SAP System upgrade from Windows 2003 to Windows 2012

[Former Member]

Dear All

We are planning to upgrade our sap system from Windows 2003,MS SQL 2005

to Windows 2012, MS SQL 2012.

Current System Details:

Operating System : MS Windows 2003 Enterprise 64 bit Version

Database : MS SQL 2005

Cluster : Windows Cluster with Three Application Servers(DIs)

===================================================================

Component Version: SAP ECC6.0

SAP_BASIS 700 0019 SAPKB70019 SAP Basis Component

SAP_ABA 700 0017 SAPKA70017 Cross-Application Component

PI_BASIS 2005_1_700 0017 SAPKIPYJ7H PI_BASIS

2005_1_700

ST-PI 2008_1_700 0008 SAPKITLRD8 SAP Solution Tools Plug-

In

SAP_BW 700 0019 SAPKW70019 SAP NetWeaver BI 7.0

SAP_AP 700 0014 SAPKNA7014 SAP Application Platform

SAP_APPL 600 0014 SAPKH60014 Logistics and Accounting

SAP_HR 600 0028 SAPKE60028 Human Resources

EA-IPPE 400 0011 SAPKGPID11 SAP iPPE

EA-APPL 600 0011 SAPKGPAD11 SAP Enterprise Extension PLM,

SCM, Financials

EA-DFPS 600 0011 SAPKGPDD11 SAP Enterprise Extension Defense

Forces & Public Security

EA-FINSERV 600 0011 SAPKGPFD11 SAP Enterprise Extension

Financial Services

EA-GLTRADE 600 0011 SAPKGPGD11 SAP Enterprise Extension

Global Trade

EA-HR 600 0024 SAPKGPHD24 SAP Enterprise Extension HR

EA-PS 600 0011 SAPKGPPD11 SAP Enterprise Extension Public

Services

EA-RETAIL 600 0011 SAPKGPRD11 SAP Enterprise Extension

Retail

FINBASIS 600 0011 SAPK-60011INFINBASIS Fin. Basis

DMIS 2010_1_700 0010 SAPK-91710INDMIS DMIS 2010_1_700

ECC-DIMP 600 0011 SAPK-60011INECCDIMP DIMP

ERECRUIT 600 0011 SAPK-60011INERECRUIT E-Recruiting

FI-CA 600 0011 SAPK-60011INFICA FI-CA

FI-CAX 600 0011 SAPK-60011INFICAX FI-CA Extended

INSURANCE 600 0011 SAPK-60011ININSURANC SAP Insurance

IS-CWM 600 0011 SAPK-60011INISCWM Industry Solution Catch

Weight Management

IS-H 600 0012 SAPK-60012INISH SAP Healthcare

IS-M 600 0011 SAPK-60011INISM SAP MEDIA

IS-OIL 600 0011 SAPK-60011INISOIL IS-OIL

IS-PS-CA 600 0011 SAPK-60011INISPSCA IS-PUBLIC SECTOR

CONTRACT ACCOUNTING

IS-UT 600 0011 SAPK-60011INISUT SAP

Utilities/Telecommunication

LSOFE 600 0011 SAPK-60011INLSOFE SAP Learning Solution

Front-End

SEM-BW 600 0011 SAPKGS6011 SEM-BW: Strategic Enterprise

Management

NMI_CONT 2006_1_700 0018 SAPK-61718INNMICONT NMI

Content

ST-A/PI 01Q_700 0002 SAPKITAB7L Servicetools for other

App./Netweaver 04

===================================================================

Kernel Version:

Kernel release    700

Compilation       NT 5.2 3790 Ser

Sup.Pkg lvl.      353

ABAP Load         1563

CUA load          30

Mode              opt

Rsyn file

===================================================================

Database information:

DB client lib.     SQL_Server_8.00

DB releases        MSSQL 7.00.699 or

DBSL version       700.08

DBSL Patch Level   350

===================================================================

Kindly request you to provide the recommended procedure for doing the

upgrade and please clarify the following queries as well.

