Basis – Page 23 – Saptechnicalguru.com

Using remote ATC for S4HANA readiness checks

In the blog on readiness check 2.0 we explained how you can perform analysis on your system as preparation for the S4HANA upgrade. This blog will explain how to run detailed analysis on your custom code as preparation for S4HANA upgrade. Pre-condition is that you have installed 7.52 netweaver system and done the configuration for remote ATC as described in this blog.

Questions that will be answered in this blog are:

What do I need to do in order to set up the remote S4HANA readiness check in ATC?
How to run the remote S4HANA readiness check?
How to handle the results of the remote S4HANA readiness check?

How to set up remote ATC for S4HANA readiness check?

To run the remote ATC for S4HANA readiness check you must install a netweaver 7.52 system and configure the remote ATC. Instructions can be found in this blog.

In the central 7.52 ATC system you must then apply all the extra OSS notes needed that are listed in OSS note 2436688 – Recommended SAP Notes for using S/4HANA custom code checks in ATC.

In the SAP code inspector (for details see this blog) you can now find the S4HANA readiness variants:

How to run the S4HANA readiness in ATC?

To run the S4HANA readiness variant create in the ATC tool (for all details see this blog) a special S4HANA readiness run series:

In this run it is important to put your analysis system object provider into the variant!

Now start the ATC run and be patient. The run might take a few hours pending on your system size and Z code base sizing.

You can monitor the progress in the ATC run monitor:

You can also see here if any tool issues were reported. If tool issues are present, click on the underlined number and see if you can solve them. Most issues are SAP bugs and you need to apply an OSS note. Before creating new message for SAP make sure you have applied all recent notes for the S4HANA readiness check (2436688 – Recommended SAP Notes for using S/4HANA custom code checks in ATC) and all the remote ATC notes as explained in the remote ATC blog.

How to handle the results?

If the ATC run is finished you can look at the results in the central system:

The results consist of a code point where a potential issue is. If you click on the code point you jump to the analyzed systems code.

There is also a note number which explains what you need to check.

Now basically 3 things can happen:

You can fix the issue directly: nice, the next run the issue is gone.
You read from the OSS note the function has changed or is no longer present in S4HANA. Read the OSS note for alternatives or check with your functional consultant on functional alternatives. Example of change is the way output and pricing is done. You know now it will be changed, but you cannot prepare in the current system. Use the list as input for project management for work estimation.
You read from the OSS note the potential issue and conclude it is not relevant for your situation. Example is material number length handling. If you use material numbers properly this is not relevant for you, but the tool will generate massive amounts of alerts. But maybe in some cases you need to intervene.

To distribute the results, apply OSS note 2499684. This enables you to download the ATC results into xls spread sheet. From here it is easier to follow up if action is needed for long list (like material number length) or not.

Fine tuning the results

OSS note 2865234 – SAP S/4HANA custom code checks show different number of findings in different check runs contains some explanation on differences in numbers.

More important, you need to run the ATC a few times, after every main clean up round. But some notes you might have detected as not relevant and you want to exclude them.

To do this copy the SCI S4HANAREADINESS variant to your own variant. Then change the SCI variant to exclude the OSS notes you don’t want to see any more:

Now rerun the ATC with the new variant. The list you get will be smaller. Repeat this iterations as long as needed.

Don't change the originally SAP delivered SCI variants. New features and bug fixes by SAP will update this variant. If you have an updated SAP variant, simply copy it again to your Z variant and redo the exclusion of OSS notes.

S4HANA 1809 update and beyond

If you previously installed remote ATC for a 1709 check and want to run now for S4HANA 1809 or higher version, there are a few update steps to follow.

First step is to install OSS note 2659194 – Check variant for SAP S/4HANA 1809 custom code checks and carry out the manual aftercare action. This will deliver you the SCI variant for S4HANA_READINESS_1809.

If you now run remote ATC without step 2, you get the issue described in OSS note 2532285 – ATC: Inspection was not executed because target release information cannot be processed.

Step 2 is to update the simplification content to version 1809. You have to download the content from SAP software site and upload it in your ATC 7.52 system. For this step follow the instructions from OSS note 2241080 – SAP S/4HANA: Content for checking customer specific code.

Short summary of these steps in this note: download the most up-to-date simplification database:

In the 7.52 central ATC system use tcode SYCM to upload this file.

Now you are good to go for the S4HANA 1809 readiness check for custom code.

For S4HANA 1909, S4HANA 2020 and S4HANA 2021 the notes have different numbers:

The basic process is still the same.

Bug fix OSS notes

Bug fix OSS notes:

Keep end users out of the system during maintenance

This blog will explain an elegant new way to keep end users out of the system during maintenance.

Questions that will be answered are:

How does the login/server_logon_restriction parameter work?
How do I assign the right to logon during maintenance?

