ENTERPRISE

Performing mySAP.com Component Installations : Installing Your mySAP-Enabling Foundation—NetWeaver

4/27/2013 1:03:49 AM
SAP AG has made it clear in the last year or so that certain technology solutions and approaches will constitute the foundation or enabling technology for mySAP components going forward. In January 2003, SAP AG went so far as to introduce SAP NetWeaver, the next generation of mySAP technology that underpins SAP’s Enterprise Services Architecture (ESA), which in turn enables SAP’s customers to build and deploy Web-services based business solutions. NetWeaver solves the dilemma of Microsoft .NET versus Java that many companies face today—it embraces both. In doing so, SAP AG provides both a platform and a middleware solution that truly facilitates heterogeneous integration. Check out http://www.sap.com/solutions/netweaver for more details, and refer specifically to the Planning CD for a link to SAP’s white paper entitled SAP NetWeaver Platform Interoperability with IBM WebSphere and Microsoft .NET.

Though the label may have changed recently, the fundamental technology enabling mySAP solutions include

I include Internet Transaction Server (ITS) in this list, too, at least until ITS is completely replaced by Web AS-enabled solutions. Each of these is discussed in terms of installation details and considerations next.

Web Application Server 6.x

The underlying technology layer of nearly all mySAP solutions, and the technology foundation beyond SAP Basis release 4.6D, is referred to as Web Application Server, or Web AS; everything prior to Web AS is simply known as “SAP Basis.” Given that Web AS is a superset of the former SAP Basis, experienced SAP Basis consultants should be quite comfortable installing and configuring Web AS—the core application-enabling technology layer is merely broader and extended, not completely revamped. Note the following:

  • Most of the mySAP.com components on the market today were released “on top of” Web AS 6.20. The newest components are being released for version 6.30.

  • Web AS supports Unicode and non-Unicode systems. However, you must specify the desired version of Web AS when you download it or order the CD media; they are not interchangeable.

  • Like support for Unicode, Web AS is also database-specific. Thus, you must order the SQL Server version of Web AS, for example, if you want to install Web AS on a Microsoft SQL Server platform.

The installation process for Web AS is straightforward after the pre-installation planning and preparation tasks are completed. If we assume a SQL Server-based installation of a central system, the high-level installation tasks for Web AS 6.20 include the following steps:

1.
Install the Microsoft SQL Server database server software.

2.
Run SAPinst to install the Central Instance.

3.
Answer all of the installation questions posed by SAPinst during the first few minutes of the SAP installation. SAP recommends that you obtain the required information needed to complete an installation before you actually run SAPinst.

Installation questions include selecting the installation type (that is, central instance, dialog instance, or database server), entering the three-character SID, determining whether the system should be integrated with Microsoft’s Active Directory, and designating LDAP/SAP MMC support. Then parameters like the database server’s host name, port number of the CI (message server), configuration of the database’s TempDB and Data files, and the password for the SQL Server login must be provided. The number of parallel jobs/load processes is requested next (this should be equal to the number of CPUs in your server). Then you can select whether MNLS (Multi National Language Support) is desired.

Configuration data for the J2EE engine is requested next (if you are installing this), including the maximum memory to be used, J2EE client password, and location of the Java Development Kit on your host. After this, the actual installation takes place, ranging in time from an hour to perhaps three or four hours, depending on the number of processors in your host and the configuration of your disk subsystem.

The SAP Exchange Infrastructure 2.1

SAP XI enables collaborative business processes, using XML and a message-based architecture to create an open standards-based Web-centric solution. From an installation perspective, five major components can be installed, all of these natively supporting the SAPDB database (though Oracle is supported on all but the Integration Builder). And all of these components are based on a Unicode Web AS installation:

  • Integration Builder (IB) and the Integration Server (IS), the former of which is only supported on the central instance of a system running Unicode Web Application Server 6.20 on top of SAPDB.

  • SAP XI Add-On, which must be installed on the IB and IS.

