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alternateplanet alternate planet in an alternate time https://alternateplanet.net/ 2010-12-06T21:45:29+00:00 Cheap LCD TV Samsung UE46C5800 at Amazon https://alternateplanet.net/2010/12/cheap-lcd-tv-samsung-ue46c5800-at-amazon/ 2010-12-06T21:45:29+00:00 2010-12-06T21:45:29+00:00 Cheap LCD TV Samsung UE46C5800 at Amazon <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-uk.amazon.co.uk/e/cm?t=alternateplan-21&amp;o=2&amp;p=8&amp;l=as1&amp;asins=B003DNSJ04&amp;fc1=000000&amp;IS2=1&amp;lt1=_blank&amp;m=amazon&amp;lc1=0000FF&amp;bc1=000000&amp;bg1=FFFFFF&amp;f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;"></iframe> How to view recently used transactions by users https://alternateplanet.net/2010/04/how-to-view-recently-used-transactions-by-users/ 2010-04-20T20:00:12+00:00 2010-04-20T20:00:12+00:00 There are various ways to do that, two of the quickest ones are 1) Turn the audit log on by using SM19 and SM20 and analyze the audit logs.Put filters while setting up these logs so that you can see the specific data. 2) In ST03N / ST03, you can analyze the transactions run by users by selecting the “User Profile” under the “Analysis Views” section. Note: ST03N keeps limited data You can use STAD too, more on that later… SAP System Administration: Authorization Concepts https://alternateplanet.net/2010/04/sap-system-administration-authorization-concepts/ 2010-04-10T20:00:48+00:00 2010-04-10T20:00:48+00:00 Access control in SAP is composed of several concepts: Program code that calls an authorization check using the authority-check statement. This will look something like: authority-check object id field Authorization fields (corresponding to the in the above code) that define a scope of possible values. Examples of authorization fields would be: ACTIVITY: defines the type of activity the user is doing with the data. Possible values are ‘DISPLAY’, ‘MODIFY’, ‘DELETE’, etc. COMPANY_CODE: possible values are any single value, or any range of values, or any combination thereof (such as ‘0438′ and ‘0600′ thru ‘1100′) Authorization objects that define a group of fields. For example, an authorization object called ‘CO_MDATA’, containing our above fields ACTIVITY and COMPANY_CODE, might used to control access to the company master data tables. Authorizations, each of which belong to exactly one authorization object, that define authorization values (within the scopes defined by the authorization objects) to be granted to users. Note that an authorization is different from an authorization object!! Extending our previous examples, we might have an authorization, belonging to the authorization object ‘CO_MDATA’, called ‘CO_MDATA_ALL’, that grants all access to all company master data. Then ‘CO_MDATA_ALL’ would have the following values: FIELD VALUE ACTIVITY * COMPANY_CODE * Profiles, each of which may contain several authorizations or profiles. A simple profile contains a group of authorizations. A composite profile contains a group of profiles (simple or composite). [Profiles can be conceptualized as forming the structure of a tree, in which end nodes (leaves) are authorizations, and all other nodes are profiles. Simple profiles are nodes whose children are all end nodes, and composite profiles are nodes, other than end nodes, who have no end nodes for children.] Profiles are designed to define set or one or more functions or positions. For example, a functional profile might define all the authorizations that are required for doing a goods receipt, or for making a payment in the AP module. A position profile, on the other hand, might define all of the authorizations that are granted to an accountant, or to a warehouse supervisor. Often, a position profile is a composite profile consisting of several functional profiles. Users, to whom profiles are assigned. A user is assigned one or more profiles by the system administrator. These profiles define all of the user’s system authorizations. It sounds complicated, but once you start working with authorizations, it’s pretty easy. <div id="_mcePaste" style="overflow: hidden; position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px;"> <h3 class="post-title"><a href="http://www.abapcode.info/2007/05/sap-system-administration-authorization.html">SAP System Administration: Authorization Concepts</a></h3> <div style="float: left;"></div> Access control in SAP is composed of several concepts: Program code that calls an authorization check using the authority-check statement. This will look something like: authority-check object id field Authorization fields (corresponding to the in the above code) that define a scope of possible values. Examples of authorization fields would be: ACTIVITY: defines the type of activity the user is doing with the data. Possible values are ‘DISPLAY’, ‘MODIFY’, ‘DELETE’, etc. COMPANY_CODE: possible values are any single value, or any range of values, or any combination thereof (such as ‘0438′ and ‘0600′ thru ‘1100′) Authorization objects that define a group of fields. For example, an authorization object called ‘CO_MDATA’, containing our above fields ACTIVITY and COMPANY_CODE, might used to control access to the company master data tables. Authorizations, each of which belong to exactly one authorization object, that define authorization values (within the scopes defined by the authorization objects) to be granted to users. Note that an authorization is different from an authorization object!! Extending our previous examples, we might have an authorization, belonging to the authorization object ‘CO_MDATA’, called ‘CO_MDATA_ALL’, that grants all access to all company master data. Then ‘CO_MDATA_ALL’ would have the following values: FIELD VALUE ACTIVITY * COMPANY_CODE * Profiles, each of which may contain several authorizations or profiles. A simple profile contains a group of authorizations. A composite profile contains a group of profiles (simple or composite). [Profiles can be conceptualized as forming the structure of a tree, in which end nodes (leaves) are authorizations, and all other nodes are profiles. Simple profiles are nodes whose children are all end nodes, and composite profiles are nodes, other than end nodes, who have no end nodes for children.] Profiles are designed to define set or one or more functions or positions. For example, a functional profile might define all the authorizations that are required for doing a goods receipt, or for making a payment in the AP module. A position profile, on the other hand, might define all of the authorizations that are granted to an accountant, or to a warehouse supervisor. Often, a position profile is a composite profile consisting of several functional profiles. Users, to whom profiles are assigned. A user is assigned one or more profiles by the system administrator. These profiles define all of the user’s system authorizations. It sounds complicated, but once you start working with authorizations, it’s pretty easy.</div> SAP Derived Roles https://alternateplanet.net/2010/04/sap-derived-roles/ 2010-04-09T20:00:30+00:00 2010-04-09T20:00:30+00:00 As the name indications are derived from already existing roles. There are two scenarios when we derive roles. * The role menus are identical but the authorizations for the menu actions are different in the derived role. * The menu and authorizations of the derived role are identical, but the organizational levels are different in the derived role. The derived roles inherit the menu structure and functions (including transactions etc…) of the referred role. The default authorization values of the derived role are that of the inherited role. The organizational values are to be maintained in the derived role. The organization level data is only copied the first time the authorization data is adjusted for the derived role. If organization level data is maintained in the derived role, it is not overwritten by subsequent adjustments. Roles derived from another cannot have any additional menu entries. The menu is maintained in the referred role which take effect immediately in all derived roles. To change the menu of the derived role without changing the menu of referred role you have to break the inheritance relationship. Once the relationship breaks, the derived role is dealt as a normal role and the inheritance relation ship cannot be re established SAP Composite Roles https://alternateplanet.net/2010/04/sap-composite-roles/ 2010-04-08T20:00:24+00:00 2010-04-08T20:00:24+00:00 Composite Roles : Suppose there is position in your organization in which activites of two positions need to be performs the roles is called composite role. Take an example. There are two positions like a clerk and auditor. If there is a position in your organization where the individual has to act both as a clerk and an auditor the the role is a composite roles which needs him/her to work both as a clerk and auditor. This is quite common scenario in organizations or companies. A composite role has many single roles. No authorization data can be maintained in a composite role. You can eneter some menu entries like links to websites, reports only. Tcodes cannot be added. The authorization data has to be maintained only in the single roles. When you attach a composite roles to an user all the single roles gets attached to him. In the change documents it shows the single profiles that belongs to single roles gets attached to them. Suppose a composite role has 3 single roles. when you attach this composite role to a user then 3 authorizations profiles will get attached to him. The change count in SUIM will be 3. What is a authorization Role in SAP? https://alternateplanet.net/2010/04/what-is-a-authorization-role-in-sap/ 2010-04-07T20:00:29+00:00 2010-04-07T20:00:29+00:00 Role is the way how authorizations are granted in SAP or the activities which are performed by and individual are restricted. A role consists of all the duties performed by an individual in the organization. For e.g., the clerk or the manager or buyer or dispatcher etc.. Two managers of same cader has same type of duties. Technically a roles contains all the items(transactions or tcodes, reports, links) which are needed by an individual in particular position. In a roles-based authorization