Sebastian Schreckenbach

Checklists for SAP® Administration—Practical Guide

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SAP® Administration—Practical Guide
 Checklists for SAP Administration—Practical Guide

Checklists for SAP Administration—

Practical Guide

When using checklists, you should ensure that you always record the system in
which the checks are performed, when they are performed, and the person
responsible. We therefore recommend that you enter the following details at the
top of each checklist:

왘 System: __________
왘 Date: ____/____/____
왘 Administrator: _____________________

Possible changes should be recorded immediately at the bottom of the checklist.

We recommend that you use a table similar to that shown here for this purpose:

Problems Action Solution

General information and documentation of changes should be included in every

checklist you use. However, we’ve omitted these elements from the checklists in
this appendix to save space.

Preparing the System Stop

Use the checklist shown in Table 2.1 as preparation for stopping the system (see
Chapter 2).

Task Date Initials

The following tasks must be completed in sufficient time before the SAP system is
stopped:
Coordinate the system stop with all departments affected (for exam-
ple, accounting, shipping, distribution, and so on).

Table 2.1 Checklist for Preparing for a System Stop

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 Things to Check Before Deleting a Lock

Task Date Initials

Create a system message to inform all users of the planned system
stop (Transaction SM02).
Send an additional email notification to all users affected.
Reschedule jobs or cancel the jobs that are either due to run or be
started during the planned system stop (SM37).
The following additional tasks must also be completed shortly before the SAP system
is stopped:
Make sure that no active users are still logged on to the system
(SM04 and AL08).
Make sure that no active background jobs are running (SM37).
Make sure that no active processes are running (SM50 and SM51).
Check for active external interfaces (SMGW).
How to stop the SAP system:
Stop the application server instances.
Stop the central instance.
Stop the database (optional).

Table 2.1 Checklist for Preparing for a System Stop (Cont.)

Things to Check Before Deleting a Lock

Deleting a lock is critical, and so it should not be done lightly or without due con-
sideration. Before you delete a lock, you should clarify and answer the following
questions (see Table 2.2 in Chapter 2):

Task Transaction Code for This Task

Is the relevant user Transaction SM04 (User List) or AL08 (User List—All Instances)
logged on to a server? If the user is not logged on to the system but is displayed in Trans-
action SM04 or AL08, delete the user session (see Chapter 13). In
some cases, this step is sufficient to remove the lock.
Are any processes Transaction SM50 (Process Overview)
running under the Even if the user is not logged on to the system, processes may still
user ID? be active under the user ID. Wait until there are no longer any
active processes under the user ID or, in case of an emergency,
cancel the process.

Table 2.2 Things to Check Before Deleting a Lock

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 Checklists for SAP Administration—Practical Guide

Task Transaction Code for This Task

Are any background Transaction SM37 (Job Monitor)
jobs running under the Check whether any background job is active for the relevant user
user ID? ID. Wait until the job is finished or, in case of an emergency, can-
cel it.
Are update records Transaction SM13 (Update Requests)
currently being pro- The data records will remain locked until the update has been
cessed for this user ID? completed in the database. Wait until all update requests have
been processed. In some cases, there may be a problem, which
you must eliminate first.

Table 2.2 Things to Check Before Deleting a Lock (Cont.)

Critical Tasks
The sections that follow provide checklists found throughout the book on critical
tasks to perform daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly. These checklists
can be found in Chapter 5.

Daily Tasks
The following sections look at checklists for daily tasks.

Daily Tasks—Overview
An overview of critical tasks is provided in Table 5.3.

Task Transaction Chapter Procedure Done/Initials

Check whether the SAP Log on to the SAP
system is running. system.
Check whether the daily DB12/DB13 8 Test the database
backup was executed backup.
without errors. Duration of backup:
Check the backup at the
operating system level.
Duration of backup:

Table 5.3 Critical Tasks – Summary

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 Critical Tasks

Daily Tasks—SAP System

An overview of daily tasks in the SAP system is provided in Table 5.4.

Task Transaction Chapter Procedure Done/Initials

Check whether all SM51 2 Check whether all
application servers servers are running.
are running.

Check the work SM50 2 Check for all work pro-

processes. cesses with the status
Running or Waiting.

Check the CCMS Alert RZ20 3 Look for alerts.

Monitor.

Look for any update SM13 2 왘 Set the date to one

records that have year ago today.
terminated. An unusu- 왘 Enter the place-
ally high number of holder “*” under
unprocessed update User.
records indicates a
왘 Select the status
processing problem, for
All.
example, a bottleneck
for update work pro- 왘 Check for any rows
cesses in a background with Err.
job.

