Test and training system: data anomyization, migration of master data, migration of user data / passwords
The Refresh
SAP SE is a software company that uses the proprietary programming language ABAP. SAP® landscapes include not only production but also Quality Assurance (QA) systems as well as test and other staging systems. For appropriate and consistent testing and acceptance of changes in programs and processes, SAP recommends the "homogeneous system copy" approach to provide non-production systems with up-to-date data.
Against the background of constantly changing business processes, the SAP production systems that serve as the basis for these processes must also be continuously adapted and further developed. To ensure that these processes run smoothly at all times, adaptations and further developments must be comprehensively tested in a non-production SAP system using current production data. Only then can changes be incorporated into the production system. However, updating the databases of non-production SAP systems for testing, quality assurance and development with new production data is usually a time-consuming and error-prone process that involves lengthy interruptions to the SAP software lifecycle. By automating and accelerating SAP data, the workload of IT administrators can be significantly reduced and interruptions to the SAP software lifecycle can be kept to a minimum. This white paper presents a solution that helps shorten SAP refresh cycles based on UC4 process automation integration with HP infrastructure software. This solution can reduce the total cost of ownership (TCO) and the length of the SAP software lifecycle. As a result, business processes can be made more agile, risks can be reduced, and the workload of IT administrators can be reduced. Target audience: SAP technical consultants and IT decision makers who are familiar with commonly used procedures for homogeneous SAP system copies.
SAP system copies and the DSGVO
The maturity and performance of automation tools for SAP system copying have evolved over a period of more than 15 years. The first tools for SAP system copy creation came from the mainframe environment.
"The creation of SAP system copies used to represent an enormous effort," says Martin Schulz from SAP Basis Administration. Almost 4,000 employees worldwide access our SAP systems directly. If the SAP systems are down, then nothing works in many departments - and that certainly happened in the past. Although the actual copying process is completed in just a few hours, the manual post-processing - which includes, for example, adjusting parameters, users and rights, profiles, system settings and interfaces - can take up to a week. This keeps the entire seven-person SAP Basis team busy.
"Shortcut for SAP Systems" offers the possibility to backup and restore any tables. Not only those that are considered in the PCA tool (Post Copy Automation) but also self-developed tables. Thanks to the simple and clear interface, backup and restore of self-developed tables can be integrated quickly and easily. The command line interface can also be used to automate the process: for example, a simple line command can be used to perform a complete backup of table contents before the system copy, and a simple line command can also be used to restore these tables after the system copy. This means that the complete backup or restore process can be integrated into any automation software.
In practice, customers have either built their own tools to make the appropriate configurations, or there are extensive lists of steps to be processed manually.
In this context, a focus on a problem called BDLS (conversion of logical system names): When using the Empirius tool, BDLS is only executed for tables that have not been saved (these have already been converted and would produce a warning message).