Overview

In this blog entry, I will cover the entire process of downloading, installing and configuration the preview version of the SAP Enterprise Portal. Currently, SAP NetWeaver 04 SP15 is available for download from right here on the SDN web site. This is a 90-day evaluation installation intended to give you a flavor of what EP is like. The Sneak Preview edition will give you access to the following products:

• SAP Web Application Server Java 6.40 (J2EE Engine)
• MaxDB 7.5 database
• SAP NetWeaver Developer Studio 2.0.15
• SAP Enterprise Portal
• SAP Content Management and Collaboration
• SAP NetWeaver Developer Cockpit
• Adobe Document Services
• Composite Applications Framework 2.0 and Guided Procedures 2.0

Take advantage of this opportunity. As I indicated before, there is nothing better for a beginning SAP EP Developer than to practice on the real thing. To get intimately familiar with EP, you should download, install and configure it yourself on your Desktop or Laptop, even if you have access to it on your company’s server – unless you’ve already installed it a few times at work, then you can safely skip this entry.

Step 1. Evaluate minimum installation requirements

First and foremost, evaluate the installation requirements and make sure you meet the minimum recommendations otherwise you may run into unexpected problems with no one to blame except yourself. If your system lacks in any of the stated requirements, save yourself the grief and upgrade before attempting the install. The download page lists the hardware/software requirements in detail, but here’s the essence of it:

1. Windows 2000, Windows XP Professional or Windows Server 2003
3. NTFS-File systems
5. Internet Explorer 5.5 or higher or Firefox 1.0 or higher
7. At least 1 GB RAM, 2 GB are recommended
9. Intel Pentium III/1.1 GHz or higher (or compatible)
11. 6 GB hard disk space recommended
13. High-resolution monitor (1024×768 or higher, 256 colors)

Step 2. Download

Now that you’ve ensured your PC has what it takes to run the Portal (or have had to upgrade), you can download the preview edition by going to the SDN download page:

http://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/sdn/downloads

You do need to be a member on SDN to be able to download, so go ahead and sign up, if you still haven’t. It’s fast and FREE!

Now that you’ve signed up, download the Full Java Edition (current release SAP NetWeaver 04 SP15), which consists of the following four rar files (rar is just a compressed file format which you can decompress using winrar archiver ):

The downloaded files alone take up 4.93 Gigabytes of diskspace! Depending on your bandwidth, the download can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours – this is where you wish you’d signed up for a high-speed Internet connection.

Step 3. Prepare for Installation

Although everything uninstalled relatively easily, MAXDB was proving to be a bit sticky and no matter how I tried to uninstall it, I kept getting a message that an instance called J2E is still present and I’d have to get rid of it before uninstalling it. After some searching I found an answer on Uninstalling MaxDB. This is where I advise you to look for an answer for ANY issue you may be experiencing with any SAP product on SDN Forum or post it as a question if you haven’t found it already posted.

Excerpt from the Forum Entry:

run this command in a dos-box to find out what is installed:
dbmcli inst_enum
dbmcli db_enum
inst_enum just writes out the installed software.
db_enum writes out database instances which are on the host.
To get rid of the database instances you can run this command:
dbmcli -d DB1 -u control,control db_stop
dbmcli -d DB1 -u control,control db_drop
DB1 has to be replaced by the true database name.

dbmcli -d J2E -u control,control db_stop
dbmcli -d J2E -u control,control db_drop
dbmcli -d J2E -u control,control db_state

Also, edit the file C:WINNTsystem32driversetcservices (Windows 2000) or C:Windowssystem32driversetcservices (Windows XP). It must not include an entry for the ports 3601, 3201 and 50000 to 50030. A possible entry can be excluded by using the hash symbol (#).

And finally, if no DHCP server is available on your network (which dynamically determines the IP address) or your computer is not connected to any network, you need to install the virtual interface adapter MS Loopback Adapter (detailed instructions are included with the download – see the index.htm file in the DOC/html folder).

Step 4. Create any backups

If your PC has important data, back it up, PRIOR to proceeding with the installation. Enough said!

Step 5. Install

The SAP Management Console is based on the Windows 2000 or Windows XP MMC tool and is used to start and stop the J2EE server and the Portal Database instance. It takes a LONG time to start the server so you have to be patient.

When the Portal J2EE server has started up, you can log into the Portal with your admin username and admin password by going to the Portal URL: http://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/portal

Viola! You’ve successfully logged on to the SAP Enterprise Portal! If, however, you were not successful and ran into some problems, don’t despair. Check on the SDN Forums and post a new question if you no one else has posted that particular problem.

Resources

SDN Blog Entries:

A Visual Installation Guide on Sneak Preview SAP NetWeaver 04 Java Edition

A Visual Installation Guide on Sneak Preview SAP NetWeaver 04 Java Slim Edition

(Re)Installing Sneak Preview  Made Easy – Part 1

SDN Community Contribution:

Installation of SAP NetWeaver 04 SP15

Summary

Overall the installation process for the preview edition of SAP EP 6, is pretty straightforward. This is particularly true if you’ve prepared yourself (and your PC). Remember to back up your system, just in case things don’t go as planned and reserve a lot of time aside before attempting to install.