Check the system log. SM21 2 Set the time and date
to the time and date
before the most
recent log check.
Look for:
왘 Errors
왘 Warnings
왘 Security notifica-
tions
왘 Terminations
왘 Database problems
왘 Other unusual
events

Table 5.4 Daily Tasks – SAP System

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 Checklists for SAP Administration—Practical Guide

Task Transaction Chapter Procedure Done/Initials

Look for any terminated SM37 16 Enter the placeholder
jobs. “*” under User Name.
Check whether all
critical jobs have been
executed successfully.
Check the log of
terminated jobs.
Look for errors in the STMS 17 Check the import
import of transport queues and import
requests. histories of the indi-
vidual systems for any
transports with the
return code of 8 or
higher.
Look for “old” locks. An SM12 2 Enter “*” as the user
unusually high number name.
of lock entries indicates Look for entries for
a processing problem; previous days.
for example, a back-
ground job that wasn’t
completed correctly.
Look for users logged on SM04/AL08 13 Look for unknown or
to the system. unusual users and
terminals. This task
should be executed
several times a day.
Look for spool SP01 15 Look for spool
problems. requests that have
been “in process” for
more than an hour.
Check the batch input SM35 Look for:
log. 왘 New jobs
왘 Jobs with errors
Check dumps. ST22 2 Check whether a large
number of dumps
occurred.
Look for any unusual
dumps.

Table 5.4 Daily Tasks – SAP System (Cont.)

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 Critical Tasks

Task Transaction Chapter Procedure Done/Initials

Check the statistics for ST03N 11 Check whether the
system load. response or process-
ing times of the sys-
tem are unusually
high.
Check the buffer ST02 11 Look for swaps.
statistics.
If necessary, check the SCUL 13 Look for warning and
user administration log. error messages.

Table 5.4 Daily Tasks – SAP System (Cont.)

Daily Tasks—Database
The checklist in Table 5.5 provides an overview of the tasks relating to the data-
base.

Task Transaction Chapter Procedure Done/Initials

Check the error log. ST04 8 Look for error messages or
problems.
Check tables and DB02 8 Check how much memory
memory usage. is occupied in the data-
base. Check whether
inconsistencies in the data-
base are reported.

Table 5.5 Daily Tasks – Database

Daily Tasks—Operating System

The checklist in Table 5.6 provides an overview of tasks relating to the operating
system.

Task Transaction Chapter Procedure Done/Initials

Check for problems ST06 9 Check the operating
in the system log. system log.

Table 5.6 Daily Tasks – Operating System

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 Checklists for SAP Administration—Practical Guide

Daily Tasks—Other
The checklist in Table 5.7 provides an overview of all other tasks not listed above.

Task Transaction Chapter Procedure Done/Initials

Check the uninter- UPS program 9 Check the following:
rupted power supply log 왘 Events
(UPS).
왘 UPS self-test
왘 Errors

Table 5.7 Daily Tasks – Other

Weekly Tasks
The following sections provide checklists for weekly tasks.

Weekly Tasks—SAP System

The checklist in Table 5.8 provides an overview of tasks relating to the SAP sys-
tem.

Task Transaction Chapter Procedure Done/Initials

Check the spool for SP01 16 Check and remove old
problems and error- spool requests.
free processing.
Perform TemSe SP12 16 Check and remove any
consistency check. inconsistencies.
Check the Security SM20 10 Analyze the Security
Audit Log. Audit Log.
Check the EarlyWatch SOLUTION_ 4 Check the EarlyWatch
Alert. MANAGER report for instructions
on system optimization.

Table 5.8 Weekly Tasks – SAP System

Weekly Tasks—Database
The checklist in Table 5.9 provides an overview of tasks relating to the database.

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 Critical Tasks

Task Transaction Chapter Procedure Done/Initials

Check the database for DB02 8 Record the available
available memory. memory.
Monitor the growth of DB02 8 Record the database’s
the database and esti- memory history.
mate its future growth.
Check database con- 8 Check the output of the
sistency (DBCC). DBCC job for errors
(Microsoft SQL Server).
Refresh the Microsoft 8 Check whether the sta-
SQL Server statistics. tistics were refreshed
successfully.

Table 5.9 Weekly Tasks – Database

Weekly Tasks—Operating System

The checklist in Table 5.10 provides an overview of tasks relating to the operating
system.

Task Transaction Chapter Procedure Done/Initials

Check that the file RZ20 9 Check memory usage
system has sufficient and whether a sufficient
memory. amount of memory is
available in the file
system.

Table 5.10 Weekly Tasks – Operating System

Weekly Tasks—Other
The checklist in Table 5.11 provides an overview of all other tasks not listed
above.

Task Transaction Chapter Procedure Done/Initials

Check the system System 3 Search for events that
monitor for updates. monitor need to be added or
deleted.