  • MarketSet Adapter, which can only be installed on the IS and further must only be used with SAP SRM solutions greater than version 2.0.

  • System Landscape Directory (SLD). Note that other databases are supported for this particular component, too.

  • SAP XI Connectivity, which is automatically installed with the Integration Server. Adapters can be installed on the various business systems to which you will be connected. To connect systems separated by a firewall or running mixed operating systems, the adapters must be installed on the business systems.

As indicated earlier, only Unicode versions of Web AS 6.20 are supported for XI 2.0. Further, SAP only supports a dedicated instance of Web AS—you can not share an instance created for BW or APO, for example, with XI. From a high-level perspective, prior to actually running the SAPinst installation process, perform the following tasks:

1.
Address “Installation Planning”; work with the XI project team to understand the scenarios to be implemented, components to be installed, and layout/architecture of the system hardware upon which XI will be installed.

2.
Next, read through prerequisite documentation and installation guides, including SAP Note 557414 (http://service.sap.com/notes).

3.
Prepare for the installation by installing a separate SAP Web AS 6.20 as a Unicode system running the SAP J2EE Engine (do not use an existing Web AS running another component).

4.
Do not install the SAP Online Documentation CD. You will install an XI-specific version of this documentation later in the installation process.

5.
Update Web AS up to and including Support Package 11. For the latest Support Packages and binary patches (executable updates), go to http://service.sap.com/patches, and then navigate to SAP Exchange Infrastructure - SAP Exchange Infrastructure 2.0.

6.
Set up user SAPJSF in client 000, if it does not exist already (verify that it exists by trying to display it, using transaction SU01, for example). Note that the password for SAPJSF must not exceed eight characters, either.

7.
Install the XI add-on. This must be done before you execute the next step and copy client 000.

8.
Create a specific client for XI.

9.
Apply the Delivery manager update, as explained in SAP Note 532892.

10.
Install the Support Packages for Java Libraries.

11.
Apply patches to SAPDB and the Java connector as required. The reasons are specific, and are explained in SAP’s InstGuide for XI 2.0, published January 21, 2003.

12.
Configure the SAP J2EE engine; disable FastRFC by changing the entry in the “Properties” file from “RFC_Default_Destination= ” to “RFC_Default_Destination=false”.

13.
Configure the SAP J2EE engine; specify the amount of RAM to be used by the engine (768MB is the minimum that should be configured, per SAP’s recommendations).

14.
If you are installing the MarketSet Adapter, you also need to adapt the ServiceManager.properties file; set the parameter “AdditionalLoadTimeout=80”.

15.
For Windows-based systems only, add the SAP J2EE entries to the Start Menu for all users (as opposed to only being displayed by the installation user).

16.
After all changes are made to the SAP J2EE engine, reboot the server (or simply stop and restart SAP). Note that unless you made password changes to the Web AS after it was installed, the default user ID for the J2EE engine is administrator, with no password (blank).

SAPinst can now be executed. Afterwards, SAP XI connectivity to non-SAP systems (and any SAP solutions not running on the Web Application Server platform) must be established. Then, a whole host of post-installation tasks must be performed, most of which are more time-consuming than difficult, and can be performed by user DDIC. Note that the password for DDIC remains unchanged; it’s still 19920706 after all these years.

Enterprise Information Portal 5.0

Called simply Enterprise Portal for short, the latest release of Enterprise Information Portal (EIP) combines the benefits of older similar products such as mySAP Workplace 2.11, EIP 4.5, and Enterprise Unification Portal 4.5 into one feature-rich enterprise portal. Benefits like the following impact installation:

  • Web browser access to applications, content, and services simplifies the installation from a client-side perspective.

  • However, simply preparing for EP 5.0 means installing Microsoft’s IIS and a JDK on a dedicated Web Server (other Web Server options will be available in the future).

  • A Java Server (SAP J2EE Engine and JRun Server) must be installed and configured; see SAP Note 526760 and work with SAP and your other technology partners to determine the best configuration for your environment. Note that the SAP J2EE engine was formerly named In-Q-My. The Java Virtual Machine’s default memory allocation is only 64MB; this needs to be changed to half of the physical RAM of the server upon which Enterprise Portal is being installed (and perhaps more if you are directed by your hardware or SAP technology partner to do so).

