance”
.
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Unit 6: Application Lifecycle Management
Figure 123: Overview of SAP System Maintenance
The individual types of changes to the repository and the tools provided for making them are
described in detail in the following. This lesson does not cover changes to the runtime
environment.
Note:
Note that maintenance often requires downtime of the SAP system or parts of the
system. This downtime must be coordinated between system administrators and
the user departments – for example, neither end user jobs should be active in the
system during this downtime, nor should data transfers from other systems take
place.
Software Logistics
SAP provides the Change and Transport System (CTS) for software logistics (the transport of
changes from the development system to a test system and then to a production system).
You can use it to transport both ABAP and non-ABAP applications.
ABAP CTS checks and controls changes to Customizing and to repository data made using
Implementation Guides (IMG) or the ABAP Workbench. It records changes in transport
requests and transports them to downstream systems after they are released. These
transports are logged so that it is easy to trace which changes were imported to which SAP
systems. The main areas of the CTS are the
Transport Organizer(transactionSE09) and the
Transport Management System(transactionSTMS).
SAP NetWeaver Development Infrastructure (NWDI) and other non-ABAP development
environments (for developing SAP NetWeaver Portal content, for example) can be integrated
with the CTS.
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Lesson: Maintaining SAP systems
Hint:
For an overview of possible scenarios, along with additional information, go to
the SAP Community Network and refer to the document Resources on CTS+
(https://wiki.scn.sap.com/wiki/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=448469096)
which can be reached from the SAP Community Software Logistics Wiki
(https://wiki.scn.sap.com/wiki/display/SL by choosing Change and Transport
System→ Enhanced Change & Transport System (CTS-PLS)
).
Note:
SAP NetWeaver Development Infrastructure (NWDI), which can be used to
develop Java applications, enables the central management and control of source
texts in the Design Time Repository, as well as the central administration of the
archives for a development project in the Component Build Service. The entire
software lifecycle can be managed and controlled using the Change Management
Service (CMS), which enables integration with the ABAP-based Change and
Transport System. The integrated SAP NetWeaver Developer Studio development
environment supports the creation and local building of components.
Figure 124: Change and Transport System
In addition to the Change and Transport System, the SAP Solution Manager system offers
Change Request Management) , which enables central change tracking, supporting customers
in making their system landscapes consistent and transparent.
This process makes it possible for you to manage your projects end-to-end in the SAP
Solution Manager system: from change management and project planning to resource
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management and cost control and from the physical transport of changes from the
development environment into the production environment.
SAP Note Corrections
There are many different reasons for SAP Notes. SAP Notes can provide information of any
kind for customers and partners of SAP. However, they often also contain solutions for known
problems with an SAP system. SAP Security Notes contain SAP recommendations for
strengthening the security of SAP systems.
Note:
For more information aboutS AP Security Notes, go to the SAP Support Portal at
https://support.sap.com/en/my-support/knowledge-base/security-notesnews.html
When talking about SAP Notes in this lesson, we refer only to those SAP Notes that contain a
solution for an error in the source code of an ABAP program supplied by SAP. These SAP
Notes describe how to remove these errors in the SAP system by changing the source code.
Always read an SAP Note carefully before you implement it. The SAP Note can contain
prerequisites, interactions, and references to preprocessing and postprocessing activities,
such as making changes to a table, that you must consider when you implement it. By
implementing an SAP Note, you can remove the error it refers to.
Implementing an SAP Note manually leads to high costs and is susceptible to errors, because
necessary preparations may be overlooked or the person implementing the SAP Note may
not realize that the SAP Note is not valid for his or her release.
The SAP Note Assistant (transactionSNOTE) is a tool from SAP that enables the automatic
implementation of SAP Notes. Automatic implementation of corrections contributes to
enhanced quality, because it reduces errors due to manual implementation.
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Lesson: Maintaining SAP systems
Figure 125: SAP Note Assistant
Hint:
The SAP Note Assistant cannot implement all error corrections.
Note:
The SAP Solution Manager system includes the system recommendations app,
which helps you manage the SAP Notes that have not yet been implemented or
installed in the systems you manage. You can start this app from the SAP Solution
Manager Launchpad (transactionSM_WORKCENTER, Change Managementarea).
SAP Support Package Stacks
Whereas error corrections using SAP Notes are only available for ABAP-based software
components and only affect individual programs or development objects,
Support Packages
always contain a large quantity of error corrections for a specific software component (at a
specific release level). SAP Support Packages are available for ABAP- and Java-based
software components.
The increasing variety of components in a product version makes it necessary to improve the
transparency of Support Packages and patches that are implemented and to set clear
guidelines regarding recommended or allowed combinations. For this purpose, a new SAP
Support Package stack is usually put together for most product versions every three to six
months. These stacks contain the current best combination of SAP Support Package versions
for the individual software components. This reduces the theoretical range of SAP Support
Package combinations to those combinations that are useful in practice. SAP Support
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Unit 6: Application Lifecycle Management
Package stacks represent combinations of SAP Support Packages stipulated by SAP for the
respective product version, and we recommend that you regularly import these.
Hint:
Special Support Package stacks for the latest product versions are sometimes
distributed as Feature Packages, which can also contain new features in addition
to error corrections and legal changes. This makes it possible to deploy
innovations quickly.
The tools used to import the SAP Support Packages depend on the type of SAP Support
Package involved. SAP Support Packages for AS ABAP-based software components, for
example, can be imported using the Support Package Manager (transaction
SPAM). SAP
Support Packages for AS Java-based software components are imported using the Software
Update Manager (SUM).
Note:
SAP offers a large number of add-ons to supplement a standard SAP system.
They can involve industry solutions, plug-ins, or even customer-specific
development projects. To enable the installation and maintenance of these addons directly from the SAP system, the SAP Add-on Installation Tool (transaction
code SAINT) was developed.
Figure 126: Tools for Importing Support Packages
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Lesson: Maintaining SAP systems
Hint:
Concerning Java-based SAP systems, the Software Update Manager is the
successor to the Java Support Package Manager (JSPM). For details, see SAP
Note 1589311 – Replacements of outdated tools via SL Toolset
.
SAP Support Packages are available on the SAP Support Portal.
Note:
To download SAP Support Package stacks for SAP systems based on SAP
NetWeaver 7.0 (and higher), the Maintenance Optimizer in SAP Solution Manager
or its successor, the Maintenance Planner, is required.
For more information, visit the SAP Community Network under
http://
wiki.scn.sap.com/wiki/display/SM/Maintenance+Tools%3A+Maintenance
+Planner+and+Maintenance+Optimizer
. The Maintenance Planner is available in
the SAP Support Portal underhttps://apps.support.sap.com/sap/support/mp/
index.html
SAP Enhancement Packages
SAP provides a concept for enhancing applications in the SAP Business Suite. This concept is
called SAP enhancement packages.
The delivery technology for SAP enhancement packages enables SAP to supply new
developments and application enhancements to SAP systems, such as your existing SAP ECC
6.0 systems. As a result, you can use the new developments provided by SAP in your own
time and according to your specific business process requirements. The new developments
and enhancements only become active after you have decided to use these new products,
have installed the related technical components, and have activated the relevant business
functions in your AS ABAP-based SAP ECC system. Those business processes for which you
do not activate any business functions remain unchanged.
SAP enhancement packages were shipped for the first time with SAP ERP 6.0 and the
concept has been since expanded to all components of the SAP Business Suite, such as SAP
CRM systems, and so on.
The characteristics of SAP enhancement packages are listed in the figure
“The Concept of
SAP Enhancement Packages (Example for SAP ECC)”
(based on SAP enhancement package
8 for SAP ERP 6.0):
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Figure 127: The Concept of SAP Enhancement Packages (Example for SAP ECC)
Hint:
For additional information about SAP enhancement packages in the SAP ERP 6.0
environment, go tohttps://www.sap.com/products/enterprise-managementerp.html.
Note:
SAP Enhancement Package 8 for SAP ERP 6.0 is based on SAP NetWeaver AS
7.50 and is therefore only available as a Unicode version. Accordingly, a Unicodebased system is required as the starting point for importing this enhancement
package. As a result, you may have to perform a Unicode conversion before you
import the enhancement package.
Upgrade
An upgrade is the change from an older software version to a newer version. This involves
replacing all the repository objects supplied by SAP (programs, table definitions, and so on)
and the runtime environment.
Hint:
In contrast, an update generally involves activities for maintenance or expansion
of a system, such as installing an enhancement package, installing add-ons, or
importing Support Package stacks.
There are many different reasons to upgrade SAP systems, but they can be divided roughly
into three areas. This is why we also differentiate between three different upgrade
procedures:
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Lesson: Maintaining SAP systems
●
●
●
Technical upgradesfocus
upgrades
solely on the required future compatibility of the existing SAP
application and no reducing risks.
Functional upgradesinvolve
upgrades
limited functional enhancements and reduce the total cost of
ownership (TCO), in which SAP modifications are returned to the standard version, for
example.
Strategic upgradesalso
upgrades
include intra-enterprise structural change and implementing new
strategic business processes as part of an SAP upgrade's project scope.
Depending on the type of upgrade, the associated upgrade project also has varying degrees of
scope. SAP offers you tailored upgrade services, tools, and content that offer effective
support for the major challenges involved in deciding on an upgrade and during the planning
and execution of an upgrade project.
From a technical perspective, the upgrade is performed by the Software Update Manager
(SUM).
Note:
The Software Update Manager integrates the tools SAPUp (for ABAP-based
systems) and SAPJup (for Java-based systems). For details, see SAP Note
1589311 – Replacements of outdated tools via SL Toolset
.
Figure 128: Software Update Manager
The SAP Solution Manager system supports the preparation, structuring, and execution of
upgrade projects. It provides a portfolio of procedures, tools, and services that simplify the
upgrading of SAP systems. In addition to this, the SAP Solution Manager system also
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Unit 6: Application Lifecycle Management
provides documentation options for all project-related information, configuration support,
and test management, among other things.
Hint:
For more information on upgrades, see the SAP Support Portal:
https://
support.sap.com/en/release-upgrade-maintenance/upgrade-information.html
.
Migrating to SAP S/4HANA
Once you have decided to implement SAP S/4HANA, your exact path to SAP S/4HANA
depends on various factors. One of these factors is your current system landscape: For
example, you might already be using SAP Business Suite on SAP HANA, you might be a new
SAP customer, or you could already have a complex, organically grown SAP landscape that
you want to simplify and transform. These three scenarios are shown in the figure
“Migrating
to SAP S/4HANA”.
Figure 129: Migrating to SAP S/4HANA
●
●
●
In the new implementation scenario, you are installing a new SAP S/4HANA system and
migrating the data that you previously managed in a non-SAP solution.
In the system conversion scenario, you already use SAP Business Suite on SAP HANA or
on a different database and you are converting your existing SAP System to an SAP S/
4HANA system.
Finally, in the landscape transformation scenario, the requirements are more complex. You
may want to use SAP S/4HANA as your central financials system, for example, or move
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Lesson: Maintaining SAP systems
other selected applications to SAP S/4HANA. Or you might want to simplify your system
landscape by consolidating different business systems in a new SAP S/4HANA system.
Software Logistics Toolset
You use the software logistics tools and processes to manage the system landscape in all
phases of the lifecycle. In addition to the initial implementation of an application, the tools
support ongoing system optimization and adaptation to changed requirements, as well as the
implementation of new features.
Until the end of 2010, SAP application projects were shipped together with release-specific
software logistics (SL) tools.
To provide the latest software logistics tools for releases of SAP application products, an
independent delivery channel for the software logistics tools was established in 2011 under
the name Software Logistics Toolset (SL Toolset). They enable customers to benefit from
regular improvements to the SL tools. Current, downward compatible software logistics tools
help to achieve a standard user experience across all supported product releases and reduce
total operating costs.
For more information about these tools, see
https://support.sap.com/en/tools/softwarelogistics-tools.html.
