SAP Netweaver Stuff

SAP GUI 7.20 released

2010-04-14T12:31:00.000+02:00

SAP GUI 7.20 has been released on 12 April 2010
Support for SAP GUI 7.10 will be to to April 12th, 2011.

XI / PI in high availability setups

2009-07-29T15:59:00.000+02:00

Did you install XI / PI in a high availability setup?
There is quite a bit of post processing needed to fully exploit these setups.
Look at the below SAP notes :
Note 1052984 - Process Integration 7.1 - High Availability
Note 951910 - NW2004s High Availability Usage Type PI

SAP GUI 7.10 SP 13 - Support for Office 2007 Formats (.docx and .xlsx) and for Internet Explorer 8

2009-07-07T07:25:00.000+02:00

SAP released SP13 for SAP GUI beginning of May. This service pack brings along two important new features:

1.Support of IE 8 in SAP GUI, see SAP note 66971
2.Support for Office 2007 files (*.docx and *.xlsx), note 1286768

“With new changes done in SAP Office Integration, both old .DOC & .XLS as well as new *.DOCX & *.XLSX files of MS Office will be supported.
Previously from SAP Office Integration it was only possible to work with compound document formats. As new Microsoft Office 2007 (*.docx, *.xlsx) files are non-compound document, it was not possible for SAP Office Integration to support the same. Now *.DOCX and *.XLSX format are also supported.”

SAP changed this in SP 13 for SAP GUI and DOCX as well as XLSX files are now supported. See also SAP note 1286768.

TMS setup in high availability systems

2009-07-07T06:52:00.000+02:00

When you setup the transport system in a landscape,SAP automatically generates
RFC destinations to the different servers.But they only point to one host by default and cannot be changed in SM59.
SAP Note 943334 can help you with this. It uses report 'TMS_MGR_LOADBALANCING' to change the definitions in STMS to access the systesm via their message servers and then update SM59.
Now transport can happen as long as 1 instance per system is up.

AIX Virtual Memory Management: Tuning Recommendations

2009-04-26T19:10:00.002+02:00

I recently had to deal with a system which had a lot of RAM available but was still paging a lot. It was running AIX 5.3. Eventually we found note 973227 which gave us the correct parameters for tuning SAP virtual memory. Also look at note 1157425 which gives some details on configuring the correct amount of AIO processes for AIX.

Security Troubleshooting Guide For NetWeaver J2EE 640/700

2009-03-20T07:20:00.002+02:00

I found a very nice security troubleshooting guide attached to note 1296330.
Below is the index of the document :

Chapter 1 - Authentication

Read this chapter if you have general problems logging in to a resource on the SAP J2EE Engine (NetWeaver Administrator, User Management, System Information) or to standalone SAP applications which connect to the SAP J2EE Engine (Visual Administrator). No single sign-on must be active on the system.

Chapter 2 - Authorization

Read this chapter if you see error messages saying that the user is not authorized to access the requested resource.

Chapter 3 - Session Management

Read this chapter if you think that the security sessions of the user expire when they should not or if a user is incorrectly logged in to the SAP J2EE Engine as another user.

Chapter 4 - Single Sign-On

Read this chapter if you have a single sign-on scenario and it fails.

Chapter 5 - SPNego

Read this chapter if you have setup the SAP J2EE Engine to use Kerberos authentication via SAP's SPNego mechanism.

Chapter 6 - SSL

Read this chapter if you have enabled communication over the SSL protocol and it fails.

Chapter 7 - Key Storage

Read this chapter if you see error messages saying that there are problems with Key Storage views or if you have problems importing/exporting certificates.

Change Livecache user password

2009-02-19T14:17:00.002+02:00

I recently had an issue changing the Livecache user in a SCM 5.0 system.
Changing the password in the ABAP stack transaction LC10 was easy.
But you also have the change the password in the Livecache database.

So do that you need the following commands.

