3.5    Tips and Tricks

In this section, we’ll share some tips and step-by-step guides to perform some administrative tasks in the SLD.

3.5.1    Naming Convention

Consider using a convenient naming convention when naming your SLD objects. A good naming convention has numerous advantages, including the following:

Having a naming convention alone won’t cut it. It’s important to encourage everyone to make a good habit of using the naming convention and to facilitate its adoption. Furthermore, someone needs to be responsible for enforcing the naming convention.

3.5.2    Keeping Your System Landscape Directory Catalogs Up to Date

It’s strongly advised to always keep the SAP-provided catalogs of content up to date. You can update the SLD catalog content by following these steps:

  1. Download SAP content from the SAP Service Marketplace via http://service.sap.com/swdc.
  2. Navigate to SAP Software Distribution Center • Download • Support Packages and Patches • Entry by Application Group • SAP Technology Components • SAP CR Content. You can then download the relevant content (provided as ZIP files) and place it into a local file system. Be aware that you don’t need to download the entire software catalog. Each package is a delta of the previous version, so you can download all the packages subsequent to your current version and import them in order.
  3. Import the files into the SLD. From the System Landscape Directory landing page, go to Administration • Import (under Content).
  4. Select the ZIP file via the Browse button.
  5. Click the Import button. Depending on the size of the file to be imported, you can expect this update process to run for a while (see Figure 3.21).
Note

If you need to import multiple CIM files, make sure that you import them in the right order and sequence because each package is a delta of the previous version.

Import a New SLD CIM or Data

Figure 3.21    Import a New SLD CIM or Data

Figure 3.21 shows the CIM and data import functionality. On this screen, you can also see the version of the content currently loaded in the SLD. For obvious reasons, it’s important to verify the current CIM version to determine the version to be imported.

3.5.3    Self-Registration of a Java-Based System with the SLD

To let an SAP NetWeaver AS Java-based system register its technical system with the SLD, you need to configure its data supplier. To configure data suppliers of the SAP NetWeaver AS Java-based system, perform the following tasks:

  1. Log in to the SAP NetWeaver Administrator of the concerned system, via https://<hostame>:<port>/nwa.
  2. Go to the Destinations section by following the path Configuration • Connectivity • Destinations.
  3. Filter for and select the SLD_DataSupplier destination, and edit it (see Figure 3.22).
  4. Change the URL field (in the Connection and Transport tab) to show the URL of the SLD that the system needs to register itself with. Note that the format of the URL should be http://<hostname>:<port>.
  5. Add the required login details in the Logon Data tab.
  6. Test your destination setup by clicking on Ping Destination (see Figure 3.22). After a successful ping, you’re ready to register the system with the SLD and send some data.
Steps to Self-Register a Java-Based System with the SLD

Figure 3.22    Steps to Self-Register a Java-Based System with the SLD

To manually push the data to the SLD or to force the self-registration of an SAP NetWeaver AS Java system, follow these steps:

  1. From SAP NetWeaver Administrator, navigate to Configuration • Infrastructure • SLD Data Supplier Configuration.
  2. You should see information about the next scheduled or automatic send time. Select the Collect and Send Data option. If everything was well configured, then you’ll get a successful send data message.
  3. You should now be able to log in to the target SLD and verify that the new system registered itself. You can find this out by looking up the list of technical systems in the target SLD.

3.5.4    Configuring Data Suppliers from One SLD to Another

All data about technical systems that an SLD receives can be forwarded to another SLD using the data supplier. It’s important to stress that only data which arrived via data suppliers (such as technical systems) are forwarded. All manually created data (such as business systems) aren’t included in the forwarded data. Use the manual export and import options described in the next section for manually created SLD data.

To set up data forwarding between a source and target SLD (or data supplier target), perform the same steps as described previously for automatic bridge forwarding (Section 3.4.2; also refer to Figure 3.17).

3.5.5    Manual Export and Import of Data

It’s possible to manually export any data from a source SLD to a target SLD by using the import and export features. In this way, you could export and import manually created business systems, for instance. The steps to export a business system were described previously in Section 3.4.1. We’ll extend those steps by mentioning the required steps to import an exported business system into a target SLD.

The required steps are as follows:

  1. From the System Landscape Directory landing page of your target SLD, click on the Administration link.
  2. Then click on Import.
  3. You’re offered the possibility to import an archive file. Choose the file that you exported from the source SLD.
  4. Start the import procedure by clicking on the Import button.
  5. You’ll see another screen that requires you to confirm or cancel your import. Click Continue Import.
  6. After this step, a message confirming the successful import of the new business system will be displayed.

3.5.6    Connecting the SLD to CTS+ to Facilitate the Export and Import of SLD Data

To facilitate the propagation of SLD data from one SLD to another, we recommend that you use a transport mechanism rather than the manual export and import feature. CTS+ is the recommended tool to manage your SAP PO transports. To connect your development SLD to CTS+, follow these steps:

  1. Make sure that you have a communication user in the SAP NetWeaver AS Java that belongs to the SAP_SLD_Administrator group. If such a user doesn’t exist, then create it before proceeding to step 2.
  2. Go to the SAP NetWeaver Administrator via http://<hostname>:<port>/nwa.
  3. Navigate to Configuration • Connectivity • Destinations.
  4. Create a destination called “sap.com/com.sap.tc.di.CTSserver” if it doesn’t already exist. Give it the type RFC, and click Next. Note that the destination name is predefined by SAP and therefore must match exactly. It’s also case sensitive (see Figure 3.23 1).
  5. In the next wizard step, add details of the transport system, including logon details to be used to connect to it. Make sure to use a technical user for the logon data 2.
  6. Click Finish.
Steps to Set Up a Destination from SAP PO to CTS+

Figure 3.23    Steps to Set Up a Destination from SAP PO to CTS+

Now that you’ve connected your system to CTS+, you can test the export functionality via the following steps:

  1. Log in to your SLD, and navigate to the object you want to export via CTS+. As an example, export a SC.
  2. From the System Landscape Directory home or landing page, select Software Components.
  3. Select the SCs in question, and click on Export.
  4. You’ll see an Export screen with the Transport tab enabled. If the steps for configuring the destination to CTS+ aren’t performed properly, you’ll see an error here, and the Transport tab won’t be enabled (see Figure 3.24).
Exporting SLD Objects with CTS+ Enabled

Figure 3.24    Exporting SLD Objects with CTS+ Enabled