Traditional ways of keeping users out of the system during maintenance

Traditional ways of keeping users out of the system is by locking the users either via SU10 or custom built program.

Major setbacks of both methods:

Locking and unlocking takes time
In the user history you see constant lock and unlocks that you need to explain to auditors

New login/server_logon_restriction parameter

In more recent SAP systems (7.5 and up) there is a new parameter called login/server_logon_restriction (formal OSS note is 1891583 – Restricting logon to the application server).

RZ11 parameter login server_logon_restriction

If you set this to 1 then only people with the right privilege can log on to the system. The parameter is immediately effective. All non-privileged users will get this error when they try to log on to the system:

After the system maintenance you can set the parameter back to normal and everybody can log on again. User history is not touched.

Be aware this is a dynamically switchable parameter. If you set the value to 1 and need to restart the system during your maintenance the value after restart is back to 0, which means everybody can log on again.

How to assign the privilege to log on to basis administrators?

First you need to create or extend the user security policy for basis admins using transaction SECPOL. Add the policy attribute SERVER_LOGON_PRIVILEGE and set it to value 1.

Now you can add this security policy to all basis team members in SU01:

All persons with security policy ADMIN are now still allowed to log on during the maintenance when parameter login/server_logon_restriction is set to 1 in RZ11.

Other use of security policies

Security policies can also be used to enhance security of specific user groups (like basis team). See this blog for more on this feature.

Text on logon screen before and after logon

This blog will explain how to get text on the SAP logon screen before users logon and on the screen after users logon.

If you want to load a picture after the logon screen, please read this blog.

Questions that will be answered are:

How to add a text to the logon screen?
How to include icons?
How to put a text after the logon screen in stead of a picture?
How to put a clickable URL in the text after the logon screen?

Setting text before logon

The text to be shown before logon is maintained via transaction SE61. Select General text and for the name select ZLOGIN_SCREEN_INFO.

Now press change:

Enter the text you want to show to the users.

If you want to show SAP icons in the text start transaction SE38 and run program RSTXICON. Run it as ABAP list. Look for the icon you want and lookup the code. Please it between 2 @ symbols.

End result looks like this:

Official OSS note is 205487 – Custom text on SAP GUI logon screen.

Adding a text after the logon screen

After the logon screen you can either add a picture or a web url. But no text or text with hyperlink. To achieve this we will do a small development trick. We put the text on a web dynpro page and add the web dynpro page as URL for the start screen.

First develop the web dynpro in SE80:

We will call the web dynpro ZSTARTPAGE. In our example there is a text (caption) and a LinkToUrl. The LinkToUrl has a text and a hyperlink and will show as a clickable element to the user. Save and generate the web dynpro. Test the web dynpro and note down the URL of the web dynpro.

Start transaction SM30_SSM_CUST to maintain the customizing for logon screen and other items. In the parameter SESS_URL fill out the web dynpro URL. If the parameter SESS_URL does not yet exist, just create it.

Also make sure the logon picture is not hidden (see OSS note 1387086 – HTML viewer in SAP Easy Access screen):

The end result will look like this:

Depending on the security settings of the system you might need to tweak the SICF node of the web dynpro to suppress a password popup.

You can also integrate SO10 SAP script text. For more information on how to achieve this, read this blog.

SAP batch job interception

This blog will explain how to setup SAP batch job interception.

Questions that will be answered in this blog are:

How to activate SAP batch job interception?
How does an intercepted job look like?

Activating SAP batch job interception

Before you can begin the setup of the batch job interception you must run program INITXBP2 in SE38:

Next you have to start transaction CRIT and create the profiles.

First create the default SAP profile by clicking on the SAP logo. Activate it. Next step is to create the profile in which you want to do the interception. In the screen above click on the create profile button. Now enter a criteria. For simplicity we have called it interception. In our case we intercept all except a list of authorized users. In the user list we include the basis users and the background users (in this example WF-BATCH). Save the data.

Next step is to activate this profile:

Working of interception

When a batch job is planned the interception checks if the job should be intercepted or not. As a test logon as end user and launch a job. In our case the user ENDUSER tries to launch a job from SLG2 transaction to delete application logs. This jobs is intercepted and shows like this in SM37:

The job does not start immediately, but shows in intercepted state. If user with release rights now goes to SM37 for this job, he can release the intercepted job.

SAP mail sending tips & tricks

This blog focuses on SAP mail sending tips and tricks.

Questions that will be answered are:

How can I add a disclosure to the mails I send form non-productive systems?
How do I restrict access to transaction SOST?
Which batch job to plan for sending mails?
How can I send encrypted or signed mails?
Is there a display only version of SCOT available?
How to send hyperlink in mail using ABAP?

Adding disclosure from to mails from development and test systems

If you want to send mails from development and test systems, but don’t want any risk that it looks like a productive mail, you can add a disclosure to the mail.

