SAP

Home


1)What is SAP

• SAP - Systems, Applications and Products in Data Processing. SAP is a fourth generation programming language language called ABAP (Advance Business Application Programming). SAP is an ERP (enterprise resource planning) software product capable of integrating multiple business applications, with each application representing a specific business area. These applications update and process transactions in real time mode. It has the ability to be configured to meets the needs of the business.

• SAP is Modules are divided into 2 parts: Technical and Functional:

• Technical is categorized into 3 areas:

• ABAP (Advance Business Application Programming)
• BASIS (Business Application System Integrated Software)
• Net Weaver ( Web Application Server, Exchange Infrastructure (XI), Enterprise Portal (EP), Master Data Management (MDM), Business Information Warehouse)
  

• Functional is categorized into 3 areas:

• Logistics
• Sales and Distribution (SD)
• Production Planning (PP)
• Material Management (MM)
• Warehouse Management (WM)
• Quality Management (QM)
• General Logistics (LO)

• Financial
• Financial Accounting (FI)
• Controlling (CO)
• Enterprise Controlling (EC)
• Investment Management (IM)
• Treasury (TR)

• Human Resources
• Personnel Administration (PA)
• Personnel Development (PD)

An Introduction to SAP

SAP was founded in 1972 in Walldorf, Germany. It stands for Systems, Applications and Products in Data Processing. Over the years, it has grown and evolved to become the world premier provider of client/server business solutions for which it is so well known today. The SAP R/3 enterprise application suite for open client/server systems has established new standards for providing business information management solutions.

The main advantage of using SAP as your company ERP system is that SAP have a very high level of integration among its individual applications which guarantee consistency of data throughout the system and the company itself.

In a standard SAP project system, it is divided into three environments,

Development, Quality Assurance and Production. The development system is where most of the implementation work takes place. The quality assurance system is where all the final testing is conducted before moving the transports to the production environment.  The production system is where all the daily business activities occur.  It is also the client that all the end users use to perform their daily job functions.

To all company, the production system should only contains transport that have passed all the tests.

SAP is table drive customization software.  It allows businesses to make rapid changes in their business requirements with a common set of programs.  User-exits are provided for business to add in additional source code.  Tools such as screen variants are provided to let you set fields attributes whether to hide, display and make them mandatory fields

3) What is SAP Landscape?

Landscape is like a server system or like a layout of the servers or some may even call it the architecture of the servers viz. SAP is divided into three different landscape DEV, QAS and PROD.

·         DEV would have multiple clients for ex: 190- Sandbox, 100- Golden, and 180- Unit Test.

·          QAS may again have multiple clients for ex: 300- Integration Test, 700 to 710 Training.

·          PROD may have something like a 200 Production.

These names and numbers are the implementer's discreet on how they want it or they have been using in their previous implementations or how is the client's business scenario. 

Now whatever you do in the Sandbox doesn't affect the other servers or clients. Whenever you think you are satisfied with your configuration and you think you can use it moving forward, you RE-DO it in the golden client (remember, this is a very neat and clean client and you cannot use it for rough usage). As you re-do everything that you had thought was important and usable, you get a transport request pop up upon saving every time. You save it under a transport request and give your description to it. Thus the configuration is transported to the Unit Test client (180 in this example). 

You don't run any transaction or even use the SAP Easy Access screen on the 100 (golden) clients. This is a configuration only client. Now upon a successful transport by the Basis guy, you have all the configuration in the Testing client, just as it is in the Golden client. The configuration remains in sync between these two clients. 

But in the Testing client you can not even access SPRO  (Display IMG) screen. It's a transaction only client where you perform the unit test. Upon a satisfactory unit test, you move the good configuration to the next SERVER (DEV). The incorrect or unsatisfactory configuration is corrected in Golden (may again as well be practiced in the sandbox prior to Golden) and accordingly transported back to 180 (Unit Test) until the unit test affected by that particular config is satisfactory. 

The Golden client remains the 'database' (if you wanna call it that) or you may rather call it the 'ultimate' reference client for all the good, complete and final configuration that is being used in the implementation.

In summary:
Landscape: is the arrangement for the servers

IDES: is purely for education purpose and is NOT INCLUDED in the landscape.

DEVELOPMENT ---> QUALITY ----> PRODUCTION

DEVELOPMENT: is where the the consultants do the customization as per the company's requirement.

QUALITY: is where the core team members and other members test the customization.

PRODUCTION: is where the live data of the company is recorded.

A request will flow from Dev->Qual->Prod and not backwards.

1. Sandbox server: In the initial stages of any implementation project, You are given a sandbox server where you do all the configuration/customization as per the companies business process.

2. Development Server: - Once the BBP gets signed off, the configuration is done is development server and saved in workbench requests, to be transported to Production server.

3. Production Server: This is the last/ most refined client where the user will work after project GO LIVE. Any changes/ new development is done is development client and the request is transported to production.

These three are landscape of any Company. They organized their office in these three way. Developer develop their program in Development server and then transport it to test server. In testing server tester check/test the program and then transport it to Production Server. Later it will deploy to client from production server.

Presentation Server- Where SAP GUI have.
Application Server - Where SAP Installed.
Database Server - Where Database installed.

What is the meaning of "R" in R/3 systems?

R/3 stands for real-time three tier architecture. This is the kind of architecture SAP R/3 system has.

R/3 means three layers are installed in Different system/server and they are connected with each other.

1) Presentation
2) Application
3) Database

Releases:

    SAP R/1, System RF - 1972

    SAP R/2, ran on a Mainframe architecture - 1979

    SAP R/3 Enterprise Edition 1.0 A - July 1992

    SAP R/3 Enterprise Edition 2.0 - 1993

    SAP R/3 Enterprise Edition 3.0 - 1995

    SAP R/3 Enterprise Edition 4.0 B - June 1998

    SAP R/3 Enterprise Edition 4.3

    SAP R/3 Enterprise Edition 4.5 B - March 1999

    SAP R/3 Enterprise Edition 4.6 C - April 2001

    SAP R/3 Enterprise Edition 4.6 F

    SAP R/3 Enterprise Release 4.70 Release Date March- Dec 2003[2]

    SAP R/3 Enterprise Edition 4.7

    SAP R/3 Enterprise Central Component (ECC) 5.0 - 2004

    SAP R/3 Enterprise Central Component (ECC) 6.0 - Oct 2005- Jun2006

    SAP ERP 6.0 - Enhancement Packages (1,2,3,4,5,6,7)