  • Extended portal platform functionality includes support for LDAP-based systems management; LDAP support must be installed, however, on a corporate Directory Server (which may be installed on the portal server machine or another server).

  • Unification technology and predefined Unifiers for database and legacy systems, SAP, and other applications require installation of Unification components.

  • Given EP’s robust knowledge management capabilities, it’s likely that you will also need to interface your EP implementation with other repositories of unstructured data including Windows file servers, Web servers, Lotus Notes, Microsoft Exchange, Documentum, and so on, on top of configuring connections to R/3 and other systems.

  • A number of databases are supported; if SQL Server is selected, ensure that the authentication method is set to Mixed Authentication. If Oracle is selected, you will need to obtain the SAP document entitled “How to Install Oracle for Enterprise Portal” from the SAP Service Marketplace, http://service.sap.com/epinstall. Regardless, a supported database must be completely installed before the Enterprise Portal itself is installed.

Given Enterprise Portal’s roots outside of SAP AG (EP originated from TopTier Software, which was acquired by SAP in May 2001), it’s not surprising that the installation documentation for version 5.0 looks nothing like an InstGuide. The installation document is very good, however, and is structured similarly to an InstGuide in that it provides both an introduction and a pre-installation section prior to jumping into the actual portal installation process. And a pointer to http://service.sap.com/epinstall within the installation guide provides access to additional relevant SAP Notes, how-to guides, and version-specific installation documentation. In fact, before you get started trying to install EP, SAP recommends that you read the following documents:

  • Architecture of the Enterprise Portal, which contains information on the various portal components and their roles

  • SAP Portal Technical Infrastructure for EP 5.0

  • Sizing SAP Portals - Enterprise Portal 5.0, useful in determining hardware requirements

  • Platform Availability Matrix, which documents the products, brands, and versions/editions of software used in an EP installation

Prior to installing EP5.0 SP3, read SAP Note 510074 (newer versions of EP require that you read through different notes). The actual Enterprise Portal installation is executed through a setup wizard available through the Enterprise Portal Welcome screen (which is in turn started by executing start.hta from the root of your EP 5.0 SP3 CD). From the Portal Installation column, click the EP 5.0 SP3 option, and the setup/installation wizard will be launched. Do not try to install any other components or options until the portal installation is completed. And if you plan on clustering Enterprise Portal, read through SAP Note 596221 (which actually covers EP5.0 SP4) first.

From the File Download screen, select the option entitled Run This Program from Its Current Location, click OK, and then click Yes. The installation process is refreshingly straightforward. After the installation, a hotfix must be installed, the SAP J2EE engine must be adapted, a proxy server must be configured (requiring PROXYCFG.exe from Microsoft’s Web site), the license key must be obtained and applied (refer to http://help.sap.com/portals), and the portal must then be configured for specific users, roles, content, and so on. You can also set up Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), to encrypt traffic between your Enterprise Portal and your Web clients. And finally, you can configure the portal to allow SAP transactions to be launched from portal iViews or the toolbar. All in all, EP is one of the smoothest mySAP products to install today.

By the end of October 2003, general availability for Enterprise Portal 6.0 is expected, however. This will broaden the number of solution component alternatives, and therefore impact the portal installation process significantly. For example, Apache Web Server 1.3x will be supported alongside IIS. And with regard to LDAP directories, both Novell eDirectory 8.6.1 and the Sun ONE Directory Server version 5.0 will be supported. Sun Solaris 8.0 and HP-UX 11i will join the list of supported operating systems (with AIX joining the party shortly thereafter), running 64-bit database versions of Oracle 9.2. AIX will also (not surprisingly) eventually support IBM’s DB2/UDB database. Finally, the Netscape UNIX browser (version 6.2) will be made available alongside the already supported Internet Explorer and Netscape offerings on Windows-based clients. With Enterprise Portal 6.0 will come expanded support for Windows 2000 and .NET, too, including .NET support for both SQL Server 2000 and Oracle databases, plus the latest version of IIS bundled with Windows 2003 Server (at one time referred to as Windows .NET Server).

