With the recent release of IBM i 7.3, a minimum release for a set of SAP kernel components is needed to successfully install new SAP systems. These components are no yet available in the media delivered by SAP and the customer might need to perform additional preparation steps before or during the installation. In the past, it has been common practice to either patching the delivered kernel media or even patching an SAP system during the installation.
This blog explains how to use the new features on SWPM SP 17 to successfully install new SAP system using the latest components.
SAP components for installation on IBM i 7.3
- SWPM SP 17
- SAP Kernel 721_EXT Patch level 700 or SAP Kernel 745 Patch level 100 (Kernel 722_EXT PL 101 also supports IBM i 7.3, but it can't be used for SWPM installation)
- When installing Java Systems on IBM i 7.3 with IBM Power8, the following minimum SAP JVM releases are necessary
- SAP JVM 4: SAP Note 2288173 - SAP JVM 4.1 Patch Collection 60 (build 4.1.060)
- SAP JVM 5: SAP Note 2286318 - SAP JVM 5.1 Patch Collection 90 (build 5.1.107)
- SAP JVM 6: SAP Note 2279089 - SAP JVM 6.1 Patch Collection 81 (build 6.1.086)
- SAP JVM 8: SAP Note 2281939 - SAP JVM 8.1 Patch Collection 16 (build 8.1.016)
* Archives not included in delivered media, need to be downloaded separately
Downloads
- SAP delivery media
You can download both SWPM and the latest kernel media from the SLToolset home page:
http://support.sap.com/sltoolset - System Provisioning - Software Provisioning Manager 1.0 SP 17
- SAP Kernel and SAP JVM Downloads
You can download any required or desired kernel components from the https://support.sap.com/swdc - Software Download - Support Packages and Patches - By Category - SAP Netweaver and complimentary objects - SAP Netweaver - <your SAP Netweaver Release> - Entry by Component - Application Server <ABAP or Java> - SAP Kernel
For a fresh SAP installation on IBM i 7.3, only SAPEXE and SAPEXEDB are needed. Download and keep in a separated folder to be accessed by SWPM during the installation (for example in this blog, folder /_inst/SP17/KRN/721_PL700 ).
The SAP JVM (only required for IBM Power8) patch will be under: > SAP Netweaver - <your SAP Netweaver Release> - Entry by Component - Application Server Java - SAP JVM X
Installation with SWPM for products based on NW 7.1 and higher
With SWPM SP17, the new option "Archive Based Installation" has been enabled. After starting SWPM, a dialog will be presented were paths to whole Kernel media, download folder or even individual archives can be used. It is possible to chose one or more than one of these options. The installer makes sure that all necessary archives are available and will use the "Download Basket" or "Individual Download Location" when selected.
Installation with 70SWPM for products based on NW7.0x
The "Archive Base Installation" is not available with SWPM70. When installing any product based on NetWeaver 7.0 and on IBM i 7.3 with IBM Power8 processors, it is necessary to manually replace the files (SAPEXE.SAR and SAPEXEDB.SAR for ABAP; SAPEXE.SAR and SAPJVMx.SAR for Java) in the original Kernel Media with the required or desired newer ones while making sure to rename them with the original names (that is, without version numbers in it).
When not on IBM Power8, it is not necessary to patch the kernel media, instead using the provided SWPM dialog to replace at least SAPEXE (and SAPEXEDB for ABAP) archives to be used for the installation.
To conclude, to avoid issues using SWPM on IBM i 7.3, make sure to download the supported Kernel and SAP JVM. As SAP recommends using the latest released versions of its software components, these steps can also be used for any new installation in any other OS release.
For additional information regarding IBM i 7.3, see SAP Note 2299407 - IBM i: Known Issues with OS Release IBM i 7.3.
- SAP Managed Tags:
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