Upgrading SAP Kernel, Hotpatches and Database Startup

Kernel upgrade is an easy process.

Go to the SAP OSS Site :-

http://service.sap.com/SWCenter-Main
SAP R/3
SAP R/3 4.6C
Binary Patches
SAP KERNEL 4.6D

Download the kernel programs in a temporary folder.

Create a folder and copy the executables /exe/run/ then uncar the downloaded files and replace the executables.

It is recommended to shutdown the R/3 database and all services including saposcol.

Then restart your system.

A couple of important points to remember are :-.

a) Always make a copy of the files you're going to replace. For e.g. Create a directory (oldkern) and copy all the old files
before replacing them (this helps when sometimes the new Kernel has problems, and you can revert it)

b) You have to shutdown SAP and the Database using the OLD kernel file. Again it is good practice to shutdown everything
first.

Refer to this OSS note which is pretty useful :-

102461 - Installation of 4.0B/40B_COM kernel with

4.0A/40B

How do I find out the current patch level in SAP R/3 4.7

You can use either of these two methods:

1: Follow the path

System --> Status --> Component Information (The Magnifying glass button in the SAP System Data section)

2: Use the Transaction code ---- spam

spam(Support package manager) --> package level

Steps to Start Your Database After Kernel Upgrade

Do these steps to start your database:

1. Open command prompt

2. Give command: SQLPLUS "/as sysdba"
If its giving message connected to idle instance then proceed:

3. Give command: startup open
If its giving error that database is already open, shut it down first. Then first check what database process is up and running.

4. Try stopping the database: shutdown immediate.

5. Follow step 3 again after shut down the database.

6. Exit from SQLPLUS

7. Run command on command prompt: R3trans -d
Check the results whether its still giving error or if it completed with 000 return code, then try starting SAP.

Follow the above steps.

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What is mean by OSS how to work on that?

OSS are online sap support notes. These notes are available online for solving critical problems in sap system.We may use the already existing notes or may add our own quaries.

In order to apply any OSS note, you have to be authorized by your company and be assigned an OSS ID and password.

For any SAP standard program modification, you are required to login to OSS and request for a repair program Access key.

Access the SAP Support Portal:

service.sap.com

- Keys and Requests

-- Request license key

--- Follow the Steps 1 to 5 of the License keys for SAP Business Suite

--------------

Follow this step to obtain the Program Access key:

Menu Path: System -> Services -> SAP Service (Transaction code OSS1)

Login in with your OSS ID and Password

Click the Registration button

Click Register Object

Double click R/3 Value Contract

Fill in the Object Registration for Installation:

For e.g.
PGMID/Object/Name: R3TR FUGR MIGO
SAP release: 46C

Finished, click the Register button

Select the Key number and use the Copy and Paste short key to copy the Access key

You are now able to modify the SAP standard program.

Finished the modification, do remember to transport it to the production system after all the necessary testing.

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How to apply OSS notes to my R/3 system?

In order to fix one of the problem in R/3 system, SAP will asked you to download an OSS notes which is a ".car" file.

To work with a CAR File do the following at OS Level:

Get into OS as adm

Copy the .CAR file to a Temporary Directory.

Uncompress the file with SAPCAR

Copy the the data file generated in the data transport directory
( ej: = /usr/Sap/trans/data).

Copy the the cofile file generated in the cofiles transport directory
( = ej: /usr/Sap/trans/cofiles).

Run transaction STMS

Upload the support package with SPAM transaction and the support package will show "New support packages".

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Examples of CAR command :-

1) UNIX only:

Log on as user adm.
cd /usr/sap/trans
CAR -xvf tmp/.CAR -V

2) Windows NT only:

Log on as user ADM.
cd \USR\SAP\TRANS
CAR -xvf TMP\.CAR

This Will create two(2) FILES

After you run SPAM you MUST run STMS and check the transport queues

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As per 315963 note you can direct made the changes in the program or you can apply the support pack.

a) If you want to apply correction then first you need to register the object in SAP, so that you will get the Access key and then you can make the changes.

b) If you want to import the support pack then you need to down load from SAP market-place. and this is in CAR file. and then you need extract the same using CAR utility.
ex: CAR -xvf abc.car

or

you can directly apply the patch from SAPGUI, login to 000 client and then you can load the patch from Presentation server.

Also check what is your current basis patch level?

For example if you want to apply patch 07 and you are having 05 then you need to apply 06 and then apply 07.

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Things to take note of:-

It would definitely be better to apply the latest spam/saint spam manager, tp, R3trans and possibly a new kernel patch.

This is not a simple task to complete on the fly. By applying SAP support packs, you may run into problems with SPDD and SPAU adjustments. Also include the fact that the support packages may break one of your transactions. You may want to test this in your sandbox environment, if you have one, before tackling it.

In most situation when you apply support packages, it can takes about 3 weeks to fully test the support packages before you can apply them to the production system.

Do test your "golden" transactions to make sure that they are not broken. If you are not familiar with SPDD and/or SPAU adjustments than do not attempt to load support packages.

You may be better off just to modify the SAP object in question via OSS note.

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What is Valuation Area and Valuation Class?

What is Valuation Area? How is it linked with Valuation Class? What is the significance of Valuation Area?

Valuation areas are nothing but the level at which you want to valuate your materials. SAP provides two levels of valuation Plant level and company code level.

For example:

Valuation at plant level: Suppose you have two plants one in Hissar and one in Andhra Pradesh, Then of course you would like to valuate the rawmaterials at plant level as because you have got transportation cost and taxes etc to account for.

Valuation at company code level:Here you valuate all your material in same way.

