Installing an SAP S/4HANA Server System
For the installation of an SAP S/4HANA Server system, complete the necessary planning and preparation steps, install the SAP HANA database, start SAPinst from the Software Provisioning Manager then install the SAP S/4HANA Server system.
Caution
When installing an SAP S/4HANA Server system, you need to consider that the required SAP HANA database needs to be installed before starting SAPinst. Some database systems are installed via SAPinst (e.g. SAP MaxDB, SAP ASE) whereas an SAP HANA database or an Oracle database need to be installed before starting SAPinst.Here is a summary of the steps necessary to install an SAP S/4HANA Server system. Details, including most installation screens, follow.
Install the required SAP HANA database system.
Start Software Provisioning Manager (SWPM) and select the installation you want to execute.
Set the installation mode to Custom.
Specify various installation settings and system parameters, such as:
SAP System ID
Master password
Connection details for the SAP HANA database
Path to the installation media
Database-specific parameters
Instance numbers
- Review the installation parameters and revise where required.
- Start the dialog-free part of the installation process.
- Review the logs of the installation process.
- Stop your SAP system and set some parameters for your SAP system.
- Start your SAP system.
When preparing the installation, make sure to use the latest version of the tool Software Provisioning Manager. Extract the archive file to create a directory that contains the tool SAPinst.
SAPinst offers some command line options for being started.
- SAPINST_STACK_XML
- This option allows the usage of a so-called Stack XML file generated by the Maintenance Planner. If used, this option narrows down the installation options offered by SWPM and SAPinst to those defined within Maintenance Planner.
- SAPINST_USE_HOSTNAME
When using this option you can install your SAP system using virtual hostnames.
Note
Instead of using the SAPinst parameter SAPINST_USE_HOSTNAME you can also enter the virtual hostname in the corresponding SAPinst dialogs.Within Software Provisioning Manager (started by calling the executable SAPinst), drill down to the installation that you would like to conduct. The slide above highlights the selection (Standard System) that will install all AS ABAP-based elements of an SAP S/4HANA Server system on top of an already existing SAP HANA database.
Other installation options offer the distribution of components (Database, PAS, ASCS) onto different hosts or provide options for installing an SAP system within a high-availability environment.
After choosing Next, you will enter the dialog phase of the installation process, in which you will provide/set many parameters required by the installation process.
The slide above shows the selection of the Parameter ModeCustom. It allows for setting each parameter explicitly; you are guided through each step. Always select this option.
The parameter mode Typical presents a reduced set of steps. The final parameter check allows for the revision of each parameter – even those side-stepped by choosing typical parameter mode. Do not select this option.
You are prompted for the SAP System ID (SAPSID) that your system should use. Note that some SIDs cannot be used; for example, the SID SAP is always forbidden. The SAP System ID needs to be chosen following specific rules. Find more information in SAP Note1979280 - Reserved SAP System Identifiers (SAPSID) with Software Provisioning Manager.
Also above, you find another screen asking for the DNS Domain Name for your SAP system. Set the flag for Full Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) and provide the domain name to which your SAP system belongs. If you do not provide values here, different functions of your SAP system might not be usable or may require additional work.
The previous slide is of essential significance.
Here you provide the so-called Master Password for this installation.
The master password is used for standard users in the SAP system and for users on the operating system and database level, in case the database is installed by SAPinst — which is not the case with SAP HANA.
After the installation, you should set individual passwords for the different users.
The slide above shows a screen asking for information on how to connect to the SAP HANA database this system should be installed upon. You are required to enter the password for the SAP HANA Database Administrator, you already set this password during the installation of the SAP HANA database. The System Administrator from the example above has the name haxadm (not shown on slide).
The connection parameters will be checked immediately.
The slide above asks you to enter the path to the installation media that should be used throughout the installation process. SAPinst should be able to identify several different installation media stored in the same location. At least the kernel installation is required to be found at that location. Also, you can provide archives (as listed) for kernel components in the same location — they will be used for replacing older kernel components provided by the kernel installation medium.
In the slide above, the download directory is provided. After choosing Next, this directory will be checked (for required software) and the field Package Path will be shown as empty again.
