SAP AS ABAP 7.5x Developer Editions: FAQs

[julieplummer20]

LAST UPDATED: 19th April, 2021.

 

Table of Contents
01 Oracle Virtual Box
02 VMWare Workstation Player
03 Other Environments
04 Other Linux Distributions
05 Working with ABAP
06 Working with SAP ASE Database
07 Error Downloading / Extracting
08 Error Installing
09 Resources

This is an informal collection of information I have gathered from playing with the AS ABAP dev editions and from Community feedback. The information and links here are not endorsed by SAP – use this at your own risk.

01 Oracle Virtual Box

Can I connect to my server from different computer?

Yes. However, If you want to see the VM, you need to use a Bridged network. It's probably worth looking at the Oracle Virtual Box manual but this worked for me:

1. Back up your hosts files on Windows and Linux.


2. In Vbox Manager, select the VM go to Network > NAT -> Bridged


3. In the openSUSE instance, open Terminal and find your IP address using sudo ifconfig


4. Then enter this IP address mapping in the hosts file using sudo nano /etc/hosts (and comment out the NAT entry):

<IP Address> vhcalnplci vhcalnplci.dummy.nodomain 

5. Restart your openSUSE instance.


6. Update your Windows hosts file with the new IP address mapping (and comment out the NAT entry).


7. Change your SAPLogon entry from 127.0.0.1 to <IP Address>

To change back to NAT:

1. In Vbox Manager, select the VM go to Network > NAT


2. In Terminal, check that the IP address = 10.0.2.15 using ifconfig


3. Edit the hosts file using sudo nano /etc/hosts :

127.0.0.1  localhost

10.0.2.15  vhcalnplci.dummy.nodomain vhcalnplci

1. Restart you Linux instance.


2. Edit the Win hosts file: 127.0.0.1 localhost


3. Change SAPLogon to 127.0.0.1


4. If this fails : test in Win cmd : ping vhcalnplci (It may be necessary to comment out other entries)


5. If this fails : Check Port Forwarding:

More info : VBox Guide 6.5.

Can I move VMs from one drive to another?

https://forums.virtualbox.org/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=55003- official guide

https://dirkstrauss.com/moving-virtualbox-vm/ - third-party guide – use at own risk, but I found the screenshots etc better

Video: Is there a video guide I can watch?

Yes! Community member pawelwiejkuthas also created a video: Installing AS ABAP 7.5x on Oracle Virtual Box and openSUSE Leap 15.1

Advanced Tips: Shrinking a VirtualBox VDI disk image

See this guide from Tobias Hofmann (third-party content - use at own risk):

Shrinking a VirtualBox VDI disk image

02 VMWare Workstation Player

Copy VMs from one drive/location to another

Unfortunately, you are expected to do this using the Workstation (which is not free), not the Player. I followed this unofficial guide, but do this at your own risk:

https://www.htpcguides.com/workaround-to-clone-vmplayer-virtual-machines/

1. Copy and paste the folder according to the VMWare docu, steps 1-4: VMWare: Copying a Workstation virtual machine... . NOTE: Make sure the VM is powered off.


2. Back in VM Player, choose Open a Virtual Machine , as described here: Workaround to Clone VMPlayer Virtual Machines
   NOTE: At the step Play virtual machine, I chose “I copied it”, so that a new UUID and MAC address are generated.


3. I then had to change the IP address before starting up my AS ABAP  server:
   
   
   
   • Check the IP address by entering sudo ifconfig
   
   
   • Open the hosts file by entering sudo nano /etc/hosts
   
   
   • Using this IP address, add a new entry of the form:
     <IP address> <hostname> <hostname>.dummy.nodomain
     ie <IP address>   vhcalnplci            vhcalnplci.dummy.nodomain
   
   
   • Save your changes by choosing Ctrl+o, then Enter.
   
   
   • Quit the editor by choosing Ctrl+x.
   