In SOST mail settings go to the disclosure function:

Or you can go directly there using the SODIS transaction.

In SODIS you key in the disclosure text:

If you want you can test for any mail address if the disclosure will be shown or not by using the Routing Test function:

When sending mails from the SAP system the receiver now gets the disclosure. The real mail is pushed as text in the attachment of the mail (see OSS note 2842085 – Email body becoming to attachment in receiver side). You need to open the attachment to see the body of the text. Hyperlinks in the body will still work.

Restricting access to SOST transaction: give SOSG access

As admin you might want to restrict access to SOST transaction. This transaction is also often used by functional consultants to see if their mail is sent or not. When having access to SOST all functions like deletion and stopping of mails is also granted. What you can do is fully restrict access to SOST and grant the functional consultants access to transaction SOSG to display the mail status. It looks same as SOST, but has additional authorization checks. See also OSS note 2351372 – User access to transactions SOST, SOSV, SOSG and SOSB.

To allow sending of mail in SOSG, follow instructions from OSS note 2573586 – “Send” function greyed out in transaction SOSG.

Batch job for mail sending

For sending mail, you need to schedule batch job RSCONN01 with variant SAP&CONNECTINT. See OSS note 1912890 – Stuck email messages on SOST – RSCONN01 client dependent.

Mail read receipts

SAP mail sending can also use mail receipts. This might be wanted, but most of the times it is not wanted. More about read receipts is explained in OSS note 2161462 – How does Read Receipt work in SAPConnect?

To suppress it follow the instructions in OSS note 1607686 – Suppressing read notification requests.

Mail send restrictions based on user group

If you want to restrict mail sending based on user group, follow the instructions from OSS note 2623113 – How to limit e-mails by Sender Group in SCOT.

Mail encryption and signature

Start program RSCONN05 to set the mail signature and encryption settings. More background in OSS note 149926 – Secure e-mail: Encryption, digital signature.

Guided answers

See OSS note 3225275 – BC-SRV-COM Guided Answer for guided answers on mail setup.

Sending hyperlink in mail

If you have a requirement to send working hyperlinks in mails coming from SAP, read this blog on how to do this using custom ABAP code.

Increasing value of SMTP password length

See note 2363295 – Password for SMTP authentication is too short for increasing SMTP password length.

SAP TREX and HANA embedded search technical tips and tricks

This blog will give technical tips & tricks on embedded search. Embedded search can run on both HANA directly or on separate TREX server. It is assumed you know how to set up search in ESH_COCKPIT and know how the end user transaction ESH_SEARCH work.

Questions that will be answered in this blog are:

How do I set HANA default connection as embedded search location?
What to do after a system copy with embedded search?
How to reset the complete embedded search to initial state?
How to reset the embedded search buffer?
How to recreate the embedded search joins?
How to influence the package size of the search extraction?
How to check backend part of search?
How to deal with full text search issues?
How to deal with authority index issues?
How to deal with high load issues on TREX?

Activating search in S4HANA

If you are running S4HANA, you can use an STC01 task list to fully setup the search function. Read this blog on technical activation and this blog for FIORI search for full instructions. The remainder of the blog below can be used in case of issues.

Setting the search connection to use HANA default database connection

If you are running HANA database for ECC you can use the HANA default primary database connection for search setup. This is easier in maintenance: no extra TREX needed, no extra secondary DB connection. Search will consume extra memory and CPU off course on the HANA database.

To set this up run program ESH_ADM_SET_TREX_DESTINATION and select the Use HANA Primary DB connection option.

Notes:

Task list to run after system copy

After you copy a system the search will not immediately work. In client 000 start transaction STC01 and run task list SAP_ESH_ADJUST_AFTER_COPY. See also OSS note 2479611 – Error message: “Current system is a copy of another system”. See also note 2583055 – ESH_ADM_MSG281 error when run the task list SAP_ESH_ADJUST_AFTER_COPY on client 000 after the system copy. And read note 3243784 – Invalid value 10.000 when assigning values of parameter P_PACKS in report ESH_IX_CRT_INDEX_OBJECT_TYPE.

Resetting all settings to initial

When things gone really beyond repair, you can log on to client 000 and start transaction STC01 and run task list SAP_ESH_RESET.

Important: write down (or make screen shots) on the connectors and settings that were active before running this task list. It will really wipe out all connectors and settings.

More information can be found in OSS note 2626143 – How to execute SAP_ESH_RESET.

Resetting the buffer

Run program ESH_REFRESH_RUNTIME_BUFFER in the working client to reset the trex buffer.

Bug fix note: 2947055 – CDS activation: Runtime error in report ESH_REFRESH_RUNTIME_BUFFER. And 3253863 – CDS: Timeout error during execution of report ESH_REFRESH_RUNTIME_BUFFER.