More Information
More information on the topics covered in this lesson is available SAP
on Support Portal
(http://support.sap.com), under the following links:
●
●
●
Quick link /notes for the SAP Notesdatabase
Link https://support.sap.com/en/my-support/knowledge-base/security-notesnews.html for SAP Notesthat strengthen the security of the SAP systems
Link https://support.sap.com/en/tools/software-logistics-tools.htmlfor the Software
Logistics Toolset
In addition to this, selected topics from this lesson are also covered in the following additional
courses:
●
ADM100: System Administration I for SAP S/4HANA and SAP Business Suite
●
ADM800: AS Java – Administration
●
ADM328: SAP S/4HANA Conversion and SAP System Upgrade
LESSON SUMMARY
You should now be able to:
●
List tools for maintaining SAP systems
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Unit 6
Learning Assessment
1. Which SAP tools support you in your application lifecycle management tasks?
Choose the correct answers.
X
A SAP Solution Manager
X
B Transaction S_LIFECYCLE in any AS ABAP-based SAP system
X
C System Landscape Directory (SLD)
X
D SAP Advanced Landscape Optimizer (SAP ALO)
X
E SAP Landscape Planning Tool - Version 1 (LPT1)
2. Which of the following statements about load balancing in SAP systems are correct?
Choose the correct answers.
X
A The Internet Communication Manager (ICM) distributes HTTP requests to all
available application servers on your SAP system.
X
B The ABAP Message Server can distribute requests to all available application
servers during logon with the SAP GUI.
X
C The ABAP dispatcher distributes user requests to the work processes of the
present application server.
X
D The SAP Web Dispatcher can distribute HTTP requests to different application
servers of an SAP system in succession.
3. Which tools does the SAP Solution Manager system provide for the operation of business
processes?
Choose the correct answers.
X
A Root Cause Analysis
X
B IT Service Management
X
C Quick Sizer
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Unit 6: Learning Assessment
4. Which statements about SAP Support Packages and SAP enhancement packages are
correct?
Choose the correct answers.
X
A SAP Support Packages contain error corrections and legal changes.
X
B Importing SAP Support Packages is a purely voluntary measure.
X
C SAP enhancement packages are cumulative.
X
D SAP enhancement packages can add new functions to the SAP system.
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Unit 6
Learning Assessment - Answers
1. Which SAP tools support you in your application lifecycle management tasks?
Choose the correct answers.
X
A SAP Solution Manager
X
B Transaction S_LIFECYCLE in any AS ABAP-based SAP system
X
C System Landscape Directory (SLD)
X
D SAP Advanced Landscape Optimizer (SAP ALO)
X
E SAP Landscape Planning Tool - Version 1 (LPT1)
SAP Solution Managera nd the System Landscape Directoryare important tools in the
application lifecycle management context. The other terms are made-up names;
transactionS_LIFECYCLE is also fictitious.
2. Which of the following statements about load balancing in SAP systems are correct?
Choose the correct answers.
X
A The Internet Communication Manager (ICM) distributes HTTP requests to all
available application servers on your SAP system.
X
B The ABAP Message Server can distribute requests to all available application
servers during logon with the SAP GUI.
X
C The ABAP dispatcher distributes user requests to the work processes of the
present application server.
X
D The SAP Web Dispatcher can distribute HTTP requests to different application
servers of an SAP system in succession.
The Internet Communication Manager(ICM) of an application server instance can only
forward HTTP requests to the processes in its own application servers. If load balancing is
desired for HTTP requests, theSAP Web Dispatchercan be installed on a computer in the
demilitarized zone (DMZ) and be connected to one ore more SAP system(s).
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Unit 6: Learning Assessment - Answers
3. Which tools does the SAP Solution Manager system provide for the operation of business
processes?
Choose the correct answers.
X
A Root Cause Analysis
X
B IT Service Management
X
C Quick Sizer
Root Cause Analysis and IT Service Management are tools provided by the SAP Solution
Manager system. The Quick Sizer tool is available outside the SAP system.
4. Which statements about SAP Support Packages and SAP enhancement packages are
correct?
Choose the correct answers.
X
A SAP Support Packages contain error corrections and legal changes.
X
B Importing SAP Support Packages is a purely voluntary measure.
X
C SAP enhancement packages are cumulative.
X
D SAP enhancement packages can add new functions to the SAP system.
SAP Support Packages contain error corrections and legal changes. SAP recommends
importing SAP Support Packages in the form of Support Package stacks. Imports of SAP
Support Packages are not entirely voluntary, due to the need to implement legal changes
in the SAP system. SAP enhancement packages can change business processes and may
add new functions to the SAP system.
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225
UNIT 7
SAP Portfolio Overview
Lesson 1
Explaining the Role of SAP NetWeaver
227
Lesson 2
Describing the SAP Software Portfolio
232
Lesson 3
Describing the SAP Release Strategy
259
UNIT OBJECTIVES
●
Explain the basic concept of SAP NetWeaver
●
Describe the central role played by the SAP NetWeaver Application Server
●
List the key components of the SAP solutions
●
Describe the SAP software delivery process
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Unit 7
Lesson 1
Explaining the Role of SAP NetWeaver
LESSON OVERVIEW
This lesson explains the central role of the SAP NetWeaver Application Server in SAP
NetWeaver.
Business Example
You want to find out more about SAP NetWeaver and the role that the SAP NetWeaver
Application Server (SAP NetWeaver AS) plays in SAP NetWeaver.
LESSON OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
●
Explain the basic concept of SAP NetWeaver
●
Describe the central role played by the SAP NetWeaver Application Server
SAP NetWeaver
The SAP NetWeaver technology platform is a reliable, secure, scalable foundation for running
business applications like the SAP S/4HANA and SAP Business Suite and ensures that large
companies can execute success-critical business processes. As the technical foundation for a
service-oriented architecture, SAP NetWeaver provides a comprehensive set of middleware
functions in a modular software environment that aims to reduce IT complexity and boost
enterprise flexibility across heterogeneous IT landscapes. With standardized lifecycle
management, identity management, secure communications, and end-to-end monitoring,
SAP NetWeaver offers IT companies the lowest operating costs and best enterprise
availability for SAP applications in heterogeneous IT landscapes.
SAP NetWeaver gives customers flexible options for integrating and enhancing the business
processes that involve applications from SAP, certified SAP partners, and custom
applications, by providing predefined content and services that can be implemented quickly,
thanks to model-based tools. Support for business process management enables you to
check mission-critical business processes for efficiency, integrity, and security. Users can
also use SAP NetWeaver to define business roles, thus ensuring consistent processes in the
entire enterprise network.
SAP NetWeaver integrates and connects people, information, and business processes across
technologies and organizational boundaries. As a result, companies can respond to changes
quickly. With SAP NetWeaver, a company’s decisive business processes become reliable,
secure, and scalable. Furthermore, SAP NetWeaver enables companies to maximize the
benefits from the current software and systems. Non-uniform integration technologies are
consolidated and predefined business content is provided thus reducing the amount of
manual work required. SAP NetWeaver builds on industry standard technology and can be
enhanced with common development tools.
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Unit 7: SAP Portfolio Overview
IT Practices and IT Scenarios
Figure 130: SAP NetWeaver: Technology Map
SAP NetWeaver enables you to implement IT processes in a range of solution methods, called
IT practices. For each practice, SAP NetWeaver supports a range of important IT activities,
which can be performed using the integrated components of the platform. The focus here is
not on system and technological components but on the IT and business goals of the
company. IT practices enable you to reach your company's goals in individual and
manageable projects, that is, sequentially and according to their importance. IT practices
refer to, for example, the increase of user productivity through improved, cross-company
collaboration, personalized access to applications and data and optimized knowledge
management. IT practices show how SAP NetWeaver can be used to solve certain IT
problems by means ofIT scenarios.
scenarios For each IT practice, SAP NetWeaver supplies
corresponding IT scenarios, which serve as implementation guides.
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Lesson: Explaining the Role of SAP NetWeaver
Layers and Uses of SAP NetWeaver
Figure 131: SAP NetWeaver: Uses
SAP Enterprise Portal
Combines important information and applications and offers role-based, enterprise-wide
views that enable you to extract the full value from your information resources.
With its collaboration functions, SAP NetWeaver enables communication and
collaboration in the portal. In turn, this enables SAP NetWeaver to bring the members of
project groups together independently of time or geographic location. Users can access
virtual rooms where they can process and organize documents, applications, and ideas
together.
With its knowledge management functions, the SAP NetWeaver Portal provides a central,
role-specific starting point for unstructured information from a wide range of data
sources. This unstructured information can be saved in different formats, such as text
documents, presentations, or HTML files.
Web Dynpro
Web Dynpro (WD) is a technology for creating web-based applications for SAP systems.
There are Java and ABAP versions of Web Dynpro. Web Dynpro for ABAP is particularly
important for new developments.
Web Dynpro for ABAP integrates seamlessly in existing SAP systems. You can also use
the classic ALV grid (ALV=ABAP List Viewer) and wizards to generate often-used coding
excerpts.
SAPUI5
The SAP UI Development Toolkit for HTML5 (SAPUI5) is a user interface technology that
enables you to set up and modify client applications. The SAPUI5 runtime is a client-side
HTML5 rendering library that provides a set of standard and enhancement controls,
along with a lightweight programming model. You can enhance these controls and
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Unit 7: SAP Portfolio Overview
develop your own custom controls. SAPUI5 provides comprehensive functions for
creating and enhancing state-of-the-art user interfaces.
SAP Process Orchestration
Provides an SOA-based technology that supports process-oriented integration in the
extended value chain.
The Integration Broker sends integration knowledge in the form of predefined integration
scenarios. It also provides a set of integrated tools for creating and managing all
integration-relevant information.
It provides tools that let you adapt, execute, and monitor business processes based on
consistent, end-to-end process models.
SAP Business Warehouse
Enables you to integrate data from your entire company and convert it into practical,
contemporary enterprise information to promote sound decision-making.
AS ABAP
The SAP NetWeaver Application Server ABAP offers a full development infrastructure
that enables the development, distribution, and execution of robust, platformindependent, scalable web services and enterprise applications.
ABAP is a programming language created by SAP for the development of enterprise
applications.
AS Java
Support for Java Platform, Enterprise Edition for the development of Java-based
enterprise applications.
SAP Lifecycle Management
SAP Lifecycle Management supports design, development, deployment, and change
management of the entire solution and thus meets the requirements in the security,
design and modeling, testing and systems environment management areas.
SAP Gateway
SAP Gateway is located between SAP systems and the outside world, thus making data
from the SAP systems available externally. SAP Gateway uses the Open Data (OData)
protocol for communications between applications and the SAP system. OData is
developed by Microsoft and is an extension of the Atom Publishing and Atom Syndication
Standards, which in turn are based on XML (Extensible Markup Language) and HTTP(S)
(Hypertext Transfer Protocol (Secure)). With this extension, OData provides database
like access to server-side resources.
SAP Fiori
SAP Fiori lets you link people with processes, because SAP Fiori provides a pleasant,
consistent, coherent view. SAP Fiori runs on a wide variety of devices, to get work done
quickly and efficiently. As a key component of the SAP user experience (UX) strategy, the
new version of SAP Fiori has been enhanced to offer additional business areas and a
wider spectrum of roles, to capture the full benefits of a simple, modern user experience.
It focuses on creating an exciting user experience, to make it faster and easier for people
to process complete core business tasks for HR, finances, manufacturing, procurement,
sales, and supply chain across multiple devices – desktops, tablet PCs, and
smartphones.
SAP HANA or AnyDB
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Lesson: Explaining the Role of SAP NetWeaver
SAP NetWeaver Application Server supports a number of different databases and
operating systems – particularly the SAP HANA database for fast, real-time access to
large datasets.
Related Information
●
http://www.sap.com/netweaver
●
SAP Community
●
SAP NetWeaver at a Glancein the SAP Community, quick link /docs/DOC-8287
LESSON SUMMARY
You should now be able to:
●
Explain the basic concept of SAP NetWeaver
●
Describe the central role played by the SAP NetWeaver Application Server
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Unit 7
Lesson 2
Describing the SAP Software Portfolio
LESSON OVERVIEW
This unit provides an introduction to the structure of SAP software solutions, with the SAP
Business Suite at its core.
Business Example
Your company plans to implement SAP software. You, as a member of the project team, need
an overview of the entire SAP portfolio.