Table 5.11 Weekly Tasks – Other

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 Checklists for SAP Administration—Practical Guide

Task Transaction Chapter Procedure Done/Initials

Check the alert System 3 Send test email and test
mechanism of the monitor paging.
system monitor.
Clean the tape drive. Tape drive 6 Clean the tape drive
with a cleaning car-
tridge.

Table 5.11 Weekly Tasks – Other (Cont.)

Monthly Tasks—SAP System, Database, Operating System, Other

The checklist in Table 5.13 provides an overview of all tasks relating to the SAP
system, database, and operating system, as well as other tasks.

Task Transaction Chapter Procedure Done/Initials

SAP System
Defragment the 2 Restart the system.
memory.
Databases
Monitor the growth DB02 8 Record and monitor data-
of the database. base usage.
Operating System
Back up your file 9 Perform a full backup of the
server. server.
Check file system 9 Record file system usage;
usage. monitor usage.
왘 Do you need the
additional memory?
왘 Do you need to run
cleanup programs?
Other
Check consumable 6 Do you have a replacement
items. cleaning cartridge for all
tape drives/drive cards?
왘 DAT (digital audio tape)
왘 DLT (digital linear tape)

Table 5.13 Monthly Tasks – SAP System, Database, Operating System, Other

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 Critical Tasks

Task Transaction Chapter Procedure Done/Initials

Do you have replacement
media for swappable data
carriers?
왘 ZIP
왘 MO (magneto-optical)
왘 DVD/CD blanks
Do you have preprinted
forms?
왘 Shipping documents
왘 Invoices
왘 Checks
Do you have supplies of
special materials, such as
toner cartridges?
Do you have office supplies
in stock?
왘 Toner for laser printers
왘 Paper (for printers)
왘 Batteries
왘 Pens, etc.

Table 5.13 Monthly Tasks – SAP System, Database, Operating System, Other (Cont.)

Quarterly Tasks
The following sections provide checklists for quarterly tasks.

Quarterly Tasks—SAP System

The checklist in Table 5.14 provides an overview of tasks relating to the SAP system.

Task Transaction Chapter Procedure Done/Initials

Archive quarterly Send the tapes with your
backup. quarterly backup to external
long-term storage loca-
tions.

Table 5.14 Quarterly Tasks – SAP System

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 Checklists for SAP Administration—Practical Guide

Task Transaction Chapter Procedure Done/Initials

Perform security SU01/SUIM 13 Check the user IDs and
check. search for users that are no
longer current and which
need to be locked or
deleted.
SM30 13 Check the list of “prohib-
ited” passwords (table
USR40).
RZ10 13 Check the profile parame-
ters for password standards.
Check scheduled SM37 15 Check all scheduled jobs
jobs. and determine whether
they are still relevant.

Table 5.14 Quarterly Tasks – SAP System (Cont.)

Quarterly Tasks—Database
The checklist in Table 5.15 provides an overview of tasks relating to the database.

Task Transaction Chapter Procedure Done/Initials

Archive quarterly 7 Send the tapes with
backup. your quarterly backup to
external long-term
storage locations.

Check scheduled DB13 8 Check all jobs scheduled

jobs. with the DBA Planning
Calendar, and determine
whether they are still
relevant.

Test the database 7 Restore the database on a

restore process. test server.
Test the restored database.

Clean up the Clean up Check/maintain

BR*TOOLS logs BR*TOOLS. init<SID>.dba.
(Oracle)

Table 5.15 Quarterly Tasks – Database

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 Critical Tasks

Quarterly Tasks—Operating System

The checklist in Table 5.16 provides an overview of tasks relating to the operating
system.

Task Transaction Chapter Procedure Done/Initials

Archive quar- 7 Send the tapes with your quar-
terly backup. terly backup to external long-
term storage locations.
Archive old 6 Archive old transport files and
transport files. logs.

Table 5.16 Quarterly Tasks – Operating System

Quarterly Tasks—Other
The checklist in Table 5.17 provides an overview of all other tasks not listed above.

Task Transaction Procedure Done/Initials

Check service 왘 Check whether any contracts have
contracts. expired.
왘 Check whether any changes in use have
occurred.

Table 5.17 Quarterly Tasks – Other

Yearly Tasks
The following sections provide checklists for annual tasks.

Yearly Tasks—SAP System

The checklist in Table 5.18 provides an overview of tasks relating to the SAP system.

Task Transaction Chapter Procedure Done/Initials

Archive end-of- 7 Send the tapes with your end-
year backup. of-year backup to external long-
term storage locations.