Recreation of join indexes

Run program ESH_RECREATE_ALL_JOIN_INDICES in the working client to recreate the join indexes. See also OSS note 2112153 – How to recreate ESH join indexes which are corrupted in TREX.

Influencing package sizing per object

With program ESH_SET_INDEXING_PACKAGESIZE you can set the package size for indexing per object. You can lower the size for large objects to avoid memory issues while indexing. Issues can be dumps on SYSTEM_NO_ROLL / LOAD_NO_ROLL / TSV_TNEW_PAGE_ALLOC_FAILED / SYSTEM_NO_SHM_MEMORY.

See these OSS notes:

Check backend part of search

To check if a search issue is related to application coding or is related to search setup, you can run program ESH_TEST_SEARCH (with same transaction code ESH_TEST_SEARCH). This program gives you options to test the search independent of any programming of search front end.

Bug fix OSS note: 2972790 – ESH_TEST_SEARCH – value help for attribute search: Values are not transferred case-sensitively.

Full text search issues

If you are having issues with full text search, please check OSS note 2280372 – How to check Full Text search issues. This note is focusing on full text search issues in relation to solution manager CHARM, but the methods described can be used as well for analyzing other full text search issues.

Setting the extraction user ID

Use program ESH_EX_SET_EXTRACTION_USER or transaction ESH_EXTR_USER to set the user to be used for extraction. This includes the real time indexing. For more information see OSS note 2340298 – User Types and required authorizations for ESH extraction user. For issues see OSS note 2750997 – Error “Logon of user XYZ in client xyz failed when starting a step” in ESH indexing job logs. And 2938916 – ESH extraction user – option “Generate User” – adjustment of password policy.

Bug fix OSS note: 2938916 – ESH extraction user – option “Generate User” – adjustment of password polic y.

Authorization indexing issues

While indexing you might get authorization indexing issues. First step is to repeat with sufficient rights attached to your user ID. Then run program ESH_ADM_RECALC_AUTHS to force the recalculation of the authorizations.

If it does not help, you can read the very extensive OSS note 2472239 – Error message “Authorization indexing unsuccessful” when creating search connectors. And OSS note 2729739 – Error indexing search connectors: “Authorization indexing unsuccessful for object type USER_AUTHORITY”.

New option to partially skip the checks for indexing: 3088737 – Customizing option for completely deactivating authorization indexing for individual ESH authorization indexes.

Index preload

For some TREX issues index preload can be a solution. More information on index preload can be found in OSS note 2115082 – ESH Index Preload.

Python check script

For detailed check on TREX embedded search there is a special Python check script, which is not installed by default. The script can be downloaded as attachment from OSS note 2227741 – TREX 710: check of the TREX settings for the Enterprise/embedded Search scenario. Read OSS note 2344042 – How to execute python script check_esh.py on how to install and run the script.

TREX memory issues

If you are seeing high memory consumption in TREX, please check OSS note 2540240 – High Memory and Indexing problems in TREX.

TREX high load issues

If you are experiencing high load issues, consider increasing the amount of threads. Reference OSS note: 1065406 – BWA: Raise number of TREXRfcServer threads.

TrexViaDbsl Analysis Tool in ABAP

In newer versions this tool is available. Otherwise apply OSS note 2690982 – TrexViaDbsl Analysis Tool in ABAP. Then in SA38 you can launch program RHANA_TREXVIADBSL_ANALYZER for the analysis tool:

A more detailed explanation is given in OSS note 2800048 – FAQ: SAP HANA TREXviaDBSL.

TREX jobs

See OSS note 3169829 – When and how the job ESH<Client>IX_<System SID><Client>_* is created for the jobs TREX is creating on the ECC backend system:

ESH_IX_PROCESS_CHANGE_POINTERS/ESH_FU_DEMON,
ESH_IX_CRT_INDEX_OBJECT_TYPE
ESH_SE_CONNECTOR_MOD_BGD

TREX administration

For TREX administration read this dedicated blog.

Re-indexing and model update after upgrade

After an upgrade or support package, a model update is required. See OSS note 2468752 – Re-indexing after an application Upgrade.

Search speed for ECC

If you run ECC and use HANA as database, you can make use of SFW5 switch BSESH_HANA_SEARCH to speed up the search using HANA based features.

Special use cases

SAP solution manager documentation

If you have search issues with SAP solution manager documentation, there is a special OSS note 2608454 – FAQ: How to handle issues with the (embedded) search functionality in the context of Solution Documentation . This OSS note also contains coding for special test program that will check all relevant settings for the solution documentation search function to work properly.

SAP netweaver gateway FIORI tips & tricks

This blog will give some tips & tricks on SAP netweaver gateway FIORI from the basis perspective.