system the lattice structure of organization is well defined and the activities performed by each individual is defined clearly. In a role-based authorization system the users are assigned to generiuc roles (technical) which contains tcodes necessary for peforming the job. The above description is a single role. There are three types of roles. o Single roles o Composite roles o Derived roles How to check if CUA is used in a System https://alternateplanet.net/2010/04/how-to-check-if-cua-is-used-in-a-system/ 2010-04-06T20:00:00+00:00 2010-04-06T20:00:00+00:00 You can quickly run transaction SU01 and see if the “Systems” tab is available. If it is then CUA has been configured. Well there is another way to see whether CUA is used. Run transaction code SCUA to see if there are any distribution models defined. Run transaction code SCUL to see to view logs that are generated by CUA &amp; if you have logged into a child system, then goto transaction code SU01 and see, there will be no CREATE activity. Troubleshooting SAP Transport Mechanism https://alternateplanet.net/2010/04/troubleshooting-sap-transport-mechanism/ 2010-04-05T20:00:13+00:00 2010-04-05T20:00:13+00:00 The tp command doesn’t work. It always shows some error which I don’t understand. Make sure the environment is set up properly. See Troubleshooting Server Startup for details. After releasing my change request, I can’t find the transport files in the transport directory. Make sure you released the request, as well as the tasks under it (the request is the part of the tree directly under the word “Transportable”). Check the action logs using SE09 for errors. If there were no errors, try re-transporting an object by changing it and creating a new request. Before releasing the task or request, go to SE09 and list the request. If the request is listed under “Local”, it can NOT be transported to another system. My change request is always local, but I want it to be transportable The problem lies in either the workbench setup, the development class assigned to the objects you wish to transport, or both. Check the workbench setup with SE06-&gt;Display. Is your system set as a productive system? If so, change requests usually are not transportable. Try creating a new development class Z111, and choose any transport layer that the system allows you to choose (if your system does not allow you to choose any transport layers, then the workbench is not set up to allow any changes to be transportable). If it allows you to choose several layers, create on new class for each layer, and a new change request for each class. Then go to SE09 and check if your requests are transportable. If they are transportable, try to release one of the development classes (release the task and the request) and check that the files are created. The system won’t let me release a request because the the “target system is the same as the source system.” Click on the request, hit Shift+F6 (Change), and change the target system to a SID other than the source system. If your system won’t let you change it to a SID that works, you are either trying to transport from the wrong system, or you need to recreate your system landscape. How do I recreate the transport system landscape? This should be done by a consultant during installation, and should not be changed after installation. If you really want to do it yourself, release all locked objects, log onto client 000 with DDIC, go to SE06, choose the landscape you want (usually 2- or 3-system group, and press Create. Tell the system which SIDs do which roles, and the rest is set up automatically. I want to import objects into a system other than the one for which the transport files are targeted. Use the tp unconditional modes. I have previously posted about the Unconditional modes. After using the override options, tp won’t let me delete the request from the buffer. Re-import the request, and then delete it from the buffer. If you cannot re-import (because, for instance, it is a very old request, and you do not know if re-importing will overwrite newer object), you can delete the entries directly from the file /usr/sap/trans/buffer/SID. This of course is not a “real” solution, but it does work (the “real” solution maybe would involve further editing of the E070, E071, or E070C tables). I have created local objects in both the target system and the source system. Now I want to organize development and create objects only in the DEV system, and allow no direct changes to the target system. What do I do about the objectsalready created? They need to be reassigned to a development class before they can be transported. Create a development class (or use an existing one) and test to make sure its objects can be exported and imported successfully. How do I delete all the old change request/task clutter from my system. If none of the tasks in the request have been released, the entire task/request can be deleted. Before deletion, however, you should check to make sure that the related objects are either changed back to the state they were in before the change that resulted in their being linked to the change request. The system says that I have to release all locked objects before I can perform a certain task. How do I find out what objects are locked? Look in the tables TLOCK, E070, E071, and E070C. Sometimes, data in these tables can become orphaned, and may need to be processed manually (this is rarely necessary). What do I do with all these transport files? You can backup and delete old transport files every once in a while. Directories to be backed up and deleted in the /usr/sap/trans directory include: data, cofiles, log, olddata, EPS/out, EPS/log, and put/*. Note that SAP-delivered files can be deleted without backup; this includes directories such as put/exe, put/tools, and EPS/in. A Useful guide on SAP BASIS and Security Administration https://alternateplanet.net/2010/04/a-useful-guide-on-sap-basis-and-security-administration/ 2010-04-01T20:00:40+00:00 2010-04-01T20:00:40+00:00 <a href="https://alternateplanet.net/media/www.thespot4sap.com/SAP_BASIS_and_Security_Administration.pdf" target="_blank">A Useful guide on SAP BASIS and Security Administration</a> [PDF] What is Heap Memory? https://alternateplanet.net/2010/03/what-is-heap-memory/ 2010-03-29T20:00:50+00:00 2010-03-29T20:00:50+00:00 Heap Memory stores User Context when Extended Memory allocated to a work process gets exhausted and the work process requires more space to continue. Heap Memory stores contains same type of Data as Extended Memory. Heap Memory is allocated dynamically according to requirement and not during system startup. When the workprocess starts using heap area it enters in to PRIV mode What is SAPOSCOL? https://alternateplanet.net/2010/03/what-is-saposcol/ 2010-03-24T20:00:59+00:00 2010-03-24T20:00:59+00:00 SAPOSCOL is SAP Operating System Collector is a standalone program that runs in background at OS level. It collects information about operating system resource usage like: <ul> <li>CPU Utilization</li> <li>Main Memory and Virtual Memory utilization.</li> <li>Physical Disk and File System utilization.</li> <li>Resource usage by running processes.</li> </ul> How many instances of SAPOSCOL to be run? A)Only one instance of SAPOSCOL needed to be run per hardware. Even if there are multiple instances running on a single hardware only one SAPOSCOL process is needed. What is the frequency of data collection by SAPOSCOL? A) Data is collected every ten seconds. Where is the data collected by SAPOSCOL stored? A)The data is stored in shared memory and for long &amp; future usage data is stored in tables MONI &amp; OSMON. Tha data collected by SAPOSCOL copied to tables MONI &amp; OSMON by background job COLLECTOR_FOR_PERFMONITOR What are the SAP level tcodes to view this data? A) At SAP level you can view the information collected by SAPOSCOL using tcodes/transactions ST06, OS06 &amp; OS07. Memory related profile parameters in SAP https://alternateplanet.net/2010/03/memory-related-profile-parameters-in-sap/ 2010-03-19T20:00:00+00:00 2010-03-19T20:00:00+00:00 <table border="2" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" frame="void" rules="none" style="background-color: white; width: 559px; height: 509px;"> <colgroup> <col width="146"/> <col width="379"/> </colgroup> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 146px; height: 18px; text-align: left; color: black; background-color: white;">abap/heaplimit</td> <td align="left" style="color: black; width: 341px; background-color: white;">Work Process Restart</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left" height="18" style="color: black; background-color: white;">ztta/roll_extension</td> <td style="text-align: left; color: black; width: 341px; background-color: white;">Limit for Extended Memory</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left" height="18" style="color: black; background-color: white;">ztta/roll_extension_dia</td> <td align="left" style="color: black; width: 341px; background-color: white;">EM Quota for Dialog Work Processes</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left" height="18" style="color: black; background-color: white;">ztta/roll_extension_nondia</td> <td align="left" style="color: black; width: 341px; background-color: white;">EM Quota for Non-Dialog Work Processes</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left" height="18" style="color: black; background-color: white;">abap/heap_area_dia</td> <td style="text-align: left; color: black; width: 341px; background-color: white;">Heap Memory Limit for Dialog Work Processes</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left" height="18" style="color: black; background-color: white;">abap/heap_area_nondia</td> <td align="left" style="color: black; width: 341px; background-color: white;">Heap Memory Limit for Non-Dialog Work Processes</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left" height="18" style="color: black; background-color: white;">abap/heap_area_total</td> <td align="left" style="color: black; width: 341px; background-color: white;">Total Quota for Heap Memory</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left" height="18" style="color: black; background-color: white;">ztta/roll_area</td> <td