Configuration validation to monitor client setting changes in SOLMAN 7.2

Configuration Validation application in Solution Manager is to compare and validate current values of configuration items of many systems against a defined target or standard configuration. It enables us to determine whether the systems in our landscape are configured consistently and in accordance with the requirements.

In this blog post we will discuss about generating alerts for client settings changes via Solution Manager System Monitoring using configuration validation.

Changes in client settings are very important from audit point of view. Solution manager enables alerting whenever there is any change in client settings.

Key Prerequisites:

1. Solution Manager Mandatory Configuration
2. Solution Manager Managed System Configuration
3. System Monitoring Setup (for Alerting)

Monitoring client change alerts via Solution Manager involves three major steps:

1. Creating a target system in Configuration Validation
2. Creating a Custom alert in System Monitoring (Application Operations)
3. Creating a Custom metric in System Monitoring (Application Operations)

1. Creating a target system in Configuration Validation

Root Cause Analysis -> Configuration Validation

Target System Maintenance -> Create source system

Provide below details and click on “Display Selection”.

System ID: SID of the SAP system which needs to be monitored

Store Name: CLIENTS

Select the source system in left pane and select CLIENTS checkbox in right pane and click on “Create from selected Store”.

Provide a custom name for Target system and “Save”. This target system ID will be used later on during monitoring metric creation.

Target system entry needs to be created for each system to be monitored.

Target System Maintenance -> Edit -> Long SID (ZC<SID>) -> Display Selection

Click on the config store “CLIENTS”. Here we can see the current values of client settings in backend system:

Technical System values can be modified here as per the requirement. It is possible to specify a compliant rule for each Config Item. If the rule applies to the corresponding Config Item of a comparison system, the Config Item gets the status compliant (1 = yes). Otherwise it gets the status non-compliant (0 = no). Values which need not be considered for monitoring can be marked as “Ignore”.

Once the Target System is ready, we may proceed to create a custom alert and metric.

2. Creating a Custom alert in System Monitoring (Application Operations)

Application Operations -> System Monitoring -> Template Maintenance -> Select a template -> Select “Expert Mode”

Create “Alert”

Provide “Alert Name”, “Category” and “Technical Name”

Next

Finish

3. Creating a Custom metric in System Monitoring (Application Operations)

Application Operations -> System Monitoring -> Template Maintenance -> Select a template -> Select “Expert Mode”

Create “Metric”

Select “Data Collector Type”, “Data Collector Name” and “Collection Interval”.

Add placeholder in Reference SID that searches by corresponding store created. System monitoring will check the SID name in LMDB and will replace $T_SYSTEM_LONG_SID$ by corresponding SID name.

Data Usage:

Threshold:

Validity:

Assign metric to previously created alert.

Finish

Apply and activate the System Monitoring Template

Monitoring is ready and alerts will be triggered whenever there is a deviation in client settings(SCC4).

System Monitoring Overview:

Alert Inbox:

Alert generated clearly shows that there are 3 clients in the system which are being monitored, 2 are non-compliant and 1 is compliant.

Hope this blog post helps you in setting up client change alerts and keeping your system complaint in accordance with audit requirements.

Please share your feedback and queries.