Questions that will be answered are:

Where can I find information on Netweaver Gateway FIORI deployment options?
Can I adjust the layout of standard SAP FIORI apps?
Where can I find overview of all the SAPUI5 versions and its support status?
Which versions of SAPUI5 does my system currently have?
How can I find a version of any standard SAP app?
How do I clear caches in case of issues and or new deployments that cause issues?
How to recalculate app indexes?
How to test FIORI apps with user with high latency or slow network?
How can I setup FIORI notifications?
How to set FIORI timeout and timeout warning for end users?
How to transport FIORI content and activate in productive system?
How can I get statistics on the use of the FIORI apps?
How to integrate google analytics into FIORI?
How to activate ODATA V4?
How can I see 3D in FIORI apps?
How does FIORI app support work?
How can I monitor FIORI gateway system?

SAP netweaver gateway FIORI deployment options

SAP netweaver gateway FIORI can be run into 2 modes:

Embedded in application sever
As central hub

The considerations for embedded or central hub are kept up to date by SAP in this blog. The blog also contains the most recent version of document “SAP Fiori Deployment Options and System Landscape Recommendations“.

Please take note that SAP has a new recommendation per S4HANA1809 to go for embedded deployment.

If you are using the embedded option, you will need to update the FIORI UI component as well. This part can be separately upgraded. The relationship between Netweaver en UI version is described in notes per version. The latest current version is OSS note 2796216 – UI Version 6.0 for SAP NetWeaver: Mapping support package stack SAP_UI 7.54 to UI5 / UI2 versions. The requirement for SAP_UI 7.54 are again listed in OSS note 2796241 – SAP_UI 7.54 minimal installation requirements.

SAPUI5 version overview current and planned

The most recent SAPUI5 version overview and support status of each version can be found here.

Future SAPUI5 versions and planning can be found here.

If you need to generate stack file for SAP_UI5 only, without the application components, follow the instructions in OSS note 2431951 – How to generate a stack file for upgrading SAP_UI or kernel without updating other SAP components.

FIORI frontend server and FIORI marketing version

The FIORI frontend server version number follows a different numbering than the FIORI marketing version.

FIORI uses FIORI frontend server 1.0, 2.0 or 3.0.

FIORI 2.0 uses FIORI frontend server 4.0 or 5.0.

FIORI 3.0 uses FIORI frontend server 6.0.

More information on FIORI frontend server 6.0: 2775163 – SAP-Fiori-Frontend-Server 6.0 – General Information.

SAPUI5 version in your server

To check you own servers SAPUI5 version construct following URL:

http(s)://<your server><your port>/sap/public/bc/ui5_ui5/index.html

This method is the easiest method. Other methods are described in OSS note 2282103 – How to check the version of SAPUI5 you have installed.

Main versions are delivered in new netweaver releases and/or support packages. There is a special blog written on the subject of last digit patching.

You can also check the main SAP UI component in the ABAP part with System/Status:

Per version you can look up upcoming ABAP UI component support pack stack information and planning at this SAP site.

Finding version of a specific standard SAP app

If you want to know the version information of a standard SAP app, you simply click on the Information button in the personalization when you in the app:

Then the version information is shown:

More information can be found in OSS note 2835783 – How to Know App Version and Minor version.

Adjusting standard SAP FIORI app

Most new SAP FIORI apps can easily be adjusted with the in app extensibility framework. Read more in this blog.

Rapid activation of FIORI apps

Most new FIORI apps can be mass activated via an STC01 script. Read more about rapid activation of FIORI apps in this blog.

Resetting and clearing caches

For resetting and clearing caches for FIORI, see this dedicated detailed blog.

Note on the cache cleanup: 2319491 – How to clean up the cache after applying changes that affect SAP Fiori apps.

Recalculating app indexes

Recalculation of app indexes is needed after an upgrade or support package installation with new apps. Also when you install extra addon this is needed. Another use case is when you have deployed your own new app via transport or when you applied a large OSS note with new app code via transport. Program to run is: /UI5/APP_INDEX_CALCULATE. You can run for single app. Or after support package: run in full. It is wise to have this program run in delta mode at least daily.

See OSS note 2884411 – Common errors in log for /UI5/APP_INDEX_CALCULATE for common errors.

Set default theme and reset user theme setting

If you have a custom theme created you can set it as default for everybody. For instruction see this blog. This blog also describes how to reset a users’ theme setting in case of issues a user might have after upgrade (garbled screen).

/UI2/FLP start issues

Transaction code /UI2/FLP can be used to start the FIORI launchpad. There can be issues using Internet Explorer. The best browser to develop and test issues is Chrome.

Read OSS notes for the description and solutions:

OSS note for troubleshooting

SAP has an updated document for the most common troubleshooting tasks. It is kept as PDF attachment to OSS note 1797736 – Troubleshooting Guide for SAP NetWeaver Gateway.

FIORI Health Check

Apply OSS note 2925879 – Fiori Setup: Heath Check. This delivers STC01 task list SAP_FIORI_HEALTH_CHECKS. Then run the task list:

Check the red logs for issues.