In One client valuation areas can either be set to plant level or company code level. Once you have made this setting this cant be changed

Valuation classes are linked to valuation class in Tcode OBYC

If your valuation area is at plant level then in OBYC you will find a coloumn for Valuation modifier you can provide your plant there.

For example:

Valuation Mod Valuation class Account
plant 1 3000 200130

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Explain The Difference In Currency

Explain the difference between group currency, parellel currency, hard currency and index based currency. Explain the context in which we use these.

Definition for different currencies:

Object currency - CO - A currency defined in the master record of a Controlling object (cost center, internal order, and so on). When you create a Controlling object, the controlling area currency is defaulted as the object currency. You can change this.

Transaction Currency - the currency in which a business transaction is processed and booked. The business transaction can be posted in the transaction currency as well as in the local currency. This can occur when the trading partners use different local currencies. The transaction currency can differ from the controlling area currency and the object currency. The SAP system can perform currency translations using a predefined average exchange rate.

Hard currency - Hard Currencies are used in countries with high inflation to improve the value of transaction. When a hard currency is selected, the document is automatically updated in the local currency and the hard currency. The config for hard currency is done at the country level

Group Currency - Group currencies are defined at the client level in table T000. Group currencies are used to enable cross-company postings in controlling for company codes that use different company code currencies.

Index –Based Currency - Index based currencies are used for statutory reporting purposes for subsidiaries in some countries that have an extreme amount of inflation.

Parallel currency - For company code, we may have one local currency and up to two parallel currencies in the system. All documents are posted in both the local and parallel currencies. A hard currency is one type of parallel currency.

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Fatest Way to create company code : Meaning and Creation of Company codes

Which is the best method to create a company code.
- copy an existing company code or copying from country templates.

What is the process involved in copying from a country template.


For configuring SAP, generally three steps are required

1) create company name and address
2) creation of company code
3) currency and country setting
4) Assign company code to company

In same organisation i.e. in one company more than two company codes are maintaing, then its better to copy from other company code from ec01, later on you can customised/change specific settings according to client requirements.

If your want seperate setting in your own company code, that time its better to configure by creation rather than copy

In above that is your choice and need for reqirement.

Otherwise you can upload certain data by creating company code.

Company - A company is a legal entity or a organisation which is to carry out a business and under a company you have lot of sub companies.

For Example
Tata is a company
TCS,Tata Power,Tata Steel, is a company code under a company TATA
Under Company code you have business area associated with it where the business areas may be scattered in different parts of the world where you can have reporting done for different business area or you can also call it as Profit Centre.

A company is the Group of company and company code is the all the companies for which u want seperate books of accounts. Company codes are assigned to company for consolidation purpose.

example :- reliance is the company

and RIL,Reliance infocomm,Reliance Petrochem etc are the company codes.

All these co.codes are assigned to reliance company for consolidation purpose.

Along with that technical difference is COMPANY cosists of 6 digit alphanumeric key where as COMPANY CODE cosists of 4 digit alphanumeric key.

Company means group company for example : Tata Group

Company code means one of the company of its group ex:
Tata Chemicals, TCS, Tata Steels etc.

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SAP FI : When to use the business area and Why?

Business Areas in SAP are used to differentiate transactions originating from different points/lines/locations in business. Let me give some examples to elucidiate:-

A company (say, ABC) is a huge company and has a variety of businesses under it. Let us say that it typically operates in 3 different domains like machinery manufacturing, trading and assembling of machine parts.

There are 2 options here now -
1. Either create different company codes for the 3 business operations (which would be the easiest and require no creativity)

or

2.) Create each of these business lines into business areas (the better option).
The advantages of using the second option is:
1. You can use these business areas if other company codes require the same areas
2. The configuration is simpler as in case of company code, you would require to go through the entire configuration of creating Chart of Accounts, Fiscal Year variants, posting periods variants and so on. In the business area option, you just need to attach it to the company code and the rest of the details in Business area is attached by default from the company code you are using it in.

3. Using the options in controlling (EC-PCA, Enterprise Controlling, Profit Centre Accounting), you can even draw up Balance Sheets and PL statements for your business areas and hence this is used for management accounting in some companies (like HP, Dell, etc) when it wants to know the operating profits for different business areas/lines.

The above was an example when the company wanted to separate entries according to the lines it operates in... the other case could be when it wants to find out profitability during its operations in cities and differentiates these cities into Business
Areas...

Business Areas are not much relevant in FI but are much more relevant in CO.

1) You want the B/S and P/L statements of transactions carried out in areas other than the business areas defined by you? or

2) You only want to view the transactions that were not carried out in any business area?

Whatever were your doubts, let me clarify.

If your doubt was the first one, then, in that case, the financial statements will not be available. There are reasons for the same. All transactions in FI pass through G/L accounts. The data in FI is then passed to CO through primary cost elements.
According to the settings that you have configured for your controlling area and operating concern, the costs are distributed to the various cost centers (Cost Center Accounting & CO-PA). The costs are then apportioned to the various cost centers (which may or may not be a part of your business areas or may be independent cost centers). Now, with this data, financial statements of the business area are drawn up. For transactions not part of business area, they are transferred to independent cost centers (e.g. like Head Office Salaries, HR, etc) and hence, cannot be drawn up as a financial statement but just as line item displays in your reconciliation ledger (if you have activated it in the CO-OM-CEL {Cost Element Accounting})

Financial statements of Business areas are unbalanced because not always does the debit and credit entries of a transaction lie in the same business area/cost center; but for cost accounting purposes, they are reasonably sufficient.

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