Upgrade to SAP BW 7.4/7.5 (Pre & Post BW Upgrade Activities and Post Upgrade Issues) – Part I

Purpose:

This blog post serves as a starting point in planning and preparing for SAP BW Application Upgrade from version 7.x to 7.4/7.5. It first provides a reading list to acquaint oneself with a high level understanding of new version, new features, new development objects, and then proceeds to list Pre and Post Upgrade activities as well as Common Post Upgrade issues encountered.

Note: This does not include Basis activities/checks/issues and is restricted to BW Application.

Introduction:

When planning for any BW Upgrade, while overall approach, timelines, detailed process to be followed etc is planned by respective BW and Basis teams, application team is also faced with the task of building a high level understanding of new version within the team and also listing down pre & post upgrade activities and checks specific to BW Application and impact the upgrade might have on the existing objects plus the issues that may be encountered.

This blog post tries to address this specific painpoint of trying to collect all this information, by serving as a repository of standard and most common housekeeping activities and checks, required for any BW Upgrade/Migration plus some checks specific to version 7.4 / 7.5.

Specifically, the Housekeeping Activity list can be executed on any BW 7.X system for maintenance and cleanup of system, even if there is no upgrade/migration planned.

Each BW system is unique and highly customized in terms of development done over a period of time, so it’s not possible to collate a comprehensive list of post upgrade issues and also new SPs available for upgrade now would most likely have resolved any previous issues, but still a repository of commonly encountered errors in new versions can help in some scenarios like

• In progress upgrades to 7.5
• Planned/In Progress SP upgrades of 7.4/7.5
• Development being done using new features/objects
• Hardware migration or DB migration to HANA

This blog series has been divided into 3 parts for easy reading –

Part I – Reading List and Pre-Upgrade Checks & Activities (This Part)

Part II – Post-Upgrade Checks, Repairs and Activities

Part III – Common Post Upgrade Issues & Resolution

 

Reading List

Below links to some pdfs/ppts/blogs/notes to help develop understanding of what to expect

SAP BW 7.5 Upgrade – 

Upgrade to SAP BW 7.50 V3.7 March 2018 –  Provide an high level overview of new application architecture and objects and upgrade planning.

SAP BW 7.5 Upgrade Release Notes –

SAP Note 2586174 – SAP_BW_750_SP_12_Release_Notes –   Provides List of New/Changed/Removed Features and Enhancements done SP wise, starting from SAP BW 7.5 SP00 to latest SP and is updated with release of new SPs.

Advanced DSO –

SAP First Guidance: Using Advanced DataStore Objects

https://www.just-bi.nl/all-you-need-to-know-about-adso/

ODP – 

Operational Data Provisioning – FAQ

OpenODS –

SAP First Guidance: Using OpenODSView

https://www.just-bi.nl/virtual-bw-open-ods-view/

Composite Provider –

SAP First Guidance: Using Composite Provider

https://www.just-bi.nl/virtual-bw-hana-compositeprovider/

External SAP Hana Views –

SAP Note 2317197 – External SAP HANA View: Frequently asked questions, feature availability

Embedded BPC –

https://blogs.sap.com/2016/12/10/sap-bpc-embedded-10.1-seamless-integration-with-bw-7.5-on-hana-and-analysis-for-office/

NLS with HANA Smart Data Access–

HANA Smart Data Access for Archiving

SAP Note 2165650 – FAQ: BW Near-Line Storage / Cold Store with HANA Smart Data Access

Transformation –

https://blogs.sap.com/2016/05/24/hana-based-bw-transformation/

SAP Note 2057542 – Recommendation: Usage of HANA-based Transformations

SAP Note 2603241 – Overview and summary of the most important SAP Notes in the context of BW transformations with SAP HANA and ABAP execution

 

Pre-Upgrade Checks and Activities

Snapshots

1) Get list of objects and their status from following tables –

RSDS / ROOSOURCE(DS)                                                                                                                  RSDIOBJ  (Infobject)                                                                                                                              RSDODSO(DSO)                                                                                                                                    RSTRAN(Transformation)                                                                                                                        RSPCCHAIN(PC)                                                                                                                                    RSQISET(Infoset)                                                                                                                                    RSISN (Infosource)                                                                                                                                  RSDCUBE (Cube)

2) Get list of Open Hub Destinations: Files from Table – RSBFILE, for Logical file name & Logical system

Standard BW/HANA Housekeeping

1) Run Before Upgrade Task List – Tcode STC01 lists some of the Standard Housekeeping and Pre-Upgrade Tasks which can be run to analyse and repair inconsistencies. Some of the activities below are available in this task list as well, but the list itself may or may not be comprehensive. One can first execute the tasks listed and then perform any other housekeeping activities manually as required.