align="left" style="color: black; width: 341px; background-color: white;">Size of Roll Area Roll Area</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left" height="18" style="color: black; background-color: white;">ztta/roll_first</td> <td style="text-align: left; color: black; width: 341px; background-color: white;">Size of the Initial Allocation from the Roll Area</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left" height="18" style="color: black; background-color: white;">abap/heap_area_total</td> <td align="left" style="color: black; width: 341px; background-color: white;">Heap Memory Limit</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left" height="18" style="color: black; background-color: white;">em/initial_size_MB</td> <td align="left" style="color: black; width: 341px; background-color: white;">Extended Memory Pool Size</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left" height="18" style="color: black; background-color: white;">rdisp/ROLL_SHM</td> <td align="left" style="color: black; width: 341px; background-color: white;">Roll Buffer Size</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left" height="18" style="color: black; background-color: white;">rdisp/ROLL_MAXFS</td> <td style="text-align: left; color: black; width: 341px; background-color: white;">Maximum Roll File Size</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left" height="18" style="color: black; background-color: white;">rdisp/PG_SHM</td> <td align="left" style="color: black; width: 341px; background-color: white;">Size of the Paging Buffer</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left" height="18" style="color: black; background-color: white;">rdisp/PG_MAXFS</td> <td align="left" style="color: black; width: 341px; background-color: white;">Maximum Size of SAP Paging File</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left" height="18" style="color: black; background-color: white;">em/blocksize_KB</td> <td align="left" style="color: black; width: 341px; background-color: white;">Segment Size for the Extended Memory Memory Management Statistics</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left" height="18" style="color: black; background-color: white;">em/stat_log_size_MB</td> <td align="left" style="color: black; width: 341px; background-color: white;">Statistics – User Context Size</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left" height="18" style="color: black; background-color: white;">em/stat_log_timeout</td> <td align="left" style="color: black; width: 341px; background-color: white;">Statistics – User Context Size</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> Understanding transaction code SM50 in SAP https://alternateplanet.net/2010/03/understanding-transaction-code-sm50-in-sap/ 2010-03-15T20:00:00+00:00 2010-03-15T20:00:00+00:00 Tcode SM50 is used to see the workprocess overview in application server you are logged in. There are several fields diplayed in the work process overview screen. Each of the field value is described in below table. Menu path for this tcode is Tools –&gt; Administration–&gt; Monitor –&gt;System monitoring –&gt; Process –&gt; overview <table border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" style="text-align: left; width: 527px;"> <tbody> <tr> <td align="undefined" style="width: 155px;" valign="undefined">No</td> <td align="undefined" style="width: 354px;" valign="undefined">This is the work process number and is unique to each work process.</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 155px; vertical-align: top;">Type</td> <td align="undefined" style="width: 354px;" valign="undefined">This denotes the type of work process. These are the possible values for type field DIA: Dialog UPD: Update BGD: Background ENQ: Enqueue SPO: Spool</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="undefined" style="width: 155px;" valign="undefined">PID</td> <td align="undefined" style="width: 354px;" valign="undefined">Process ID which is a unique no to identify the process at os level.</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="undefined" style="width: 155px;" valign="undefined">Status</td> <td align="undefined" style="width: 354px;" valign="undefined">This shows the status of work process like PRIV mode etc..</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 155px; vertical-align: top;">Ended</td> <td align="undefined" style="width: 354px;" valign="undefined">Work process has been terminated because of some error in SAP kernel. Running – work process is busy processing user request. Waiting – work process is ready to accept user request. PRIV – Work process running with heap memory (noramally basis admins terminate the dia wp if it enters priv mode).</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="undefined" style="width: 155px;" valign="undefined">Completed</td> <td align="undefined" style="width: 354px;" valign="undefined">The work process has been terminated and they can not be restarted.</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="undefined" valign="undefined">Reason</td> <td align="undefined" style="width: 354px;" valign="undefined">If a work process status is stopped, this field gives the reason why it is stopped.</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top;">Start</td> <td align="undefined" style="width: 354px;" valign="undefined">This field tells if the dispatcher can restart the work process if it gets terminated.</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="undefined" valign="undefined">Err</td> <td align="undefined" style="width: 354px;" valign="undefined">Err field gives the no of times the work process .</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align: top;">Sem</td> <td align="undefined" style="width: 354px;" valign="undefined">Number of semaphore. With Green background =&gt;Process is holding the semaphore. With Red background =&gt; Process is waiting for the semaphore.</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="undefined" valign="undefined">CPU</td> <td align="undefined" style="width: 354px;" valign="undefined">The CPU Time utilization by each work process format minutes:seconds</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="undefined" valign="undefined">Time</td> <td align="undefined" style="width: 354px;" valign="undefined">The time that has been consumed processing the current request (in seconds).</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="undefined" valign="undefined">Report</td> <td align="undefined" style="width: 354px;" valign="undefined">The name of report which is being executed</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="undefined" valign="undefined">Clie</td> <td align="undefined" style="width: 354px;" valign="undefined">Client No.</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="undefined" valign="undefined">User</td> <td align="undefined" style="width: 354px;" valign="undefined">Name of user whose request is currently being executed.</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="undefined" valign="undefined">Action</td> <td align="undefined" style="width: 354px;" valign="undefined">For the work process with status “running”, this displays the current action.</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="undefined" valign="undefined">Table</td> <td align="undefined" style="width: 354px;" valign="undefined">The DB tables that is accessed previously by work process.</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> Memory allocation of non-dialog work process in UNIX https://alternateplanet.net/2010/03/memory-allocation-of-non-dialog-work-process-in-unix/ 2010-03-12T20:00:00+00:00 2010-03-12T20:00:00+00:00 Memory allocation of non-dialog work process in UNIX In UNIX, if Roll memory gets full Heap memory is occupied and if heap memory gets full extended memory is used. But in windows it is different, after roll memory (ztta/roll_first) is filled the work process uses Extended memory, after extended memory is fill then remainder of roll memory ( ztta/roll_area – ztta/roll_first) is used soon.. <table border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" style="text-align: left; height: 204px; width: 402px;"> <tbody> <tr align="center"> <td>Unix or Unix like systems</td> <td style="width: 192px;">Windows</td> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td>Roll Memory up to ztta/roll_area</td> <td style="width: 192px; text-align: center;">Roll Memory up to ztta/roll_first</td> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td>| | \|/</td> <td style="width: 192px;">| | \|/</td> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td>Heap Memory up to abap/heap_area_nondia or HM Exhaust</td> <td style="width: 192px; text-align: center;">Extended Memory up to ztta/roll_extension or EM Exhaust</td> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td>| | \|/</td> <td style="width: 192px;">| | \|/</td> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td>Extended Memory up to ztta/roll_extension or EM Exhaust</td> <td style="width: 192px; text-align: center;">Roll Memory Remainder of ztta/roll_area</td> </tr> <tr> <td></td> <td style="text-align: center;">| | \|/</td> </tr> <tr> <td></td> <td style="text-align: center;">Heap Memory up to abap/heap_area_dia or HM Exhaust</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> Profile parameter categories in SAP https://alternateplanet.net/2010/03/profile-parameter-categories-in-sap/ 2010-03-07T20:00:00+00:00 2010-03-07T20:00:00+00:00 Some important categories of SAP system parameters. You can view parameters using RZ11 and change them using RZ10. or use report RSPFPAR through SA38. * ES/* : Related to extended memory settings * INSTANCE* : Identify an instance or server * ABAP/* : Related to program execution, including heap settings * AUTH/* : Related to authorization * DBS/&lt;DB Type/* : Database specific parameters * EM/* : General system related settings * ENQUE/* : Settings for the enqueue WP (or standalone ENQ server) * GW/* : SAP Gateway related settings * ICF/* &amp; ICM/* : Settings for the Internet control framework and ICM * LOGIN/* : Controls the logon environment (such a multiple sessions etc) * MS/* : Message server related settings * RDISP/* : Controls the dispatcher &amp; dispatcher controlled processes * STAT/* : Statistics collector related parameters * SCSA/* : Shared common system area parameters * ZTTA/* : Extended memory related parameters SAP Lock concept https://alternateplanet.net/2010/03/sap-lock-concept/ 2010-03-07T20:00:00+00:00 2010-03-07T20:00:00+00:00 SAP has an independent locking processover and above the database that it runs on, a LUW on SAP is may have different meaning and execution to what it is on Oracle or DB2. Read on… Lock Transaction SM12: The SAP system is equipped with a special lock mechanism the purpose of the lock mechanism is to prevent two transactions from changing the same data on the database simultaneously. Locks are defined generically as “lock objects” in the Data Dictionary. Lock entries are usually set and deleted automatically when user programs access a data object and release it again. The SAP lock mechanism is closely related to the Update Mechanism . The documentation is divided into the following sections: SAP Lock Concept: describes how the SAP lock works. You have to understand the concepts described here in order to use the SAP locks when you are programming applications. You can use different types of locks. The lock mode describes what type of lock it is. S (shared Lock): Several users can access locked data at the same time in display mode. Requests from further shared locks are accepted, even if they are from different users. An exclusive lock set on an object that already has a shared lock will be rejected. E(Exclusive): An exclusive lock protects the locked object against all types of locks from other transactions. Only the same lock owner can reset the lock . Important Profile Parameters: A list of the profile parameters relevant for the lock concept. enque/table_size: Size of the lock table managed by the enqueue server in the main memory. The lock table contains information on which locks are currently held by whom. In this case, you should check whether the update server is functioning correctly, since the lock table can grow very fast if the update function stops. If no update problems exist, you can use this parameter to increase the size of the lock table. The Computing Center Management System (CCMS) monitors the status of the lock table constantly and outputs warnings if the space available is not adequate. Default value: 4096kb rdisp/wp_no_enq: Number of enqueue work processes that are to run on this instance. rdisp/enqname: Name of the application server that provides the enqueue service. Managing Lock Entries: It describes lock management , which you use to display, check, and delete lock entries. This may be necessary if the SAP dispatcher, the operating system, or the network connection fails, and the dispatcher cannot delete lock entries. In this case, invalid lock entries remain effective and block access to the locked data when the system is restarted. How to monitor a Lock entry:In SM12 check any lock entry older than 2 days, if any outdated entry check the corresponding User and check the user online or offline in AL08 and contact that User (you can get the User info from su01) and inform about the lock else if the user is offline release the table from lock by deleting the lock. More System Monitoring https://alternateplanet.net/2010/03/more-system-monitoring/ 2010-03-02T20:00:00+00:00 2010-03-02T20:00:00+00:00 The Following are the transaction codes used for the System Monitoring: SM12: This Traction is used for Check for Lock Entries. There may be old locks still in place from transactions that did not release, or from when the user was cut off from the Network. If any lock entries are exist then we have to check since how long this lock existing. If, this lock existing from more than one day then we should check that particular User is available or not (By using the Transaction Code AL08). If he is not available then Delete that lock. Otherwise we should wait 1 or 2 Days. SM13 : This Transaction is used for Check for any Errors in Update Records. A failed or “Update Terminate” is an update to the failed database. These failed Updates occurs when a user entry or transaction is not entered or Updated in database. And we should check Whether Update is ACTIVE or not. And also we should check any Update Records are terminated. SM21 : This Transaction is used to check System Logs. After hitting the traction we should goto System log–&gt; Chooseà All Remote System logs, and set Date and time to before the Last log review. And we should check whether any Errors, Warnings, Security Messages, Database, Abends, Any other different Events are there.The log is important because unexpected or unknown warnings and errors could indicate a serious problem. SM51 : This Transaction is used to check that all Application Servers are UP. And also This transaction is a central transaction from which you can select the instance to be monitor. SM50 : This Transaction is used to check Work Process Overview and for Systems with out Servers. Here all work processes with a “Running” or “Waiting” State. If Batch Jobs are not Running, If all the work processes are in use, this transaction provide a hint of this problem. ST01 : This Transaction is used for System Trace. By this transaction we can trace that what are the operations performed on particular file by particular user on which dates. ST02 : This transaction is used for Buffer tuning or Buffer Statistics. And it is used to tune Buffer perameters of R/3. The Buffer is important because significant buffer swaping reduces performance. Look under “Swaps” for Red Entries. Regularly check these entries to establish trends and get a feel of the Buffer behaviour. And in this transaction we should Maintain “Hit Ratio” is in between 90 – 100% for all , and “Heap Memory” allocated should be “0” , and “Swaps” is 0. ST03 : This Transaction is used to Check Work Load Analysis of . Workload Analysis is used to determine System performance. Check Statistics and Record Trends to get a feel for the System’s Behaviour and Performance. Understanding the System when it is running well helps us to determine what changes may need to be made when it is not. ST04 : This Transaction is used for Database Performance Analysis. This transaction provides the ability to Monitor the Database in related to 1) In Shared Pool “SQL Area Get Ratio” should be 90 – 95% 2) In Log Buffer Allocation Retries / Entries &lt;1% 3) In Data Buffer “Quality” should be in 90 – 95% 4) In Sorts Disk / Memory &lt;1% 5) In Table Scan &amp; Fetches “Long Table Scans” should maintain as minimum as possible. And we should check Detailed Analysis then we should hit “Detailed Analysis menu” Button in this screen. In that we can check Database Overview like “Exclusive Lock Waits” , “Wait Events”, “Buffer Busy Waits”, “ File System Request”, “ Database Message logs”, “ SQL Requests”, Summery Report for all activities, etc ST22 : This Transaction is used to Analyse ABAP Dumps or Short Dumps. This transaction is also used for Analyse and Determine why the error occurred and take corrective action. It looks for an excessive number of dumps, and also dumps of an unusual nature. A ABAP dump is generated when a report or transaction terminates as a result of a serious error. The system records in the System Log(SM21) and writes a snapshot of the program terminate to a special table. DB02 : This transaction is used to check all table Spaces and Indexes. Here we should check table spaces sizes. If any table used space is =&gt;99 then we should increase add the space for particular table space. And this transaction is provides a way to examine database allocation. And this transaction is allows us to monitor items such as: a) DB Space History b) DB Analysis By this transaction we can view Database history by Dates and Times. DB12 : This Transaction is used to check database Backups. And in this we should we see successful Backups and Unsuccessful Backups list AL08 : This transaction is used to Check the users on the System. This transaction displays User Ids and Terminal Names who are currently logged on the system. SM37 : This transaction is used for Monitoring Background Jobs. Background are batch jobs scheduled to run at specific time during the day. Here we should check for cancelled jobs. Here If we want to check particular job then,we should enter the Job Name and enter User name in User name field or ‘*’ and hit execute Button. And verify that all critical jobs are successful. SAP Daily System Monitoring https://alternateplanet.net/2010/03/sap-daily-system-monitoring/ 2010-03-01T20:00:00+00:00 2010-03-01T20:00:00+00:00 If you haven’t got SAP Solution Manager installed and configured yet, give me a buzz, if you haven’t got the money, use the guide below <img alt=";)" class="wp-smiley" src="https://alternateplanet.net/media/www.alternateplanet.net/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_wink.gif" loading="lazy" /> cheap and cheerful and will keep you busy for a few hours every day. Daily System Monitoring: SM51 SAP Servers : 1- Check Availability of All Servers 2- Check Process Lists for All Servers for Unusual Processes or Activities (e.g. Extra-long execution times, too many errored processes, too many sequential reports) SM66 Global Process Monitor: 1- Check for over-all system process utilization 2- Are Batch id’s taking up too many DIA processes 3- Is one user running too many BGD jobs for the same report 4- Is one server being used heavily compared to others SM21 System Logs: 1- Is there any repetitive errors in the system log 2- Any unusual repetitive failed login attempts ST22 Short Dumps: 1- Except ‘Time-Out’ errors, is there any short dumps. SMLG Logon Groups: 1- Check load distribution (Menu: Goto–&gt;Load Distribution) 2- Are server response times acceptable? (&lt; 2 sec) 3- Is user distribution even among active servers ST03N Workload Analysis: 1- Check is daily, weekly and monthly totals are being calculated for each server 2- Check for Avg. Dialog Response Times. Is it below 2 secs SM12 Lock Overview: 1- Check for outdated lock records 2- Verify that these lock records are not actively being used and delete these lock records if they are obsolete SM13 Update Records: 1- Check if the ‘Update System’ is active. 