Setting FIORI gateway timeout and timeout warning for end users

Read this blog on how to set timeout and timeout warning for the end users.

Transport FIORI ODATA content

If you have stored the FIORI content and want to transport it, follow the instructions from this blog: 2424613 – How to assign an OData service from Local Object ($TMP) to a Transport Request (TR)? – SAP Gateway.

But as explained in this OSS note 2816116 – How to transport an OData Service from one System/Client to another System/Client, you still need to do a local activation of the ODATA service after the definition of the transport.

OSS note 2886433 – Fiori Setup: Activation of OData Services in Prod Systems with task lists contains a perfect PDF that describes how to carry out the activation in a productive system using the proper selections in the task list.

Generic ODATA transport FAQ note: 2244649 – SAP Netweaver Gateway Odata service transport FAQ.

Statistics on the use of FIORI apps

If you want to know more on the actual usage and statistics of the FIORI apps in use, please read OSS note 2629143 – Best practices to gather Fiori usage statistics for on-premise systems.

For user measurement and use of the ODATA calls, you can use the FIORI ODATA metering functions in the Netweaver Gateway component. Read more in this blog.

Integration of google analytics into FIORI

To integrate google analytics into FIORI, follow the instructions in OSS note 2444406 – Google Analytics Integration with SAP Fiori.

Configure backend system to jump to FIORI frontend server

In some use cases, you want to jump from the ABAP backend system to the FIORI frontend server. This is possible, but requires setup. The setup is described at sap help files online.

FIORI search

To activate FIORI search, please read this dedicated blog.

FIORI notifications

FIORI can sent push notifications to the end-user:

To set up these push notifications, read this dedicated blog.

App recommendations

Based on ST03 data SAP can recommend the use of certain FIORI apps. Read more about this in this blog on the FIORI app recommendation tool.

FIORI app support

FIORI app support is a powerful tool to find out what the source of issue there is for your FIORI app. It can check missing ODATA activation, missing SICF activation, authorization issues. Log files can be downloaded to SAP for further analysis. Read more on FIORI app support in this blog.

FIORI apps impacted by an S4HANA upgrade

FIORI apps can change between versions. Older apps are replaced by new ones. You might need to act on this if the apps are used by the business. To get a list of SAP FIORI app differences, follow the instructions from this SAP blog.

Testing FIORI tiles for slow network or high latency

FIORI tiles and web developments might be slow with users further away from the server. If the application has many round trips built in the increase network latency will definitely kill the end user performance.

Read more in this blog on how you can simulate a distant user in Chrome to analyze the issue.

Manage KPI tiles

SAP FIORI comes with a powerful tool to setup KPI tiles based on embedded HANA views. Read more about the manage KPI tiles in this blog.

SEGW issues with standard SAP after upgrade

In the past you could solve SEGW FIORI ODATA exposing issues directly in the system. Now SAP has forbidden this. See OSS notes 2734074 – Editing of standard SEGW projects for customers is blocked and 2947430 – Editing Standard OData Service Project throws error: Editing Prohibited SAP delivered projects cannot be edited in your system. The emergency workaround is described in OSS note 3022546 – In Transaction SEGW, Error ‘SAP delivered projects cannot be edited in your system’ is encountered during change of the OData Project PS_PROJFIN_MNTR.

System refresh

A system refresh of a netweaver gateway hub system is not needed in most cases. In case of embedded gateway: if the system is refreshed (for example from productive system towards acceptance system), running the cache refresh and UI5 app indexing is sufficient. See OSS note 3111069 – Task list clarification post System copy/System Refresh in Embedded deployment.

Monitoring FIORI gateway system

You can monitor FIORI gateway system using SAP Focused Run. Read this dedicated blog on monitoring Gateway systems.

ODATA V2 versus ODATA V4

SAP is moving from ODATA V2 towards ODATA V4. Read more on ODATA V4 activation in this blog.

FIORI 3D visualization demo

For a demo on 3D visualization using FIORI element goto SAP web page and load the attached file: SAP Pocket Knife (unzip before use):

The advantage of using the FIORI element to show 3D visualization is that you don’t need to install the fat client for 3D viewer on your laptop or desktop.

Further tips

Older troubleshooting blog .

Tips on FIORI performance can be read in this blog.

For performance and trouble shooting tips see the SAP wiki on FIORI issues.

For S4HANA specifically you can go to the dedicated SAP wiki for FIORI S4HANA.

Stop and start batch jobs for maintenance

This blog explains how to mass stop and mass start batch jobs as admin. This especially useful putting the SAP system in maintenance mode. Maintenance mode can be needed for upgrade, support package patching or data conversion.

Questions that will be answered are:

How to mass stop batch jobs?
Can I plan new jobs I need during the suspend mode?
How to mass start batch jobs again?

