SAP Note 91488 - SAP Support Services - Central preparatory note (Part - II)

Common steps in ABAP stacks
Connections

1. Access to your ABAP system Access often is already needed during the preparation phase of the session. Please ensure that a connection of the type R/3 support is available, ideally ca 4-6 weeks before the session date. SAP Note 812732 provides more information about this connection type. Logon information can be securely stored as per SAP Note 508140. Access to systems is greatly simplified where the Line Opener Program ( LOP ) is used, as this allows access without extra interaction with a contact person at customer side. More details on connection types and the use and advantages of LOP be found at service.sap.com/serviceconnection. If more assistance is needed a message can be opened in component XX-SER-NET-HTL. Access from your ABAP system to SAP To be able to use RTCCTOOL, and to some extent also SDCCN, a connection to SAP is necessary. Please ensure that destination SAPOSS is checked and configured, ideally ca 4-6 weeks before the session date. SAP Note 33135 provides information about how to maintain SAPOSS, via transaction OSS1. If more assistance is needed a message can be opened in component XX-SER-NET. From your ABAP system to your SAP Solution Manager To ensure that SDCCN in the managed system can communicate with your SAP Solution Manager, the *BACK destination must be maintained in SDCCN, and must test ok in SM59. If more assistance is needed  a message can be opened in SV-SMG-SYS.

2. Installation number Installation number and system ID are the key for all service administration, both at SAP and in a customer SAP Solution Manager. It is therefore vital that this information is up to date in both the managed system itself, as well as in the SAP Solution Manager. Any change must be reflected in System Landscape ( SMSY ) in the connected SAP Solution Manager, as well as the corresponding logical components and solutions. Changes should be updated as soon as possible in all areas. Updated Solutions also need to be transferred to SAP quickly, so that administration relevant information regarding your solution is updated. This information will be needed, as already ordered services have to be adjusted to reflect the new installation numbers. If service sessions have been agreed already, contacts at SAP should be advised of a new installation number as soon as possible, as the necessary adjustments have to be made manually. This will ensure that service plans can be updated correctly in the customer SAP Solution Manager. If you need help implementing the installation number / license key inside a system, you can open a message in XX-SER-LIKEY. If you need help updating informatin in SMSY in your SAP Solution Manager you can open a message in SV-SMG-SYS.

Tools

3. ST-PI and support packages Addon ST-PI and the corresponding support packages contain the Service Data Control Center (SDCCN) which controls the collection and transfer of data analysed during a service session. They also contain various function modules needed for data collection. Additionally they contain reports which are executed by function modules during data collection. Details regarding the content can be found in SAP Note 539977 . Please note that only SDCCN should be used for data collection, rather than SDCC (older version). All developments since 2005 have been made for SDCCN only. Only SDCCN can make full use of the changes contained in ST-PI and the support packages. SAP Note 763561 contains answers to frequently asked questions as well as a guide on the functionalities. If you need help regarding SDCCN you can open a message in component SV-SMG-SDD.

4. ST-A/PI Addon ST-A/PI contains data collectors which contribute to data collections with SDCCN. It also contains additional functionalities for separately analysing and gathering application based data, as well as various trace tools. Another important feature is report RTCCTOOL. This can be run either directly or from within SDCCN, and gives you an overview over many of the steps and tools needed to prepare a system for a session. It provides a rating depending on whether a step still needs to be addressed or executed, and provides details on what needs to be done. Using RTCCTOOL can therefore save time when working through the preparation steps. More details about ST-A/PI can be found in SAP Note 69455.