2- If not active, investigate what happened 3- Activate ‘Update System’ after fixing the problem 4- Review update records of past two days and delete if errored or obsolete SM37 Background Job log: 1- Check if the are any critical jobs that were canceled 2- Identify/Fix the problem 3- Contact canceled job user for details 4- Reschedule if needed SP01 Spool Request overview: 1- Check if there unusual number of errors in spool (&gt;100) 2- Check if there are spool request with more then 200 pages 3- Should not be a need to delete any as the daily job should handle, unless too many spools are old. ST04 Database Activity Monitor: 1- Check ‘Data Buffer’ and ‘Shared Pool Cache’ quality 2- Investigate and make suggestions to the team to improve quality of these buffers DB02 Database Performance: 1- Check ‘Current Sizes’ to see if any tablespace is above %90 2- Add new datafile to the tablespace if needed 3- Check if there is space-critical objects 4- Check if there is any missing objects in DB or R/3 Data Dictionary DB16 Database Check, Overview of message: 1- Check if there is any messages 2- Take immediate action to fix the problem 3- Notify the team if there is any parameter changes or assistance needed for Production Systems DB24 Database Operations Logs: 1- Check if all DB Operations are executed 2- Check if any of the operations generated any errors 3- Fix the problem. Notify team if needed DB12 Database confirm backup success: 1- Check to see that the previous backup was successful 2- If a backup is currently running check its status 3- If the last backup failed , check the reason correct and resubmit. ST06 OS Monitor: 1- Click on ‘Detailed Analysis menu’ 2- Click on ‘CPU’ in ‘Previous Hours’ Group 3- Check if at any past hours is &gt; %80 4- Notify Team if there is any such case SAP Memory Buffers https://alternateplanet.net/2010/02/sap-memory-buffers/ 2010-02-22T20:00:00+00:00 2010-02-22T20:00:00+00:00 <h3>Types of Buffers</h3> NTAB buffer: The name table (nametab) contains the table and field definitions that are activated in the SAP System. An entry is made in the Repository buffer when a mass activator or a user (using the ABAP Dictionary, Transaction SE11) requests to activate a table. The corresponding name table is then generated from the information that is managed in the Repository. The Repository buffer is mainly known as the nametab buffer (NTAB), but it is also known as the ABAP Dictionary buffer. Table definitions: TTAB Field descriptions: FTAB Initial record layouts: IREC Buffer (Contains the record layout initialized depending on the field type) Short Nametab: SNTAB Buffer (A short summary of TTAB and FTAB buffers) The description of a table in the Repository is distributed among several tables (for field definition, data element definition and domain definition). This information is summarized in the name table. The name table is saved in the following database tables: DDNTT (table definitions) DDNTF (field descriptions) The Repository buffer consists of four buffers in shared memory, one for each of the following The Short nametab and Initial record layouts are not saved in the database. Instead, they are derived from the contents of tables DDNTT and DDNTF. When access to a table is requested, the database access agent embedded in each work process first reads the Short nametab buffer for information about the table. If the information is insufficient (for example, the SELECT statement uses a non-primary key) it accesses the Table definitions buffer and then the Field descriptions buffer. By reading the Repository buffers, the database access agent knows whether the table is buffered or not. Using this information, it accesses the table buffers (partial buffer or generic buffer) or the database Program buffer: Also called as SAP executable buffer ABAP buffer PXA (Program Execution Area) Stores the compiled executable versions of ABAP programs (loads). The contents of this buffer are stored in tables D010L (ABAP loads), D010T (texts) and D010Y (symbol table) Calender Buffer: The SAP calendar buffer stores all defined factory and public holiday calendars. Calendars are stored in the database tables TFACS and THOCS. There are two kinds of SAPgui buffers: Presentation buffers Menu buffers The following table shows the SAPgui buffers and their functions: The buffer has a directory structure. This means that if the shared memory is configured too small, only the required data is loaded; there is no LRU displacement of the contents of the buffer. Presentation buffer (Screen Buffer): Stores the generated screens (DYNPRO loads) Menu buffer (CUA Buffer): Stores objects from the SAPgui. For example, menus, pushbutton definitions. The buffer has directory structure and supports LRU displacement. The menu buffer is adjusted by amending its instance profile parameters The CUA buffer holds objects from the GUI interface, such as menus, pushbuttons, and so on. In the database, these objects are held in tables D342L and D345T. Its size is expressed in KB. The standard SAP recommendation is: Up to 2500 KB for small systems, up to 3000 KB for medium systems and up to 6000 KB for large systems. SAP ARCHIVING https://alternateplanet.net/2010/02/sap-archiving/ 2010-02-18T20:00:00+00:00 2010-02-18T20:00:00+00:00 SAP ARCHIVING MANAGEMENT: As the usage of SAP database increases it’ll results in huge amounts of enterprise data, which is stored in SAP R/3. The new updated data is entered into the system while the old data still resides in the SAP enterprise system. So the Database size increases rapidly. Since some of the old data is critical, it cannot be deleted. Hence, a SAP database keeps on expanding rapidly and enterprise systems, which have limited data retention abilities for a few years, suffer from problems such as data overflow, longer transaction processing times, and performance degradation. The solution of this problem has led to the concept of Data Archiving in SAP. Data Archiving removes out-of-date data from the SAP database that the R/3 system does not need online, but can be retrieved on a later date, if required. This data is known as archived data and is stored at an offline location. Data Archiving is nothing but removal of Application Data belonging to completed business process from the database. Data Archiving not only consistently removes data from the database but also ensures data availability for future business requirements. The removed data is compressed and stored in another location. Before deleting data in the database, a delete program compares the contents of the archive files with the same data stored in the database; deletion takes place only if both sets of data are identical. We can use the Transaction SARA for Archiving management. For each archive run, a specific program variant determines which data should be archived. Depending on the archive object, there maybe several parameters to maintain. During an archive run, the status can be monitored in RZ20. Data archiving is an administrative task that must be performed regularly, particularly if you are facing fast growing data volumes. How often you archive largely depends on the growth rate of your database tables. Three Phase Archiving Process Data archiving process comprises three major phases. They are: 1. Creating an archive file 2. Removing the archived data from the database 3. Transferring the archived files to a location outside the SAP database Creating Archive Files The archived files of data are created in the SAP database by the Archiving Management system. The Management system reads the data from the database and writes it to the archive files in the background. In instances of archived files exceeding the maximum specified limit, or if the number of data objects exceed the stipulated limit in the system, then the system automatically creates new archive files. Deleting files from the Database While archiving management system writes data on the archive files, another program deletes it from the database permanently. The program checks whether the data has been transferred to the archive. It is quite important too as it is the last check performed by the system before deleting data permanently from the database. Several deletion programs run simultaneously, because the archiving program is much more faster than the deletion programs. This is important as it increases the efficiency of archiving process. Transferring Archive Files Once the Archive management system has finished archiving the data, the next step is to save the archived files at a different location other than the SAP database. This can be accomplished by an automated process in the system or by a manual process. This step is optional since many enterprises may wish to keep the archived files within the current database. However, large enterprises transfer their data periodically as a part of their data archiving processes SAP Background Jobs https://alternateplanet.net/2010/02/sap-background-jobs/ 2010-02-15T20:00:57+00:00 2010-02-15T20:00:57+00:00 Background Jobs: Background processing is used to: Reduce the load on the dialog processor, as the dialog wp duration is limited. You can define and schedule background jobs in two ways from the Job Overview: <ul style="font-family: georgia;"> <li>Directly from Transaction SM36.</li> <li>The Job Wizard : To use the Job Wizard, start from Transaction SM36, there you’ll find Job Wizard</li> </ul> Procedure <ol style="font-family: georgia;"> <li>Call Transaction SM36.</li> <li>Assign a job name. Decide on a name for the job you are defining and enter it in the Job Name field.</li> <li>Set the job’s Priority or Job Class</li> </ol> <ul style="font-family: georgia;"> <li>High priority: Class A</li> <li>Medium Priority: Class B</li> <li>Low priority: Class C</li> </ul> Target server field, indicate whether to use system load balancing. <ul style="font-family: georgia;"> <li>For the system to use system load balancing to automatically select the most efficient application server to use at the moment, leave this field empty.</li> <li>To use a particular application server to run the job, enter a specific target server.</li> </ul> <ol style="font-family: georgia;"> <li>If spool requests generated by this job are to be sent to someone as email, specify the email address. Choose the Spool list recipient button.