More batch jobs tips and tricks in this blog.

Stopping all batch jobs for maintenance mode

Stop all batch jobs: start transaction SE38 and start program BTCTRNS1.

All currently planned jobs will be put into a Released/Suspended mode:

This means the already planned jobs (periodically or not) will not be started.

During this suspend mode new jobs can be planned by admin. These new jobs will be executed.

Starting all batch jobs after end of maintenance

Start all batch jobs again: start transaction SE38 and start program BTCTRNS2.

Background

For more background information read OSS note 79424 – How do BTCTRNS1 / BTCTRNS2 work?.

SNOTE tips & tricks

This blog will give tips and tricks for the SAP SNOTE transaction. Questions that will be answered are:

How to update SNOTE itself?
How to check if there are new versions available for notes?
What is TCI?
Where to find tips on finding correct OSS notes?
How do I apply a note during upgrade in the shadow system?
What is the new SNOTE revamp?

If you are looking for way to check which OSS notes are needed, read the ANST blog: the automated notes search tool.

Notes for SNOTE itself

Also SNOTE itself can have bugs or has new functions. Download and implement most recent version of OSS note 1668882 – Note Assistant: Important notes for SAP_BASIS 730,731,740,750,751 to update SNOTE itself.

For the revamped SNOTE also note 3093855 – Note Assistant: Important SAP Notes for the Revamped Note Assistant is required to be updated.

Downloading and implementing new versions of OSS notes

SAP regularly updates its own OSS notes. To check in your system if there are new updates for OSS notes relevant to you go to transaction SNOTE. Then choose “Goto -> SAP Note Browser ->Execute (F8)”, and then choose “Download Latest Version of SAP Notes” in the application toolbar. This will download all the latest versions. Check for the status “Obsolete version implemented” in the implementation state column.

Issues with OSS note downloads

In rare cases OSS note download and extractions might fail.

Please check these OSS notes:

Activation of inactive objects after implementing OSS note

In rare cases after implementing an OSS note some of the ABAP objects are in an inactive state. To activate them, select the menu SAP note and then Activate SAP note manually.

Or you can run program SCWB_NOTE_ACTIVATE to activate the coding of the note:

See OSS note 1882419 – How to correct syntax errors.

TCI: transport based correction instructions

Transport based correction instructions contain notes that are larger than normal OSS notes. This tool leverages the SPAM transaction to apply these large packages.

Relevant OSS notes:

Start with reading the PDF document attached to OSS note 2187425: TCI for customer. This contains the exact instructions to enable TCI based correction instructions.

The TCI only recently has a rollback function. Please check if you can update/patch to the version where the rollback works. See the PDF document in OSS note 2187425 on the undo function.

Applying TCI note

There are 2 ways to upload TCI note.

Basis way: you will need SPAM access rights and 000 actions are involved. Upload the TCI file in SPAM in client 000. Then apply the note via SNOTE in main client. The note tool will ask you to confirm to use the TCI mechanism.

ABAP way: you will need SPAM access rights. In transaction SNOTE use menu option Goto / Upload TCI. After uploading the file, choose Decompress. Now apply the note via SNOTE. The note tool will ask you to confirm to use the TCI mechanism.

During the implementation, it can be that you are forced to delete all BI queues.

Transporting obsolete TCI packages

When you upgraded earlier to S4HANA or other recent version, some of the TCI notes might be obsolete. There is an issue moving this through the landscape. Read and apply the solution from OSS note 3116396 – How to Adjust Obsolete TCI Notes in Downstream Systems for the fix.

TCI notes bug fixes

Bug fixes for TCI notes:

3147947 – Avoid inconsistencies in TCI meta data, if a workbench request with a TCI is copied to other clients

DDIC objects

For enabling de-implementation of DDIC objects apply oss note 2840923 – SNOTE: Enable De-implementation of DDIC Correction Instructions.

Digitally signed oss notes

For digitally signed oss notes see the special blog.

KBA notes

Some notes don’t contain coding updates, but are KBA’s: Knowledge Base Articles. You have to read the note which contains manual instructions or explanation in detail.

Finding OSS notes

Tools for finding OSS notes:

ANST (advanced notes search tool): see blog
ANST for web applications and FIORI: see blog
Notes for error messages: see blog
Short dump analysis: see blog

Special note programs

For special use cases SAP has special programs to check for recent OSS notes.

Use cases:

SAP Screen Personas, run transaction /PERSONAS/HEALTH. See blog.
SLT DMIS plug in, per use case different program. See blog.