2) Check DDIC inconsistency –

Note 449160 – Run Program RSUPGRCHECK to check the consistency of generated DDIC objects                                                                                                                                                                  Note 458363 –  Run Program RSDG_IOBJ_REORG for Repair and Activation of Inconsistent InfoObjects and InfoCubes

3) Check BW Objects inconsistency – Run Tcode – RSRV and perform tests to check any issues

4) Delete Temporary Tables and Objects –

Check for Invalid Temporary Tables in SE14 -> Extras -> Invalid Temp. Table.

Run Program – SAP_DROP_TMPTABLES to clear temporary tables after support package updates, upgrades or larger transports coming into the system.

Related Note 1977882 – Temporary BW objects are unexpectedly not deleted – RSDDTMPTAB_DELETE

This Report Deletes Temporary Objects. If any objects are still in use, crucial processes may terminate. See SAP Note 449891

5) Delete error logs – Run Programs RSB_ANALYZE_ERRORLOG (check) and RSBM_ERRORLOG_DELETE (delete)

6) Delete Application logs – Run Programs SLG1 (check) and SLG2 (delete)

7) Delete Old Job Logs – Run Program RSBTCDEL2

8) Delete Old Statistical Data – Run Tcode RSDDSTAT

9) Delete Obsolete Generated Programs – Note 1682783 – Generated programs are not deleted

10) Delete Old ABAP Traces – Run Tcode RSTT -> Traces

11) Delete entries from table RSIXWWW – Run Program RSRA_CLUSTER_TABLE_REORG. Cluster table RSIXWWW contains large datasets which can no longer be accessed so this results in bottlenecks with the disk space. Deletion is automated in the Database Migration Option (DMO) in SUM. This task need not be performed manually, if DMO is being used.

12) Check Master Data inconsistency – Run Program RSDMD_CHECKPRG_ALL. If there is any inconsistency, run the same program with Repair option.

13) PSA Checks and Repair –

Note 1150724 – Run programs in this note to analyse and repair PSA inconsistencies.

Refer –  https://wiki.scn.sap.com/wiki/display/BI/PSA+Check+and+Repair+reports

14) Check Infopackages inconsistency – Run Tcode RSBATCH -> Reports Tab -> Check/Repair Inconsistent Infopackages.

15) Check Datasources inconsistency – Note 579022 – Run Program RSAR_TRANSTRUCTURE_CHECK

16) Repair InfoCube Indexes – Run Program – SAP_INFOCUBE_INDEXES_REPAIR, to repair secondary indexes

17) Check Multiprovider inconsistency – Run Program RSCOMPCONS to lists MultiProviders that are inconsistent with respect to compounding

18) Check BW Query inconsistency –

Note 792779 – Run Program ANALYZE_RSZ_TABLES to check inconsistencies in the Bex query definition tables.                                                                                                                                      Note 776385 – Run Program QUERY_CHECK to check consistency of BW queries

19) Activate BEx history – Run T-Code RS_PERS_ACTIVATE

20) Analyse BW-HANA

1909597 – SAP BW Migration Cockpit for SAP HANA (ZBW_HANA_MIGRATION_COCKPIT)

1729988 – SAP BW Checklist Tool for SAP HANA (ZBW_HANA_CHECKLIST)

1847431 – SAP BW ABAP Routine Analyzer (ZBW_ABAP_ANALYZER)

1908367 – SAP BW Transformation Finder (ZBW_TRANSFORM_FINDER)

Refer – https://blogs.sap.com/2017/01/17/tools-from-sap-bw4hana-product-management/

21) Check Transactional RFCs – Run Tcode SM58 -> Clear all TRFCs

22) Remove unwanted secondary indexes – Note 2077953 – How to remove unwanted secondary Indexes

23) Check for open or failed updates – Run Tcode SM13

24) Check Outbound/Inbound Queue – Run Tcode SMQ1 for Outbound (For SMQ1, run the process chains for technical content data sources to make the queue record counter zero. The queues should not be deleted otherwise the delta will be broken. Run Tcode SMQ2 for Inbound

 

Pre-Upgrade Checks

1) Check Incremental Conversions – Run T-Code ICNV to check for any tables sitting in incremental conversion from previous upgrades / updates.