</li> <li>Define when the job is to start by choosing Start Condition and completing the appropriate selections. If the job is to repeat, or be periodic, check the box at the bottom of this screen.</li> <li>Define the by choosing Step, then specify the ABAP program,external command or external programe to be used for each step.</li> <li>Save the fully defined job to submit it to the background processing system.</li> </ol> Status of Background Job: Scheduled: Job created but start condition not defined. Released: Job completely defined and is waiting for selection Ready: Job has been selected for execution Active: Job is being executed by a Background processor Finished: Job successfully completed. Canceled: Job terminated. Start Condition: Time Based : Immediate, At a date or time, On a chosen workday Event Based: After an event, After a Job, After an operation mode switch. Using SM37 you can monitor the Background Jobs. SAP BASIS Transaction Codes https://alternateplanet.net/2010/02/sap-basis-transaction-codes/ 2010-02-10T20:00:00+00:00 2010-02-10T20:00:00+00:00 Administration AL11 Display SAP Directories OSS1 Logon to Online Service System SARA Archive Management SCC3 Copy Analysis Log SCC4 Client Administration SCC5 Client Delete SCC7 Client Import Post-Processing SCC8 Client Export SCC9 Remote client copy SCCL Local Client Copy SICK Installation Check SM01 Lock Transactions SM02 System Messages SM04 User Overview SM12 Display and Delete Locks SM13 Display Update Records SM14 Update Program Administration SM21 System Log SM35 Batch Input Monitoring SM50 Work Process Overview SM51 List of SAP Servers SM56 Number Range Buffer SM58 Asynchronous RFC Error Log SM59 RFC Destinations (Display/Maintain) SM66 System Wide Work Process Overview SAINT SAP Add-on Installation Tool SPAM SAP Patch Manager (SPAM) SPAU Display modified DE objects SPDD Display modified DDIC objects ST11 Display Developer Traces ST22 ABAP/4 Runtime Error Analysis SU56 Analyze User Buffer Alert Monitoring AL01 SAP Alert Monitor AL02 Database alert monitor AL04 Monitor call distribution AL05 Monitor current workload AL16 Local Alert Monitor for Operat.Syst. AL18 Local File System Monitor RZ20 CCMS Monitoring Configuration FILE Cross-Client File Names/Paths RZ04 Maintain Operation Modes and Instances RZ10 Maintenance of Profile Parameters RZ11 Profile parameter maintenance SE93 Maintain Transaction Codes SM63 Display/Maintain Operating Mode Sets SPRO Customizing: Initial Screen Database Administration DB01 Analyze exclusive lockwaits DB02 Analyze tables and indexes DB12 DB Backup Monitor DB13 DBA Planning Calendar DB15 Data Archiving: Database Tables Jobs SM36 Define Background Job SM37 Background Job Overview SM39 Job Analysis SM49 Execute External OS commands SM62 Maintain Events SM64 Release of an Event SM65 Background Processing Analysis Tool SM69 Maintain External OS Commands Monitoring AL08 Current Active Users OS01 LAN check with ping RZ01 Job Scheduling Monitor RZ03 Presentation, Control SAP Instances ST01 System Trace ST02 Setups/Tune Buffers ST04 Select DB activities ST05 Performance trace ST06 Operating System Monitor ST10 Table call statistics ST03 Performance, SAP Statistics, Workload ST07 Application monitor STAT Local transaction statistics STUN Performance Monitoring (not available in R/3 4.6x) Spool SP01 Output Controller SP11 TemSe directory SP12 TemSe Administration SPAD Spool Administration Transports SCC1 Client Copy – Special Selections SE01 Transport Organizer SE06 Set Up Workbench Organizer SE07 CTS Status Display SE09 Workbench Organizer SE10 Customizing Organizer SE11 ABAP/4 Dictionary Maintenance SE16 Data Browser SE80 Repository Browser SM30 Call View Maintenance SM31 Table Maintenance STMS Transport Management System User Administration PFCG Profile Generator (Activity Group Maintenance) PFUD User Master Data Reconciliation SU01 User Maintenance SU01D User Display SU02 Maintain Authorization Profiles SU03 Maintain Authorizations SU05 Maintain Internet users SU10 User Mass Maintenance SMLG Maintain Logon Group SUPC Profiles for activity groups SUIM Infosystem Authorizations What are ABAP Dumps https://alternateplanet.net/2010/02/what-are-abap-dumps/ 2010-02-05T20:00:00+00:00 2010-02-05T20:00:00+00:00 ABAP DUMPS: An error in an ABAP program that is running in a background generally causes an immediate termination of the background job. If an ABAP program terminates, an ABAP dump is usually generated. This dump contains a description of the precise cause of the error. You can use transaction code: ST22 to look at the dumps generated. SAP BASIS Interview Questions https://alternateplanet.net/2010/02/sap-basis-interview-questions/ 2010-02-03T18:00:00+00:00 2010-02-03T18:00:00+00:00 Some more info, I was forwarded these in an email and thought it might be useful for the readers here: 1.)We are running SAP release 4.0B using the 620 GUI. By default, my list, save, local file, directory is C:SapWorkDir. How do I change this to something else? If I click on Options there is a directory for the local data area, which looks like the place to change the directory, but that does nothing. There must be a way to change this. Use transaction SO21 to maintain the PC local directory. Or, run the ABAP program (via SA38 or SE38) RSSOPCDR. 2.)I would like to know which users have access to particular transactions. Is this possible? Yes. There are several ways. I think the easiest one is for you to run transaction /nSUIM. In this transaction (User Information System), drill down to: Infosystem authorization -User -Users by complex selection criteria -By transaction authorizations Finally, enter the transaction in question and execute. If you are running R/3 4.7, you can also run transaction /nPFCG. 3.)I want to install SAPGUI into 50 machines. Can I do it from the server by installing the SAP installation server? If so, how? Go to the “Knowledge Corner” section and look for it under “SAPGUI 6.20 for Windows”. The steps are basically the same for SAPGUI 6.40 –if you are installing that version. Once you have set up the server you can use SAPadmin to create custom packages and install the client software remotely. 4.)I’d like to know if we make client copy today, will the data will be copied to another client today as well? Suppose after one week I want to copy the rest of the data to the same client. Will I have to copy all the client data and overwrite it, or do I have an option to copy only one week’s worth of data and update it? A client copy overwrites the target client. The only exception is the user master records (SAP_USER copy profile). But, you cannot just copy a week’s worth data using SAP standard tools. You need to use ALE to transfer the data you want or use third-party tools for that. 5.)I have a problem with my server. When I start the server the dispatcher (disp+work.exe) is getting started, but then it’s stopping. I am using R/3 4.6B. Its sysid = DEV and the OS = 2003server. This could be due to a number of reasons. My best recommendation at this time is to examine the developer tracer. Within the SAP MMC, right-mouse click on the instance name and choose developer traces from the drop-down menu. There, choose to examine the file dev_disp, dev_ms and see if there are any dev_wpX files exist. Also, make sure that the system profiles exists under usrsapsysprofile. Check that the services file contains the appropriate entries (example: sapMS xx). 6.)Can we make the WPs changes in operation mode effective immediately by force? One of our consultants said that it is possible through a transaction. Yes. It’s possible via transaction RZ03. Choose the instance and use Control -&gt; Switch Operation Mode. 7.)Users are complaining that the SAP system shows a hour glass for a long time at the time of logon and they aren’t able to log on to the system. How can I troubleshoot this problem? This is a symptom of busy dialog processes. Use one of these tools to find out the status of the work processes: dpmon.exe at the OS level (part of the R/3 kernel), MMC and SM50 (Work Process Overview). Also, check the CPU and other system resources via ST06 and using Performance Monitor at the OS level. 8.)I have a stand-alone computer for which I forgot the user and password for log in. Is there anyway I can log in to it? Yes. This requires you to go to the database level, though. I don’t know what RDBMS you have (MSSQL, Oracle, MaxDB, etc.). But, really all you have to do is to delete the SAP record in table USR02 for client 100. After that, SAP will let you log in as SAP with password PASS. 9.)Our SAP file system is filling up because initially it was defied too small. What are the non-required files that can be deleted from the SAP system? We are using HP-UX NetWeaver2004s on an Oracle database. The files that can be deleted are mentioned below. 1. Offline Redo log files Backup them and then delete 2. Old spool and log files They are not necessary for R/3 functions and should be deleted regularly by scheduling a periodic batch job. 3. File name “CORE” (Unix only) The R/3 System work directory (e.g. /usr/sap/c11/D00/work ) often contains a file called ‘core’ from previous program terminations. This file may be deleted at any time. 4. Old ABAP/4 trace files. Use Transaction SE30 to delete the files 5. Old output requests They are stored on the data directory as files SP*. Remember that deleting these files is not a permanent solution. You should increase the file system sizes. 10.)It is a very common misconception that “sequential reads in SM50 means that a full table scan is executed and an index is not used”. The correct definition/concept is: Direct read The term “Direct read” refers to accesses in which a maximum of one line is returned by the database. This includes summarization queries such as SELECT COUNT and fully-qualified primary key accesses. Sequential Read A “Sequential Read” refers to all other read database accesses, in which there may be more than one line returned. It is true that the term “Sequential read” is a little deceptive since it implies that blocks are always read sequentially (as in a full table scan). In reality, however, when you perform a trace on these queries you will see that index is used in most cases. So, “Direct read” and “Sequential read” in SM50 are worthless for a performance analysis. It only shows that the processes are running and processing one of the queries directed at the database interface. For expensive SQL statements analysis, “Reads/User Calls” value (TCODE BACOCKPIT or ST04OLD) is an indication. If this value is above 15, the SQL statements should be checked in detail. 