The difficulty of the migration work increases if a hardware environment, an operating system and a database are also changed. At the same time, the most important aspects for each company are the security and integrity of data and a continuous access to them, which is why the process of migrating the system must have the support from the software manufacturer, and the whole project should be prepared in accordance with its recommendations and standards.

The transfer of the environment with an SAP application is a process supported by the software manufacturer. SAP provides dedicated tools to migrate its software. It also provides recommendations and procedures to carry out the SAP system migration process, and renders the services of support for its customers throughout the process, both in the preparation phase of the migration project, during its execution and upon completion of work.

Migration types

There are two types of the system migration in the SAP technology: a homogeneous copy and a heterogeneous copy. The proper definition of a planned copy type is necessary for the selection of appropriate tools and methodology of work.

We deal with a homogeneous copy when we move the system to a new platform, but to the same operating system and database platform as on a source platform. In this case, a hardware architecture is the same as in the source system or it is a platform certified by SAP as a successor to the source platform.

A heterogeneous copy is the SAP system migration to a new platform, with changing the operating system or database, or even the operating system and the database at the same time. During the heterogeneous migration, the hardware platform may also be changed. The heterogeneous migration, the so-called OS/DB Migration, is a much more complex process than the homogeneous migration, and therefore it can be carried out only by a technical consultant with a special OS/DB Migration certificate. In addition, for each migrated production system, it is required to submit such a project to the SAP support organization, and to carry out an SAP OS/DB Migration Check session.

Migration vs. upgrade

It is important to emphasize that the SAP environment migration project is not an SAP upgrade. Due to the process complexity, migration should be planned and carried out as a project separate from other projects relating to a specific system, e.g. an SAP version upgrade project.

However, all requirements regarding the dependencies between a version of the SAP software and its components, operating system and database must be met at all times.

This means that in specific situations, it may be necessary to upgrade the database version or even the operating system in the source system to enable the SAP system migration to a new environment. The requirements of this type apply most often when the system is migrated to a new hardware environment that is supported only by a more recent version of the operating system or database. The same dependencies apply also to the SAP system components, in particular the SAP Basis module, so it may be necessary to perform the procedure of updating this component prior to the migration procedure.

Project support

Taking into account the need to ensure in the first place the security and integrity of business data, as well as the smooth running of the migration project, SAP provides for its customer a dedicated SAP OS/DB Migration Check service. This service is mandatory for the heterogeneous migration of production systems, while it is not necessary for homogeneous and heterogeneous migrations of non-production systems.

As a part of the SAP OS/DB Migration Check service, the following verification sessions are performed:

  • Remote Project Audit,
  • Analysis Session,
  • Verification Session.

Remote Project Audit: upon notifying SAP about a migration project, it is necessary to fill out a notification questionnaire. The questionnaire contains important questions about the planned project:

  • a name of the partner carrying out the migration,
  • a definition of the source system: a version of the operating system, database, hardware,
  • a definition of the target system: a version of the operating system, database, hardware,
  • a date of the planned test migration and a date of the final production migration,
  • a date of the scheduled preliminary session of the system verification: Analysis Session,
  • a date of the scheduled verification session after the migration: Verification Session.

It is checked, for example, whether the partner chosen to carry out the migration has the necessary experience and competence confirmed by a specialist certificate. A technical side of the project is verified, that is, whether the versions of the hardware, operating system, database and SAP system both at the source and target environment meet the requirements for the project execution.

An important element is also the approval of planned dates of individual project phases.

Analysis Session: this is a remote verification session performed in the source production system following the submission and approval of the migration plan.

During this session, the following is checked among other things:

  • a production system in terms of the planned migration: versions of OS, a database, SAP instances, the configuration of the system landscape, etc.,
  • parameters of SAP instances and the database
  • performance of the production environment.

Based on the above analyses, recommendations regarding the preparation and configuration of the target system are developed.

Verification Session: this is a remote verification session performed in the target system, usually about four weeks after the completion of the production migration.