   
   • Check the changes by using the command sudo cat /etc/hosts
   
   
   
   


4. Edit the Windows hosts file.


5. Create a new SAP GUI entry.


6. Start your AS ABAP server as normal.

Convert VirtualBox files to work with VMWare Player

1. Follow the instructions here: https://www.howtogeek.com/125640/how-to-convert-virtual-machines-between-virtualbox-and-vmware/

When that is done, and you get a success message, you still have to make the following SAP-specific settings:

2. Check proxy settings:
   
   
   
   1. If nec., disable and remove entry -> log out
   
   
   2. Re-enter -> log out
   
   
   
   


3. Change IP address:

• IP address, Vbox = 10.0.2.15


• IP address, VMWare = eg nnn.nnn.nnn.nnn (check ifconfig – in hosts (Linux); hosts (Win); SAPGUI

4. Optional, but necessary to work with Fiori apps: Test your HTTP connection.


5. You can then delete the Virtual Box Guest additions and install VM tools (as described by howtogeek above)

Move VMs from one drive to another

https://communities.vmware.com/thread/466994 - forum thread - use at own risk

03 Other Environments

These are tips from Community members, who have tried out a non-default configuration.  They are all own-risk. I have not tested them.

Docker

Dockerfile for AS ABAP 7.5x, by Tobias Hofmann.

Fusion, VMWare Fusion for Mac

NEW: The first documentation of the Dev edition on Mac. My thanks to colleague Faaiez Sallie:

Installing AS ABAP 7.52 SP04 in VMWare Fusion for Mac (pdf)

Google Cloud Platform

Install SAP NetWeaver AS ABAP Developer Edition 7.52 SP04 on GCP, with a helper VM - long, detailed, very interesting blog post from murmelssonic:

https://sap-on-gcp.blogspot.com/2020/09/blog-post.html

Hyper-V

Installing AS ABAP dev edition with Hyper-V / openSUSE Leap

(with openSUSE Leap, as is our default)

Great detailed guide by 0281bd377f70426e8bb9d2d0005e7762

Parallels Desktop 14

AS ABAP 7.52 SP 01 Developer Edition on Debian 9 in Parallels Desktop 14

(with Debian 9)

By dilorenzo

Vagrant (Cloud Repository)

https://github.com/sbcgua/sap-nw-abap-vagrant

Again, haven't tested this, but looks great. Vagrant is a [command-line] tool to setup virtual environments conveniently using scripts.

• atsy has written a blog post about this: Installing AS ABAP with Vagrant and Ubuntu


• Christian Weiss offers AS ABAP 7.52 on openSUSE 15.1, 42.3, and 42.1. He has also written a detailed blog post:
  

  Installing NetWeaver AS ABAP 7.xx Developer Edition with Vagrant and openSUSE

  
  

04 Specific Linux Distros

Many of  these are tips from Community members, who have tried out a non-default Linux distro.  They are all own-risk. I have not tested them.

CentOS 7

This has been tested by a Community member. According to him, you must, however, set SHMMAX and SHMALL correctly. For more information, consult the CentOS 7 docu.

Debian 9

AS ABAP 7.52 SP 01 Developer Edition on Debian 9 in Parallels Desktop 14

(on Parallels Desktop 14)

By dilorenzo

SUSE: openSUSE Leap 15.4

if you intend to use Leap releases 15.4 or greater, you need to follow this blog post:
Adjusting installer script for SAP NetWeaver Dev Edition for distros with kernel version 5.4 or high...

Ubuntu 1604 LTS - 1910

Concise Guide to install SAP NetWeaver Developer Edition on Ubuntu VM

Great concise guide by Dylan Drummond

Update, September 2022, also by Dylan. Please read FIRST, if you are intending to use Ubuntu 21.04 or higher:
Adjusting installer script for SAP NetWeaver Dev Edition for distros with kernel version 5.4 or high...

05 Working with AS ABAP

abapGIT: Can I use?

YES.

Briefly, abapGIT is a GIT client written in ABAP for ABAP. It offers an easy way for developers to upload their ABAP development objects to / import others’ interesting development objects to an openly available Git site. And it really is easy.