2) Run ABAP Code Inspector Program –

Note 1823174 – BW 7.4 changes and customer-specific programs.                                                        Run Tcode SCI (Code Inspector) if available, else implement and run Code Inspector Program attached in the Note to examine custom ABAP Program issues.

3 Program variants are available as attachment in the  Program –

CodeInspector_Pre_Post can be performed both before and after the upgrade

CodeInspection_Delta can then be used to compare result of both runs.

CodeInspector_Post may be used if the syntax check before upgrade could not be carried.

Refer – https://blogs.sap.com/2014/11/24/migration-of-customers-own-implementation-for-bw-74/

3) Run Report RSD_PREXPRA_TO_740 –

Refer to ‘Upgrade’ section in https://wiki.scn.sap.com/wiki/display/BI/Tips+for+Note+1823174

In some cases the upgrade to BW7.40 get stuck in the DDIC-activation phase. To avoid this, the pre-upgrade program RSD_PREXPRA_TO_740 can be executed before the upgrade starts.

Note 1879618 – Pre-upgrade measures for upgrade/update to 7.4 (Note: This note should be applied on the system before upgrade)

Note 1983745 – Error in RSD_PREXPRA_TO_740 (Note: This note should be applied on the system before upgrade )

Note 2117771 – Primary index “/BI0/K…-0” does not exist in database

Whether the DDIC-activate phase get stuck during upgrade, depends on the existing BW release and on the kind of the upgrade/update.

But if the upgrade has finished and the XPRAs RSD_XPRA_REPAIR_CHAVL_740 and RSD_XPRA_REPAIR_0TCTIOBJVL_740 have been performed, the final state of the upgraded system does not depend whether you performed program RSD_PREXPRA_TO_740 or not. The XPRAs exchange the same data elements in the same tables after the upgrade if this has not happened before.

Therefore if the upgrade finished successfully, then report RSD_PREXPRA_TO_740 is not relevant anymore. It only avoids problems during the upgrade.

Check and confirm with Basis if this activity is required to be done pre-upgrade, depending on the existing BW release and on the kind of the upgrade/update.

4) Run Bex Query Checker Tool Program –

Note 1911469 – Check report for discontinued query features in SAP BW 7.40 and beyond

Note 2205107 – Remarks to the report SAP_QUERY_CHECKER_740

 

Pre-Upgrade Activities

1) Stop Delta Collection Jobs in ECC – Stop V3 Delta Collection Jobs in ECC, after executing them manually till the time they bring ZERO records. Monitor the jobs log and status using Tcode SM37.

2) Clear delta queues – After executing delta collection jobs in ECC manually, the records will move from extraction queue to delta queue (RSA7). In RSA7, make sure all the Delta Data Sources becomes empty by repetitive triggering of corresponding Delta Infopackages on BW side.

3) Clear inbound/outbound queues in BW –

4) SMQ1 – qRFC Monitor for the outbound queue. Use this transaction to monitor the status of the LUWs in the outbound queue

SMQ2 – qRFC Monitor for the inbound queue. Use this transaction to monitor the status of the LUWs in the inbound queue.

SM58 – Check the tRFC Status

5) Clear scheduled/active Jobs – Check SM37 in BW for any Scheduled / Active Jobs.

6) Remove Process Chains from schedule – All Process Chains should be removed from scheduling. Basis can help with mass de-scheduling. Also, can be de-scheduled individually from Tcode RSPC.

7) SPDD/SPAU Handling –

Note 1970888 – How To: SPDD/SPAU handling during the Upgrade

During an upgrade or the import of a Support Package, existing objects of the SAP standard are overwritten with the objects redelivered.

To help the customer retain the changes to SAP objects done in a previous release, SAP provides the list of all modified objects which are redelivered (in an upgrade or Support Package) in the upgrade adjustment of transactions SPAU and SPDD.

These transactions allow customers to enter modifications into their corresponding new objects being delivered at upgrade.

Transaction SPDD allows you to adjust modifications to ABAP Dictionary objects during an upgrade.

Transaction SPAU allows you to adjust Notes, programs, function modules, screens, interfaces, documentation, and text elements after an upgrade.

Conclusion

Pre-Upgrade activities are very important for creating a problem free environment for upgrade and for a smooth upgrade in itself. Proper estimate must be done for completing all required activities in advance and must be taken into account in overall planning.

In next section, we will look at Post Upgrade Checks and Activities. Many of the checks/activities are a repeat of pre-upgrade ones but it is important to re-run so as to avoid any issues creeping in again.