(XXX is the database name)
1.Start the Livecache DB command line : dbmcli -d XXX -u control,[password]
2. Login as Superdba : sql_connect superdba,[password]
3.Change Livecache user password : sql_execute alter password sapr3 [new password]
4. Make the new password known : user_sap sapr3,[new password]

If you don't know the SuperDBA password you can execute the following command after step 1 above : user_put superdba password=[new password]

Solution Manager EHP1 : upgrade steps

2009-01-20T21:49:00.009+02:00

I recently upgraded 2 Solution Manager 4.0 systems to EHP1 and here is the steps I followed:

1.Update Java stack to SPS17 (including IGS) via JSPM.This step is a prereq. Time = 5-7 hours.
2.Update Java stack to EHP1 (including IGS) via JSPM. Time = 3-4 hours
3. Update SPAM/SAINT patch level to 33.
4. Update Kernel to 7.01 patch level 23.
5.Install EHP1 via SAINT on ABAP stack.Time = 9-15 hours

Notes :

You need BI_CONT 7.03 installed in the ABAP stack before you can upgrade to EHP1.
Make sure the Java Heap parameters is set correctly before running JSPM
You have ample free disk space in the disk drive that SDM in running in, as it creates files temporariliy when compiling in JSPM.
Make sure all the plugins in the system is upgraded to it's latest level before installing EHP1.

Below a screenshot of what SAINT looks like before your start EHP1 install :

Upgrading Solution Manager 7.0 to 7.0 EHP1 (Stack 18)

2009-01-14T11:44:00.003+02:00

Solution Manager 7.0 EHP1 (Stack 18) is now available for download. Please make sure that you read note1169247 before starting the upgrade. Also check out this detailed presentation on what EHP1 contains.

New in NW 7.0 EHP1 usage Type ABAP : Information Lifecycle Management

2008-12-02T10:17:00.004+02:00

As of SAP NetWeaver 7.0 Enhancement Pack 1 you can use the ILM solution from SAP for end-to-end management of your information. Information Lifecycle Management (ILM) in general, is comprised of the policies, processes, practices, and tools used to align the business value of information with the most appropriate and cost effective IT infrastructure from the time information is conceived through its final disposition.

This includes Data Archiving, Retention Management and the Retention Warehouse.
Have a look here.

New in NW 7.0 EHP1 usage Type EP : WorkProtect Mode

2008-12-02T10:08:00.002+02:00

New in NW 7.0 EHP1 usage Type EP (Portal) is the WorkProtect Mode. To avoid losing unsaved data when navigating to another iView, the portal provides a WorkProtect mode that, when activated, provides the user an opportunity to save any changes before navigating.

Screenshots of BI Diagnostics & Support Desk Tool

2008-12-01T11:43:00.002+02:00

I have mentioned the BI Diagnostics & Support Desk Tool in one of my previous posts.
Here is 2 screenshots of what it looks like, very handy indeed in solving BI Java issues.

Unicode Conversion: Troubleshooting

2008-11-28T08:56:00.001+02:00

There is a good SAP note with checklists and a troubleshooting guide attached on when problems or errors occur during conversion from non-Unicode SAP System
to Unicode. This SAP Note applies for Single Code Page and MDMP system
conversion. Have a look at Note 765475.

SQL Server 2008 : What's New?

2008-11-25T16:10:00.002+02:00

Have a look at this Teched document on the new features on SQL Server 2008 from a DBA's perspective.

SQL Server 2005 SP3 almost ready

2008-11-25T15:46:00.001+02:00

Microsoft is putting the final touches to SQL 2005 SP3. It only contains fixes and no new functionality.Hopefull SAP wont take too long to certify it for Productive use.

Troubleshoot Single Sign-On with SAP Logon Tickets

2008-11-04T21:39:00.002+02:00

Have a look at SAP Note 701205 if you have trouble with Single Sign-on that is not working.
The collective note 1257108 is also helpfull.

SQL2005 - Installation prerequisites/checklist in Cluster

2008-11-04T21:31:00.000+02:00

SAP also released another handy new note that details everything you need to install SQL 2005 in a Windows Cluster. See note 1257296

Troubleshooting Tips & Tricks for workflow issues

2008-11-04T21:29:00.001+02:00

SAP has created a very usefull new note on troubleshooting workflow issues. See note 1098805

NW AS Java 7.00 SP17 - Fixed SSL handshake delay

2008-11-04T21:18:00.002+02:00

With Netweaver AS JAva 7.00 SP17 SAP has fixed the 200ms dealy when handshaking SSL connections. This should improve SSL logon performance.See note 1227052 on the list of corrections contained in SP17

Netweaver Administrator - Quick Links

2008-06-20T10:42:00.002+02:00

Now that SAP has bundled all the WebAS Java 7.1 admin tasks into one with the Netweaver Administrator, you can access the individual functions without going throught all the menus using quick links.
Have a look at this SAP help page for more info and for the quick links.