Please note that this slide (above) won’t show the so called Package Path anymore, after it has been validated. You can recognize that you provided the correct location by checking the status shown for the kernel components that can (and will) be updated. In case this status is shown as Available: everything is fine.
While SWPM 1.0 loads the database of an AS ABAP based SAP system via loading export media, SWPM 2.0 loads the database of an AS ABAP based SAP system via restoring a backup. Both, export media and backup are provided by SAP.
The database schema SAPHANADB will be created during the installation. To create this schema, the password of the corresponding user is set.
The database schema DBACOCKPIT will be created during the installation. To create this schema, the password of the corresponding user is set.
Leave these import parameters on default, unless you are an expert on SAP HANA DB or a SAP Note recommends to change a value.
Your AS ABAP (which your SAP S/4HANA Server system is using) needs the SAP HANA Client Software for being able to connect to the SAP HANA database of this SAP system. Therefore, this client software will be installed by SAPinst. You can define, if a local client software directory should be used. To install the client software, you need to extract the database client software package, as shown above.
Provide the path to the DB client software to SAPinst.
The slide above shows the selection screen for setting the instance numbers for the Primary Application Server (PAS) instance and the ABAP Central Services (ASCS) instance of your SAP system. The two-digit instance number needs to be chosen from the numbers between 00 and 97 and they must be unique on an individual host.
The instance number defines several port numbers used for communication by your SAP system. For example, an ABAP dispatcher process communicates via port 32##, where ## signifies the instance number. Therefore, in case any software on your SAP host uses ports in the range of 3200 to 3297 (for example), this need to be taken into consideration. SAPinst can only list ports used by SAP instances - so further restrictions need to be consider by you.
The default values of the ABAP message server port and the internal ABAP message server port are determined by your previous entry for the Central Instance. The port number for the ABAP message server is 36## and the port number for the internal ABAP message server is 39##, where ## is the value that you specified for the ASCS instance. You can choose different port numbers (even outside the 36## and 39## range) if those port numbers are not already in use.
When an installed component offers an Internet Communication Manager (ICM) process then you are prompted to enter a password for the user webadm. This user can access administration functions offered by ICM via web interface.
When installing a new SAP system, you are offered to connect it to an already existing System Landscape Directory (SLD) or to set up this connection at a later time - in which case you choose No SLD destination on the slide shown above.
To increase the security of your SAP system, you can create a Message Server Access Control List (ACL) that can be used to limit access to the Message Server. In this training, we do not create such an ACL because we would be required to delete it before installing an Additional Application Server. For more information, please read the SAP Notes mentioned by SAPinst.
Depending on the version of SAPinst used (contained within the SWPM package) you can choose to install an integrated SAP Web Dispatcher and/or SAP RFC Gateway, that would be part of the ASCS instance.
You can enhance the security of your SAP system by generating an individual key for the secure store of SAP system. In case you choose to do so, you need to create a safe copy of the generated key.
Save the information shown in the message box you can see in the slide above. Store this information in a secure place.
When choosing an automatic TMS set up, SAPinst can import an SPAM/SAINT update and additional languages. German and English will always be part of the installation itself. To be able to choose the automatic TMS set up, SAPinst has to be started with a stack xml file!
In this course we will unpack and start the SUM manually. So we do not choose the UDI procedure.
You can select to cleanup operating system users after installation, for more information, please see the slide above.
In the Parameter Summary, you can select individual parameters and choose to revise them. If you don’t select at least one parameter, the button Revise will remain grayed out.
When you choose the Next button in the screen above, the dialog-free part of the installation process will start. This means, SAPinst will work on the installation until it finishes successfully or encounters a situation that requires your intervention, for example an error situation.
Note
On the slide above you find a long running step during the installation: the phase Installing SAP Product from HANA Backup....Congratulations: The installation of your SAP S/4HANA Server system finished successfully!
As you can see from the slide above, this newly installed SAP S/4HANA Server 2023 system contains SAP_BASIS 758 with Support Package 00 and S4CORE 108 with Support Package 00). S4CORE replaces the software component SAP_APPL that is part of SAP ECC systems.
On the slide above you also find information on the operating system used (Linux) and the database type and release (SAP HANA DB version 2.0).