Scenario	Report name
Object Based Transformation (OBT)	CNV_NOTE_ANALYZER_OBT
ABAP Integration for SAP Data Intelligence (DI)	CNV_NOTE_ANALYZER_DI
S4HANA Migration Cockpit (MC)	CNV_NOTE_ANALYZER_MC_EXT
SAP Landscape Transformation (SLT) Replication Server	CNV_NOTE_ANALYZER_SLT
Near Zero Downtime Technology (NZDT)	CNV_NOTE_ANALYZER_NZDT

Being notified upon OSS note updates

If you want to be notified when a certain OSS note receives an update, follow the instructions as described in OSS note 2478289 – How to set up notifications for SAP Notes and/or KBAs with Expert Search filters.

SNOTE revamp

In newer netweaver versions SNOTE is revamped. You can apply this version earlier if you want to use it. Read more on the SNOTE revamp in this blog.

Applying notes in shadow during upgrade

In rare cases you might need to apply and OSS note in the shadow system during a system upgrade. Basis team will usually use the SUM tool. Applying notes to shadow during upgrade can be needed to solve upgrade stopping bugs.

Always handle with care. If you are not experienced with upgrades, let a senior handle it.

The procedure to do this is described in OSS note 2207944 – How to implement a SAP note during System update using SUM (ABAP only).

Bug fixes for SNOTE

SNOTE itself might have issues:

3024048 – Format of correction instructions; unable to read corr. instruct.

SAP database growth control: HANA data aging

HANA data aging is a method to reduce the memory footprint of the HANA in-memory part without disturbing the end users. It is not reducing your database size.

This blog will answer following questions:

What is HANA data aging?
How to switch HANA data aging on?
How to set up HANA data aging for technical objects?
What about data aging for functional objects?

What is HANA data aging?

HANA data aging is an application method to reduce the memory footprint based on application data logic. It is not a database feature but an application feature. The goal of HANA data aging is not to reduce the database size (which it is not doing), but to reduce the actual memory footprint of the HANA in-memory database.

Let’s take idocs as example: the idocs that are processed ok you need to keep in database for an agreed amount of time before business or audit allows you to delete them. Lets say you can only delete after 1 year. Every action on idocs now means that full year of idoc content is occupying main memory. For daily operational tasks you normally only need 2 months of data in memory and rest you can accept that it will take bit longer to read from disc into memory.

This is exactly what data aging is doing: you partition the data into application logic based chunks. In this case you can partition the idoc data per month and only have last 2 months in active memory. The other 10 months are on disc only. Reading data of last 2 months is still fast as usual. When having to report on the 10 months on disc, the system first needs to load from disc into memory; will be slower.

To reduce database itself, you would still need to do data archiving.

Advantage of the data aging is that the more expensive memory footprint costs can be reduced in such a way that the end users are not hampered. Data aging is transparent for them. With data archiving the users will always need to select different transaction and data files.

How to switch on data aging?

To switch on data aging on system level you need to do 2 things:

Set the parameter abap/data_aging to on in RZ11
In SFW5 switch on the switch called DAAG_DATA_AGING

This only enables the system for data aging.

Data aging switch on for technical object: example for application logging

With transaction DAGADM you can see the administration status of the data aging object. You first see red lights that the objects are not activated for data aging.

Per object you have extra transactions (which unfortunately differ per object…) to set the retention times. For application logging this is transaction SLGR. Here we choose in this example to data age all log after 180 days:

The advantage of this tailoring is that you could only age some of the objects if you want.

The transaction and OSS note for each of the objects can be found on this SAP blog.

Next step is to setup partitions for the object. To do this start transaction DAGPTM and open the object you want to partition:

Initial screen is in display mode. Hit change button. On the bottom right side hit the Period button (Selection Time Period). In the popup enter the desired start date, time buckets (months, years) and amount of repetitions:

Now the partitions are defined. To execute the partitioning hit the execute button to start the partitioning in the background. Wait until the job finishes. Before running this on productive system check the runtime first on non-productive system with about same data size if possible.

After partitioning the screen should look like this:

Now we can activate the object in transaction DAGADM. Select the object and press the activate button. Popup appears to assign the object to existing data aging or new group:

The data aging run will be done per group.

To start the actual data aging run start transaction DAGRUN.

Here you can schedule a new run with the Schedule new run button.

To see the achieved results of the data aging go to transaction DAGADM and select the object. Then push the button View current/Historical data.

Functional data aging objects

Functional data archiving objects exist as well for Financial documents, sales orders, deliveries, etc. The full list and minimal application version can be found on this SAP blog.

Words of caution for functional archiving:

The technical archiving objects are more mature in coding and usage. They are used in productive system and are with lesser bugs than the technical objects
Before switching on a functional data aging object you need to prepare your custom ABAP code. If they are not adjusted properly to take the partitions with the date selections (or other application selection mechanism) into account all benefits are immediately lost. A Z program that reads constantly into full history will force a continuous read of historical partitions….

Background information

More background information can be found in OSS notes 2416490 – FAQ: SAP HANA Data Aging in SAP S/4HANA and 2869647 – Guidance for use of Data Aging in SAP S/4HANA.