1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 …
1. What has changed since the performance is poor?
-
- System Parameter Changes (RZ10)?
- Increase in the number of users?
- Kernel patch?
- Support Packages?
- Linux and Oracle patches?
- Hardware Changes?
2. Any signs of general problems in the System Log - SM21?
3. Places to look:
- SM50: → Process → Trace → Components – is there a Trace level set? Is it greater than 1? What is the utilization of the work processes? Click the white clock picture-icon. Is the total CPU for the last dialog process > 10 minutes?
- ST04: Is the database monitor activated? If yes, it should deactivated it in normal operation. ST02: Check the buffering quality. If paging occurs in a buffer, the corresponding parameter should be increased. Also refer to SAP Note 121625 in this context.
- ST03: → Select a server → Today’s Workload: What are the response times? In the case of poor response times, where is most of the time needed? Button ‘Top Time’: Are there a lot of different transactions with poor response times or are there only a few? Is a certain transaction always slow or only sometimes?
- ST06: → Detail analysis menu → Hardware Info. To which extent are the hardware resources utilized? CallST06 at times with poor system performance. What is the CPU utilization? → Goto → Current Data → Snapshot → Top CPU processes and display the main CPU consumers. What is the utilization of the disks? How high is the paging in the base pool?
4. If only few transactions are affected by the performance problem, you should additionally note the following points:
1. Check whether modifications were made in the affected or related transactions.
2. ST03: Display the corresponding performance records.
3. SE30: Carry out a runtime analysis for the affected transactions.
4. ST05: If the database times are high, you should generate an SQL trace of the affected transactions to find out whether the database access is carried out in a useful way.
5. Look for tables that have experienced unusual monthly growth.
1. DB02 → Space Statistics button
2. Press Enter on the Tables and Indexes popup
3. History → All objects off/on
4. Click the Months button
5. Click on the first number under the Rows – Chg/Month header and click the Sort button.
6. The sorted results shows the top tables when it comes to rows changes per month. These tables are your “database hogs”.
6. What is considered “normal” response time?
Performance Standards:
Response time – 1 second (dialog), < 1 second (update)
CPU time – approx 40% of average response time
Wait time – < 1% of average response time
Load time – < 10% of average response time
DB request time — approx 40% of average response time
Database Standards:
Direct reads – < 10 ms
Sequential reads– < 40 ms
Changes – < 25 ms
High Value Indications:
DB request time –- Database or index problems
Load time – Buffer problems
Wait time – Not enough work processes
Locked tasks
Long running transactions
Whether you are trying to start a brand new SAP instance, or an old one, there are some very specific places to look for information.
If this is a brand new SAP instance, and the installation completed 100% successfully, you know that the instance itself must be viable. If your installaion was never able to complete due to the instance not being able to start up, the issue is probably due to lack of resources. Use the sapinst directory to search the installation logs and find your problem. Sort them with “ls – ltr” is see the list sorted in descending order for the ease of viewing.
If you have a test searching tool, look for “error” in all files with the suffix “.log”.
If your SAP instance has been up and running fine for a good while, then something has probably changed that makes it not come up.
· have you changed any instance paramters?
· did you do a kernel replacement for some reason?
· have there been SAP Support Packages applied that might
necessitate a kernel replacement?
· have there been OS patches?
· is the database archiver stuck or hosed?
· has a crucial directory run out of space?
· has a semaphore or ipc segment gotten stuck from a previous run?
· is your memory so fragmented that it can’t get enough primary space to start the instance?
· has someone changes the directory privileges?
To investigate an unsuccessful start up, look at the logs in the /home/<sid>adm directory. Sort them with “ls – ltr” is see the list sorted in descending order for the ease of viewing.
If nothing obvious is found, go to the /usr/sap/<SID>/DVEBMGS00/work directory and do the same thing in this directory. The most useful information can be found in the dev_wx, dev_ms, dev_disp, dev_rfcx, and stderrx files.
If all else fails, zip the contains of the /usr/sap/<SID>/DVEBMGS00/work directory, open a problem with SAP, and attach the zipped file to it. Also provide them with the answers to the above questions as well as your current hardware and database platforms, patch level for SAP support packages, kernel, and the OS, and anything else you might think useful.
The Delicate Art of SAP Note Search
How often have you seen a posted message saying “I have searched through SAP Notes and can find nothing related to this matter.”? And how often have you gone to SAP Marketplace and done a search yourself and found a hit? If we only had a had a nickle…
Searching SAP Notes (formerly known as OSS notes) is a science as well as an art. Lets use this error message as an example:
”BR051I BRBACKUP 6.10 (80)
BR055I Start of database backup: bdmsqjbi.anf 2004-02-27 00.05.42
BR602W No valid SAP license found - please contact SAP”
First, you should search the specific error message “BR602W No valid SAP license found”. If you get at least one hit, you should read the SAP Note even if it didn’t look as if it pertained 100%. Why? Because it might contain information leading to other notes that did pertain, or give you new ideas for more search terms to help narrow the scope of my query.
