How to move Portal service to Launchpad service in the same subaccount

[Update 2023]: Please note that this blog was published prior to the re-branding related to SAP Build portfolio, which was announced at SAP TechEd 2022. SAP Launchpad service and SAP Work Zone come together under the SAP Build Work Zone brand, with two editions: standard edition (formerly SAP Launchpad service) and advanced edition (formerly SAP Work Zone). You can learn more in this announcement blog post: SAP Build Capabilities Explained | SAP TechEd | SAP News Center

Hello,

I’m Dana, a Product Owner of the SAP Cloud Portal service (Portal) and the SAP Launchpad service (Launchpad) on the SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP).

In this blog post I would like to share some insights and recommendations on how to move from your existing SAP Cloud Portal service to your SAP Launchpad service (on Cloud Foundry).

Our journey begins on the Portal Service side. We export everything that cannot be re-used like for example content. After exporting we move to the Launchpad service on the same subaccount, define necessary content providers, import the content and verify that everything is in place and running successfully. Once everything is in place we can start off-boarding from the Portal service.

In this set up, in which the Portal and Launchpad services are on the same subaccount. The Cloud Connector, the destinations, the custom themes, the HTML5 apps and the user collection assignments are all configured at the subaccount level. Therefore, we can reuse them in the Launchpad service.

Please note that the transition to same subaccount it a subset of different subaccounts.

Important points:

• To reuse existing role collection assignments, please avoid:
  • Deletion/Removal of any custom/local roles in the Portal service.
  • Deletion/Removal of any content providers that you want to keep.
  • These 2 actions will automatically delete the role collections at the subaccount level. Hence, cannot be reused in the Launchpad service.
• You should avoid manual content creation before the import to the Launchpad service
• The Launchpad service does not support Freestyle sites. Your Portal Freestyle sites and content won’t be available in the Launchpad service.

Main steps:

• Start with the Portal service
  • Export Site/s + Content; Export Selected Content
• Move to the Launchpad Service
  • Add Content Providers
  • Import Sites/Content
  • Content validation
  • Run your site/s
    • Validation
    • Custom themes
• Move back to the Portal service for Off-boarding
  • Unsubscribe

Let’s begin with the Portal Service:

• You have two options to export Portal content:
  • Export  site + all its related content
  • Go to: Launchpad > Site Manager > Site Directory > [SITE] > Export Site:

• • Export selected content: Use this option when you have content that was not assigned to any site but, you want to keep it and use it in the Launchpad service.
  • Go to: Launchpad > Content Manager > My Content > Export selected content items
    

Note: The Everyone role is not part of the export. However, if you export a site in which the Everyone role has apps assigned to it, all the content assigned to Everyone role will be exported.

Now we are moving to the Launchpad service on the same subaccount:

1) Add Content Providers – This is a manual step. (not part of export/import)

• The content provider IDs must be identical to the ones in Portal subaccount, otherwise the import will not import the content from the missing providers (with no identical ID).
• Tip! You can open Portal and see the providers you have added. Please use the same provider IDs as used in Portal.
• Go to: Launchpad > Site Manager > Provider Manager > New
• If you’re using SAP S/4HANA as a standalone (Hub) deployment system, remember to map the aliases to the right destinations (as in the Portal service). This is a manual step after creating the provider.
• Go to Launchpad > Site Manager > Provider Manager > [PROVIDER] > Map aliases

2) Import Sites/Content

• Import the site/s you have exported (step #1).
• Go to: Launchpad > Site Manager > Site Directory > Import Site
• 
• Import selected content (step #1)
• Go to: Launchpad > Site Manager > Content Manager > My Content > Import

3) Now you should verify and validate that all sites and content were imported as expected:

• Tip! Open Portal in another browser and compare the Launchpad sites and content with Portal “Content Manager” and “Site Directory”
• Remember! No free style entities were imported

4) Run your sites and validate that they are working

• Verify that all the sites are working, including launching tiles; you can compare them to the  portal sites.
• Go to: Launchpad > Site Manager > Site Directory [SITE]  > Go to site
• In case you are using custom themes, please check the custom themes are configured and exist in the Theme Manager of the Launchpad site.
• Go to: [SITE] > User Profile > Theme Manager
• 
• Verify that your custom themes are listed and configured as in the Portal site.
• 

Now after we have checked and validated that everything was imported and that the site is working as expected. We can start off-boarding the portal.

Going Back to the Portal service for Off-boarding 

1) Unsubscribe the Portal service, please be aware of the following:

• All Portal content will be deleted. however, custom role collections will be kept (as long as you did not delete portal local roles)
• Out-of-the-box portal roles (incl. portal admin role) will be deleted and users will be unassigned to those Out-of-the-box OTB roles
• Re-subscribe won’t restore the content, Tip! we recommend exporting site/content as a backup and saving them for future use, if needed.
• Go to the SAP BTP cockpit > Subscriptions > Portal (tile)
• Click on the portal tile, and then unsubscribe the Portal service

Now you can work on your Launchpad service. Portal is no longer active and shows up as “not subscribed”.

Note: Subscriptions for Portal, Launchpad or any other services are available based on customer contracts. Once the service contract is ended the subscription for the service will no longer be available in the subscription list.

!Tip : Keep your export files from the Portal in case you will want to activate the Portal in the future.

Go back to Transition from Portal Service to Launchpad Service – How to Guide

Good luck!

Dana.

For my blog on: How to move Portal service to Launchpad service in the different subaccounts