Course Outline
Introduction to SAP Basis
1.1 Overview of SAP Basis
- Definition of SAP Basis
- Roles and responsibilities of an SAP Basis administrator
- Components of SAP Basis and administrative tools
- Relationships between SAP Basis, ABAP, applications, the database, and the operating system
- Day-to-day administrative tasks
- Understanding the SAP technical environment
1.2 SAP System Architecture
- SAP system architecture and its components
- Application server architecture
- Central services and message server
- Enqueue server and lock management
- Dispatcher and work processes
- Gateway and Internet Communication Manager (ICM)
- Database architecture
- SAP GUI and other client interfaces
- Single-system versus distributed installations
1.3 SAP System Landscape
- Development, Quality Assurance, and Production systems
- System roles and responsibilities
- Three-tier SAP landscapes
- Logical system concepts
- Clients and system identification
- Landscape documentation and administration standards
Practical Exercise:
Explore an SAP system to identify major architectural components and system parameters.
Setting Up an SAP System
2.1 SAP Installation Concepts
- Prerequisites for SAP installation
- Hardware and software requirements
- Operating system considerations
- Database requirements
- SAP software components and installation media
- Installation users and permissions
- Understanding SAP installation documentation
2.2 Preparing the Environment
- Operating system preparation
- File systems and directory structures
- Hostname and network configuration
- Database preparation
- SAP kernel requirements
- Environment variables and system parameters
2.3 SAP Installation
- Installing SAP application server components
- Connecting SAP to the database
- Configuring SAP services
- Interpreting installation logs
- Validating the SAP installation
- Starting and stopping SAP services
2.4 Post-Installation Configuration
- Basic system configuration
- SAP profiles
- Instance configuration
- System parameters
- Initial administrative tasks
- Checking system health post-installation
Hands-on Exercise:
Perform or simulate an SAP application server installation and complete basic post-installation configuration.
Configuring an SAP System
3.1 SAP Profiles and Parameters
- Default profiles
- Instance profiles
- Start profiles
- Profile parameter configuration
- Dynamic versus static parameters
- Checking parameter values
- Modifying and validating system parameters
3.2 SAP Instances and Services
- Understanding SAP instances
- Application server instances
- Central services
- Instance startup and shutdown
- SAP service configuration
- Managing multiple application servers
3.3 SAP Kernel
- SAP kernel architecture
- Kernel files and directories
- Checking kernel versions
- Kernel compatibility
- Kernel updates and patches
- Troubleshooting kernel-related issues
3.4 Basic Technical Configuration
- System time and synchronization
- RFC configuration concepts
- Background processing configuration
- Spool configuration
- Gateway configuration
- ICM configuration
Practical Exercise:
Review SAP profile parameters and modify selected configuration parameters in a controlled training environment.
Managing SAP Clients
4.1 Understanding SAP Clients
- Definition of an SAP client
- Client-dependent versus client-independent data
- Client roles and purposes
- Client administration considerations
4.2 Creating and Configuring Clients
- Creating a new client
- Maintaining client attributes
- Client-specific settings
- Assigning logical systems
- Client security considerations
4.3 Client Copy
- Local client copy
- Remote client copy
- Export/import client copy
- Client copy profiles
- Monitoring client-copy processes
- Analyzing client-copy logs
4.4 Client Deletion and Maintenance
- Deleting clients
- Data consistency considerations
- Best practices for client maintenance
Hands-on Exercise:
Create a training client and perform a controlled client-copy operation.
Managing SAP Users and Authorizations
5.1 User Administration
- Creating and maintaining users
- User types
- User groups
- Password policies
- User validity periods
- Locking and unlocking users
- Mass user administration
5.2 Roles and Authorizations
- Understanding SAP roles
- Single, composite, and derived roles
- Authorization objects
- Role assignment
- User-role relationships
- Authorization troubleshooting
5.3 Security Administration
- Password and login policies
- Handling failed logins
- Monitoring user activity
- Security-relevant system parameters
- Technical and service users
- Emergency and privileged access concepts
5.4 User Monitoring and Auditing
- Monitoring user activity
- Security audit concepts
- Audit logs
- Identifying suspicious or unusual activity
- Basic compliance considerations
Practical Exercise:
Create users, assign roles, configure user parameters, and troubleshoot an authorization issue.