New cache mode for BI 7.0 without directory

2008-05-29T09:10:00.001+02:00

As of BI 7.0 Support pack 16 SAP has introduced a new query cache mode. Have a look at note 1026944

JSPM : Deploying patches with JSPM stack in a single step

2008-05-29T08:52:00.002+02:00

SAP has implemented a new option in the JSPM where you can select the SP Stack you want to implement plus additional patches on top of that in a single update...have a look at SAP Note 1080821.

SQL Server 2008 - upgrade/installation guide

2008-05-24T11:24:00.001+02:00

Although Microsoft SQL Server 2008 is not yet released fro productive use in SAP systems (and 64-bit only!!),
SAP will support it in test systems. Have a look at note 1152240 which contains a upgrade/installation guide
for SQL Server 2008.
Have fun!

SAP Solution Manager 4.0 becomes SAP Solution Manager 7.0

2008-04-22T09:33:00.001+02:00

SAP Solution Manager 4.0 will be known as SAP Solution Manager 7.0 as of 1st of May 2008.
More at http://service.sap.com/solutionmanager

Netweaver 7.1 Screenshots

2008-04-07T07:48:00.007+02:00

Below is some screenhots I took from a NW 7.1 Installation I am busy with,

The SAP MMC Console, notice all the new functions in left pane.

The new J2EE Homepage :
The new Netweaver Administrator (replaced Visual Administrator)
The web based MMC Console (http://localhost:5xx13 ) where XX = instance no

SAGUI 6.40 support end in October 2008.

2008-03-20T09:23:00.002+02:00

SAP will not support SAPGUI 6.40 after 14 October 2008. This is partly because the 6.40 GUI was developed with Visual Studio 2003 which will be de-supported by Microsoft on 14th of October 2008. See Note 147519 on this topic.

SAP Support for Windows Server 2008

2008-03-20T09:18:00.002+02:00

Microsoft released Windows Server 2008 in February this year. SAP will support it as of Netweaver 7.0 SR3 on 64bit once when approved by SAP. As long as the SAP software is not fully validated on Windows Server 2008, productive usage is not yet supported.Follow Note 1054740 for updates on this.

Dynamic Kernel Parameters for the Security Audit Log

2008-03-16T17:09:00.003+02:00

With Netweaver AS ABAP 7.1 you can now enable the kernel parameters for the Security Audit Log dynamically in RZ11 without restarting the server. Check here for more details.

IPv6 Support in SAP NetWeaver 7.10

2008-03-07T11:08:00.001+02:00

IPv6 is now supported with SAP Netweaver 7.10 .
Have a look at this SAP doc on this subject.

IDoc Support in the Java Application Server 7.1

2008-02-29T19:04:00.003+02:00

Another new addition in NW 7.1 is that the Java Application Server is equipped with the IDOC library/XML processor which enables it to process IDOC's.
Read more about it here.

New in Netweaver 7.1 : SAP Management Console

2008-02-29T18:58:00.003+02:00

With NW 7.1 SAP released a new web based tool (java applet) which you can use to perform simple central monitoring and administration tasks including the following :
Monitor and control (start, stop, or restart) the SAP system and its instances with a single tool.

● Display SAP log and trace files, start profiles, instance parameters, the system environment, SAP environment, Internet Communication Manager (ICM) queue statistics, and so on.

● Display and control Java processes.

● Display the ABAP work process overview and control ABAP processes.

● Monitor system alerts.

● Display the current status tree.

● Display the list of all access points to an SAP system.

● Display information about the AS Java threads, sessions, caches, aliases, Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB) sessions, remote objects.

● Display Java Virtual Machine garbage collection and heap memory information of the application server.

● Save the current console configuration in a file to reuse it later or to forward it to other users.

● Start third-party tools (such as Telnet), if available, to manage an application server.

Patching components without restarting Java AS

2008-02-28T14:23:00.003+02:00

Since JSPM 7.10 SP2 you can deploy SCA's without having to restart the Java server.
Have a peak at SAP Note 1125926.

