TOP SAP BASIS CRITICAL

ADMINISTRATIVE TASK – Part 1

Kehinde Eseyin | Feb 19, 2009 | Comment (1)

A number of activities are critical at ensuring high availability of the SAP system. These
administrative tasks are usually performed by the SAP system administrator, who is
saddled with the responsibility of ensuring that the system is performing optimally at any
point in time. Find following a brief description of some critical administrative activities
associated with the SAP system. This is the first part of this two part posting.

1. SAP System R/3 System Status Check: Logon Test

The availability of the SAP R/3 system is a pre-requisite for using the SAP system for
data processing. Suffice to say that for you to establish connection to the SAP system at
any point in time, the system must be up and running. A simple way to ascertain this is to
try and log on to the SAP system.

2. Backup Management: DB12

It is recommended that backup of the SAP system and other non SAP (but relevant files)
be carried out daily, weekly and quarterly. There is more to configuring backup jobs or
schedule them in the SAP system. The success or failure of the backup run has to be
monitored daily. Backup as it were is used to guide against data loss, hence, the need to
ensure that it is done properly so that you can recover the system state when the need
arises. When a backup run fails, you should immediately resolve the problem and
possibly perform an “emergency” backup. There must be no room for procrastination!
With transaction DB12, it is possible to check backup status and status of the archive
directory. Also, a recovery report can be generated to ascertain if all backup are available
to perform a restore and recovery operations.

3. Application Servers Status Check: SM51

The application server is one of the components of the SAP system architecture.
Typically, the SAP system architecture consists of the database server, one or more
application servers and one or more presentation servers. The application servers handle
the processing of business logic and used for load balancing, hence, the need for their
availability. The application server represents the runtime environment for the business
application of the SAP system. You can use transaction SM51 to display the status of the
instances of your SAP system

4. CCMS Alerts Check: RZ20

Normally, thresholds for certain activities are defined in the CCMS monitor. Alerts are
generated if defined thresholds are executed. The CCMS alert monitor displays
monitoring data in a tree-like structure. It is important to review alerts on a regular basis
before they degenerate into serious problems. Transaction RZ20 allows you to centrally
monitor all systems in your SAP system landscape. Using transaction RZ20, all defined
alerts can be monitored. Furthermore, the CCMS monitor provides a current status view
and open alert view which displays recent reporting data and history information
respectively.

5. Work processes Status Check: SM51

Work processes are the engine room of the SAP system. A number of work processes
exist in the SAP system and they include Background, Enqueue, Spool, Update and
dialog. Work processes are essential for the effective functioning of the SAP system;
hence it is important to ensure that all configured work processes possess their correct
status at any point in time. The SAP administrator should be able to know when to add or
redistribute work process based on trend analysis. Transaction SM51 provides an
overview of work processes

6. Failed Updates Monitoring: SM13

Failed updates are transaction processing activities that are not committed in the
database. Suffice to say that the supposed modification to the database are not effected
and does not reflect in the database. The SAP system administrator needs to critical
review such updates. The administration data for the update request can be used to
investigate the reason why an update process terminated. In the update report overview
displayed via transaction SM13, a terminated update has the status cancelled. It is the
responsibility of the system administrator to critically examine the cause and reprocess
the failed update if need be.

7. System Log Review: SM21

The SAP system has its own system log which records events as they occur. These events
are well categorized thus aiding objective analysis. The system log contains error,
warning and problem messages. The application server records events and problems in
the system log and has a log that contains the messages output. The benefit of reviewing
the system log is enormous. Serious system issues can be averted if the system log is well
analyzed on a regular basis. You can use transaction SM21 to access the system log.

8. Jobs Monitoring: SM37/SM35

Some processing activities in the SAP system have serious implication on the
performance of the system. In order to optimize resources and increase performance,
some operations are performed at the background via batch, defined or standard jobs.
Background job as it were, is supposed to perform a particular task. The SAP system
administrator must review the status of jobs that have been defined in the SAP system
and consequently investigate any abnormality or failure. Transaction SM37 provides an
overview of jobs and session overview of batch input job is displayed using transaction
SM35.