1. What would be the recommended procedure (from Windows 2003 to Windows

2012) upgrade or migration?

2. Shall I keep the same database version during upgrade/migration?

3. Should I upgrade Database before doing Windows migration/upgrade?

Highly appreciated for your quick response.

Thanks in Advance

Sel

[former_member184473 · Accepted solution]

Hello Sel,

Before starting this migration, ensure you have the minimum SPS as per note 1651862:

Required minimum SAP Netweaver Support Package Stacks (SPSs) for SQL Server 2012 (SAP ABAP, SAP ABAP+JAVA stacks)
SAP NETWEAVER 7.0 - SPS 26 (SAP BASIS 26, SAP BW 28)
SAP EHP1 FOR SAP NETWEAVER 7.0 - SPS 11 (SAP BASIS 11, SAP BW 11)
SAP EHP2 FOR SAP NETWEAVER 7.0 - SPS 11 (SAP BASIS 11, SAP BW 11)
SAP EHP3 FOR SAP NETWEAVER 7.0 - SPS 03 (SAP BASIS 03, SAP BW 03)
SAP NETWEAVER 7.1 - SPS 14 (SAP BASIS SP14)
SAP EHP1 FOR SAP NETWEAVER 7.1 EhP1 - SPS 10(SAP BASIS SP10, SAP BW SP10)
SAP NetWeaver 7.2 - no restriction
SAP NETWEAVER 7.3 - SPS 07 (SAP BASIS 07, SAP BW 07)
SAP EHP1 FOR SAP NETWEAVER 7.3 - SPS 03 (SAP BASIS 03, SAP BW 03)
SAP NETWEAVER 7.4 and higher - no restriction

If your system is running on a SPS lower than the one required above, you have to apply the minimum required SPS before upgrading/migrating to SQL Server 2012.

If you install a NetWeaver product on SQL Server 2012, the required SPS for your product must be applied immediately after the installation - see SAP note 1676665, section I for more information.

Regards,

Eduardo Rezende

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Thanks Eduardo

[Sriram2009]

Hi Sel

Kindly follow the steps to upgrade the SAP system to windows server 2012 with MS Sql 2012

1. You have to upgrade the exiting kernel from 7.00 to 7.21 with ext.

2. Install the fresh Windows server 2012 with DB MS SQl 2008 or 2012 R2(Upgrade of OS is not possible) you have to follow the system copy

3. Restore the database from source to target systems at database level

4. Perform the system copy from source system export(Backup /restore or attach/detach method)

5. System copy on target system

Refer the SAP Notes for Windows 2012

1732161 - SAP Systems on Windows Server 2012 (R2)

1721575 - SAP system migration to Windows Server 2012

BR

SS

[Former Member]

Hi SS

Thank you for your reply.

Can you give me more clarification on the Kernel level.

My understanding is that we will do the kernel upgrade after upgrading SAP system into Windows 2012 and SQL 2012 and the SAP version will not change and that will be in the same version and SP level after changing the OS and DB.

Please correct me if I am wrong.

Thanks

Sel

[Sriram2009]

Hi

    Before stating the Export you have to upgrade the Support package level for SAP BASIS to 26 and SAP  BW to 28 as already pointed by Eduardo with the SAP Note 1651862   you can use the old kernel version 7.00 with level 333 and above.

BR

SS

[Matt_Fraser]

Hello Sel,

SAP and Microsoft do not support an "upgrade in place" of Windows servers if any application is installed on them, except in limited circumstances. For a test system, you can do this, but for a production system, you should not.

Instead, you will be doing a system copy. Think of it as the perfect opportunity to move to new hardware at the same time. However, you can keep the same hardware, things will just take longer.

The essential process is, you install a new server with Windows 2012 R2 and SQL 2012, then you do a homogeneous system copy of your SAP system from the old server to the new server.

