WHITE PAPER Automated Homogenous System Copies with Libelle SystemCopy for SAP ® Applications SAP ® Application Environments include Quality Assurance (QAS), Test, and other Staging Systems in addition to actual Production Systems. These so called „non-pro- duction systems‟ are designated to manage the application lifecycle process. SAP recommends a specific procedure called “Homogenous System Copy” to provide non- production systems with actual production data for adequate and consistent testing. Typically, there are numerous manual tasks involved for executing a System Copy procedure which can spread over days and may block precious and expensive re- sources of the most skilled SAP Basis Professionals. Libelle SystemCopy (LSC) is a framework-based software solution to create fully au- tomated System Copies for SAP applications. It furnishes ready-to-go QAS- or Test System with fresh production data. SystemCopy supports single- or dual-stack SAP implementations on Oracle ® , MaxDB™, DB2 ® , or Microsoft SQL Server ® databases and can be integrated in popular Storage Snapshots ® or SnapMirror ® tools. As an al- ternative, the solution includes an own copy tool for all platforms. System Copy Tasks can run outside the ABAP stack and include database import/export operation, com- mand scripts, SQL operations, or the execution of SAP transactions. This White Paper describes the process involved in creating Homogenous System Copies and outlines how procedures can be automated with the SystemCopy solu- tion.
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WHITE PAPER
Automated Homogenous System Copies with Libelle SystemCopy for SAP® Applications
SAP® Application Environments include Quality Assurance (QAS), Test, and other
Staging Systems in addition to actual Production Systems. These so called „non-pro-
duction systems‟ are designated to manage the application lifecycle process. SAP
recommends a specific procedure called “Homogenous System Copy” to provide non-
production systems with actual production data for adequate and consistent testing.
Typically, there are numerous manual tasks involved for executing a System Copy
procedure which can spread over days and may block precious and expensive re-
sources of the most skilled SAP Basis Professionals.
Libelle SystemCopy (LSC) is a framework-based software solution to create fully au-
tomated System Copies for SAP applications. It furnishes ready-to-go QAS- or Test
System with fresh production data. SystemCopy supports single- or dual-stack SAP
implementations on Oracle®, MaxDB™, DB2
®, or Microsoft SQL Server
® databases
and can be integrated in popular Storage Snapshots® or SnapMirror
® tools. As an al-
ternative, the solution includes an own copy tool for all platforms. System Copy Tasks
can run outside the ABAP stack and include database import/export operation, com-
mand scripts, SQL operations, or the execution of SAP transactions.
This White Paper describes the process involved in creating Homogenous System
Copies and outlines how procedures can be automated with the SystemCopy solu-
SAP Application Lifecycle and System Copies ............................................................ 3
System Copy Terminology ........................................................................................... 4
System Copy Dependencies ........................................................................................ 4
System Copy Phases ................................................................................................... 4
System Copy Tasks ..................................................................................................... 5
System Copy Procedure: System Pre-Checks ......................................................... 6 System Copy Procedure: Pre-Processing ................................................................. 6 System Copy Procedure: Copy ................................................................................. 6 System Copy Procedure: Post-Processing ............................................................... 7
System Copy Challenges ............................................................................................. 7
Automating System Copies with Libelle SystemCopy ................................................. 8
The Libelle SystemCopy Framework ........................................................................... 8
System Copy procedures are executed anywhere from once a year to every month de-pending on the SAP application and implementation. It also depends in which stage of the Deployment Projects a customer is and what the internal testing procedures require.
System Copy Terminology
In the various system copy guides SAP AG provides on its Service Market Place, there
is a consistent terminology in regards to the System Copy Procedure:1
System Copy: Duplication of SAP systems. Certain SAP parameters change.
Source System: The SAP system containing the original production database.
Target System: The system to which the database copy is copied to.
Homogeneous System Copy2: System copy to the same operating system and data-
base platform as the Source System.
Database Copy: Database-dependent part of the system copy.
System Copy Dependencies
SAP AG provides specific system copy guides for each of their Enterprise Applications
which may differ depending on factors such as:
Type of the SAP Application (e.g. ERP, BI, …)
Version of the SAP Application
Type of Implementation (single or dual-stack)
Database type and version
Operating System
Within this procedural structure, customers typically enhance, add, or remove certain
System Copy Tasks to adjust to their very specific installation and circumstances. While
the general procedure is then similar for certain configuration, individual installations are
varying in details.
System Copy Phases
Generally, all steps necessary to successfully complete a System Copy Procedure can
be categorized into three steps. Before the data on the Target System is refreshed,
there is some pre-processing necessary. This is followed by copying the actual data and
post-processing. The steps are defined as follows.
1. Pre-Processing: All tasks for preparing the Target System for the System Copy.
2. Copy: Providing a copy of the actual production database from Source to Target
System.
1 E.g. “System Copy for SAP Systems based on SAP NetWeaver 7.1 Java” December 2009. link 2 SAP also lists a „heterogeneous System Copy‟ procedure where the database or O/S platform changes. This is currently not cov-
ered in the Libelle System Copy Procedure and not part of this Whitepaper
SystemCopy Tasks are separated into functional units and can range from the execution of a simple SAP transaction, up to the interaction with com-plex shell scripts.
The System Copy Configuration is setup as a sequence of Tasks assigned to the phas-
es pre-processing, copy, and post-processing. The configuration is stored in a single
XML configuration file which is accessed during the System Copy Procedure by the
server agents and is re-used for every subsequent System Copy Procedure.
Executing the System Copy
All left for the System Copy Procedure is now to start the execution and follow the pro-
cess. All steps performed and return signals received are sent back to the GUI for a
current status on where we are in the procedure.
System Copy Process
Doing a System Copy with Libelle LSC begins with starting the process from the GUI whereby actual Tasks are execu-ted on the server.
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[email protected][email protected] www.Libelle.com Libelle does not guarantee that the information in this presentation is error-free. The liability for consequential or indirect damages arising out of the reading or the use of this information is not warranted by Libelle AG within legal limits. All copyrights, especially distribution, reproduction and translation, are reserved. No part of this presentation may be reproduced, processed, reproduced or transmitted by electronic means without ex-plicit approval of Libelle. Under no circumstances, including, but not limited to, negligence, shall Libelle, its agents or assignees, including but not limited to its parent, subsidiary, or affiliate companies, be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages that result from the use of the information provided herein. Libelle, the Libelle Logo and BusinessShadow are trademarks of Libelle AG in Germany and other countries. SAP® is a trademark or registered trademark of SAP AG. SnapMirror, and Snapshot are trademarks or registered trademarks of NetApp, Inc. Windows, Microsoft and SQL Server are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle Corpora-tion. DB2 is a trademark or registered trademark of IBM Corp. MaxDB is a trademark of MySQL AB, Sweden. UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group. All other mentioned products and companies in this Whitepaper are trademarks of their respective owners.