New in Netweaver 7.1 ABAP Stack - Dynamic Work Processes

2008-02-28T13:59:00.003+02:00

Spotted this today, SAP has added a new type of work processes called the Dynamic Work Process.
It basically allows the dispatcher to start/stop additional work processes according to the system's demand. Read more about it here.

Replacement of Visual Administrator by SAP NetWeaver Administrator

2008-02-27T14:42:00.004+02:00

Another change that I found in Netweaver 7.1 is that the J2EE Visual Administrator is replaced by the Netweaver Administrator.All relevant functions of the VA are available in the SAP NetWeaver Administrator under the heading Administration Assistent. The VA is no longer delivered as of SAP NetWeaver 7.1.
See information here.

Java Dispatcher replaced by ICM in NW 7.1

2008-02-27T14:39:00.004+02:00

As of Netweaver 7.1 the J2EE dispatcher is replaced by the ICM (Internet Connection Manager) See this SAP Help Document.

Screenshots from using the Web Diagtool

2008-02-14T14:29:00.009+02:00

In my previous post I mentioned the new Web Diagtool from SAP that is provided in Note 1045019 to troubleshoot SAP authentication (and other) issues. Today I had first hand experience in using it....very easy and helpful I must say!
You can deploy the EAR file attached to the note, start the app and then login to URL provided in the note.
The start page looks like this :
After selecting the module you want to trace press START. When finished tracing press STOP and a new window will popup with a summary of the traces done, see below :

From the above summary screen you can either download the traces to a zip file or view all traces, see below screen shot :

Diagnostics tool for troubleshooting J2EE authentication

2008-02-08T08:05:00.002+02:00

SAP has released a diagnostic tool some time ago to collect traces and troubleshoot authentication on the J2EE. I have used it and it works quite well, especially if you have problems configuring SSO on the J2EE and need to send traces to SAP. See Note 957666.
But recently SAP released a Web based Diagtool, which is a app which runs on the J2EE and collects traces. See Note 1045019 which contains the EAR file you need to deploy.

Secure Cookies?

2008-02-02T07:43:00.001+02:00

Looking at SAP Note 1020365 which list the fixes contained in WebAS Java SP14 I noticed the following interesting new option :
" New property "SystemCookiesHTTPSProtection" is added in HTTP Provider service - support for "Secure" cookie attribute for system cookies (JSESSIONID and saplb). By default, this property is switched off. If it is switched on, then during creation of jsessionid and sap_lb cookies, new "Secure" attribute will be added."

Would be interesting to test it.....

How To handle Backlog and Overload in XI/PI Systems

2007-12-06T02:02:00.001+02:00

SAP has revised it's document on How To handle Backlog and Overload in XI/PI Systems and published it a few days ago. You can download version 2 of the document from Note 1045751.
It's a handy document and it can teach you more about how XI works.

Correct procedure to Stop/Start your XI system

2007-12-05T08:53:00.002+02:00

The SAP Technical Operations Manual does not provide clear details on all the steps involved in stopping/starting your XI system. Now SAP released the details in Note 870864 and have updated the Technical Operations Manual with all the steps.

RFC load balancing procedure 'Weighted Round Robin'

2007-12-05T08:32:00.000+02:00

With Basis 7.00 Support Pack 15 SAP will release a new Weighted Round Robin load balancing procedure for RFC connections to your ABAP backend systems. This will ensure that load is distributed to ABAP servers based on their performance and not on a purely round robin method.. But you don't have to wait for Support Pack 15. You can also implement it as an advanced correction. See Note 1112104

Front-end printing with control technology

2007-11-30T11:28:00.001+02:00

SAP has introduced a new front-end printing method recently. Have a look at note 821519. This method does not use SAPLPD and communicates directly with the Windows Spooler. You can now also choose which local printer to print to.Given you have the latest support packages it can even be used from 46C systems.

Functional Enhancements Schedule for BI in SAP NetWeaver 7.0

2007-11-22T08:17:00.000+02:00

SAP regularly updates this nice document with the planned new capabilities of BI in Netweaver 7.0 in future support packages. It nice to see what they have in stall for us!