11.)My admin user ID has been locked out. Is there a table I can update in Oracle to reset the flag and enable myself to log in? Select all entries of table USR02 where ‘UFLAG’=128. These users are locked by reason of incorrect logons. ‘UFLAG’=64 will give you the users that are blocked by Administrator. Set ‘UFLAG’ to 0, to unlock your account. 12.)Why are transport requests classified into workbench and customizing? What does this classification indicate? All customizing changes (changes to SAP functionality) are collected in customizing requests. Changes to the SAP repository and data dictionary (customers development or changes to SAP standard objects) are collected in workbench requests. SNOTE OR SAPNOTES https://alternateplanet.net/2010/02/snote-or-sapnotes/ 2010-02-01T18:00:00+00:00 2010-02-01T18:00:00+00:00 All you need to know about SAP Notes: SAP Notes give you instructions on how to remove known errors from SAP Systems. They include a description of the symptoms, the cause of the error, and the SAP Release and Support Package level in which the error occurs. Depending on the type of error, an SAP Note may also include: · Workarounds · Descriptions of how to correct repository objects in the ABAP workbench, known as correction instructions · Links to Support Packages that solve the problem You can access SAP Notes both from the SAP Service Marketplace and SAPNet – R/3 Frontend. Caution: The Note Assistant can automatically implement only SAP Notes that have correction instructions. Read the SAP Note carefully before you use the Note Assistant to implement it. The SAP Note can contain prerequisites, interactions, and references to postprocessing activities (making changes to a table, for example) that you must take into consideration when you implement it. Technical Details on Correction Instructions Locate the document in its SAP Library structure You can find information about the following topics here: The format of correction instructions The validity of correction instructions Prerequisites for correction instructions Objects that can be changed using correction instructions. Format Correction instructions describe the changes that must be made to repository objects in the ABAP Workbench and particularly the source code of ABAP programs to correct errors. Changes to the Source Code Each change specifies the object (include, function module, and so on) and the modularization unit (FORM routine, for example). To identify the code that needs to be changed, a unique number of preceding unchanged lines is specified (context block). These are followed by the lines that need to be deleted (delete block) and then the new lines (insert block). Correction instructions can consist of multiple context, delete and insert blocks. When the system implements correction instructions automatically, it searches for the context blocks in the function module or include, checks whether the delete blocks follow and then replaces them with the insert block. If the function module or include has been modified by the customer, the system sometimes cannot find the context blocks or delete blocks specified in the correction instructions, and it cannot implement all the corrections. If this is the case, you can use the split-screen editor to adjust the corrections from the SAP Note to your modifications. Changes to Other Repository Objects Repository objects or parts of them that are not of the source code type are stored in database tables. A correction instruction contains information about which table entries have to be deleted, inserted or changed to correct an error. The system displays this information in the form of contents of a correction instruction. However, this display is primarily designed with experts in mind, for the purpose of problem analysis. We recommend that you do not implement correction instructions manually using this information. Use the automatic implementation only. Validity All correction instructions specify the releases and Support Package levels in which you can implement them. These release and Support Package levels are known as the validity range of the correction instructions. For example, if Support Package 5 corrects and error in Release 4.6C, the validity range of the correction instructions is 4.6C Support Packages 1 -4. An SAP Note can also determine that correction instructions are not allowed to be implemented if a certain software component (an add-on, for example) exists in the system. This is the case, for example, when a correction changes a program part that is required by another software component in an unaltered form. If an exception such as this was defined, it is displayed in the header area of the correction instructions, under Invalid for . The Note Assistant automatically checks the validity and only implements a correction instruction if the system status is within the validity range specified. Prerequisites In some cases, you can only implement correction instructions if certain other correction instructions have already been implemented. This is due to related changes made to the same part of the source code, or semantic dependencies. These dependencies are described in the header area of the correction instructions. These dependencies (prerequisites) mean that you need to implement a sequence of SAP Notes, and not just one SAP Note. Objects that can be changed using correction instructions. SAP startup errors https://alternateplanet.net/2010/01/sap-startup-errors/ 2010-01-20T18:00:00+00:00 2010-01-20T18:00:00+00:00 Troubleshooting SAP startup problems: SAP System startup Problems: On Windows, Two places you need to check are: EventViewer (Application and System logs) and the SAP Management Console (MMC). Event Viewer can provide useful information and it may help you pinpoint where the problem resides. The SAP MMC gives you the ability to visually see the system status (green, yellow or red lights), view the work processes status and view the developer traces, which are stored in the “work” directory. Example: /usr/sap/TST/DVEBMGS00/work. For a central SAP instance to start successfully, both the message server and the dispatcher need to start. If one of them or both fail to start, users cannot log in to the system. The following scenarios will illustrate possible causes of why an SAP instance might not start and the reason of the message: “DISPATCHER EMERGENCY SHUTDOWN “. Developer Traces: dev_disp Dispatcher developer trace dev_ms Message Server developer trace dev_wp0 Work process 0 developer trace The “services” file, which contains TCP and UDP services and their respective port numbers. This plain-text configuration file is located under winnt/system32/drivers/etc. Windows Task Manager (TASKMGR.exe), Event Viewer (EVENTVWR.exe). Dispatcher Monitor (DPMON.exe), which is located under /usr/sap//sys/exe/run. Database logs. 1. Dispatcher does not start due to a port conflict No work processes (disp+work.exe) exist in Task Manager. Dispatcher shows status “stopped” in the SAP MMC. Errors found in “dev_disp”: LOG Q0I=&gt; NiPBind: bind (10048: WSAEADDRINUSE: Address already in use) [ninti.c 1488] *** ERROR =&gt; NiIBind: service sapdp00 in use [nixxi.c 3936] *** ERROR =&gt; NiIDgBind: NiBind (rc=-4) [nixxi.c 3505] *** ERROR =&gt; DpCommInit: NiDgBind [dpxxdisp.c 7326] *** DP_FATAL_ERROR =&gt; DpSapEnvInit: DpCommInit *** DISPATCHER EMERGENCY SHUTDOWN *** Problem Analysis I highlighted the keywords in the error messages above: Address already in use Service sapdp00 in use The TCP port number assigned in the “services” file is being occupied by another application. Due to the conflict, the dispatcher shuts down. Solution If your server has a firewall client, disable it and attempt to start the SAP instance again. If the instance starts successfully you can enable the client firewall back again. If there is no firewall client at all, or if disabling it did not resolve the problem, edit the “services” file and check what port the appropriate “sapdp” is using. If the instance number is 00, look for sapdp00. If the instance number is 01 look for sapdp01 and so on. You can use the following OS command to help you resolve port conflicts: netstat -p TCP There are also utilities on the Internet that can help you list all the TCP and UDP ports a system is using. 2: Dispatcher dies due to a database connection problem No database connections. No work processes SAP MMC -&gt; WP Table shows all processes as “ended”. Errors found in “dev_disp”: C setuser ‘tst’ failed — connect terminated C failed to establish conn. 0 M ***LOG R19=&gt; tskh_init, db_connect (DB-Connect 000256) [thxxhead.c 1102] M in_ThErrHandle: 1 M *** ERROR =&gt; tskh_init: db_connect (step 1, th_errno 13, action 3, level 1) [thxxhead.c 8437] *** ERROR =&gt; W0 (pid 2460) died [dpxxdisp.c 11651] *** ERROR =&gt; W1 (pid 2468) died [dpxxdisp.c 11651] *** ERROR =&gt; W2 (pid 2476) died [dpxxdisp.c 11651]. . . *** ERROR =&gt; W11 (pid 2552) died [dpxxdisp.c 11651] *** ERROR =&gt; W12 (pid 2592) died [dpxxdisp.c 11651] my types changed after wp death/restart 0xbf –&gt; 0×80 *** DP_FATAL_ERROR =&gt; DpEnvCheck: no more work processes *** DISPATCHER EMERGENCY SHUTDOWN *** DpModState: change server state from STARTING to SHUTDOWN Problem Analysis A connection to the database could not be established because either the SQL login specified in parameter “dbs/mss/schema” is set incorrectly or the SQL login was deleted from the database server. This parameter needs to be set in the DEFAULT.pfl system profile (under /usr/sap//sys/profile). In the messages above, we see that the SQL login ‘tst’ is expected but it does not exist at the database level. Solution Set the entry to the appropriate database owner. If the system is based on Basis &lt;= 4.6 or if the system was upgraded from 4.x to 4.7 the database owner should be “dbo”. But, if the system was installed from scratch and it’s based on the Web AS 6.x the database owner should match the SID name in lower case. Example: if the SID is TST then the database owner should be “tst”. If the parameter is set correctly in the DEFAULT.pfl profile check at the database level if the SQL login exists. If it doesn’t, create it and give it database ownership to the . 