October 2013 | Full SAP BASIS

Changing page format in SAP Printer via SPAD

You can print any size of output from SAP, it all depends on what page format is defined and configured in your SAP system. Most of the standard page format are already defined in SAP but often you come across the situation where the required output doesn’t even come close to any of these predefined page format. Printing cheques and receipts are some common example. Defining and configuring Page format is multi-step process and often is printer specific. In short its very easy to get your setting wrong and situation is worse when printer is physically away from you.
Its very important to understand how this page format works in SAP. The process starts with defining the Page Format, but you need few more setting to actually print this page size on printer. Page format just define the size of page for sap script (this size info defined in page format is not passed to printer), next step is to define Format type which defines 'Type of format' and what orientation are allowed with this page format. It is important to note that Page Format and Format type should have same name. Well, you can argue why do we need to define Format Type. To find out that, which you may find bit confusing refer sap note 2374. Still you can not print with this page size on printer. To allow printer to use this new page format you need to add this page format to device type of printer. This step will enable you to print the output but correct page size information will not be passed to printer. You need to actually put printer specific code to set desire page size on printer.

Now let us go through each step with screen shot. You need to have access to transaction SPAD and changes to the repository and cross-client customizing should be permitted in the client where you will create/change page format.

Execute transaction SPAD. By default transaction will not show all the tabs, you need to click on 'Full administration' to get the desire tab.

Now click on Page format

You must be in change mode

Enter the desired page format

Then save

Filed Under: SAP Printer on No Comments

Creating S-user ID in SAP Marketplace

What is S-User ID?
S-User ID is just a unique user ID with which you can access SAP portal link. We call it as SAP Service Marketplace.

We can request new S user accounts for project team by clicking the Request New Users link in SAP Marketplace. Once SAP receives the user account request, a new account is created and the login information (S user account and password) is available online. The Basis administrator can then provide this to the appropriate project team user. Once the user account is created by SAP, the necessary authorizations can be performed by the Basis administrator online. Several other options are available for administering the online user accounts, including a few mass maintenance options.

Login to service.sap.com page and go to “Data Administration” tab and the go to “User Data”

In User Data, click “Request New User” button.

There we will get a New user request form with some necessary details like Title, Surname, First Name, Language, Telephone No etc.
Fill details and click “Authorization” button.

Fill all details

Here in authorization page select the relevant authorizations which we need for particular user or we can copy another person’s authorization to new user.

To copy from a particular user Click on “User Id”

We will get option to type user name of the person from whom we are going to copy.

After entering the user ID click “Search” and we will get search result.

Click on user name.
And then click copy

You will get list of all authorization which selected user has got.
Now select done

You will again be redirected to initial screen.
Now save it.

Now we will get message “Your request has been saved and will be processed”

Go to display requested user tab.

The new requested user’s name will be shown here in “In Progress” status.

After 2 hours you will get below screen with status “Successful”

Send the user ID and initial password listed in this page to the user.
Inactive Users
When a user no longer works for your company or does not need access to SAP Service Marketplace any more, the Super Administrator is responsible for deleting it to prevent unauthorized access.
Users deleted in the last six months can be viewed and reactivated using Display Deleted Users. Users that have not logged on to SAP Service Marketplace for 12 months are automatically deleted if they are not actively kept through the Clean up Inactive Users function.

Filed Under: Portals, SAP BASIS, SAP Marketplace on 1 Comment

Developer Key and its requirement (DEVACCESS table)

What is Developer Key?

The developer key is a combination of your installation number, license key (that we get from marketplace http://service.sap.com/licensekey) and the user name. We need this for each person that will make changes (Dictionary or programs) in the system.

Why Developer Key is required?

SAP developers require two things before they can actually do development work in SAP - right authorizations and a developer access key. As with everything else in SAP, when a developer tries to execute a transaction, he will need the required authorizations in her profiles. In addition, he needs to be assigned a developer access key. The authorizations can be checked in the user master records while the developer access key can be checked using table DEVACCESS. Table DEVACCESS will show the user ID and the developer key assigned to the user ID. You should only expect to see name of developers in this table.

