Database Reference
In-Depth Information
CHAPTER 25
SAP Upgrade of an ABAP Stack
In this part we will study the SAP upgrades in ABAP and Java stacks. In this chapter, in the
initial sections we will study general upgrade topics, such as upgrade concepts, upgrade
strategy, software logistics for performing successful upgrades, evolution of SAP upgrades,
and upgrade tools. Subsequent sections will cover ABAP upgrades with a focus on upgrade
to ERP 6 and Enhancement Package 4 to show how a technical upgrade would be planned
and executed in a typical ABAP stack-based application. We will also study the most com-
mon technical upgrade issues that are encountered when performing an ABAP technical up-
grade and in upgrade projects in general. The next chapter will focus on Java upgrades, and
we will upgrade a dual-stack Process Integration (PI) system by way of example. A dual-
stack application such as SAP PI is chosen so that we have an opportunity to study the syn-
chronized upgrade procedure used to perform a dual-stack (ABAP + Java) upgrade along
with learning how a Java stack-based SAP application would be upgraded.
Upgrade Concepts
Some of the key upgrade concepts that will be discussed before diving deeply into the up-
grade tools and the actual planning and execution of the upgrade include the definition of
technical downtime compared to business downtime, system switch upgrade, deciding on an
upgrade strategy, and upgrade software logistics. The following sections will discuss these
topics in detail. The upgrade concepts discussed here are applicable to both ABAP and Java
stacks.
Technical Downtime vs. Business Downtime
The duration of time the system is not available as a result of the upgrade of the technical
components of the SAP system is referred as technical downtime. Technical downtime is
defined from the point of view of the technology team and particularly the Basis administrat-
or's perspective. Business downtime is defined as the total duration of time the system is not
available to the end user, from the beginning of the technical upgrade downtime until all the
post-upgrade mandatory steps are executed in the system. This includes the time needed to
perform post-upgrade and business validation steps. Business downtime is defined from the
point of view of the end business user and, in general, from the business sponsor of the up-
grade project inside the organization.
The goal of SAP as a vendor and as a Basis administrator is to reduce the business down-
time for the upgrades as much as possible by deploying the best practices, tools, and when
necessary, SAP services so that the upgrade is completed with minimum business downtime
and delivers the new release functionality to the business. Depending upon the downtime