LESSON OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
●
List the key components of the SAP solutions
SAP Strategy at a Glance
As the market leader for enterprise software, SAP SE helps companies of every size and in
every industry to run their businesses profitably, adapt continuously, and grow sustainable.
From back office to boardroom, from warehouse to shelves, from desktop to mobile device –
SAP helps people and organizations collaborate more efficiently and use business information
more effectively.
The SAP business goal is to generate direct value for organizations and individuals worldwide.
SAP plans to expand its solution portfolio with innovations for everyone who needs
information technology every day, at work and in their day-to-day lives, while ensuring the
maximum possible consistency of data, processes, and applications. SAP concentrates on
the key areas shown in the figure
“SAP Market Categories”.
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Lesson: Describing the SAP Software Portfolio
Figure 132: SAP Market Categories
The growth strategy of SAP concentrates on expanding our product portfolio in five market
categories: Applications, analytics, mobile solutions, databases and technology, and cloud
solutions. SAP is at the leading edge of structural change in the IT sector, which is seeing a
shift in demand from hardware to software innovations. Trends in the areas of big data, cloud
computing, mobile solutions, and social networks open up enormous market opportunities for
SAP. Together with its partner ecosystem, SAP helps its customers to improve their business
experiences significantly by deploying new technologies.
Companies in all market categories benefit from the in-memory technology of the SAP HANA
platform. The objective of the growth strategy is to expand SAP’s leading position as market
leader in the existing market categories of applications, analytics, and mobile solutions and
assume a leading position in new categories such as cloud solutions and databases and
technology.
Note:
You can use the filter functions at the SAP Newsroom:
http://www.newssap.com, to find the latest press releases on a wide variety of topics involving SAP
and its products.
Applications
SAP solutions let you design efficient, lean business processes. This helps you cut operating
costs, gain access to current, complete information, and respond quickly to changing market
conditions. You can improve collaboration and communication in your entire network of
suppliers, partners, subsidiaries, and customers and make your customers’ needs more
transparent. You drive the growth of your company – using tools that let you respond flexibly
and make competent decisions. For an overview of the solutions available from SAP, see:
https://www.sap.com/products/technology-platforms/enterprise-app-integration.html
.
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Unit 7: SAP Portfolio Overview
Analytics
The analytics solutions from SAP give you real-time access to all important information and
can process huge amounts of data very quickly (keyword:
big data).
data As a result, you always
have all the facts on the table and can make well-founded decisions.
Note:
The pagehttps://www.sap.com/products/analytics.html contains a great deal of
additional information about business analytics.
SAP also offers many other interesting tools for the analysis and presentation of enterprise
KPIs, particularly since its acquisition ofBusinessObjects.
BusinessObjects For more details, see:https://
www.sap.com/products/analytics/business-intelligence-bi.html
Mobile
SAP software provides mobile access to business data and applications at any time and any
place. SAP Afaria enables secure mobile access from any device to any operating system.
With its acquisition of Sybase, SAP has made decisive progress in the area of mobile apps. For
more information about these solutions, see:
https://www.sap.com/trends/mobiletechnology.html.
Database
No matter what challenges you face, (whether large datasets, real-time analytics, or extreme
transaction processing,) the comprehensive portfolio of database solutions can support you
in managing mission-critical data with scalability and unparalleled performance. The database
management systems have been designed to work seamlessly with SAP, third party, and
custom applications, enabling you to make better decisions and improve your operating
efficiency. The new SAP Real-Time Data Platform is a comprehensive portfolio of independent
applications, including specialized databases for various use cases.
SAP now has numerous database technologies in its portfolio, not only for running
conventional SAP systems with the SAP MaxDB and SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise (SAP
ASE) databases and the new database technology used by SAP HANA, but also special
database solutions such as SAP IQ and the SAP Replication Server. For an overview of these
solutions, see:https://www.sap.com/products/technology-platforms/databasemanagement-system.html#allsoftwaresolutions
.
For more information about SAP MaxDB, see:
https://www.sap.com/community.
Cloud
Whether you want to implement new applications or expand your IT infrastructure: With SAP
cloud solutions, you only pay for what you really need – and can adapt your company to new
requirements flexibly, at any time. Visithttps://cloudplatform.sap.com/index.htmlfor more
information about products that help you make certain processes and functions available on
demand. One example is the Business execution (BizX) from SAP SuccessFactors.
For details, seehttps://www.successfactors.com/en_us.html.
No matter what size your company has, you can combine leading industry cloud-based
applications with the world’s largest business community, to make contacts, and collaborate
in a global network of partners. With the Ariba Network, you can contact your business
partners – anywhere and any time – for smarter procurement, faster sales, and more
efficient, effective cash management than ever before. Companies around the world trust the
Ariba Network to make B2B commerce more effective and more profitable.
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Lesson: Describing the SAP Software Portfolio
Visit https://www.ariba.com to find more information about the new solutions that SAP can
offer since its acquisition of Ariba.
Something for Companies of All Sizes
SAP offers a vast range of products for companies of all sizes. SAP has scalable products,
ensuring that they can be adjusted to any size and adaptable to the continuously changing
processes of a company.
The figure“Different Sizes – Different Products”
shows the offers available to small and
midsize (SME) business customers.
Figure 133: Different Sizes – Different Products
SAP Business One
SAP Business One is a comprehensive, integrated ERP application with an interface similar to
Windows, which has been developed specifically for small and midsize companies. It
distinguishes itself by simple navigation and expansion options, innovative
Drag&Relate
functions, and integration with Microsoft Word and Excel. The software enables you to
uniformly manage the most important business areas such as sales, distribution, and
finances with one single, integrated application. This enables SAP Business One to provide an
up-to-date overview of your company’s most important data at any time. This information
helps you meet customer requirements even quicker, an important prerequisite for profitable
growth.
SAP Business One is the ideal solution for small companies with up to 100 employees that are
looking for an affordable system that covers their core processes (such as finance, sales,
customer service, and operations), thus ensuring successful and profitable operations. The
solution can be used as local software or hosted by a partner – usually with an
implementation time of less than two months. SAP Business One is sold exclusively through a
global partner network of currently 1,150 certified and experienced partners. They offer 24hour support, which also covers the more than 550 enhancements from independent
software providers. SAP Business One is currently being used by more than 20,000
customers in over 40 countries.
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Unit 7: SAP Portfolio Overview
Hint:
For more information, see:https://www.sap.com/uk/products/erp/smallbusiness-erp.html.
SAP Business ByDesign
SAP Business ByDesign is SAP's latest solution for small and midsize companies with
between 100 and 500 employees, which want to use an on-demand solution to improve their
core processes and at the same time benefit from lower entry and operating costs. It is aimed,
in particular, at midmarket companies that are not yet using any integrated business
software.
The solution combines the advantages of an integrated, end-to-end application with the low
risk potential and the low total operating costs of an on-demand solution. An on-demand
solution that distinguishes itself through integrated service and support, adaptability and
more user friendliness and also guarantees transparency and the observation of legal
requirements - all this on the basis of an Enterprise SOA by design. SAP Business ByDesign
the most complete, fully integrated on-demand solution. More than a pure niche solution, it
supports the requirements of midsize companies in all areas such as effective management
of finances, human resources, projects, production as well as supplier and customer
relationship management as well as regional and local legal requirements and compliance
management as core design principles. It was not developed with the traditional categories of
business applications, customer relationship management, or others. Instead, it has been
developed for business processes in the entire company, with user interfaces that are
customized to the user roles. SAP Business ByDesign offers end-to-end processes for the
work center of the future.
Hint:
For more information, seehttps://www.sap.com/products/erp/midsizecompanies.html.
SAP Business All-in-One
All software has to be adapted to the specific company. A midsize company with few
employees and comparatively stable processes can use preconfigured SAP systems. SAP
Business All-in-One is the brand name for vertical (industry-specific or country-specific)
applications that are based on the technology of SAP NetWeaver and were developed in
conjunction with SAP's partners.
SAP Business All-in-One is the ideal solution for small and midsize companies (up to 2,500
employees) with very industry-specific requirements who have several divisions and a mature
IT infrastructure. The software package allows the use of the key functions Enterprise
Resource Planning (ERP), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), and Business
Intelligence. You can also use the best practices of the industry leaders – and all at a
reasonable fixed price, on a platform that grows with your business.
The solution can be used as local software or hosted by a partner and is based on a variety of
SAP products (with a focus on SAP ERP, SAP CRM, and the SAP BusinessObjects portfolio). It
provides an industry-specific function portfolio based on SAP Best Practices. SAP Business
All-in-One is affordable and can be planned and thanks to preconfigured business scenarios
and implementation accelerators it can be implemented swiftly (8 to 16 weeks).
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Lesson: Describing the SAP Software Portfolio
More than 13,000 small and midsize businesses in more than 50 countries currently use SAP
Business All-in-One. They can rest assured that SAP, as one of the world’s leading vendors of
enterprise software, will be on the market for a long time to come. More than 1,000 SAP
partners worldwide offer local support for the implementation and customizing of SAP
Business All-in-One. As a result, you can get expert assistance no matter where you are.
Hint:
For more information, seehttp://www.sap.com/germany/solution/sme/
software/erp/all-in-one/index.html
.
Profile of the SAP Solution for SMEs
The following table shows a comparison of the SAP offerings for small and midsize
companies:
Table 7: SAP Offerings for Small and Midsize Enterprises
SAP Business One
Overview
SAP Business ByDesign SAP Business All-inOne
A single, integrated ap- A single, integrated
A comprehensive, inteplication for managing software solution, deliv- grated industry solution
your whole business
ered as a “software as a to boost the performservice” (SaaS)
ance of a business
across the board
Best suited for Have grown out of their
companies
software suite, which
that...
focuses only on accounting, and have to
replace several non-integrated applications
Have to replace specific
solutions, manual processes, and spreadsheets
Have grown out of specific solutions, legacy or
custom applications, or
their current ERP software
Have current solutions,
but ones that may not
meet industry-specific
requirements or support cross-border transactions
Are facing increasing
complexity of their business processes and
need systems that can
be adapted to growth
plans
Company size Up to 100
100-500
Availability
Available in 40 countries, 20 languages
Available in the U.S.,
Available in 50 counGermany, France, Great tries
Britain, China and India
IT staff and
skills
Limited or outsourced
IT resources
Limited or outsourced
IT resources
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Up to 2,500
In-house IT staff
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Unit 7: SAP Portfolio Overview
SAP Business One
SAP Business ByDesign SAP Business All-inOne
Operating
model
On premise or hosted
by partner
On demand
On premise or hosted
by partner
Implementation time
Approx. 6-8 weeks
Approx. 4-8 weeks
Approx. 8-16 weeks
SAP Business Suite
The SAP Business Suite is an extended family of business applications that enables
companies to manage their entire value chains. The included business applications provide
users with consistent results throughout the entire company network and give your company
the flexibility it needs in today's dynamic market situations. The application consists of a
number of different products that support cross-company processes.
The SAP software portfolio is constantly extended, optimized, and tailored to the needs of the
market and of customers. SAP has therefore, for example, developed many industry-specific
applications over the years. The topic of integrating different business systems (even from
different vendors and across company boundaries) has become increasingly important
recently. Products for small to midsize businesses have also been added to SAP's family of
software solutions.
The SAP Business Suite, a complete business software package that is unique worldwide,
plays a central role. Many companies are already profiting from the comprehensive and
flexible business applications with highly evolved functions: complete integration, industrytypical functions, unlimited scalability and smooth collaboration via the internet.
The SAP Business Suite provides:
SAP Business Suite: Functional Scope
●
●
An extensive spectrum of business solutions
A technological infrastructure that combines openness and flexibility with maturity and
stability
●
Interfaces for integrating non-SAP products
●
Components that can adapt to the individual needs of a company
●
Numerous industry-specific functions
The figure“SAP Business Suite powered by SAP HANA”
illustrates the key components of the
SAP Business Suite:
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Lesson: Describing the SAP Software Portfolio
Figure 134: SAP Business Suite powered by SAP HANA
The components that comprise the SAP Business Suite are described in the following
sections.
