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Ninja guide to
SAP system copies
killer tips for the Basis ninja
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you need to test on
production-like data
To be confident
in your testing
(so your next SAP project
doesnt wreck your business)
Basis Technologies International
Ninja guide to SAP system copies
Basis Technologies SAP User Survey, responses obtained from a survey
of attendees during the conferences SAP Tech Ed Las Vegas (October
2013) and SAP TechEd EMEA (November 2012)
so providing
testing teams with
regular full SAP
system copies can
put huge pressure
on the Basis
team
Basis Technologies International


Ninja guide to SAP system copies
Which is why weve created this Ninja guide to faster

homogenous, full SAP system copies
Basis Technologies International
Ninja guide to SAP system copies
Start the clock - set yourself a task to record how long each step takes.
This way, youll quickly be able to see where you might need to optimize
your performance next time - like BDLS, data scrambling.

Chances are there will be a couple of pain points to focus on.
Check youve got enough disk space in your test system before you
start. If you think youre going to run into problems, think about
archiving some of your data - pick something easy like I-DOCs - there
are some tools out there that make it quick, easy and less of a chore.
A FEW KILLER TIPS BEFORE YOU BEGIN
Make sure you know the passwords for your database users on your
source system before getting started. Youll need these to reset the
database to the new target name once its been restored onto the
target system.
Basis Technologies International
Ninja guide to SAP system copies
Save yourself a bit of time and
export the RFC destinations
ahead of time and import
them back in afterwards.
Take a backup of the source system

Use whichever database tools/backup software that youre currently using. If its a
production system, chances are youre already performing regular database backups
anyway.

In which case, you just need to copy the latest backup files to your target system.
Export the data from the target system

Including RFC destinations, users, SAP system profiles, background jobs etc.
Printers! Make sure you
identify which parts of your
wider IT systems are shared
between
Pre-Prod / Prod.

Its easy to forget, but the last
thing you need is test invoices
coming out of your test
system and being shipped to
your valued customers!!


Shutdown target system
STEP 1. DATA PREPARATION CLONE YOUR DATABASE
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Restore the database of the target system from the
source system

The way you do this will depend on your database platform or backup tools that you
have available.
STEP 2. THE EXECUTION
Run Database Commands to rename the database from
the source to the target

Again, use the tools you have available for your current platform.
Ninja guide to SAP system copies
Basis Technologies International
Ninja guide to SAP system copies
Disable batch processing on the target system

To do this, you need to edit the instance profile. The easiest way to do this is to edit
the instance profile and set the parameter rdisp/wp_no_btc to 0
STEP 2. SAFETY STEPS DONT LET YOUR GUARD DOWN
Isolate the target system from the network

You need to make sure that no ALE processing happens. There are different ways that
this can be done. Ideally Production environments will have firewall rules set up so
that ALE messages can only come from other Production systems
If this isnt the case, you can
put in a temporary firewall to
make sure nothing leaves the
target system.
Basis Technologies International
Ninja guide to SAP system copies
Start up the target system and log on
STEP 3. ISOLATION AND TRANSFORMATION
Disable all Production batch jobs

The easiest way to do this is to edit the instance profile and set the parameter
rdisp/wp_no_btc to 0 before starting up the target system. When youre sure that it is
safe for backup jobs to start again, change the rdisp/wp_no_btc parameter back to
its correct value and bounce the system.


Make sure youve refreshed
your RFC destinations.
Clear out IDOC / BDOC queues
Recreate / import RFC destinations
Set up required background jobs
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Ninja guide to SAP system copies
Set up operation modes and switch to a mode that has a
background process
Perform post-installation actions from the transport
organizer (SE06)


Set up users

Nice and easy use the export you did in Step 1
Basis Technologies International
Ninja guide to SAP system copies
Our research shows that
58% of SAP System Copies
take over
24 hours to run.

There are now tools on the
market that make BDLS
much, much faster
like System Copy
GT

Take a clean backup

Once BDLS is complete, its a good time to take a clean backup of your newly refreshed
target system.

Now if you need to go back to a fresh production like instance, you just have to restore
from this backup and avoid having to do steps 2 and 3.
Run BDLS

BDLS goes on
and onand on
and on

90% of the time it take to perform a system copy is due to this one, unavoidable step.

BDLS is basically a massive, glorified find and replace - which chugs through your
database changing the logical system names.

STEP 4. PREPARE TO MEET YOUR NEMESIS BDLS
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Notification checklist:

Date / time copy was taken
What data / systems have
been copied
What transports have been
applied
When the next one is due
STEP 5. APPLY CODE AND SCRAMBLE
Ninja guide to SAP system copies
Reapply any in-flight transports
Perform any data scrambling

If youve got sensitive Production data in your testing system, like payroll details,
dates of birth, addresses etc. you will want to scramble - or anonymize - these details
before you open it up for your testing teams which can include supplier staff.
This can be quite a lengthy
process, but there are some
scrambling tools that speed
up and automate this step.

Take a look at Scramble
GT
for
instance
Notify your users that the system is available

The last thing you need to do is plain and simple communicate. It will be really
helpful for your testing teams to have a bit more info.

Consider sending them a mini release covering the checklist here -
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Youre all set!
All you need to do now is share these ninja
tips with a fellow Basis geek