Netweaver 7.0 Support Stack 13 : Get All New Data in Source Request by Request

2007-11-22T07:53:00.001+02:00

In SAP NetWeaver 7.0 SPS 13, the following enhancements are available in the data transfer process (DTP) in BW which is quite helpful in loading large datasets :

In DTP maintenance, you can specify that a DTP request is to get only one source request. By doing this, you can prevent DTP requests from becoming too large. Until now, when this option was used, only the first source request was retrieved. To get all source requests one after the other, the DTP had to be executed manually a number of times. You can now specify in DTP maintenance that the DTP is to get all new data from the source, one request after another. This makes it easier to process mass data using process chains and helps to reduce the total cost of ownership (TCO). The function also has a positive effect on the process monitor display in the process chain log view: When a DTP retrieves all new data request by request, rather than displaying just one request, the system displays a list of DTP requests.

Source

ST03 Statistics Retention Times

2007-11-22T02:23:00.001+02:00

When you install a new SAP system, it does not keep the ST03 statistics for very long times.
You can change the retention times , see the screen shot below.

Single-Sign-On : New Wizard

2007-11-16T10:23:00.001+02:00

SAP recently released a new (web dynpro based) wizard to help you in stetting up Single-Sign-On (SSO2) in your WebAS Java system. You can download the wizard and it documentation from SAP Note 1083421.

BW upgrade to BI 7.0 - New Web Reporting

2007-11-16T09:45:00.000+02:00

You've probably heard about all the new functionality that comes BI 7.o , especially around web reporting. You can actually upgrade to BI 7.0 "as is" without having to do all the BI-JAVA stuff but then you won't be able to use the new web reporting functionalities that come with BI 7.0 like :

New BEx Web Application Designer (Unicode, Command Wizard, ...)

Exporting to PDF and Printing

Integrated Planning

Drag&Drop (Analysis Web Item)

Web Items (Container Layout, Menu Bar, Tab Pages, Button Group, ...)

Formatted Reporting with BEx Report Designer

Document Integration with storage in Knowledge Management

To use the new functionalities you need a BI-JAVA stack, in essence a Netweaver Portal with BI business packages installed on it. You can either utilize your existing Portal or install a dedicated Portal for BI Web reporting.

SAP has a comprehensive note regarding setting this, see Note 917950 - SAP NetWeaver 2004s: Setting Up BEx Web. Also check the handy attachments to the note .

One thing I can add to this : Please try and run this on a 64bit Portal as the BI reports use a lot of memory on the Portal's J2EE. The reason for this is that the query data is transferred to J2EE as a whole during runtime, and we how big BI queries can be! (Note 996600 - 32 Bit platforms not recommended for productive NW2004s apps, Note 1044330 - Java parameterization for BI systems)

List of SAP Network Ports

2007-11-13T00:26:00.001+02:00

Struggling to remember all the network ports used by SAP? On the SDN there's this helpful document on all the SAP Network Ports.

Import/Export Configuration Objects in XI

2007-11-12T02:43:00.002+02:00

When you export/import XI configuration objects from one XI system to another you need to define transport targets in the SLD.See this SAP Help document : http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw70/helpdata/en/ef/a21e3e0987760be10000000a114084/frameset.htm

Enable Debug Mode in J2EE Server Node

2007-11-12T02:16:00.000+02:00

Sometimes a developer asks you to make a J2EE server node debug able. To do this, launch the J2EE Config Tool (usr/sap//instance/j2ee/configtool) . Then click on server instance node and in the right pane navigate to the Servers Debug tab. There you must select the Debuggable tick box as well as the Enable Debug Mode tick below it.See the screen shot below.

Check if the integrated J2EE is running from SAPGUI

2007-11-08T01:45:00.000+02:00

If you run a dual stack system (ABAP + Java) and want to check if the integrated J2EE is running (without logging onto the O/S or using web browser) you

can do it in SAPGUI.

Execute transaction SMICM, Menu GoTo -> HTTP Server -> Display Data

In the next screen look for the line 'J2EE Server operational = TRUE', this means it’s running, if not it will be FALSE.

Migration of ST03N statisitics during upgrade to Basis 7.00

2007-11-02T08:06:00.002+02:00

In Basis release 7.00 SAP developed a completely new workload statistics collector to meet the requirements of large systems. After you upgrade to Basis 7.00, you can no longer display workload statistics data in ST03N that has been entered before the upgrade.