Table 5.18 Yearly Tasks – SAP System

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 Checklists for SAP Administration—Practical Guide

Task Transaction Chapter Procedure Done/Initials

Check user 13 Check the user security authori-
security. zation forms using the assigned
profiles.
You can also use report
RSUSR100 for this purpose.
Check profiles SU02 14 Execute with report RSUSR101.
and authoriza- SU03 14 Executed with report
tions. RSUSR102.
PFCG 14 Check authorization roles.
Check the sepa- PFCG 14 Check the authorization con-
ration of duties cept for critical overlapping.
(SOD).
Check user IDs SU01/SUIM 13, 14 Check whether the users are
SAP* and DDIC. locks, or change the password if
necessary.
Start SAP pro- SUIM, SA38 14 Start SAP programs to track user
grams to track (or SE38) activities: RSUSR003, RSUSR006,
user activity. RSUSR007, RSUSR008_009_NEW,
RSUSR100, RSUSR101, and
RSUSR102.
Check whether SE03 10 Check whether the system
the system status has been set to Not
status has been Modifiable.
set to Not SCC4 10 Check whether the relevant cli-
Modifiable. ents have a modifiable status.
Check locked SM01 10 Check transactions against the
transactions. list of locked transactions.

Table 5.18 Yearly Tasks – SAP System (Cont.)

Yearly Tasks—Database
The checklist in Table 5.19 provides an overview of tasks relating to the database.

Task Transaction Chapter Procedure Done/Initials

Archive end-of- 7 Send the tapes with your end-
year backup. of-year backup to external
long-term storage locations.

Table 5.19 Yearly Tasks – Database

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 Critical Tasks

Yearly Tasks—Operating System

The checklist in Table 5.20 provides an overview of tasks relating to the operating
system.

Task Transaction Chapter Procedure Done/Initials

Archive end-of- 7 Send the tapes with your end-
year backup. of-year backup to external
long-term storage locations.

Table 5.20 Yearly Tasks – Operating System

Yearly Tasks—Other
The checklist in Table 5.21 provides an overview of all other tasks not listed above.

Task Transaction Chapter Procedure Done/Initials

Perform a 7 왘 Restore the entire system on
disaster a disaster recovery test
recovery. system.
왘 Test whether normal busi-
ness can be resumed.

Table 5.21 Yearly Tasks – Other

Yearly Tasks—Overview of Transactions

The checklist in Table 5.22 provides an overview of important transactions.

Transaction Transaction code Action Explanation

User adminis- SU01 All users who leave your User maintenance
tration. enterprise should be refused also involves block-
access to the SAP system as ing user access to the
soon as they leave. By locking SAP system for users
or deleting these user IDs, who are no longer
you ensure that the SAP employees of your
system can only be accessed enterprise.
by users with the required This also prevents
authorization. Check that other users from
this task has been completed logging on with
on a regular basis. this ID.

Table 5.22 Yearly Tasks – Transactions

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 Checklists for SAP Administration—Practical Guide

Transaction Transaction code Action Explanation

Change the SE03/SCC4 Test and apply changes Users should be
object catalog correctly. unable to make
entry of objects. changes to objects in
the QA or production
system. This prevents
changes to objects
and the configura-
tion in the produc-
tion system before
testing is performed.
You can protect the
integrity of the pipe-
line by setting the
status of the produc-
tion system to Not
Modifiable.
Lock trans- SM01 Lock transactions. This prevents users
action codes. from causing damage
to the system by run-
ning transactions.

Table 5.22 Yearly Tasks – Transactions (Cont.)

Backup Strategy
You need to develop an appropriate system for backing up valuable system data.
You should define a suitable strategy as soon as possible in order to avoid a
possible loss of data. You should have worked through a checklist covering all
backup-relevant topics before your system goes live (see Table 6.2 in Chapter 6).

Question, Task, or Decision Done

Decide how frequently you want to perform a full database backup.
Decide whether partial or differential backups are required.
Decide whether to use automatic backups. If you want to use automatic back-
ups, decide where to do this (in the DBA Planning Calendar or elsewhere).
Decide how frequently the transaction logs are to be backed up.

Table 6.2 Backup Strategy Checklist

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 Backup Strategy

Question, Task, or Decision Done

Define which backup media (hard disks, tapes, etc.) you want to use.
Ensure that you can store a day’s volume of logs on the server.
Ensure that you have sufficient memory in the directory for transaction logs.
Set up the authorizations required for the SAP system, the operating system,
and the database.
Consider whether you want to use the DBA Planning Calendar to schedule the
backup of transaction logs.
Work out guidelines for labeling data carriers to ensure a smooth workflow.
Decide on the period for which your backups are to be stored.
Acquire the required hardware (hard disks) or define the size of the tape pool
required (tapes required per day × retention period + 20%).
Take account of future growth and special requirements.
Initialize the tapes.
Define a storage strategy for the tapes.
Document the backup procedures in an instruction manual.
Train users in the backup procedures.
Implement a backup strategy.
Perform a backup and restore for testing purposes.
Define a contingency plan for emergencies, and decide which users are to be
contacted in the event of an emergency.

Table 6.2 Backup Strategy Checklist (Cont.)

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