Core Applications
The core applications of the SAP Business Suite comprise of various business applications
that support all basic business processes at a company. They are summarized as follows:
SAP ERP
This solution is a market-leading solution for optimizing business processes in your enterprise
and optimizing your IT landscape by reducing IT complexity, increasing adaptability, and
delivering greater IT value at a lower price than other Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
solutions. The application supports business-critical, integrated business processes for
financials, human capital management, asset management, sales and distribution,
purchasing and other important business functions. SAP ERP also supports industry-specific
processes, because it includes industry-specific business functions that can be selectively
activated via the Switch Framework and keep the application core stable, while helping
maximize performance.
SAP Customer Relationship Management (SAP CRM)
This solution offers marketing, sales, and customer service employees a comprehensive
platform for complete customer intelligence, which can be used to effectively manage
customers and customer-related processes. SAP CRM permits customer interaction via
multiple channels, including smartphones, the Internet and social media, and also offers a
dedicated communication infrastructure that can be used to connect up all users at any time,
any place.
SAP Supply Chain Management (SAP SCM)
This solution enables enterprises to adapt their supply chain processes in line with a
constantly changing competitive environment. SAP SCM converts conventional supply
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Unit 7: SAP Portfolio Overview
changes from linear, sequential processes into configurable, and open supply networks in
which customer-oriented, demand-driven companies identify the dynamics of supply and
demand more intelligently and quickly in a globally distributed environment and can respond
to these.
SAP Supplier Relationship Management (SAP SRM)
This solution provides a procurement platform that helps organizations in all industries
improve their centralized sourcing and contract management and enables them to interact
with suppliers through multiple channels. SAP SRM accelerates and optimizes the complete,
end-to-end procurement process by supporting integrated processes and ensuring contract
compliance, which leads to viable savings.
SAP Product Lifecycle Management (SAP PLM)
This solution helps enterprises to manage, track and control all product-related information,
both during the product and asset life cycle and in the extended supply chain. SAP PLM
promotes creativity and frees the product innovation process from organizational
restrictions.
Industry Solutions
SAP serves the requirements of specific business processes in many industries by
supplementing the basic business processes that apply to all major companies. Support for
these industry-specific processes is provided as part of SAP ERP or as a separate industry
application (such as SAP Dealer Business Management or SAP Reinsurance Management)
that is integrated with the other solutions of the SAP Business Suite. The architecture and the
business functions of the industry applications are the result of SAP’s profound
understanding of the industry-specific requirements and the resulting business processes.
SAP industry portfolios are continually expanded through the addition of new applications
that meet the highly specialized business demands of the customers in the target markets.
The following list outlines the industry portfolio:
●
Automotive industry
●
Banks
●
Construction industry, engineering, construction and operations
●
Mining
●
Chemicals industry
●
Service industry
●
Healthcare
●
Wholesale
●
Retail
●
High tech and electronics
●
Universities and research institutions
●
Internal and external security
●
Consumer goods
●
Life sciences
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Lesson: Describing the SAP Software Portfolio
●
Aerospace
●
Mechanical engineering
●
Media
●
Metal, wood, and paper industry
●
Public sector
●
Oil and gas industry
●
Sports and entertainment
●
Telecommunications
●
Transportation and logistics
●
Insurance
●
Utilities industry
Add-Ons
Add-ons contain applications that provide specialized business processes that are typically
used in many industries. They offer short break-even times, are attractive for specialized
business users, and offer high process flexibility. Examples of add-ons include manufacturing
applications, SAP solutions for auto ID and serialization of products, and applications for
mobile business.
SAP NetWeaver
The SAP NetWeaver technology platform is a reliable, secure, scalable foundation for running
enterprise applications such as SAP Business Suite and SAP BusinessObjects, to ensure that
large companies can run their mission-critical business processes. As the technical
foundation for a service-oriented architecture, SAP NetWeaver provides several
comprehensive middleware functions in a modular software environment that aims to reduce
IT complexity and boost enterprise flexibility across heterogeneous IT landscapes. SAP
NetWeaver offers IT companies the lowest operating costs and the best business availability
for SAP applications in heterogeneous IT landscapes through standardized lifecycle
management, identity management, secure communication, and comprehensive monitoring.
Enhancement Packages
Enhancement packages for trouble-free innovation: SAP uses a proven method for the
smooth implement of innovations for SAP Business Suite and SAP NetWeaver. They come in
the form of enhancement packages, which contain collections of new or improved business
functions and which companies can apply in a modular structure, on their own schedule. The
strategy of enhancement packages – offering companies the benefits of ongoing innovation
combined with the stability of the core software – was introduced with the SAP ERP solution
in 2006 and has proven itself in many enhancement packages since then.
Enhancement packages now make permanent innovation possible in all core applications of
the SAP Business Suite. SAP plans to continue offering enhancement packages for the core
applications, minimizing the need for companies to get involved in expensive upgrade
projects.
SAP HANA
Analyze extensive datasets in seconds – for instant enterprise insights, faster reaction times,
and a decisive market advantage. In-memory computing by SAP is based on a new generation
of hardware and software and enables your company to act in real time on all matters. You
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Unit 7: SAP Portfolio Overview
can seize new opportunities without delay, promote innovations, and streamline your
workflows.
SAP HANA unifies several innovative approaches in a single product.
Fundamentals of SAP HANA
In-memory computing
In-memory computing means that you have large amounts of data, in particular, available
quickly – several orders of magnitude faster than comparable access from magnetic
hard drives or even RAID arrays of solid-state disks. In-memory is faster.
Column-based data store enables data compression
With its column-based data store (compared to row-based storage in conventional
database systems), significant compression factors for data retention can be possible. In
turn, special read accesses speed up data access greatly.
Where do calculations take place?
While classically designed applications have to spend valuable CPU time sorting and
aggregating datasets, this part of the work can be carried out during the data access (in
the (SAP HANA) database) with a very low effort – with properly optimized programs.
New applications
SAP HANA not only makes it possible to build faster interactive applications; it also
makes scenarios possible that would be practically unachievable otherwise, due to their
access times and computing times. Success stories are available here:
http://
www.saphana.com.
SAP Business Suite on SAP HANA
With the SAP Business Suite on SAP HANAhttp://www.suiteonhana.com)
(
SAP
provides software that not only captures the benefits of the new technical features in
SAP HANA; many components have also already been optimized for use on SAP HANA.
Note:
The important thing is that SAP HANA is a true game-changer in the analysis of
large data sets, for example, for business process analytics. During the
transaction-based use of an SAP system in conventional operation (that is, NOT
new applications; see the previous list), an SAP ERP system (for example) running
on a classic database can also achieve outstanding response times, with only a
small portion of them caused by database access. Therefore, SAP HANA’s true
value appears when you want to analyze huge amounts of data in real time or use
new applications.
SAP HANA is a business data platform that processes transactions and analytics at the same
time on any data type, with built-in advanced analytics and multi-model data processing
engines that can be leveraged to develop next-generation applications for the intelligent
enterprise.
Transform Database Management:
Simplify operations using a single copy of enterprise data and a secure modern data platform.
Beginning with SAP NetWeaver 7.4, SAP NetWeaver is optimized for SAP HANA. While it also
continues to support all previous databases, SAP NetWeaver has been optimized to support
SAP HANA. AS ABAP has been optimized for SAP HANA and is the foundation for the SAP
Business Suite Powered by SAP HANA and SAP Business Information Warehouse Powered by
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Lesson: Describing the SAP Software Portfolio
SAP HANA. As such, it also plays an important role in the SAP HANA Enterprise Cloud
solution. In addition, AS Java-based SAP systems also run on SAP HANA, such as AS Java,
SAP Enterprise Portal, SAP BPM, and SAP Process Integration.
With the SAP technology platform now focused on SAP HANA, SAP NetWeaver and its
applications like SAP Business Warehouse (SAP BW), SAP Gateway, and SAP Enterprise
Portal play an important role in the transformation of existing customer landscapes. SAP
NetWeaver serves as the foundation for the SAP Business Suite, as well as an integration
platform, with its usage types like SAP Enterprise Portal, SAP BW, SAP Business Process
Management (SAP BPM) and SAP Process Integration.
SAP NetWeaver also simplifies the development of modern, browser-based, and mobile
applications, thanks to its integrated UI Development Toolkit for HTML5 (SAP’s adaptation of
the HTML5 standard, also called SAPUI5) and SAP Gateway features.
SAP Business Suite for SAP HANA (SAP S/4HANA)
Figure 135: SAP Business Suite for SAP HANA (SAP S/4HANA)
Following the trend toward digitalization requires a paradigm shift in data processing. SAP S/
4HANA as a digital core can help companies in the cloud and on premise.
SAP S/4HANA is the abbreviation for SAP Business Suite for SAP HANA. It is the leading
wave of SAP innovation for customers, similar to the transition from SAP R/2 to SAP R/3.
SAP S/4HANA is the next generation of the SAP Business Suite, launched in 2015. SAP S/
4HANA is a holistic approach for both cloud and on-premise.
SAP S/4HANA is the next-generation business suite. It is a new product that was built entirely
on the SAP HANA platform and designed with SAP Fiori user experience (UX). SAP S/4HANA
provides massive simplification (adaptation, data model, user experience, decisions, and
processes) and innovations (Internet of Things, Big Data, enterprise networks, and mobile).
SAP S/4HANA is the standard solution for new customers and for new installations among
existing customers.
The on-premise edition of SAP S/4HANA is already available for customers in all industries
and all regions. It replaces and enhances the earlier SAP Business Suite Powered by SAP
HANA.
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Unit 7: SAP Portfolio Overview
SAP S/4HANA consists of a cloud and an on-premise edition.
SAP HANA and column-based data tables are the backbone of digital core.
The in-memory technology of SAP HANA follows a different approach: data is stored in
columns, rendering indexes and aggregates superfluous. For goods movements, this means
one can book only primary information with maximum scalability while avoiding database
locks. Related secondary information such as aggregates and key performance indicators are
determined on the fly. The in-memory technology is the most important feature of this
system. This principle forms the basis of the digital core SAP S/4HANA. This way, companies
can achieve immediate added value in logistics, for instance, with optimized net working
capital, reduced buffer inventories, and real-time information about inventory balance and
material flow.
SAP HANA brings a revolutionary and end-to-end IT infrastructure to our customers, as well
as a paradigm shift in data processing. Individual departments profit from this, as they can
take charge of the evaluation, simulation, and visualization of widely ramified information
themselves directly on the digital core’s individual posting lines in real time. They can also
adjust and implement new business models and processes quickly and flexibly with the new
evaluation, simulation, and prediction features, enabling them to shape the transformation of
their company themselves.
The key function of the digital core is to create a functioning digitalization-friendly IT
environment. All its applications are interconnected, making it possible to access and use
detailed data from anywhere within the company in real time without information loss.
Together, digital core SAP S/4HANA and SAP HANA open the doors to sustainable end-toend business transformations.
Customized products through digital core:
SAP S/4HANA as a digital core is the SAP technical and conceptual answer to the global
digitalization trend. It began over twenty years ago with online banking, quickly followed by
digitalized pictures and movies, a taxi company with no taxis, and a hotel supplier with no
buildings. All these offers have one thing in common, they are fully built on the individual
customer’s desires. From sports shoes in the color of your choice to customized designs on
your motorcycle, increasingly more customers desire and expect products that meet their
individual wishes. Business is distancing itself from B2B and B2B2C towards C2B –
Consumer to Business. Customers with their preferences and demands are increasingly
dominating the market. And whoever can best meet the customer’s demands – the individual
demands –, will come out on top. SAP S/4HANA as a digital core for business processes
allows you to better tailor your products to individual customers. The resulting mass of data
can be easily displayed, processed on the fly, and used for simulations and predictions to
make informed decisions.
Hint:
For more information, seehttps://www.sap.com/products/s4hana-erp.html.
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Lesson: Describing the SAP Software Portfolio
Intelligent Enterprise Suite (IES)
Figure 136: Intelligent Enterprise Suite (IES)
With the mass adoption of cloud, Big Data and mobile technologies over the last 20 years,
SAP's customers are generating an overwhelming volume of data. But most of them are
unable to leverage this data effectively. As data becomes the new 'oil', most companies are
simply building up larger reserves without a clear path for how to cash in this new asset. To
make sense of all the noise, draw meaningful insights from their data, and dynamically
allocate resources, SAP's customers must become intelligent enterprises.
