The Transport Process

In the Transport Management System (TMS), transport requests are propagated along predefined transport routes. You can define multiple consolidation and delivery routes. The import procedure can be performed by any authorized user from within the SAP system. However, most functions in the transaction for the Transport Management System (STMS) are executed by tp commands at operating system level, which someone with technical knowledge can also perform manually.

Transport requests to be imported are displayed in the import queue of the target SAP system.

Using TMS, you can import a complete import queue, that is, all transport requests that have been exported from the development system. This ensures that no import errors occur due to missing objects and that newer versions of an object do not get overwritten by older versions.

Let's take a three-system landscape as an example. The first step in the transport process is to release a transport request and export all the associated objects from the database of the development system (DEV) to files in the common transport directory at file system level. For each released transport request, the data is exported to a data file in the subdirectory data and a control file is written to the subdirectory cofiles.

During export, the entries required for the subsequent import are created in the import buffers of the target system(s), and a test import can be performed.

In the directory buffer at file system level, there is an import buffer file for each SAP system in the transport domain. The file is named after the corresponding SAP system ID and contains control information regarding the transport requests to be imported and the order of import.

Several transport control commands can be used to manage the import buffer files at the operating system level. The control information in the import buffer files is read and represented in import queues that can be accessed from the Transport Management System (transaction STMS) within the SAP system. An import queue shows the transport requests that are listed in the corresponding buffer file.

Using TMS from within the SAP system, the second step in the transport process is to import all transport requests listed in the import queue of the quality assurance system (QAS). TMS performs the import by starting the transport control program tp at operating system level.

After the successful import into the quality assurance system, the transport requests will be placed in the import buffer and import queue of the production system (PRD) and any other delivery system.

After import to the quality assurance system, for example, QAS, the objects need to be tested for possible errors. Errors should be corrected in the development system, for example, DEV, and the changes should again be imported into QAS (see the figure "Transport Process: Quality Assurance"). During the import into QAS, the additional transport request is added to the buffer of the production system PRD.

After all the transport requests that were imported into QAS have been thoroughly tested and verified, the transport requests must be approved.

Using TMS, you can import all transport requests, or simply a first set of approved transport requests, listed in the production system import queue in the given, not manipulated, sequence.