During this session, the following actions are performed:

  • an analysis of the SAP system logs and database,
  • an analysis of performance and response times for critical transactions,
  • an analysis of performance bottlenecks in the system.

Based on the data collected, an SAP consultant prepares optimization recommendations for the migrated system.

A good practice is to leave the source production system in the “read" status until the end of the verification session and confirmation of the correctness of the completed migration work.

When to migrate

Customers decide to migrate their systems for very different reasons; below we present the most common of them.

In the case of homogeneous migrations, these are:

  • an upgrade of a hardware platform to the most recent version,
  • connecting the system to or disconnecting it from McOD (Multiple Components in One Database) configuration,
  • adding another system to the SAP environment landscape, e.g. adding a test, training, development system,
  • changing SID of the implemented system.

The most common reasons for the heterogeneous migration are:

  • replacement of a hardware platform with a new technology platform,
  • increasing the performance of the whole environment,
  • the benefits from new technologies available on other hardware platforms or database systems,
  • increasing the system availability through clustering technologies available in the new environment,
  • increasing the security and flexibility, e.g. through virtualization technologies,
  • administrative facilitations resulting from the unification of SAP environments, e.g. SAP ERP, SAP BI or SAP Portal to form a single standard,
  • adaptation of the SAP environment to IT standards applied in the corporation – standardization of hardware environments, operating systems or databases,
  • reduction of total cost of ownership, e.g. reduction of license fees or hardware maintenance costs,
  • anti-aging activities for the hardware platform, which not only ensure the increase in performance, but also reduce maintenance costs and prevent failures,
  • ensuring the continuity of support from manufacturers of the operating system and database, which is usually provided for current versions of systems.

The presented reasons for the system migration show that it is sometimes necessary and forced by circumstances, but very often it is a project that is supposed to bring additional benefits or savings.

Virtualization

The benefits of virtualization of IT systems are very large and result mainly from the flexibility of the administration of virtualized systems and increasing their availability. Another benefit is achieved through the optimization of using the resources of the hardware in use. It is also possible to manage the access to the computing power of the hardware.

When planning a new environment for the SAP system, many companies decide to transfer their systems to virtual platforms certified by SAP.

This solution works not only for the production systems in use, but it is also a very good option for archival systems.

Outsourcing of archival systems
BCC (now All for One Poland) offers a service of comprehensive maintenance of archival systems based on the All for One Data Centers infrastructure. Our team of IT professionals has experience in all popular technologies and a variety of hardware and software platforms. We proactively monitor the IT environment and guarantee high security levels of customers’ systems based on implemented security standards: the Information Security Management System compliant with ISO 27001 and the IT Service Management System compliant with ISO 20000 and ITIL standards.

SAP archival systems

The need to provide access to business data even for a few years after the system shutdown means for the IT department the necessary maintenance of an additional environment that is no longer included in upgrade plans. Very often this involves increasing costs of hardware maintenance due to higher fees for the manufacturer’s support for old technologies. In addition, the risk of data loss is growing due to an aging system that is prone to failure, or the lack of a platform for system recovery in case of problems.

It often turns out that the costs of maintaining an archival system are comparable to or even greater than the costs of maintenance of a production system.

Virtualization of archival systems optimizes the use of resources, reduces maintenance costs and ensures the security of access to business data. In addition, such a system can be switched off or can operate on limited resources, and when it is necessary to make use of its data, this access is optimized and provided in accordance with the needs.

Competencies and experience – required

Migrations of SAP systems are complex projects that require careful planning and management and they must be carried out efficiently, but above all safely. Selection of an experienced partner with relevant knowledge, competencies and certificates for such a project is not only a necessity arising from SAP’s recommendations, but also a guarantee of success of the entire undertaking. This applies in particular to production systems, where the data security and continuity of access are the most important aspects, but also to archival systems, where knowledge about and experience with operating older versions of the environment are required.