Intelligent enterprises operate with visibility, focus, and agility to achieve game-changing
outcomes. They do more with less, and empower employees through process automation.
They deliver a best-in-class customer experience, by proactively responding to customer
expectations. They invent new business models, and revenue streams.
SAP is committed to helping every customer become a best-run business. SAP's strategy is
to deliver the intelligent enterprise for the customers, so they can achieve their desired
outcomes, and make the world run better.
For enterprises to become intelligent enterprises, they must invest in three key areas of
technology:
●
●
●
An Intelligent Suite, bringing intelligence into the applications used to manage customers,
supply chains, networks, employees, and core business processes
A Digital Platform to manage data from any source (1st party or 3rd party), in any format
(structured or unstructured), and support the development, integration, and extension of
business applications
Intelligent Technologies to apply intelligence to data and processes, through innovations
such as Machine Learning, advanced analytics, and IoT
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Unit 7: SAP Portfolio Overview
SAP will provide an intelligent suite of integrated applications, including SAP S/4HANA Cloud,
SAP C/4HANA, SAP SuccessFactors, SAP Ariba, SAP Concur, SAP Fieldglass, and solutions
for digital supply chain and manufacturing. These applications will come with out-of-the-box
integration. They will offer a best-in-class user experience, that is consistent across the entire
suite. They will be easy to extend, allowing customers and partners to customize solutions
quickly. And we will embed intelligence into these applications, to make processes and
workflows smarter.
●
SAP Ariba
●
SAP SuccessFactors
●
SAP Fieldglass
●
SAP Concur
●
SAP Hybris
●
SAP C/4HANA
●
SAP Cloud Platform
●
SAP Leonardo
●
SAP BW/4HANA
SAP Ariba
Digitally transform your business to collaborate efficiently and safely with suppliers and
trading partners anytime, anywhere on Ariba Network.
SAP Ariba's cloud-based solutions make it easier to collaborate and compete.
SAP Ariba is how companies connect to get business done, using our market-leading
solutions for digital commerce and Ariba Network. We help buyers and suppliers from more
than 3.3 million companies, operating in more than 190 countries, discover new opportunities,
collaborate on transactions, and grow their relationships.
Now you can manage the entire purchasing process, while controlling spending, finding new
sources of savings, and building a healthy supply chain.
Build stronger relationships through automation, network connections, and data-driven
insights:
With SAP Ariba’s spend management solutions and Ariba Network, you can consolidate and
control all your spend, end to end, on a single, integrated platform in the cloud.
Make better buying decisions with analysis and insights into company-wide spending. Engage
in real-time supplier collaboration to negotiate savings on direct and indirect materials using
our strategic sourcing suite. Make sure those savings are realized with contract management
software that accelerates the contract lifecycle and strengthens compliance. Handle supplier
information, lifecycle, performance, and risk all in one place with the market’s most
comprehensive supplier management portfolio.
Provide your employees a simple shopping experience so they can buy what they need –
while you maintain control – using procurement software capabilities like guided buying.
Then, improve transparency for both you and your suppliers by digitizing and automating
invoices and payments using financial supply chain solutions that facilitate working capital
management and boost free cash flow.
SAP Ariba provides several solutions:
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Lesson: Describing the SAP Software Portfolio
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
Supplier Management: SAP Ariba provides the only end-to-end solution portfolio that lets
you manage supplier information, lifecycle, performance, and risk all in one place.
Strategic Sourcing: Discover qualified suppliers, speed up your sourcing cycles, and create
the most competitive, best-value agreements for sustainable savings with all your sourcing
needs.
Solutions for Direct Spend: Connect the people, partners, processes, and information
needed to manage all design-to-deliver activities in a simple, smart, and open way.
Procurement: Ensure compliance and control while providing users a delightful buying
experience, with innovative capabilities like guided buying and spot buy.
Financial Supply Chain: Transform your payables from liabilities into strategic assets to
boost free cash flow, free up working capital, and deliver more bottom-line value.
Platform Solutions: Maximize the value of your SAP Ariba solutions with integration
wizards, extensions, and templates – without burdening your IT resources.
Integration Solutions: Unify your apps, data, processes and devices on a single platform to
deliver more value to your enterprise.
Services for Buyers: Before and after deployment, SAP Ariba provides support for change
management, adoption, connectivity, and much more.
Selling and Fulfillment: Strengthen and sharpen your e-commerce capabilities to become
the preferred, easy-to-find vendor of purchase-ready buyers around the world.
For more information seehttps://www.ariba.com/solutions/solutions-overview.
SAP Success Factors
SAP SuccessFactors: HCM in the cloud
SAP SuccessFactors is a global provider of cloud-based human resource software and fully
integrated human capital management (HCM) systems. It covers everything from core HR,
payroll, and people analytics to the four pillars of talent management: recruiting, learning and
development, compensation, and performance management. SAP SuccessFactors has more
than 100 million active users in 60 industries more than 200 countries and territories – and
our services are translated into 42 languages. SAP SuccessFactors helps companies of all
sizes improve employee engagement, productivity, and team performance.
How do you win the talent war, keep employees fully engaged, and transform your workforce
for the future? SAP SuccessFactors is the integrated, cloud-based HR software that helps you
unleash the full potential of your people – and drive results right across your business.
Core HR for the entire workforce: Use the diversity of today’s global workforce to your
advantage – and build value-based relationships with all types of workers, from permanent
employees to contractors.
●
●
Core HR and Payroll: Integrate disparate employment data in a single human resource
information system (HRIS). Easily manage global benefits and payroll, improve employee
self-service, automate HR processes, and ensure compliance.
Time and Attendance Management: Automate labor, time, and attendance management.
Our solutions can help you streamline everything from time tracking to accruals – and
offer insights into areas like labor costs, time theft, and absence trends.
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Unit 7: SAP Portfolio Overview
●
●
●
●
●
●
Recruiting and Onboarding: Hire the right people and help them succeed from day one.
Our recruiting and onboarding solutions can help you conduct AI-based talent acquisition,
improve the candidate and onboarding experience, and more.
Learning and Development: Offer your workforce personalized training and development.
Deliver cognitive coaching, microlearning, skill gap analysis, and re-skilling – and take
advantage of learning analytics and succession planning.
Performance and Compensation: Improve employee performance management and keep
your entire workforce satisfied and motivated. Our software can help you evaluate staff,
access compensation benchmarking data, manage incentives, and more.
HR Analytics and Workforce Planning: Make better decisions about hiring, diversity,
turnover, performance, and more. Our embedded people analytics and data-driven
workforce planning tools deliver real-time insights via intuitive dashboards.
Workplace Transformation: Manage a diverse workforce made up of in-office employees,
contractors, contingent and gig workers, and remote staff – and make the shift from a
hierarchical to a collaborative, team-based work environment.
Technology and Digital HR: Harness the latest digital technologies – AI and machine
learning, robotics, natural language processing, VR and gamification, new productivity
tools and apps, and more – in a secure cloud environment.
For more information seehttps://www.successfactors.com.
SAP Fieldglass
SAP Fieldglass Powers Your Flexible Workforce:
SAP Fieldglass is a cloud-based, open external workforce management and services
procurement platform that helps organizations find, engage and manage all types of flexible
resources – from temporary staff to Statement of Work-based consultants to freelance
workers and more.
External Workforce Management Solutions for the Enterprise:
The SAP Fieldglass Vendor Management Solution (VMS) automates the entire process of
finding, procuring and managing external talent. Our platform helps companies reduce costs,
enforce compliance, improve worker and supplier quality, and increase program efficiencies.
SAP Fieldglass Flex for Midsize Companies:
SAP Fieldglass Flex is an external workforce management solution designed to help midsize
companies easily source and better manage temporary labor. Companies can procure
contractors quickly, streamline processes, reduce spend and enforce compliance.
SAP Fieldglass solutions are:
●
●
●
External Talent Management: External Talent Management automates the entire process
of procuring and managing flexible labor, from requisition through invoice and payment.
Services Procurement: Services Procurement simplifies how external service providers
are engaged, ensuring greater compliance, and quality cost savings.
Live Insights: SAP Fieldglass Live Insights provides workforce insights on demand and
helps organizations gain a deeper understanding of their external workforce.
For more information seehttps://www.fieldglass.com/solutions.
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Lesson: Describing the SAP Software Portfolio
SAP Concur
SAP Concur is providing travel and expense management services to businesses: Simplify
expense, travel, and invoice management for greater visibility.
SAP Concur Solutions are:
●
●
●
Expense: Automated, fast and accurate expense reporting helps you improve productivity,
compliance and control over spend.
Invoice: Simplify and accelerate the entire accounts payable process, from invoice capture
to payment.
Travel: Let employees book travel their way and also stay in compliance with company
travel and expense policy.
Automate expenses from receipt to reimbursement:
Automating the expense management process—and eliminating the errors, paper and
procedures that go with it—frees up your employees and gives you more control over
compliance and costs. Users can quickly take a picture of receipts, submit expense reports
from any mobile device, and keep productivity on track. It’s the expense management
software that your company needs to streamline business travel expense processing and
business expense tracking.
Proactively manage spend with AP automation:
Accounts payable may not seem like a profit center, but when you automate the invoice
process, you get control over what’s going out the door. You can see spending before it’s
spent, catch duplicate invoices, and save time with mobile approvals, invoice tracking and
faster payments. It’s how you make AP systems more like AR systems.
Capture and manage invisible bookings:
No matter how tightly managed your travel program is, there are always exceptions. Now you
can get visibility into travel plans and business travel expenses, no matter where it happens.
And with your travel policy built into your solution, you can capture business travel expenses,
improve compliance, and control your costs. Business travel made easy with the Concur
travel management software.
With all your data in one place, you can get more done:
Our dynamic ecosystem connects you with more than 150 of the apps, partners, suppliers
and products your employees are already using. All your spending data is automatically
integrated to deliver the experience your employees expect and the full visibility you need into
all dimensions of spend, so you can spot new ways to save.
For more information seehttps://www.concur.com .
SAP Hybris
Hybris is an ecommerce platform which allows its consumers to sell in both B2B and B2C
markets effectively.
It is an enterprise-level ecommerce software suite that offers B2C and B2B store
functionality. Currently, more than 2,500 stores use the hybris platform, boasting more than
20 million product SKUs and over 500,000 orders each day. Hybris has been a dominant
enterprise platform mainly in the European market.
The Hybris Commerce Suite has tools for the web and mobile projects targeting B2C and B2B
market including powerful search and merchandising, master data management (MDM) /
PIM, order management and web content management.
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Unit 7: SAP Portfolio Overview
Advantages of SAP Hybris are:
●
One Platform for B2C and B2B Users
●
Supporting Business Internationalization
●
Flexibility
●
Short Time to Market
SAP Hybris Commerce Cloud Platform: Architecture and Technology:
Robust, modular and built on open standards, SAP Hybris Commerce Cloud platform is
designed to provide the best foundation for your business’s commerce needs. Built to handle
high traffic and order volumes, it’s there when you need it. Combining the flexibility of
bespoke platform development with the cost-effectiveness of a packaged application, it saves
you development and maintenance costs while improving efficiency.
The solutions of SAP Hybris are:
●
●
●
●
●
●
Commerce: Give your customers a consistent and meaningful experience – across every
channel, every time.
Marketing: Understand your customers and respond to their behavior in real-time to give
them what they want, when they want it.
Billing : Deliver a better customer payment experience, find new revenue streams and
streamline your quote-to-cash process.
Sales: Sell effectively to the right people, anywhere, at any time.
Service: Keep customers coming back for more with customer service that drives true
engagement.
Customer Data Cloud: Turn unknown online visitors into known, loyal customers to build
trusted digital relationships.
SAP C/4HANA
SAP Hybris is now SAP C/4HANA!
SAP fulfilled its ambition to disrupt the marketplace for customer relationship management
(CRM) with the formal introduction of a new suite of applications, SAP C/4HANA, to help
businesses serve and retain customers. SAP also announced the SAP HANA Data
Management Suite, the industry’s first comprehensive data management solution that
enables companies to turn data sprawl into business value.
