Outlining New Capabilities in SP21

To offer more flexibility in the application of system administrative activities in SAP Landscape Management, enterprise edition, for example, when refreshing a database, new functionalities are delivered regularly. With the Support Package 21 (SP21) update you can now refresh a single tenant database, including ABAP post-copy automation activities, using SAP HANA system replication.

In this e-learning, you first learn how a database refresh based on SAP HANA system replication works. Then, you learn how to configure an SAP Landscape Management system for this purpose. Finally, you learn how to refresh a single tenant database in SAP Landscape Management using SAP HANA system replication.

Here, you learn how a database refresh based on SAP HANA system replication works. The process is shown in a simplified way.

1. The first picture shows you the initial situation: On the left side, you have a productive system with an up-to-date SAP HANA single tenant database. On the right side, you see your quality system with its outdated SAP HANA single tenant database.

2. When you start the database refresh process, the connectivity-related configuration data is exported first.

3. Afterwards, only the outdated target tenant is dropped.

4. A new tenant for the outdated QAS (quality assurance system) system is created as a replication of the source tenant. For this, we use the SAP HANA system replication functionality.

5. After the actual refresh process, post-copy automation (PCA) is performed, which includes among other things the import of connectivity-related configuration data into the new tenant.

6. The sixth picture shows the result of the successfully applied database refresh.

Using the replication option provided by SAP HANA, you can refresh the target database without dependencies on the infrastructure.

Since the refresh can be performed without cloning of storage, it's possible to migrate data from one single tenant database to another, without having a storage manager configured. Therefore, you can also perform a database refresh across different accounts. For example, between two Amazon Web Services accounts (picture 7) or between an AWS account and an Azure account (picture 8).

Now, you know what a database refresh based on SAP HANA system replication is. Next, you learn what preparations you must take to perform this type of database refresh for SAP HANA single tenant databases.

What preparations do you have to make so that SAP Landscape Management can refresh a single tenant database using SAP HANA system replication?

1. First, you must make sure that the general prerequisites for provisioning systems in SAP Landscape Management are fulfilled. These prerequisites include:
   • having the required permissions.
   • ensuring that the hosts, systems, or instances that you want to use have no existing validation errors assigned.
   • having the latest version of the Software Provisioning Manager.
   A complete list of the general requirements can be found here: General Prerequisites for Provisioning Systems
2. Next, you must update your SAP Landscape Management, enterprise edition system to the SP21 release.
3. Check if your systems already meet the requirements:
   1. Your database version must be at least SAP HANA 2.0 SPS 05 Rev 52 (2.00.052). If not, update your database to use the new operation.
   2. You comply with the prerequisites for copying and moving tenant databases. This is required because SAP Landscape Management replicates data via a secure (TLS/SSL) network connection between the source system and the target system. You can find a list of the prerequisites for copying and moving tenant databases here: Preparing to Copy or Move a Tenant Database
4. If your databases and SAP Landscape Management have the correct versions, the Use Replication for Single Tenant Database Refresh checkbox is displayed in the system configuration of your system. To enable the new operation for this system, select the checkbox.
5. You may need to refresh the database without infrastructure dependencies. For example, to perform a refresh between different cloud provider accounts or avoid configuring a storage manager. For this refresh, you must also ensure that the Backup Application Servers during Database Refresh option is disabled in the settings. Otherwise, during the refresh process, the volumes of the target application servers is cloned.
6. Before you start a refresh process with SAP Landscape Management, create an XML backup file that contains the configuration details of your system landscape. You can use this backup to restore your configuration settings. You can find instructions on how to do this here: Exporting the Configuration Data

Next, you see where you can select the checkbox to enable database refresh, based on SAP HANA system replication for your target system (see point 4).

After that, you learn how to check whether the creation of a backup for database refreshes is disabled and how to change this setting (see point 5).

To be able to perform a database refresh based on SAP HANA system replication for your target system, you must first enable it for your system. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Log in to your SAP Landscape Management system.

2. Choose Configuration → Systems.

3. Select the target system for the database that you want to refresh. In our case, it's the WFA system.

4. In the System Details section, choose Edit.

5. Navigate to the Provisioning & RFC step.

6. Select the Use Replication for Single Tenant Database Refresh checkbox.

7. Save your changes.

Congratulations. Now, you know where to check the box to enable database refresh based on SAP HANA system replication for your target system.

Next, you learn how to check if the creation of a backup for database refreshes is disabled and how to change this setting.

To perform a database refresh based on SAP HANA system replication without infrastructure dependencies, you must disable the backup of application servers during the database refresh in the settings. To check and change the settings, perform the following steps:

1. Choose Setup → Settings.

2. Switch to Expert Mode.

3. On the Engine tab, choose Edit.

4. If you don't want to clone the volumes of the target application servers during a database refresh, deselect the Backup Application Servers during Database Refresh checkbox. To perform a database refresh without infrastructure dependencies, volumes must not be cloned during the refresh process.

5. Save your change.

Well done. Next, let's look at the roadmap that you must go through to start the refresh process.

Here, you see all the steps you must perform to refresh a single tenant database using SAP HANA system replication.

1. Choose Provisioning.

2. Choose the SAP system with the outdated single tenant database that you want to refresh. In this example, the source system is called WFS and the target system is called WFA.

3. From the Provisioning dropdown for the system, choose Refresh Processes → Refresh Database. This opens the database refresh roadmap.

4. At the top of the screen (next to no. 4), you can see the steps that you must go through to start the refresh process. In the first roadmap step, Basic, you have to provide the basic data of the system whose database is to be refreshed.

5. Enter and confirm the master password for the operating system and database user here.

6. To proceed with the next step of the roadmap, choose Next.

7. The user name and password are already entered in the Tenant Details, since they are stored in the SAP Landscape Management configuration.

8. In the Hosts step, no data displays because we've unchecked the Backup Application Servers during Database Refresh checkbox to have no infrastructure dependencies. Therefore, only data is exchanged between the SAP HANA databases during the refresh process.

9. For the same reason as in Step 8, you can't make changes in the Host Names step either.

10. In the Users step, you can see your operating system user and enter the password if it is not already stored in the configuration.

11. In the Rename step you select the Software Provisioning Manager to be used and you can make a few changes or enter extra parameters.

12. On hosts with cloned, copied, refreshed, or renamed instance, outgoing transmission control protocol (TCP) connections are blocked, to isolate the target system from the rest of the landscape. You define which outgoing TCP connections are allowed on the hosts. By default, all connections needed within the target system are allowed. On one hand, you must allow all ports for outgoing connections, which must be reachable from all cloned, copied, refreshed, or renamed instances during the database refresh procedure. On the other hand, you block all ports for outgoing connections, which must not be reachable from all cloned, copied, refreshed, or renamed instances during the database refresh procedure.

13. Select whether to unfence the target system after successful completion of the database refresh activity or not.

14. In the ABAP PCA step, you specify task lists, task list variants, and the clients on which you want to apply the ABAP post-copy automation (PCA) task lists. SAP Landscape Management automatically proposes default task lists depending on your performed system provisioning procedure. You can change or remove the default task lists, specify task list variants, or add more task lists or task list variants.

15. Finally, you can review your configured database refresh procedure on the summary screen and start the execution.

Congratulations. Now, you know how to refresh a single tenant database using SAP HANA system replication without infrastructure dependencies.

You now know:

• How a database refresh based on SAP HANA system replication works.
• How to configure an SAP Landscape Management system for this purpose.
• How to refresh a single tenant database in SAP Landscape Management using SAP HANA system replication.