Follow this blog for a great, end-to-end guide to installing the tool and cloning a sample package into your developer edition: https://blogs.sap.com/2017/06/21/abapgit-so-easy/ (GrahamRobbo)

UPDATE: abapGit is now available for ABAP Development Tools (i.e. Eclipse): http://eclipse.abapgit.org/updatesite/

There is a useful collection of projects here: http://dotabap.org/

SAP Business Suite / ERP / S/4HANA content: Can I access?

…including ERP dev objects like BAKR, or transactions like VA01?

No, you can’t. There is no Suite content in the developer edition.

The developer edition is intended for people to learn more about the ABAP language and tools. It is not aimed at those wanting to learn about business applications such as S/4HANA.

However:

1. To access a fully-activated S/4HANA (1809) appliance, try:
   

   SAP S/4HANA Fully-Activated Appliance: Create your SAP S/4HANA system in a fraction of the usual set...

   
   


2. If you just want some example tables / DDIC objects / dev objects to practise on, you can use the EPM model in S_NWDEMO , eg Purchase Order DDIC objects inS_NWDEMO_MODEL_DDIC, eg SNWD_PO.


3. For SAP Customers and Partners, we also offer IDES Systems: 799639 – IDES – General Information about the usage of IDES systems

SAP Business Warehouse, Configuring NPL for

See this blog post by pawelwiejkut :

Prepare NPL to SAP BW development

SAP Cloud Connector

SAP Cloud Connector provides a link between SAP Cloud Platform applications and on-premise systems. It runs as on-premise agent in a secured network; acts as a reverse invoke proxy between the on-premise network and SAP Cloud Platform; and lets you use existing on-premise assets without exposing the entire internal landscape.

To connect to SAP Cloud Connector:

1. In your browser, enter: https://<IP-address>:8443


2. Enter the user/password: Administrator/manage


3. Change the initial password.

For more information, see:

• SAP Help Portal

SAP Cloud Platform, ABAP Environment: Can I connect to my dev edition from?

Yes! I wrote the following tutorial mission. I used the demo system ES5, but the principles are similar. BTW, now includes debugging:

Connect Your On-Premise System with SAP Cloud Platform, ABAP Environment

SAP HANA Express: Can I connect to?

In 7.52, this seems to work well. By se38

SAP HANA Express and ABAP Developer Edition: new BFFs 🙂

For 7.51, alban_leong has described the process in detail

Connecting AS ABAP 751 Developer Edition with HANA Express 2.0 as Secondary DB

SAP WebIDE: Can I connect to?

Yes! Follow the instructions in Connect Remote Systems in SAP Web IDE Personal Edition

I used the following entries for the config file:

Description=NPL

Type=HTTP

TrustAll=true



Authentication=NoAuthentication

WebIDEUsage=odata_abap,odata_gen,dev_abap,ui5_execute_abap



Name=NPL

WebIDEEnabled=true



CloudConnectorVersion=2

ProxyType=Internet



URL=http://vhcalnplci:8000

WebIDESystem=NPL

sap-client=001 

Small Business: Can I use the developer edition to develop my own commercial solution/ addon?

No. We organize the dev edition for personal training purposes only. For commercial add-ons, you need to look at the PartnerEdge Build program: https://sap.com/partner/become/partneredge-build.html…

06 Working with SAP ASE Database

Official Documentation, SAP Help Portal:

SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise (ASE) Latest Version

Database Administration: SAP Business Suite on SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise

Optimization and Troubleshooting:

SAP AS ABAP Dev. Edition: Fix DBACOCKPIT and extend your DB space - great guide by alban_leong

SAP AS ABAP 7.52 SP04 and SAP ASE: Setting the Maximum Database Size Manually - should only be used in the minority of cases, if you are having trouble with the data volumes you are using, and only if you know what you are doing. See this comment for more details.