You do not need to 'upgrade' your SQL Server, per se, as you will just be moving to a new one that is freshly installed with SQL 2012. You can restore a backup from your SQL 2005 system to SQL 2012 in order to do a 'database-dependent' or 'backup/restore' method of system copy. Or, if you want to redistribute your database to a new disk layout (i.e., increase the number of spindles), you can use the 'database-independent/migration (load-based)' method of homogeneous system copy.

You will need a new version of the kernel to support Windows and SQL 2012. In short, you'll be migrating to the 721_EXT kernel.

You might need a new Basis support pack level for SQL 2012. I'm not certain without checking for your 7.00 NetWeaver release. Have a look in the PAM and/or do a Notes search for that.

Otherwise, follow the directions from the Windows/ABAP system copy guide, which you can find at http://service.sap.com/instguides.

Regards,

Matt

[Former Member]

Hi Matt

Thanks for quick response.

As per your advise, we will plan for for detach/attach DB as it is in SAN disk and it is easy to point the same DB storage disks for the target system.

Can you please clarify the below concerns as well,

We will install SQL 2012 and do the detach/attach method for importing data into the new SQL.

       1. Do I required to do any pre steps before doing the detach of the existing data?

       2. After attaching the DB, Is it required to install any support upgrade installation or any upgarde tool need to be run?

       3. Can you give me the idea of db security (DB users) and connectivity of  SQL after upgrade?

Thanks

Sel.

[Matt_Fraser]

Hi Sel,

As Eduardo mentioned, you will need to apply at least a couple of Basis Support Packs to your source system before you detach it, as you aren't yet on the minimum Basis SP for SQL 2012. Otherwise, there are no mandatory "pre"-steps before you detach the database, although you may want to suspend all scheduled jobs. After you attach the database on the target system, you will install your SAP system around it using SWPM, using the "system copy - target system installation" options (found under your product and "software lifecycle options". Most of the post-copy steps are handled automatically by the SWPM tool. Once the tool is complete, however, there are a number of manual post-copy steps to follow before restarting productive operation. These are all detailed in the system copy guide. It's critical to follow the guide. The guide is at http://service.sap.com/instguides-> SAP NetWeaver -> SAP NetWeaver 7.0 (2004s) -> Installation -> 2 - Installation - SAP NetWeaver Systems -> System Copy: Systems Based on SAP NetWeaver 7.0/7.0 EHPs -> Windows: ABAP. Note, while you are here, also pick up the guide at Installation: Systems Based on SAP NetWeaver 7.0 / 7.0 EHPs. This has information about installation prerequisites and installing the diagnostics agent.

SWPM will handle installing the kernel for your target system. The only thing you must have installed beforehand is the DBMS (SQL 2012 w/ SP2 and CU5, preferably). Optionally, you might also use SWPM to install the Diagnostics Agent before you do the target system installation.

You will need to download the latest version of SWPM and the latest kernel installation (not patch) media for your target system. Find them at https://support.sap.com/software/installations.html -> Browse our download catalog... (then for SWPM) -> SAP Application Components -> SAP ERP -> SAP ERP 6.0 -> SOFTWARE PROVISIONING MGR 1.0 -> Windows on x64 64bit -> 70SWPM10SP07_6-20009707.sar (and for the kernel) -> SAP Technology Components -> SL TOOLSET -> SL TOOLSET 1.0 -> Kernel for installation/SWPM -> SAP KERNEL 7.21 EXT 64-BIT (probably not UC, unless you are already on Unicode or want to do a Unicode conversion at the same time -- you'll have to check your system and make sure you get the appropriate kernel; note, if you do the diagnostics agent installation with SWPM, it requires the unicode kernel).

Database users are handled by the SWPM tool as well. If you run it as a domain admin, it will create the users and groups required. If you aren't a domain admin, you can get the users and groups created in advance, and it will then create the required local OS and DB permissions for them. Creating the users in advance is detailed in the installation guide (not the system copy guide), so you may want to obtain a copy of that, too.