3: SAP does not start at all: no message server and no dispatcher The message server and the dispatcher do not start at all in the SAP MMC. The following error when trying to view the developer traces within the SAP MMC: The network path was not found. No new developer traces written to disk (under the “work” directory.) Problem Analysis The network shares “saploc” and “sapmnt” do not exist. That explains the “network path not found” message when attempting to view the developer traces within the SAP MMC. Solution Re-create the “saploc” and “sapmnt” network shares. Both need to be created on the /usr/sap directory 4: Users get “No logon possible” messages Work processes start but no logins are possible. Users get the login screen but the system does not log them in. Instead, they get this error: No logon possible (no hw ID received by mssg server). In the SAP MMC, the message server (msg_server.exe) shows status “stopped”. The dev_ms file reports these errors: [Thr 2548] *** ERROR =&gt; MsCommInit: NiBufListen(sapmsTST) (rc=NIESERV_UNKNOWN) [msxxserv.c 8163] [Thr 2548] *** ERROR =&gt; MsSInit: MsSCommInit [msxxserv.c 1561] [Thr 2548] *** ERROR =&gt; main: MsSInit [msxxserv.c 5023] [Thr 2548] ***LOG Q02=&gt; MsSHalt, MSStop (Msg Server 2900) [msxxserv.c 5078] Problem Analysis Work processes were able to start but the message server was not. The reason is because the “services” file is missing the SAP System Message Port entry. Example: SAPmsTST 3600/tcp Solution Edit the “services” file and add the entry. Then, re-start the instance. Make sure you specify the appropriate TCP port (e.g. 3600) for the message server. 5: The message server starts but the dispatcher doesn’t The dispatcher shows status “stopped” in the SAP MMC. The “dev_disp” file shows these errors: ***LOG Q0A=&gt; NiIServToNo, service_unknown (sapdp00) [nixxi.c 2580] *** ERROR =&gt; DpCommInit: NiDgBind [dpxxdisp.c 7326] *** DP_FATAL_ERROR =&gt; DpSapEnvInit: DpCommInit *** DISPATCHER EMERGENCY SHUTDOWN *** Problem Analysis The keyword in the messages above is “service unknown” followed by the entry name “sapdp00″. The dispatcher entry “sapdp00″ is missing in the “services” file. Example: sapdp00 3200/tcp Solution Add the necessary entry in the “services” file. Example: sapdp00 3200/tcp Then, re-start the instance. 6: Work processes die soon after they start All work processes die right after the instance is started. The SAP MMC shows work processes with status “ended”. Only one work process shows status “wait”. An ABAP dump saying “PXA_NO_SHARED_MEMORY” is generated as soon as a user logs in. The SAP MMC Syslog shows the following error multiple times: “SAP-Basis System: Shared Memory for PXA buffer not available”. Problem Analysis The instance profile contains misconfigured memory-related parameters. Most likely the “abap/buffersize” instance profile parameter is set to high. Solution Edit the instance system profile at the OS level under /usr/sap//sys/profile and lower the value assigned to “abap/buffersize”. Then, restart the instance. Also, it’s important to find out if any other memory parameter were changed. If not, the system should start once the adequate memory allocation has been set to the the “abap/buffersize” parameter. What is a Logical system? https://alternateplanet.net/2010/01/what-is-a-logical-system/ 2010-01-19T18:00:00+00:00 2010-01-19T18:00:00+00:00 ‘logical system’ is used to identify an individual client in a system, for ALE communication between SAP systems. That’s why you see a field for ‘logical system’ in the client master data in SCC4 (table T000). You use logical systems in ALE config – this should be documented further in the IMG guide, or SALE and BALE transactions. The naming convention for the logical system names which includes distinct IDs depending on: System ID (SID), and client number, and maybe also system number if you have more than one instance per host machine. Hostname would be useful too, but I think there’s only 10 characters in v3.1x (maybe more with long name functionality in 4.x ??). eg., in DEV box , sys no 00, client 100, choose something like ‘DEV00_100′. The logical system must be defined or you get error messages all over the place during order processing stating the logical system has not been defined. The logical system is defined in the IMG. In 4.* it is found in the IMG &gt; Cross Application Components &gt; Distribution ALE &gt; Basic settings &gt; Logical systems &gt; Define logical systems. Here the entry is just an identifier and a text entry. “Logical Systems. The distribution of systems ( ALE ) makes it necessary to be able to identify every system individually within a network. The “logical system” is used to do this. A logical system is an application system within which the applications are coordinated to work in one database. In the SAP sense of the word, a logical system corresponds to a client. In the following steps, you must define every client as a logical system by first of all defining logical systems and then assigning the clients in question to the corresponding logical systems Note: Assignments must be unique (that is, a client may only be assigned to one logical system. Several clients must never be assigned to the same logical system.” Reading this it does seem that it is nothing more than another identifier for a “Client”. SAP User Groups https://alternateplanet.net/2010/01/sap-user-groups/ 2010-01-15T18:00:47+00:00 2010-01-15T18:00:47+00:00 So, What are user groups and how can we use them? Transaction SUGR is used for User Groups. User group can be used for different reasons and in different way. In the latest versions of SAP, there are two types of usergroups The authorization user group &amp; The general user groups Naturally the main reason of user groups is to categorize user into a common denominator. The authorization user group is used in conjunction with S_USER_GROUP authorization object. It allows to create security management authorization by user group. e.g. you can have a local security administrator only able to manage users in his groups, Help-Desk to reset password for all users except users in some group. The general user group can be used in conjunction with SUIM and SU10, to select all the users in a specific group. User can only be member of one authorization user group but several general user group. One of the Primary uses of user groups is to sort users into logical groups. This allows users to be categorised in a method that is not dependent on roles and Responsibilities and Profiles. User Groups also allow segregation of user maintenance, this is especially useful in a large organization as you can control who your user admin team can maintain – an example would be giving a team leader the authority to change passwords for users in their team. Lock users for frivilous login attempts https://alternateplanet.net/2010/01/lock-users-for-frivilous-login-attempts/ 2010-01-13T18:00:42+00:00 2010-01-13T18:00:42+00:00 Why, just because we can! <img alt=":-)" class="wp-smiley" src="https://alternateplanet.net/media/www.alternateplanet.net/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif" loading="lazy" /> If you want the user to be locked after unsuccessful logon attempts, you can put a parameter in the Instance Profile to prevent them from doing so. Transaction RZ10–&gt; Instance Profile–&gt; Extended Maintenance Use the ‘login/fails_to_user_lock’ Parameter. Defines the number of unsuccessful logon attempts before the system locks the user. By default, the lock applies until midnight. Default value: 12; permissible values: 1 -99 To remove the lock after midnight : login/failed_user_auto_unlock: Defines whether user locks due to unsuccessful logon attempts should be automatically removed at midnight. Default value: 1 (Lock applies only on same day); permissible values: 0, 1 Update related System Profile Parameters https://alternateplanet.net/2010/01/update-related-system-profile-parameters/ 2010-01-12T18:00:53+00:00 2010-01-12T18:00:53+00:00 rdisp/vbname: Specifies the name of the update server that is to process the updates if load balancing is deactivated ( rdisp/vb_dispatching = 0 ). In the standard system, this parameter specifies the name of an update server (set when the update server is created). If rdisp/vb_dispatching is set to 0, the updates are only processed by the server in rdisp/vbname. rdisp/vb_delete_after_execution:Determines whether update records are deleted automatically after they have been processed successfully. In the standard system, this is set to 1 (automatic deletion activated). If set to 2, automatic deletion is deactivated. This value can be used to set the update and database performance. In this case, the report rsm13002 with the parameter DELETE = X should run in the background at least once a day to prevent the update tables from becoming excessively large. See also the section entitled Structure link Background Processing in the CCMS documentation. rdisp/max_vb_server: Maximum number of update servers permitted in the SAP System. Default = 50 servers. rdisp/vb_included_server:List of the SAP update servers, which are to be used to process updates in accordance with the load balancing principle. No updates are assigned to update servers that do not appear in the list. This parameter is empty in the standard system. This means that all active update servers are taken into consideration for the load balancing mechanism. This is generally speaking the optimum value. rdisp/vbdelete:Specifies the number of days after which the update records are deleted. The parameter is set to 50 days in the standard system. Once this interval has expired, an update record is deleted irrespective of its status (processed, not processed, error etc.). If set to 0, automatic deletion is deactivated. This value should only be set temporarily, and only if an incorrect update record is to be kept for further analysis.