Welcome to this weblog about interoperability of SAP NetWeaver systems - the ability of central SAP NetWeaver 7.0 systems to work together with connected systems based on SAP NetWeaver that have a different support package level or even a different release than the central systems. This topic is very important when it comes to the TCO of running a complex SAP system landscape, as you have to get aware which consequences a planned change to a landscape element might have for the rest of your landscape. That's why we worked on providing more information concerning the interdependencies of cooperating systems. This weblog tries to provide a short overview of these efforts and the result - the main information is provided in a new section in the Master Guide - SAP NetWeaver 7.0 (SMP login required) for SAP NetWeaver and will be complemented by similar statements concerning the SAP Business Suite in their Master Guides in the future.
We provide information on basis of central SAP NetWeaver systems. These central SAP NetWeaver systems have the purpose to connect several systems in a landscape and to provide shared services centrally for connected systems. For example, a BI system working as an enterprise data warehouse for several systems in your landscape would be a central SAP NetWeaver system - a portal, a central PI system, Adobe document services, or administration services provided centrally by SAP Solution Manager and SAP NetWeaver Administrator would be further examples for centrally provided shared services.
The general goal of SAP NetWeaver concerning interoperability is to provide independence concerning support packages and releases of cooperating systems. For example, existing scenarios should keep on working after the upgrade of a central system in a scenario landscape as depicted in the following figure:
If exceptions to this goal are known, we will provide this information in the interoperability section of the Master Guide as well. So, with this information, you should get aware of the consequences if you plan:
- To provide a shared service centrally by one or several central SAP NetWeaver systems in your landscape.
- Software life-cycle tasks - such as maintenance or upgrade - for an SAP NetWeaver system that works with other systems to run distributed business processes.
To address the whole topic, we created rules that reflect our generic and long-term goals concerning interoperability. Those rules are explained in the Master Guide - SAP NetWeaver 7.0. In addition, the corresponding section in the Master Guide provides a detailed status how SAP NetWeaver 7.0 fulfills these rules and which restrictions for central SAP NetWeaver 7.0 systems and connected systems are known today - such as how a central SAP NetWeaver 7.0 PI system can work together with a connected SAP NetWeaver BI system of the same or lower release.
For example, from the current status reflected in the Master Guide - SAP NetWeaver 7.0, you would learn:
- That for an SAP NetWeaver 7.0 PI system, no restrictions to the interoperability rules are known in conjunction with an SAP Business Suite system
- That an SAP ERP 6.0 system can use a central ADS system without restrictions to the interoperability rules if the ADS system has applied at least Support Package Stack 12 of SAP NetWeaver 7.0
- Or that you can use a central solution management system running on SAP NetWeaver 7.0 also to monitor an SAP NetWeaver Composition Environment 7.1 system.
Also, we use the interoperability rules SAP-internally to validate our products and to drive development to reduce known restrictions in the future (although no guarantee can be given that known restrictions can be removed or when they can be removed).
Overall, with the information provided in the Master Guide - SAP NetWeaver 7.0, we want to make clear both our long-term goals concerning interoperability plus the status how SAP NetWeaver 7.0 fulfills those goals today. If you are interested in the topic or plan/run a complex SAP NetWeaver system landscape, give the new section in the Master Guide - SAP NetWeaver 7.0 a try.