Just to clarify: you are not upgrading your kernel before or after the system copy; you are upgrading it as part of the system copy (at the same time). Windows and SQL 2012 require a different version of the kernel than Windows 2003 and SQL 2005, and it is not compatible with those earlier versions of Windows, so you can't upgrade in advance. Likewise, your old kernel is not compatible with Win2012. You are going to be upgrading from your 700 kernel to 721_EXT.

Because you are also migrating from a 7.0x kernel to a 7.2x kernel, there are some other steps you must take (you can do these after the system copy, on the target system). You need to pay attention to Note 1713986 (Installatoin of kernel 721 (EXT)), specifically points 6.5 (rslg/new_layout = 9), 6.6 (rdisp/wp_no_restricted = 0, rdisp/configurable_wp_no = 0, rdisp/dynamic_wp_check = FALSE, rdisp/wp_max_no = ?), 7.2 (DDIC_TYPELENG_INCONSISTENT errors), and 7.3 (ABAP load format).

You might also want to have a look at my blogs at and .

Cheers,

Matt

[Former Member]

Thanks Mr.Matt for your valuable information and advise.

[Former Member]

Hi Matt, We also have planned to perform an upgrade of the operating system (Windows 2003 to Windows 2012 R2) and SQL (SQL 2005 to SQL 2012) of our SAP ERP 6.0 system. Some questions, can make the upgrade separately ...?, that is, if I start updating the development system (DEV), what happens to the landscape ...?, Since other landscape systems such as Test (QAS) and productive (PRD) are still with OS 2003 and SQL 2005. Last question, as it was reported that you must use the procedure "homogeneous Copy" to update the operating system 2012 R2 and SQL 2012, using the method of backup/restore. When restoring the database in SQL 2012 engine, the "Compatibility level" is maintained which brings (SQL Server 2005) or should be changed to "Compatibility level" SQL Server 2012 ...?. Thanks. Best regards, Christian

[Matt_Fraser]

Hi Christian,

As this is an OS/DB upgrade, not an application upgrade, it makes practically no difference at all to your QAS and PRD systems if your DEV system is on a higher OS and DB release. Your DEV system will be on a different kernel, as the new Windows and SQL Server versions require the EXT kernel, whereas Win2003 and SQL2005 don't work with the EXT kernel, but this isn't a big deal. If your application isn't yet on a high enough Basis support pack, then you might need to apply support packs as part of this, and that will make the most difference. However, you might not even need to do that.

You are correct that when you restore a SQL 2005 database onto a SQL 2012 system, it will maintain a SQL 2005 compatibility level. Do not manually change this. SWPM will take care of this automatically for you when you run it after doing the restore. Your database will be updated to SQL 2012 compatibility. SQL 2012 is perfectly capable of running a database in SQL 2005 compatibility mode in the meantime until you run SWPM.

It's not that you "must" use homogeneous system copy, it's that if you aren't changing your OS/DB (other than a version upgrade), then that is what you are doing, by definition. You can still choose to use the Export/Import (aka R3load/Migration based) system copy if you wish, but unless you need to reformat the disk layout of your database, then you don't need to. The Backup/Restore method will likely be easier.

However, a caveat for this. One of the big advantages of SQL 2012 over 2005 is the ability for SAP to utilize database compression. This can make a huge difference. If you do a Backup/Restore system copy, your database will still not be compressed, so you'll have to consider doing it manually as a later step using MSSCOMPRESS, which by all reports can be time-consuming. However, if you use the R3load-based Export/Import method, then your database will be automatically compressed at the same time you do your import on the target system by SWPM. So, that's really something to consider. In fact, I just wrote a blog about my own experiences doing this two days ago that you might want to take a look at: .

Cheers,

Matt

[Former Member]

Hi Matt, Thank you very much for your answers to my questions. Best regards, Christian.