Background Jobs and Task Management
6.1 Background Processing
- Definition of SAP background jobs
- Dialog versus background processing
- Job scheduling concepts
- Job priorities and classes
6.2 Creating and Scheduling Jobs
- Defining job steps
- Scheduling jobs
- Immediate and periodic jobs
- Job dependencies
- Event-based scheduling
- Monitoring scheduled jobs
6.3 Job Monitoring
- Job statuses
- Analyzing job logs
- Identifying failed jobs
- Troubleshooting cancelled jobs
- Long-running jobs
- Job performance considerations
6.4 Managing Batch Workloads
- Workload distribution
- Background work processes
- Preventing job conflicts
- Housekeeping of old jobs and logs
Hands-on Exercise:
Create, schedule, monitor, and troubleshoot background jobs.
Transport Management
7.1 SAP Transport Concepts
- Purpose of the transport system
- Transport routes
- Transport requests
- Workbench and Customizing requests
- Transport layers
- Development-to-production workflow
7.2 Configuring Transport Management
- Transport Management System (TMS)
- Domain controllers
- Adding systems to a transport domain
- Configuring transport routes
- Checking transport configuration
7.3 Managing Transport Requests
- Creating and releasing requests
- Importing requests
- Import queues
- Transport logs
- Return codes
- Troubleshooting failed imports
7.4 Transport Best Practices
- Transport sequencing
- Emergency transports
- Production-change controls
- Transport documentation
- Common transport errors
Practical Exercise:
Configure a basic transport landscape and move a sample configuration between SAP systems.
SAP Communications and Integration
8.1 SAP Communication Architecture
- SAP communication mechanisms
- Internal and external communication
- Application server communication
- Network requirements
8.2 Remote Function Calls
- RFC concepts
- RFC destinations
- Connection types
- Testing RFC connections
- Trusted connections
- RFC troubleshooting
8.3 SAP Gateway
- Gateway architecture
- Gateway services
- Connection monitoring
- Gateway security considerations
- Common gateway problems
8.4 ICM and Web Communication
- Internet Communication Manager
- HTTP and HTTPS communication
- Ports and services
- SSL/TLS concepts
- Monitoring web communication
Hands-on Exercise:
Create and test an RFC connection and analyze a simulated communication failure.
Data Management and Migration
9.1 SAP Data Management
- Understanding SAP data structures
- Database tables and data volumes
- Data consistency
- Data growth and housekeeping
- Archiving concepts
9.2 Data Migration Concepts
- Migration planning
- Source and target systems
- Data extraction and transformation
- Data validation
- Migration monitoring
- Post-migration verification
9.3 SAP Data Transfer Tools
- Overview of SAP-supported data transfer approaches
- Interfaces and integration mechanisms
- Batch input concepts
- Legacy data considerations
- Data reconciliation
9.4 Data Housekeeping
- Managing temporary data
- Log management
- Database growth
- Archiving strategies
- Safely deleting obsolete data
Practical Exercise:
Develop a basic data migration checklist and validate sample migrated data.
SAP System Monitoring
10.1 System Monitoring Fundamentals
- Importance of proactive monitoring
- Monitoring architecture
- Key SAP health indicators
- Monitoring thresholds
- Alert management
10.2 Application Server Monitoring
- Work processes
- User sessions
- System logs
- Update processes
- Lock entries
- Short dumps
- Gateway and ICM monitoring
10.3 Database Monitoring
- Database availability
- Database space utilization
- Database performance
- Expensive queries
- Database backups
- Database alerts
10.4 Operating System Monitoring
- CPU utilization
- Memory utilization
- Disk space
- File systems
- Processes and services
- Network performance
Hands-on Exercise:
Perform a complete SAP health check and identify potential operational problems.
SAP Performance Analysis and Optimization
11.1 Understanding SAP Performance
- SAP performance architecture
- Common performance bottlenecks
- Application, database, and infrastructure layers
- Performance baselines
11.2 Work Process Analysis
- Dialog work processes
- Background work processes
- Update work processes
- Spool work processes
- Enqueue processes
- Identifying overloaded processes
11.3 Performance Monitoring
- Response time analysis
- Workload analysis
- User and transaction performance
- Database performance indicators
- Identifying long-running transactions
11.4 Performance Optimization
- Memory optimization
- Work process tuning
- Database optimization concepts
- System parameter tuning
- Application-level considerations
- Capacity planning
Practical Exercise:
Analyze a simulated performance problem and identify the likely bottleneck and corrective actions.