SAP C/4HANA is an integrated offering designed to modernize the sales-only focus of legacy
CRM solutions. Following the completed acquisitions of market leaders Hybris, Gigya and
CallidusCloud, SAP now ties together solutions to support all front-office functions, such as
consumer data protection, marketing, commerce, sales and customer service.
Building on the company’s reputation as an end-to-end business solutions provider, the new
SAP C/4HANA suite will offer full integration with SAP’s business applications portfolio, led
by its market-leading ERP suite, SAP S/4HANA. The combination of assets features new
machine learning capabilities from SAP Leonardo, a set of intelligent technologies the
company introduced last year, as well as the new SAP HANA Data Management Suite, which
enables companies to gain visibility and control of their highly distributed data. The
company’s overall strategy, focused on helping businesses run as intelligent enterprises,
highlights the demand for a balanced approach to automation in the workplace.
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Lesson: Describing the SAP Software Portfolio
The SAP C/4HANA portfolio includes SAP Marketing Cloud, SAP Commerce Cloud, SAP
Service Cloud, SAP Customer Data Cloud (including the acquired Gigya solutions) and SAP
Sales Cloud (including the acquired CallidusCloud solutions). Additionally, SAP Sales Cloud
unites the SAP Hybris Revenue Cloud solution and SAP Hybris Cloud for Customer
(comprised of SAP Hybris Sales Cloud and SAP Hybris Service Cloud solutions).
The products of SAP C/4HANA are:
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
Products for Commerce: Become a true omni-channel business and drive digital
transformation with SAP Commerce Cloud, delivering contextual customer experiences
and unifying customer processes across all digital and physical touchpoints.
Products for Marketing: SAP Marketing Cloud - This contextual marketing solution uses
real-time insights to help you develop a deeper understanding of your customers – and
then deliver them highly individualized experiences across all channels.
Products for Sales: SAP Sales Cloud is our easy-to-use cloud sales application. Going well
beyond the traditional CRM approach, it maximizes sales productivity by making great use
of real-time analytics, email and notes integration, collaborative and social selling, sales
performance management and much more.
Products for Service: Our cloud-based customer service and field service software makes
it easy to offer a consistent experience across all channels, access complete and
contextual customer information, and gain real-time insight into call center performance
and field service management.
Products for Billing: Monetize your digital transformation. SAP Hybris Billing offers full
transaction transparency, supporting local and international accounting needs from small
businesses to large enterprises. It is available for both B2C and B2B scenarios as either
separate billing and invoicing solution components or a full, end-to-end solution.
Products for Customer Data Management: Build trusted digital relationships with your
customers and grow your audience by turning unknown online visitors into known, loyal
customers. Increase consumer engagement, trust and loyalty and protect your business.
Cross-functional Solutions: SAP Hybris Profile, SAP Signature Management by DocuSign,
add-on for SAP Hybris solutions.
For more information seehttps://cx.sap.com .
SAP Cloud Platform
What is SAP Cloud Platform?
SAP Cloud Platform is an open platform-as-a-service (PaaS) that delivers in-memory
capabilities, core platform services, and unique microservices for building and extending
intelligent, mobile-enabled cloud applications. The platform is designed to accelerate digital
transformation by helping you quickly, easily, and economically develop the exact application
you need – without investing in on-premise infrastructure. Based on open standards, SAP
Cloud Platform offers complete flexibility and control over your choice of clouds, frameworks,
and applications.
What makes SAP Cloud Platform different?
●
●
Open Enterprise PaaS: Leverage a singular, open enterprise platform-as-a-service to meet
every need. Explore ABAP, Kubernetes and Cloud Foundry environments.
Digital Transformation: Accelerate digital transformation by rapidly deploying nextgeneration apps on SAP Cloud Platform, the foundation for SAP Leonardo.
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Unit 7: SAP Portfolio Overview
●
●
●
●
Data Management & Analytics: Leverage data management and analytical services to build
an intelligent enterprise. Deliver real-time data insights and deliver data to support any app
or analysis.
Integration & Orchestration: Securely integrate and seamlessly orchestrate business
processes, decisions and data between cloud and on-premise applications in real-time.
Solution Extensibility: Exploit the intelligent enterprise by leveraging SAP Cloud Platform
extensibility to unlock solution flexibility and innovation for your line-of-business
applications.
Digital Experience: Create delightful user experiences across digital touchpoints and
streamline user experience design and development, collaboration, mobility and user
interaction.
SAP HANA Cloud connector connects between on-demand applications in SAP HANA Cloud
Platform and existing on-premise systems. The Cloud connector runs as on-premise agent in
a secured network and acts as a reverse invoke proxy between the on-premise network and
SAP HANA Cloud Platform.
Due to its reverse invoke support, the configuration is not required in the on-premise firewall
to allow external access from the cloud to internal systems. The Cloud connector provides
control over:
●
●
On-premise systems and resources (HTTP or RFC) that shall be accessible by cloud
applications.
Cloud applications that shall make use of the Cloud connector.
Compared to the approach of opening ports in the firewall and using reverse proxies in the
DMZ to establish access to on-premise systems, the Cloud connector has the following
advantages:
●
●
●
●
In order to establish connectivity from SAP HANA Cloud Platform to an on-premise
system, the firewall of the on-premise network does not require to open an inbound port.
The Cloud connector supports HTTP and RFC protocols as of now. For example, the RFC
protocol supports native access to ABAP systems by invoking function modules.
The Cloud connector can be used to connect on-premise database, or BI tools to SAP
HANA databases in the cloud in both direction
The Cloud connector is easy to install and configure, that is, it comes with a low TCO and
fits well to cloud scenarios. SAP provides standard support for it.
For more information seehttps://cloudplatform.sap.com.
SAP Leonardo
SAP Leonardo Internet of Things (IoT) is a brand for a family of innovative products in the
area of IoT, Machine Learning, Analytics, Blockchain etc technologies.
SAP Leonardo Internet of Things (IoT) is one of the capabilities of SAP Leonardo, and includes
Internet of Things (IoT) solutions that enables companies to realize the digital transformation
of existing end-to-end business processes and to evolve new business models to run digitally.
It combines a solid IoT foundation, a range of IoT applications and standards-based IoT edge
computing as main building blocks with a jump-start program in the form of a pre-packaged
consultative offering to:
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●
Significantly improve existing business processes
●
Develop new business processes
●
Find new business models
●
Establish new work environments
The evolution of connectivity, big data management, analytics, and cloud technology is
enabling us to converge operational and information technologies to make machines smarter
and drive the end-to-end digital transformation. Initially, IoT applications were limited for
operational activities on shop floor and data was not leveraged for enterprise use. With the
evolution of Industry 4.0 and industrial Internet, customers are looking to leverage this big
data and develop responsive and intelligent applications for line-of-business and industryspecific end-to-end processes.
Now SAP wants to give customers a simple way to embrace all of these emerging
technologies to solve specific business problems. So instead of just helping customers
embrace IoT with a cloud system and a set of templates, SAP has expanded Leonardo to the
whole spectrum of enterprise problems.
SAP Leonardo is the worlds only digital innovation system, which combines Design Thinking
services, Machine learning, Big Data, IOT, Data Intelligence, Block Chain and Analytics to run
the enterprise smarter, smoother and completely digital.
●
●
Design thinking services- Enables users to build future digital enterprise
Machine learning- provides the computers the ability to learn without being explicitly
programmed
●
Big Data- Manage vast amounts of data
●
IOT (Internet of Things)- Internet of computing devices embedded in everyday objects
●
Block Chain- increase auditability and decrease fraud
●
Data Intelligence & Data Analytics
All the above technologies will be integrated to SAP Cloud Platform. Moreover SAP Leonardo
is built on SAP HANA Database to support real time business.
The world is transforming digital day to day. By combining all these technologies SAP
Leonardo is going make any Enterprise of any industry run completely digital and powerful
without any hassles.
For more information seehttps://eaexplorer.hana.ondemand.com/and https://
eaexplorer.hana.ondemand.com/_item.html?id=13741#!/overview
.
SAP BW/4HANA
SAP BW/4HANA is an evolution of SAP BW that is completely optimized and tailored to SAP
HANA. The SAP BW/4HANA code can only run on SAP HANA as it is interwoven with SAP
HANA engines and libraries. The ABAP part is several million lines of code smaller compared
to BW-on-HANA. It is free of any burden to stay, e.g., within a certain, “common denominator
scope” of SQL, like SQL92 or OpenSQL, but can go for any optimal combination with what the
SAP HANA platform offers. The latter is especially important as it extends into the world of big
data via SAP HANA VORA, an asset that will be heavily used by SAP BW/4HANA.
So, what are SAP BW/4HANA’s major advantages:
Simplicity:
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Unit 7: SAP Portfolio Overview
Depending on how one counts, SAP BW offers 10 to 15 different object types (building blocks
like infocubes, multiproviders) to build a data warehouse. In SAP BW/4HANA, there will be
only 4 which are at least as expressive and powerful as the previous 15. SAP BW/4HANA’s
building blocks are more versatile. Data models can now be built with less buildings blocks
w/o compromising expressiveness. They will, therefore, be easier to maintain, thus more
flexible and less error-prone. Existing models can be enhanced, adjusted and, thus, be kept
alive during a longer period that goes beyond an initial scope.
Another great asset of SAP BW/4HANA is that it knows what type of data sits in which table.
From that information it can automatically derive which data needs to sit in the hot store
(memory) and which data can be put into the warm store (disk or non-volatile RAM) to yield a
more economic usage of the underlying hardware. This is unique to SAP BW/4HANA
compared to handcrafted data warehouses that require also a handcrafted, i.e. specifically
implemented data life-cycle management.
Openness:
SAP BW/4HANA – as SAP BW – offers a managed approach to data warehousing. This
means that prefabricated templates (building blocks) are offered for building a data
warehouse in a standardized way. The latter provides huge opportunities to optimize the
resulting models for SAP HANA regarding performance, footprint, data life-cycle. In contrast
to classic SAP BW, it is possible to deviate from this standard approach wherever needed and
appropriate. On one hand, SAP BW/4HANA models and data can be exposed as SAP HANA
views that can be accessed via standard SQL. SAP BW/4HANA’s security is thereby not
compromised by part of those SAP HANA views. On the other hand, any type of SAP HANA
table or view can be easily and directly incorporated into SAP BW/4HANA. It is thereby not
necessary to replicate data. Both capabilities mean that SAP BW/4HANA combines with and
complements any native SQL data warehousing approach. It can be regarded as a powerful
suite of tools for architecting a data warehouse on SAP HANA with all the options to combine
with other SQL-based tools.
Modern UIs:
SAP BW/4HANA will offer modern UIs for data modeling, admin, monitoring that run in SAP
HANA Studio or a browser. In the midterm, SAP GUI will become obsolete in that respect.
Similarly, SAP’s Digital Boardroom, SAP BusinessObjects Cloud, Lumira, Analysis for Office
and Design Studio will be the perfect match as analytic clients on top of SAP BW/4HANA.
High Performance:
Excellent performance has been at the heart of SAP BW since the advent of SAP HANA. As
elaborated above, SAP BW/4HANA will be free of any burdens and will leverage any optimal
access to SAP HANA which will be especially interesting in the context of big data scenarios
as SAP HANA VORA offers a highly optimized “bridge” between the worlds of SAP HANA
(RDBMS) and Hadoop/SPARK (distributed processing on a file system). Most customers
require to enhance and complement existing data warehouses with scenarios that address
categories of data that go beyond traditional business process triggered (OLTP) data, namely
machine generated data (IoT) and human sourced information (social networks).
For more information seehttps://www.sap.com/germany/documents/
2016/08/740d6709-877c-0010-82c7-eda71af511fa.html
.
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Lesson: Describing the SAP Software Portfolio
SAP S/4HANA Deployment Options
Figure 137: SAP S/4HANA Deployment Options
Depending on the customer needs, there are several deployment options for SAP S/4HANA.
SAP Licensing Model
SAP aims to offer software licenses that enable comprehensive solutions for business
scenarios. As such, the applications supported by the core processes have been grouped in
solution portfolios that serve the needs of customers from 24 industries. Every application
within a portfolio is clearly linked with one or more business scenarios in the appropriate
industry solution map provided by SAP.