If you didn’t find a note that matched the problem, you could make your next search a little less specifc, like “brbackup No valid SAP license found”. First you could search for the phrase, and if you had no luck, you could search for all words. And if that produced nothing tangible, you could make it even less specific as in “brbackup SAP license error” or “SAP license error”.
Normally a very specific query will get you the results you need. But sometimes things get lost in translation. For example, you are applying support packages and get an import error with the following message “Panic! Panic! Panic! there’s no object header”. Since we speak English and we realize that the SAP product was designed and implemented in Germany, we have to guess that the English word “Panic!” somehow was translated from the German word “Warning!” and that we can temporarily delay a panick attack until we can research the error. Moral of the story? Realize that some things just don’t translate correctly from language to language, and search accordingly. If you searched for “Panic! Panic! Panic!” and got no hits, you could try “warning message no object header”.
Last, and not least, read and become familiar with your SAP Notes. There are certain notes that you pull over and over again due to some task that needs fresh, current and precise information. These are mostly lists of supported printer devices, known problems with applying patches, etc.
If a user seems to be experiencing SAPGui errors, several things need to be checked:
· Is the operating system on the user’s workstation patched to the level recommended by SAP?
· Is the user using a version of SAPGui that is too old for his workstation?
· Is the user using a version of SAPGui that is not certified for his operating system?
· Is the user’s workstation having resource problems?
· Is the user’s workstation connected to the LAN?
· Can a different user reproduce the same error on the same workstation?
· Are there any SAPGui patches that have not been applied?
Most SAPGui problems can be solved by either a) deleting and reinstalling SAPGui on the workstation, or b) deleting and installing a newer version of SAPGui.
Make sure that these lines were added to the services file on the user’s workstation:
After you have successfully configured your SAPGui, add these three lines to the bottom of your \Windows\system32\drivers\etc\services file:
sapdp00 3200/tcp
sapmsR3I 3600/tcp
#
If you have SAP Instances using System Numbers other than 00, you will have to add their equivalents to the services file as well. Also, check if you are having connection problems due to firewall restrictions. And, be sure that your Insert Key is set so that you can type your password in properly – you can delete whatever is in the password field in order to enter your password.
If you have never tested connectivity to a SAP instance on the workstation having the connection problem, first you need to make sure that the workstation can connect to the SAP server in some non-SAPGui way. Let’s say your user us trying to connect to System ID (SID) DEV, System Number 00, and IP address 10.1.10.11. Open a DOS-Windows and type this:
telnet 10.1.10.11 3200¬
If the screen rolls and goes totally blank then your dispatcher is reachable. You can close the DOS session. If your window never goes completely blank and you set a “Connecting To 10.1.10.11… Could not open connection to the host, on port 3200: Connect failed” error message right under the command you entered, the dispatcher is not reachable. Also, make sure the \Windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts file on the workstation is correct.
For information regarding operating system, resource, and hardware requirements for running SAPGui, see SAP Note 26417 -SAP GUI Resources: Hardware and software.
If CUA stops sending changes from DEV to QAS or PRD, something in the RFC setup has changed. Either the password or the user type for RFC_USER was changed, or the SM59 RFC connection to was changed and is no longer working.
Use SCUL in DEV in your DEV CUA parent to list the errors that are occurring. Look for the user you tried to transport but could not. You might see “You are not authorized to change users in group” or “No authorization for group users in role”. This does not mean that YOU are not authorized, it means that the RFC_USER doing the ALE communication between the SAP systems is not authorized.
First, reset the RFC_USER password in DEV, QAS, and PRD. And make sure that the user type is Communication and not dialog. Now go to sm59 and do remote logins using the QAS RFC connections. If they work (ie nothing seems to happen after you click the remote logon button) everything should now be fixed. If you get a logon screen for QAS, change the password in the sm59 screen to the same password you changed RFC_USER to in DEV and QAS.
Retry your user change. If it still doesn’t go to QAS, maybe the QAS system is hosed and down.
Important SAP Marketplace Links
Inbox http://service.sap.com/inbox Read messages from SAP to you
Installation Guides http://service.sap.com/instguides Download SAP product installation
guides
License Keys http://service.sap.com/licensekey Request New Permanent License Key
Messages to SAP http://service.sap.com/message Open problems with SAP
QuickLinks Page http://service.sap.com/quicklinks An index of SAP links
Oracle DBA Page http://service.sap.com/dbaora Page for Oracle DBA Material
OSS Notes http://service.sap.com/notes Search the SAP Notes Database
Patches http://service.sap.com/patches Download SAP software patches
Remote Connection http://service.sap.com/remoteconnection Learn about the OSS connection and
order it from SAP
Service Connection http://service.sap.com/serviceconnection Open a Service Connection for SAP
to access your SAP landscape
Software Distribution http://service.sap.com/swdc Download new images of
Installation CDs & DVDs
SSCR http://service.sap.com/sscr Register Developers and Changes
made against SAP objects
User Administration http://service.sap.com/user-admin Add/Change OSS ID user information