SAP Memory Management
12.1 SAP Memory Architecture
- SAP memory concepts
- Extended memory
- Heap memory
- Roll memory
- Shared memory
- Operating system memory
12.2 Memory Monitoring
- Monitoring memory consumption
- Identifying memory-intensive processes
- Recognizing memory-related errors
- Analyzing memory usage patterns
12.3 Memory Configuration
- Relevant memory parameters
- Work process memory allocation
- Memory limits
- Balancing memory and workload
12.4 Troubleshooting Memory Issues
- Out-of-memory situations
- Excessive heap usage
- Memory fragmentation
- Identifying problematic processes
- Preventive monitoring
Hands-on Exercise:
Analyze SAP memory utilization and adjust selected parameters in a controlled environment.
SAP System Updates and Maintenance
13.1 SAP Maintenance Strategy
- SAP maintenance concepts
- Software updates and patches
- Support packages
- Kernel updates
- Maintenance planning
13.2 Applying Updates
- Preparing an update
- Backup and rollback considerations
- Update sequence
- Testing requirements
- Post-update validation
13.3 Support Packages and Patches
- Understanding support packages
- Patch levels
- Compatibility considerations
- Applying patches safely
- Verifying installed components
13.4 Maintenance Best Practices
- Change management
- Maintenance windows
- Testing and validation
- Documentation
- Rollback planning
Practical Exercise:
Create an SAP maintenance plan and perform a simulated update-validation workflow.
SAP Troubleshooting
14.1 Troubleshooting Methodology
- Structured problem-solving
- Identifying symptoms and root causes
- Collecting technical information
- Log and trace analysis
- Escalation procedures
14.2 Common SAP Problems
- SAP system startup failures
- Application server problems
- Failed background jobs
- RFC communication failures
- Transport errors
- Authorization problems
- Database connectivity issues
- Performance degradation
- Memory-related problems
14.3 Logs and Traces
- System logs
- Developer traces
- Work process traces
- Application logs
- Job logs
- Database logs
14.4 Root Cause Analysis
- Identifying patterns
- Correlating system events
- Separating symptoms from root causes
- Documenting corrective actions
- Preventing recurring incidents
Hands-on Exercise:
Troubleshoot a set of simulated SAP incidents and document the diagnosis, root cause, and resolution.
SAP Operations in Production
15.1 Production Operations
- Daily SAP administration
- System health checks
- Operational procedures
- Monitoring schedules
- Incident management
15.2 Backup and Recovery Concepts
- SAP backup strategy
- Database backups
- Recovery objectives
- Restore concepts
- Disaster recovery considerations
15.3 SAP High Availability Concepts
- Single points of failure
- Redundancy
- Application server scalability
- Central services considerations
- High-availability architecture
15.4 Operational Best Practices
- Preventive maintenance
- Monitoring and alerting
- Capacity planning
- Documentation
- Change control
- Security and access management
Practical Exercise:
Create a daily SAP Basis operations checklist and production monitoring procedure.
Integrated SAP Basis Administration Lab
Participants complete an end-to-end practical scenario covering:
- Reviewing the SAP system architecture.
- Checking system and instance configuration.
- Managing clients and users.
- Creating and monitoring background jobs.
- Configuring and testing communications.
- Reviewing transport requests.
- Monitoring system health.
- Investigating a performance issue.
- Analyzing memory consumption.
- Troubleshooting a simulated production incident.
- Documenting findings and corrective actions.
Summary and Conclusion
17.1 Course Review
- SAP Basis architecture.
- SAP installation and configuration.
- Client and user administration.
- Background processing.
- Transport management.
- SAP communications.
- Data management.
- System monitoring.
- Performance optimization.
- Memory management.
- System maintenance.
- Troubleshooting and production operations.
17.2 Final Knowledge Check
- Review of key SAP Basis concepts.
- Practical troubleshooting questions.
- Discussion of real-world administration scenarios.
- Review of common SAP Basis challenges.
17.3 Next Steps
- Recommended SAP Basis administration practices.
- Building operational checklists.
- Establishing monitoring procedures.
- Further SAP Basis learning paths.
- Applying SAP administration skills in production environments.
Requirements
- A general understanding of ERP concepts
Audience
- System administrators
- Consultants
Testimonials (1)
The business applicability part.