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Unit 7: SAP Portfolio Overview
Figure 138: SAP Licensing Model
The structure of the SAP licensing model is intended to maximize the inherent business
benefits of SAP software by providing package licenses and named user licenses. Both are
required to license SAP software. SAP software solutions enable efficiency and innovation by
automating your business and management processes, which allows you to quickly realize
value from your investment. Our portfolio of software solutions includes offerings in the
following market categories:
●
Applications
●
Analytics
●
Cloud
●
Mobile
●
Database and technology
Package Licenses
Package licenses entitle you to deploy and use the precise set of SAP software functionality
you need to support your company’s processes and address its business requirements. The
price of a package license is based on a key business metric that reflects its intended use.
SAP has developed these metrics in close collaboration with customers to align the metrics
with a business’s real-world requirements. Additionally, the licensed level of such metrics
reflects the required capacity of the licensed software package, such as number of orders
processed, number of contracts tracked, or gross written premiums. As your business grows
and your software requirements change, you can adjust your licenses accordingly.
Named User Licenses
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Lesson: Describing the SAP Software Portfolio
A named user license authorizes an individual to access licensed SAP software functionality
and is mandatory for most individuals accessing that functionality. A named user is an
employee of your organization, one of its affiliates, or one of its business partners who is
authorized to access the licensed SAP software. The tasks and roles of the individual
determine both the requirements and level of the named user license. Named user licenses
are priced per user.
One major benefit of SAP named user licenses is that they can be valid for multiple package
licenses. This means that even if your employees handle complex business processes that
require the use of a wide range of SAP software functionality, you require only one named
user license per employee. How your employees work with an SAP solution will vary
depending on their tasks and roles within your organization. To reflect this, SAP offers
different categories of named user licenses. A few examples include:
●
●
●
SAP Professionalnamed user license for users fulfilling operational-related roles
supported by the software, such as employees in your finance or HR departments
SAP Developernamed user license for users accessing the development tools to make
modifications or add-ons to the licensed software
SAP Employeenamed user license for users accessing self-services such as time,
expenses, and performance evaluations
The key point is that the level of rights to the licensed SAP software functionality that your
employees require determines the named user categories that need to be licensed.
Business never stands still, so you want to be sure that your SAP solution can scale in line
with your business’s growing needs. The modular structure of SAP software licenses allows
you to license and pay for only the functionality and number of users that you require at any
given time. This means that you can start with the packages and named user licenses your
organization needs today and add more users and functionality as your needs change.
The vast majority of SAP software licenses are perpetual licenses. A perpetual license entitles
you to use your licensed SAP software for an unlimited period of time. You pay for the license
when you license the software. The perpetual license model consists of two mandatory
components: package licenses and named user licenses (as described previously).
As part of its software offering, SAP gives you the option of either licensing a third-party
database directly from SAP or contracting with a third-party database provider such as
Microsoft, Oracle Corporation, or IBM. If you are licensing the third-party database directly
from SAP, we will include that database with your licensed SAP software for use only with the
SAP software. This specific use restriction is referred to as a runtime license. If you prefer to
license directly with the database vendor, then your contract with SAP is an interface
contract.
SAP also offers its own databases including the SAP HANA database, SAP Sybase Adaptive
Server Enterprise (SAP Sybase ASE) database, and SAP MaxDB database licenses.
In addition to securing your SAP software license, you want to maximize the business value of
your SAP solution today and deploy new and improved functionality that can benefit your
business in the future. SAP offers comprehensive maintenance and support services
designed specifically to meet these requirements. These maintenance and support services
are available for licensed SAP software. An SAP support contract entitles you to access the
SAP support infrastructure and to receive software corrections, patches, fixes, and new
releases of the software licensed.
SAP support provides you with the following:
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Unit 7: SAP Portfolio Overview
●
●
●
●
Continuous improvement and innovation of your software through enhancement and
support packages
A global support infrastructure supplying streamlined support for implementation,
deployment, and improvement of the SAP software via the SAP Solution Manager
application management solution
Support that includes a 24x7 advisory channel, quality checks, and software analysis
Methodologies, blueprint tools, and education plus participation in various communities
promoted by SAP
To learn more about SAP support services, please visit the SAP Support Portal at
support.sap.com.
For details on licensing see the SAP Licensing Guide at SAP Support Portal.
Related Information
More information is available on the following SAP websites: All sites are free to access,
although some of them require (free) registration.
●
SAP worldwide homepage,http://www.sap.com
●
SAP Help Portal,http://help.sap.com
●
SAP Support Portal,https://support.sap.com
●
SAP Info,http://www.sap.info
●
SAP Insider Online,http://www.sapinsideronline.com
LESSON SUMMARY
You should now be able to:
●
List the key components of the SAP solutions
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Unit 7
Lesson 3
Describing the SAP Release Strategy
LESSON OVERVIEW
This lesson explains what phases your SAP solution runs through over time until the next
upgrade to a higher release as well as what maintenance duration is guaranteed for SAP
products.
Business Example
You want up-to-date information about the availability of releases of SAP solutions, in order to
make a good decision with regard to the purchase or upgrade of an SAP solution.
LESSON OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
●
Describe the SAP software delivery process
The SAP Maintenance Strategy
In some cases, a beta shipment phase is offered before the restricted shipment phase (before
the release-to-customer date). Beta shipments may only be used for test purposes. They are
not available for production use.
New software releases are only available to a restricted number of customers whose increase
is controlled. Therelease to customerdate marks the start of the restricted shipment phase.
During the restricted shipment phase, the new software release passes through a
standardized process, the SAP Early Adopter Care Services. Characteristics of the SAP Early
Adopter Care Services process are:
●
●
●
●
●
●
SAP Early Adopter Care Services is the name for the market introduction process of new
products or new releases of SAP software.
The software can be used for a production implementation.
During the SAP Early Adopter Care Services, the software is only available for a limited
circle of customers; customers apply to SAP to participate in an SAP Early Adopter Care
Service.
The SAP Early Adopter Care Services serves to take customer requests into consideration
before the respective SAP software is generally available.
SAP Early Adopter Care Services participants have direct contact with SAP Development
and receive support in implementing the SAP software.
An SAP Early Adopter Care Service usually takes several months.
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Unit 7: SAP Portfolio Overview
Note:
For more information about SAP Early Adopter Care Services, see the
SAP Early
Adopter Care Services.
After the successful conclusion of the SAP Early Adopter Care Services program, the
unrestricted shipment phase of an SAP release starts on the default release date. After the
default release date, all customers can request the new software without restrictions.
The respective latest, generally available version of SAP software is called default
the
release.
When SAP customers order software from SAP, they are usually given the current default
release.
Your maintenance agreement includes SAP Support Packages, which are provided by SAP via
the SAP Support Portal. SAP Support Packages solve (component-dependent) problems that
can result when using the SAP software. SAP provides these SAP Support Packages at
certain intervals.
Figure 139: SAP Maintenance Strategy
We distinguish the following three phases of maintenance:
Mainstream maintenance
Mainstream maintenance starts from the “release-to-customer”, where the software is
released to certain customers, only, that take part in the ramp up program. It covers the
restricted shipment and unrestricted shipment phases.
Extended maintenance
Customers can extend the support period, in which corrections or legal changes are
taken into account, for an increased maintenance fee.
The support scope provided during the entire extended maintenance period is identical
to that under mainstream maintenance. SAP publishes information about the availability
and scope of extended maintenance well in advance.
Customer-specific maintenance
From a certain point in time during the lifecycle of a release, this release is no longer
adjusted to meet external requirements. Such requirements are, for example, the
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Lesson: Describing the SAP Release Strategy
implementation of legal changes or the support of new technologies. The time in question
is marked by the end of extended maintenance or the end of mainstream maintenance, if
no extended maintenance is offered. Customer-specific maintenance starts at this point
in time.
A release is added to customer-specific support automatically. No additional contract
has to be requested. During this phase, customers receive support services similar to
those in the mainstream maintenance phase, with some restrictions. For example, SAP
does not provide any new Support Packages to cover legal changes and technology
updates are limited. Problem-solving is customer-specific. Therefore, customers are
billed for the correction of problems that SAP has not identified yet.
Note:
For additional information about the maintenance strategy, see the
SAP Support
Portal with the maintenance link. SAP Note52505 deals specifically with the
particularities of customer-specific maintenance.
SAP offers upgrade paths for SAP releases and the corresponding content releases and
provides access to upgrade methods for the current release. Normally, customers can
upgrade directly from one release to any subsequent SAP release, as long as the releases are
in the mainstream maintenance phase.
To enable smooth upgrades, SAP offers sufficient overlap between consecutive releases, to
ensure that the time customers have to upgrade from one release to the next is at least one
year for SAP releases. For content releases, this overlap is at least six months. This ensures
that customers have sufficient time windows to upgrade from one release to the next.
Note:
For more information about upgrades, see
S AP Support Portal, quick link /
upgrade.
History of Selected Software Components
This section describes the history of selected software components.
The figure“Development of Basis and Enterprise Functions”
shows the development history
of:
●
●
The SAP Basis technology S
( AP Basis→ SAP Web AS→ SAP NetWeaver AS
The core business function S
( AP R/3→ SAP R/3 Enterprise→ SAP ECC→ SAP S/
4HANA)
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Unit 7: SAP Portfolio Overview
Figure 140: Development of Basis and Enterprise Functions
Back in the days when SAP basically offered two products (SAP R/2 and SAP R/3), the
development of the (technical) basis was closely linked to application development. The
release names of the SAP Basis corresponded to the SAP R/3 version, for example, SAP
Basis 4.0B was the technical basis for SAP R/3 4.0B
Around the turn of the millennium, the SAP portfolio grew significantly and new products were
created that required more frequent changes and enhancements of the SAP Basis than SAP
R/3. This marks the transition from the classical SAP Basis (last version: SAP Basis 4.6D) to
SAP NetWeaver Application Server (SAP NetWeaver AS). New internet technologies (Internet
Communication Manager from SAP NetWeaver AS 6.10 onwards) and the supplementing of
the classical ABAP environment with Java/JEE (from SAP NetWeaver AS 6.20 onwards) were
important milestones.
SAP NetWeaver AS 6.40 forms the technical basis (application platform) of SAP NetWeaver
2004. SAP NetWeaver offers extensive capabilities (such as Business Warehouse), all of
which build on the application platform. As of SAP NetWeaver 7.0 (previously SAP NetWeaver
2004s), the names and releases were adapted further, which means SAP NetWeaver 7.0 is
now based on SAP NetWeaver Application Server (SAP NetWeaver AS).
While Releases 7.10, 7.11, and 7.20 of SAP NetWeaver AS are only intended for specific uses
(such as SAP NetWeaver Process Integration (PI) and SAP NetWeaver Composition
Environment (CE)), SAP NetWeaver 7.0, 7.01, 7.02, 7.03, 7.3, 7.31, 7.4, and 7.5 represent a full
delivery of the SAP NetWeaver technology stack.
7.50, 7.51, 7.52, and 7.53 are used for SAP S/4HANA and SAP Front End Server.
As mentioned above, the technical basis and application development used to be linked in
SAP R/3(up
R/3
to SAP R/3 4.6C).
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Lesson: Describing the SAP Release Strategy
With SAP R/3 Enterprise(4.7),
Enterprise
which is based on SAP NetWeaver AS 6.20, the concept of
SAP R/3 enterprise extensions was introduced.
A central application (previously: solution) of the SAP Business Suite is SAP ERP for
Enterprise Resource Planning. The central component of SAP ERPSAP
is ERP Central
Component(SAP ECC). SAP ECC 5.0 can thus be considered the technical successor to SAP
Component
R/3 Enterprise and is based on an SAP NetWeaver AS 6.40. At the time of creating this
documentation, the current version is SAP ERP 6.0 Enhancement Package 8, which also
includes an SAP ECC 6.08 and other components, which operate on the basis of SAP
NetWeaver AS 7.50. Functional enhancements for the different components are made
available through enhancement packages.