What happens when the entry for a developer is deleted in the DEVACCESS table but the developer continues to use the same user ID?

The developer can still use the old developer access key.
The reason: Developer access key is nothing but an algorithm based on system number and SID and some other system values (SAP does not reveal the information). The developer access key is validated by SAP using a Kernel level C system program ''CHECK_DEVELOPER_KEY'. So, even if the developer access key has been deleted for a user ID in the DEVACCESS table, he can still use the same developer access key.

Which Table is the Developer Key Stored In?

If we would like to look up at your developer key and save it and have it available for the next system refresh.
The table name is DEVACCESS and can be viewed with SE16 and SE11.
For new ABAP developer, we will be prompt for the developer if we are trying to create a program using the standard SAP naming convention.
Customer own created program should all start with a "Y" or "Z".

How to register developer in marketplace?

Click on “Register Developer”

Insert the SAP User ID and select relevant installation number.

Then click “register” button.
Then developer key will generate and appear at the bottom of the screen.

Filed Under: SAP BASIS, SAP Marketplace on No Comments

Steps to perform Kernel Upgrade

SAP Kernel is the core of the application. Like all other applications the Kernel contains the executable files (.EXE files for stating various processes in SAP. It contains those files which are used to run every event in SAP. ex: starting database, shutdowns of database, starting sap, shutdown of sap, saposcol, to uncar the sap files etc. It contains more than 120 exe files.
That’s the reason why when a Kernel upgrade is done it means new versions of the various EXE files replace the older versions.

The steps to do kernel upgrade are listed below:

1. Check existing kernel Level from server (system=>status=>other kernel info OR disp+work –v | more)

2. Download the latest kernel patch from SMP
http://service.sap.com/swdc
There are 2 files to be downloaded from SMP:
a) Database Independent Files
This is of the nomenclature SAPEXE_<Patch level>-<release date>.SAR
b) Database Dependent files
This is of the nomenclature SAPEXEDB_<Patch level>-<release date>.SAR

3. Make temp directory in sap server (temp) and upload sar file into it.(ftp)

4. Take backup of existing run directory to run_old. (copy and rename)
Copy the present kernel folder safely. This is important because the activity is completely reversible and switching over to the old kernel will be possible.

5. Extract sar files (SAPCAR –xvf *.SAR)
Uncar the files using the SAPCAR utility and store it in a directory. SAPCAR is a program executable located in the KERNEL folder itself. If SAPCAR is not working, then copy the executable from the kernel folder to the location where the .SAR files are located.
SAPCAR -xvf <filename.SAR>

6. stop sap server (stopsap all)

7. stop saposcol (saposcol –k)
SAPOSCOL service should be stopped because it also will get overwritten by the new file.

8. stop lisner (orasid user – lsnrctl stop)

9. check all service running in os level (ps –ef |grep sap, ora, dw)

10. Release shared memory (cleanipc instance no –remove, slib remove)

11. Replace all uncar file to run directory (cp –R * /usr/sap/SID/SYS/exe/run)

12. Some *.o files are not replace existing files then move that file from existing run directory to other directory and again execute step no 11.

13. Switch user to root and go to /usr/sap/SID/SYS/exe/run directory execute command ./saproot.sh SID to set permission.
Check the permissions of the files in the kernel directory
chown [-R] newowner filenames
chmod <1>permissions filename

14. Start saposcol (./saposcol –l) by only root user

15. Start listner (lsnrctl start )by orasid user

16. startsap all by sidadm

17. Check service are started or not.(ps –ef |grep dw)

18. Check sap kernel patch level.
Execute the command disp+work -v to get the new kernel level

Do we need to shutdown database also during kernel upgrade (SAP Recommendation)?

Filed Under: SAP BASIS, Upgrade on 3 Comments