Installation Details for ITS 6.20

ITS is SAP’s original and still quite popular method of making older (or not yet Web AS-enabled) SAP solutions available over the Web, accessible through the use of a standard Web browser. In a nutshell, Internet Transaction Server maps screen elements in SAP transactions to HTML, and dynamically generates HTML versions of SAPGUI screens. As of version 6.20, ITS is installed via SAPinst, the System Landscape Implementation Manager discussed previously. Thus, it is quite different to install than older releases of ITS. As a reminder, don’t forget to load a Java Runtime Environment on each ITS server to be installed; a Java Development Kit is not included with your SAP distribution CDs, however.

Before performing an ITS installation, see SAP Note 526835 491781 for the latest updates to the ITS 6.20 installation process. An overview of the installation process follows:

  • Confirm that ITS installation requirements match your ITS sizing. Preparations include installing the OS, setting up the file system, creating the proper ITS administrator accounts, verifying the correct version of Apache HTTP Server (if performing the installation on Linux or Solaris, which was finally introduced with version 6.20) or other Web Servers, and so on.

  • If multiple servers are to be configured (for dual-host systems), ensure that you have good network connectivity—test for this by issuing the ping command from each host.

  • Address ITS security. For example, productive ITS implementations should always include separate WGate and AGate servers separated by a firewall. Further, ITS files and passwords need to be protected from unauthorized user access; this is accomplished by following specific dialogs in the installation process. Finally, you need to determine whether global or specific service-related user accounts are appropriate—the latter approach is recommended for production systems.

  • Determine the type of installation to perform. Four options are common, including the installation of a single host (SH), dual-host AGate instance (AI), dual-host WGate instance (WI), and an ITS Administration Instance (ADM).

  • Determine the type of Internet Application Components (IACs) needed. A tool called the Package Manager allows you to apply incremental IACs to an existing ITS instance. You will need to enter the names of the specific IACs. The system package is loaded by default.

  • Install the AGate first. Information you need to know beforehand includes the URL of your home page (which is where end users are “left” after they exit ITS), SAP system name, client number, SAP User ID, and password (for the user ID in the specific client to be used). Then the SAP message server name, its port number, and login group information are required. An SAP system number and SAProuter string may also be required. For Windows 2000 systems, the name and password of user ITSadm and the names of groups ITSAdministrators and ITSUsers must also be supplied. And finally, you will be asked to define the memory configuration of the system, where Configuration for Productive Environments requires a system configured with 512MB of RAM and the Minimize Memory Usage option only requires 128MB of RAM.

  • Install the WGate. This requires the name or IP address of the AGate host, and the number of ports on the AGate (obtained by viewing the services file on the AGate)—select a number greater than 1 if you expect more than 400 concurrent ITS users, or if more than 2GB of physical RAM is installed in the AGate. When the installation is complete, the system should be rebooted.

After the core ITS installation, post-install tasks like loading IAC packages are performed. IACs beyond the default system package include the WebGUI (needed if you are installing the SAP GUI for HTML), Flowdbg (for debugging ITS applications on development systems), its_adm (installed by default in ADM installations), and Watchdog, an optional IAC specific to Windows 2000 and IIS. Watchdog allows you to monitor all of your ITS instances running on the local host via a dual DCOM interface. It also lets you register these ITS instances in LDAP directory-accessible tools such as the SAP MMC; support for the Lightweight Directory Access protocol has been available since ITS version 4.6C. Most importantly from an HA perspective, though, Watchdog supports the Windows Load Balancing Service (WLBS). With WLBS, high availability for the WGate component of an ITS implementation can be achieved. Combined with support for multiple Agates (achieved first in ITS 4.6D), an end-to-end high availability solution for ITS is made possible.

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