In this blog series, I would like to describe a few standalone enhancements in more detail, which can be very helpful in unique situations and can be used independently from the requirements to deploy process from Focused Build.
In this fourth part, I want to introduce you to a standalone enhancement which is named Test System Refresh and is particularly useful for you when you have implemented or plan to implement Change Request Management with SAP Solution Manager.
To get meaningful test results in your test systems there a strong demand to refresh the test systems on a regular basis or at least before huge releases are tested. In many cases, these refreshes have to be applied multiple times to the test system, and every time the test system is reset to a baseline that doesn’t include the new developments and changes that had been applied to the test system before and not yet imported to the reference system (usually production).
Refreshing a system is, therefore, a ubiquitous basis task but often needs several days to complete with all the different post activities. One of these typically complicated and time-consuming tasks is to control all import logs and reapply all the required transports to the test system that are needed to continue with the next test phase.
This new Standalone Extension can be used to automate the calculation and import of missing transports into a refreshed test system.
Therefore, a new Task is added to the task list for each change cycle.
For a Test System Refresh you will then follow these steps:
The delta is calculated based on the transport tracking information that is stored in the SAP Solution Manager. All the imported transport requests are compared between the two systems and transports not imported to the reference system of the refresh are added to the delta list automatically.
When re-applying the transports, they are automatically added to the queue of the refreshed system and then imported.
This function will reduce the post-refresh actives therefore and make the system available faster. Your tester will start testing sooner. Your basis team hast less effort for a system refresh and can do them more often to get better test environments and therefore better test results.
If you are looking for more information about Focused Build and other Focused Solution’s look at these Resources.
Other Articles of this Series:
In this fourth part, I want to introduce you to a standalone enhancement which is named Test System Refresh and is particularly useful for you when you have implemented or plan to implement Change Request Management with SAP Solution Manager.
The Challenge
To get meaningful test results in your test systems there a strong demand to refresh the test systems on a regular basis or at least before huge releases are tested. In many cases, these refreshes have to be applied multiple times to the test system, and every time the test system is reset to a baseline that doesn’t include the new developments and changes that had been applied to the test system before and not yet imported to the reference system (usually production).
Refreshing a system is, therefore, a ubiquitous basis task but often needs several days to complete with all the different post activities. One of these typically complicated and time-consuming tasks is to control all import logs and reapply all the required transports to the test system that are needed to continue with the next test phase.
Test System Refresh
This new Standalone Extension can be used to automate the calculation and import of missing transports into a refreshed test system.
Therefore, a new Task is added to the task list for each change cycle.
For a Test System Refresh you will then follow these steps:
- first, call the 'Refresh' task in the task list to calculate the delta between the current system and reference system
- do the actual system copy with your standard tools outside of SAP Solution Manager
- start the 'Refresh' task again, now to apply all missing transports to the test system
The delta is calculated based on the transport tracking information that is stored in the SAP Solution Manager. All the imported transport requests are compared between the two systems and transports not imported to the reference system of the refresh are added to the delta list automatically.
When re-applying the transports, they are automatically added to the queue of the refreshed system and then imported.
This function will reduce the post-refresh actives therefore and make the system available faster. Your tester will start testing sooner. Your basis team hast less effort for a system refresh and can do them more often to get better test environments and therefore better test results.
If you are looking for more information about Focused Build and other Focused Solution’s look at these Resources.
Other Articles of this Series:
- Cross Landscape Distribution - Focused Build Standalone Extensions Part 1
- Repack - Focused Build Standalone Extensions Part 2
- Simple IT Request - Focused Build Standalone Extensions Part 3
- Test System Refresh - Focused Build Standalone Extensions Part 4
- Release Batch Import - Focused Build Standalone Extensions Part 5
- Cut-Over Checks & Activities – Focused Build Standalone Extensions Part 6 (coming soon)
- SAP Managed Tags:
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