To keep the ST03N history data you need to export it before the upgrade and import it afterwards. See Note 1005238 and 1006116.

After importing the old data (for instance you old 46C system) the ST03N data will look like this :

I took about 45 minutes to export the data before the upgrade and about the same to import it again after the upgrade.

New transaction DBACOCKPIT

2007-10-25T11:51:00.001+02:00

Another new Basis transaction that came with release 7.00 SP12 is DBACOCKPIT for monitoring the database, see note 1072066
SAP Note 1027512 contains 2 attachments with documentation about the topic.

SQL Server 2005 and transaction log backups

2007-10-25T11:44:00.000+02:00

As of SQL Server 2005 you can run transaction log backup while the online backup is running. During the database backup the transaction log backup won't truncate the logs, that will only be done after the online backup is finished, see the following MS article : http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms345414.aspx

New transaction ST06N in Basis 7.00

2007-10-25T11:37:00.001+02:00

AS of Basis release 7.00 there is a newer version of transaction ST06 (O/S monitor) called ST06N. Have a look, it's quite neat.

Running OS commands within SAPGUI

2007-10-25T10:32:00.000+02:00

I know this not new but an easy way to run simple O/S commands (any platform) is to execute report RSBDCOS0 from sE38 and then execute the O/S command in there.

After runing report RSBDCOS0 you can type most commands in the yellow line and hit for results.

JSPM SP12 new functionality

2007-10-22T08:46:00.000+02:00

With the latest JSPM support pack 12 you can now install additional usage types and you can also patch the JSPM seperately. See Note 104699 on this.

Changes not visible after Transport of BI 7.0 Web Template

2007-07-10T02:04:00.000+02:00

You transport a BI 7.0 Web Template but after the import the changes is not visible in the report.Do get around this problem, clear the ICM cache in your BI backend system via transaction SMICM.See the screenshot below:

BI Workload Stats in Netweaver 7.0

2007-06-18T05:36:00.000+02:00

Recently installed or upgraded to BI 7.0? You will find that when using transaction ST03N to view BI Workload statistics (for OLAP,data load stats etc) that it's empty.
This is because ST03N does not read directly from the RSDDSTAT tables anymore.
Using the delivered technical content you need to load the data from RSDDSTAT into technical infoproviders which is then read by ST03N.

See SAP Note 964418 and 934848 for more information on this new feature.

Setting Up BEx Web in BI 7.0

2007-06-04T06:12:00.000+02:00

Did you recently upgrade to or install BI 7.0 and want to make use of the new functionalities of BI and Java?
Look at Note 917950 - SAP NetWeaver 2004s: Setting Up BEx Web.
It contains a few attachments which is very handy in setting this up.

Windows 2003 Server Service Pack 2 certified by SAP

2007-06-03T03:57:00.000+02:00

Check out SAP Note 30478 - Windows Service Packs.
SAP now supports Windows 2003 Server SP2.

Here's 10 reasons why Microsoft wants you to install SP2.

SAP J2EE server node hanging on startup

2007-06-03T03:27:00.000+02:00

Have you ever had that dreadfull experience of a SAP J2EE not wanting to start?

A few days ago I restarted a Netweaver Portal (7.0) server and it's J2EE server nodes "hanged" on status STARTING APPS.
I created a dump stack trace of one of the server nodes, searched some OSS notes and realized it was the Application Thread's that was not enough.I increased the MaxThreadCount parameter of the ApplicationThreadManager as per Note 950921 (using the Configtool) to 100 and restarted the Portal server again, it then started up OK. SAP recommends that for XI system this parameter should at least be 150.
Here's a screenshot of the affected parameter in the Configtool:

The reason for this problem could be additional applications being deployed to the J2EE which uses more application threads or changes to the behaviour of deployed apps so always be sure to check this parameter value from time to time.

You can uses the thread dump viewer supplied by SAP Note 10202246 to make reading the dumps you create in the J2EE easier to read. Here's a screenshot of the viewer :

The following SAP Notes provide good starting points for J2EE troubleshooting:
Note 764417 - Information for troubleshooting of the SAP J2EE Engine 6.40
Note 710154 - How to create a thread dump for the J2EE Engine 6.40