SAP NetWeaver AS 7.10, 7.11, 7.20, 7.30, and 7.51 are not used as the technical basis for an
SAP ECC system. Other SAP NetWeaver component, such as SAP NetWeaver Process
Integration (PI) and SAP NetWeaver Composition Environment (CE), are available with SAP
NetWeaver AS 7.10, 7.11, and 7.20. 7.30 is used e.g. for SAP BW. 7.50, 7.51, 7.52, and 7.53 are
used for SAP S/4HANA and SAP Front End Server.
●
SAP Support Portal, quick links
-
/releasestrategy
-
/maintenance
-
/upgrade
LESSON SUMMARY
You should now be able to:
●
Describe the SAP software delivery process
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Unit 7
Learning Assessment
1. What is SAP NetWeaver?
Choose the correct answer.
X
A The technology platform for running business applications such as SAP S/4HANA
and SAP Business Suite.
X
B A dedicated SAP system for example for analyzing huge amounts of data.
X
C An interface for exchanging data with non-SAP systems.
2. Which product has been built entirely new on the SAP HANA platform and designed with
SAP Fiori user experience?
Choose the correct answer.
X
A SAP Business Suite on SAP HANA
X
B SAP NetWeaver
X
C SAP Business Suite for SAP HANA (SAP S/4HANA)
X
D SAP ERP
3. Which phases of maintenance exist for SAP products?
Choose the correct answers.
X
A Mainstream Maintenance
X
B Standard Maintenance
X
C Extended Maintenance
X
D Customer-Specific Maintenance
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Unit 7
Learning Assessment - Answers
1. What is SAP NetWeaver?
Choose the correct answer.
X
A The technology platform for running business applications such as SAP S/4HANA
and SAP Business Suite.
X
B A dedicated SAP system for example for analyzing huge amounts of data.
X
C An interface for exchanging data with non-SAP systems.
You are correct. SAP NetWeaver is the technology platform for running business
applications. Technically, this platform comprises different SAP systems such as SAP
Business Warehouse which can be used to analyze huge amounts of data.
2. Which product has been built entirely new on the SAP HANA platform and designed with
SAP Fiori user experience?
Choose the correct answer.
X
A SAP Business Suite on SAP HANA
X
B SAP NetWeaver
X
C SAP Business Suite for SAP HANA (SAP S/4HANA)
X
D SAP ERP
You are correct. SAP S/4HANA is the next generation of the SAP Business Suite. It has
been built entirely new on the SAP HANA platform and designed with SAP Fiori user
experience. SAP Business Suite on SAP HANA means that you run classical SAP
applications (such as SAP ERP) on the SAP HANA database.
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Unit 7: Learning Assessment - Answers
3. Which phases of maintenance exist for SAP products?
Choose the correct answers.
X
A Mainstream Maintenance
X
B Standard Maintenance
X
C Extended Maintenance
X
D Customer-Specific Maintenance
You are correct. SAP distinguishes between mainstream maintenance, extended
maintenance and customer-specific maintenance.
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UNIT 8
SAP Support Portal and
SAP Community
Lesson 1
Describing SAP Support Portal
268
Lesson 2
Describing the SAP Community
272
UNIT OBJECTIVES
●
List some of the services provided on the SAP Support Portal
●
List some of the services of the SAP Community
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Unit 8
Lesson 1
Describing SAP Support Portal
LESSON OVERVIEW
This lesson introduces you to the central point of entry for all SAP services, the SAP Support
Portal. A few services that are particularly relevant to the SAP Business Suite are presented
as examples.
Business Example
The SAP system administrator has established that there is a problem in an SAP system and
is looking for a solution.
LESSON OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
●
List some of the services provided on the SAP Support Portal
Target Group of the SAP Support Portal
The Web site, underhttp://www.sap.com (alternatively:https://go.sap.com) provides
information about all SAP solutions and about SAP as a company. This Web site is open to the
general public.
The SAP Support Portalhttps://support.sap.com is intended specifically for SAP customers
and SAP partners. The SAP Support Portal gives you access to a wide range of services,
specific information, and further offers.
Hint:
The new SAP Support Portal (support.sap.com) replaces the former SAP Service
Marketplace (SMP) (service.sap.com).
Logging On, Personalizing, and Navigating
To access the features of the SAP Support Portal, you need a valid user ID and password.
These users are called SAP Support Portal users (formerly known as OSS, SAPNet, or SAP
Service Marketplace users) or S users, since user IDs usually start with the letter “S”. Every
company should have a contact person who can create additional users (S users) for
employees and assign them the necessary authorizations. Access to the SAP Support Portal
free of charge for SAP customers (aside from the cost of internet access).
Once you have logged on to the SAP Support Portal, you have a range of topics to choose
from. You can personalize your home page – that is, build your own pages with topics you
select personally.
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Lesson: Describing SAP Support Portal
Hint:
Personal data, such as e-mail and phone number, enable notification services
and are important when you want to create an incident (ticket) for SAP. You
should also change the initial password for your own security. You can display
and change this data and other information, such as newsletter settings, under
https://launchpad.support.sap.com/#/user/profile(assuming you have the
necessary authorization).
Once you have logged on to the SAP Support Portal, you have a range of topics to choose
from. You can personalize your home page, that is, set up your own pages with topics that are
of particular interest to you.
Quick links let you access specific areas of the SAP Support Portal quickly. To call up a quick
link, simply add it to the web address, preceded by /a (for example:https://
support.sap.com/notes). After logging on to the SAP Support Portal, you can access a
selection ofQuick Linksdirectly.
Important Services Provided on the SAP Support Portal
Figure 141: The SAP Support Portal at https://support.sap.com
This section describes several functions of the SAP Support Portal. It emphasizes services
that are relevant for administering and managing SAP systems.
Administering users
As an SAP Service Marketplace user with the appropriate authorizations, you can request
and administer additional SAP Support Portal users at
https://support.sap.com/user-
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Unit 8: SAP Support Portal and SAP Community
admin. SAP Service Marketplace users are also subject to an authorization concept. You
can, for example, deny the authorization needed for creating SAP incidents.
Developer key
A developer needs a developer key to be able to create or change objects in an SAP
system. You can request this key using the Quick Link/sscr (SAP Software Change
Registration).
Changes to SAP objects (such as ABAP programs delivered by SAP) are called
modifications and require an object key, which you can also request /sscr.
at
SAP Notes database
You can access the comprehensive SAP Notes database using the Quick Link
/notes. You
can access specific SAP Notes either by entering the Note number directly, or using
search criteria (such as the name of a transaction or an error code).
SAP Note Assistant
All AS ABAP-based SAP systems have contained the SAP Note Assistant for many years
now. It is a tool (transactionSNOTE) that can automatically import corrections to ABAP
code from SAP Notes into SAP systems. See the link
https://support.sap.com/kbincidents/notes/assistant.htmlfor more details on how to use the SAP Note Assistant.
Corrections and incidents
SAP regularly provides corrections for known problems (for example, as SAP Support
Packages, kernel patches, or database patches). You can download them under
/
patches. We recommend that you keep your correction status as up-to-date as possible.
In 2003, SAP's Support Package strategy for some product versions was enhanced to
include Support Package stacks (SP stacks). This strategy supports the actual way in
which most customers import SAP Support Packages, making it possible to improve
quality and service and reduce ongoing operating costs. Information on Support Package
stacks can be found at/sp-stacks.
It may happen that an error occurs for which there is no relevant SAP Note or correction
available. In this case, you can report an incident for SAP under
/incident. This incident
report is then processed by SAP Support.
Access to your SAP system and to other services
If an SAP employee needs access to the customer system to solve a problem, you can
reach this connection in the SAP ONE Support Launchpad with the function
Remote
Connections.
This access is also needed for other services, such as
EarlyWatch (/earlywatch: SAP
experts proactively analyze your SAP systems to ensure the best possible performance
and availability). The service cataloghttps://support.sap.com/support-programs(
services/services.html) lists and describes the services offered by SAP Support.
Software requirements
Which software requirements (operating system release or database release) does a
specific SAP solution have? You can find the answer in the Product Availability Matrix
(PAM), quick link –/pam.
Information on the latest products
You can get an overview of the current release strategy from SAP here:
https://
support.sap.com/release-upgrade-maintenance/release-strategy.html
.
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Lesson: Describing SAP Support Portal
Related Information
For more information about the SAP Support Portal, visit the SAP Support Portal under:
https://support.sap.com/support-programs-services/about.html.
For information about using the SAP Support Portal, see:
http://service.sap.com/ssp.
LESSON SUMMARY
You should now be able to:
●
List some of the services provided on the SAP Support Portal
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Unit 8
Lesson 2
Describing the SAP Community
LESSON OVERVIEW
This lesson introduces you to the SAP Community and the offers that can be found there.
Business Example
As a user of SAP software, you are interested in information on current developments and
trends, for example. The SAP Community is a source of information that is available on the
Internet.
LESSON OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
●
List some of the services of the SAP Community
Introduction
SAP customers can access a wide variety of information on the Internet. The following
websites are provided as examples:
●
Online documentation underhttp://help.sap.com
●
The SAP Support Portal underhttps://support.sap.com
●
●
The SAP Info (http://www.sap.info) and SAP InsiderOnline http:/
(
/
www.sapinsideronline.com) information portals
The SAP Community underhttps://www.sap.com/community
The SAP Community
The SAP Community is a social network that promotes and maintains the exchange of ideas
and collaboration among SAP customers, partners, employees, and experts. Its members use
the extensive possibilities to master business requirements more easily.
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Lesson: Describing the SAP Community
Figure 142: SAP Community – Initial Screen
In short, it provides an excellent meeting point for SAP experts. Registered members of the
SAP Community can access information from many different subject areas.
To visit the SAP Community, you can use the following URL:
https://www.sap.com/
community
Services in the SAP Community
Why should you join the SAP Community, what are the advantages and offers? The function
of the SAP Community can be summarized in the figure
“SAP Community – Services”.
Figure 143: SAP Community – Services
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Unit 8: SAP Support Portal and SAP Community
A selection of functions provided in SAP Community follows:
●
●
●
Search all of SAP function: When you use the search in the SAP Community, you not only
search the many contents of the SAP Community, but also the SAP Notes (
http://
support.sap.com/notes ), the SAP Help Portal ( http://help.sap.com ), and many other SAP
pages.
Discussions (forum) : Every member of the community can ask questions here. On
average, a question asked in the discussion forum is answered within 20 minutes. millions
of forum entries were made in the period from 2003 to 2017. Of course, you can also
search the discussion forum.
SAP wiki : SAP wiki is a web site that SAP Community members maintain for a wide variety
of SAP topics. It contains step-by-step instructions for many processes, along with a great
deal of other useful information, in a clear, orderly structure.
Hint:
You can see an overview of all the topics on the following page:
wiki.scn.sap.com/wiki/display/WHP/Home
●
●
http://
Events and webinars : This area provides an overview of all events (such as SAP TechEd,
SAPPHIRE, and more), as well as available webinars.
Download zone : In the downloads section, you can get free downloads and trial versions
such as SAP NetWeaver Application Server or the SAP NetWeaver Composition
Environment, as well as useful tools for the application server such as Eclipse Memory
Analyzer.
The SAP Community is a valuable addition to the existing online information sources of SAP.
If you need help using the SAP Community, see:
http://scn.sap.com/community/support .
LESSON SUMMARY
You should now be able to:
●
List some of the services of the SAP Community
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Unit 8
Learning Assessment
1. Who is SAP Support Portal tailored for?
Choose the correct answers.
X
A Everyone who is interested in SAP
X
B Only SAP employees
X
C SAP partners
X
D SAP customers
X
E SAP competitors
2. You can download developer keys from the SAP Community.
Determine whether this statement is true or false.
X
True
X
False
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Unit 8
Learning Assessment - Answers
1. Who is SAP Support Portal tailored for?
Choose the correct answers.
X
A Everyone who is interested in SAP
X
B Only SAP employees
X
C SAP partners
X
D SAP customers
X
E SAP competitors
The SAP Support Portal is tailored for SAP customers and SAP partners.
2. You can download developer keys from the SAP Community.
Determine whether this statement is true or false.
X
True
X
False
You apply for developer keys using the SAP Support Portal , not in SAP Community .
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