Resize ASE database in NPL 7.52 SP 04 - Brilliant step by step guide from Paweł Wiejkut

07 Error downloading and Extracting

If you get an error when downloading: try deleting your cookies. Try Firefox, not Chrome or IE. (Firefox handles certificates differently.)

If that fails, try contacting the support team from the link below:

https://go.support.sap.com/contactus/#/email

08 Error/ Issue Installing

Error: “Assertion failed: Unable to generate a new password”…

(Installation fails.)

Possible solutions:

1.     User name / password contains special characters

2.     Password is too short / long

3.     Obsolete ASE license

1. Check the expiry date of your ASE license in sybase/NPL/SYSAM-2_0/licenses/SYBASE_ASE_TestDrive.lic


2. If necessary, update it from here: New Sybase License


3. NOTE: We do not have the resources to update the .rar files continually. Therefore, if the version has been available for some time, it is possible that the license file has already expired. If so, put the new .lic file in the same folder as the script file, using the name SYBASE_ASE_TD.lic .You do not need to edit the .tar files.

4.     Try changing the password for sapsa

...as described in 1706410 - SYB: Security - Changing passwords for database users

Error: “Hostname is not local” OR „hostname … either on a loopback adapter or not active on the server”

1. Do not change the hostname: Check the hostname in Terminal: cat nano /etc/hostname


2. Make sure you are not using DHCP: In YaST > System  > Network Settings, Set Hostname via DHCP = No:

(Background: Depending on your DHCP setup, the operating system may change the host name - which means that vhcalnplci is no longer configured locally.)

Error: “An error occurred renaming system”.

Do not change the hostname: Check the hostname in Terminal: cat nano /etc/hostname

Error: "sapparam: SAPSYSTEMNAME..."

"=>sapparam(1c): No Profile used.
=>sapparam: SAPSYSTEMNAME neither in Profile nor in Commandline"

This may be an error specific to Oracle Virtual Box. Try following the instructions in the Virtual Box User Manual, 6.5. Additional Virtual Machine Preparation.

(Source)

09 Resources

OpenSAP Course:

• Managing ABAP Systems on SAP NetWeaver, by Mercedes Fernandez and Isaias Freitas

This provides useful information as to why the system behaves as it does, what scripts are run at startup etc - particularly the first 2 units.

• Introduction to SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES), by Craig Cole

Troubleshooting ABAP developer edition issues

Search first! Then creae a new question in the ABAP Development Community forum:

1. ABAP topic page is here: ABAP Development Community Page


2. ABAP questions are here: ABAP Development Questions

If it is an issue involving ABAP developer edition, remember to add the hashtag #ABAP_Trial as a User Tag. (Please do not simply include #ABAP_Trial in the text or title, if you want one of us to find it.)

Please do not use comments in the blogs to ask tech support questions :

• It makes it difficult for other users to find similar issues in future, which leads to many duplicated errors.


• Very few people follow these blogs, so you will not get help from the vast majority of the community


• There is no capacity to monitor all blogs for all released versions.


• There should be some log files in /tmp/sapinst_instdir . Please send us the errors in these files. Please do not send the whole files!

Troubleshooting non-AS ABAP server issues:

For VirtualBox:

(ie if you don’t get as far as openSUSE):

Oracle Virtual Desktop Infrastructure, Getting Started
(For example, see chapter 6.3 : Creating a New Virtual Machine)

Also, check out the : Oracle VirtualBox Forum

For openSUSE:

If you are newish to Linux, and want to do one thing to get up to speed, I would suggest familiarity with the Linux Command Line (i.e. "Terminal"). I found William Schotts’ guide helpful – and surprisingly readable:
The Linux Command Line

Also, check out the SAP on Linux forum: SAP Community SAP on Linux Forum

There is also a general (non-SAP) forum for openSUSE : openSUSE Forum

For SAP GUI:

SAP Community forum (new)

SCN forum – old archive

For SAP ASE database:

SAP Community Sybase ASE forum .

SAP Community: SAP ASE Expert Page , including docu links

Sybooks Online - Error Messages