6493413 sap r3 administrator chapter 5

System Administration Made Easy 5–1

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Checklists ................................................................................................................5–2

R/3 Tasks .................................................................................................................5–4Monitoring and Plotting Database Growth (Transaction DB02)................................5–4Checking for Tables Nearing their Maximum Extents...............................................5–7Check Spool (Transaction SP01)..............................................................................5–9Transports into the Production System...................................................................5–11

Database Tasks.....................................................................................................5–11Checking the Database...........................................................................................5–11

Operating System Tasks ......................................................................................5–12Checking File System Space Usage.......................................................................5–12Changing the Alert Threshold .................................................................................5–15

Other Tasks ...........................................................................................................5–16Reviewing Hardware or a System Monitor Paging System ....................................5–16Cleaning the Tape Drive .........................................................................................5–18

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Chapter 5: Scheduled Weekly Tasks

Checklists

Release 4.0B5–2

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System: __________

Date: ____/____/____

Admin: _____________________

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Task Transaction Procedure Checkoff/initial

Check database for free space. DB02 – DBPerformance:Tables

Record free space.

Monitor database growth. DB02 – DBPerformance:Tables

Check spool for problems andthat spool is properly cleared.

SP01 - Spool

Transport into PRD STMS, or TP All properly approved transportsimported into PRD

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Task Where Procedure Checkoff/initial

DBCC Check output from DBCC job forerrors (SQL Server).

Run MS-SQL server updatestatistics.

Check for successful completion ofupdate stats job.

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Check file system for adequatespace.

RZ20 – CCMSAlert

Files system

Review space usage and thatsufficient free space exists in the filesystems.


Checklists

R/3 System Administration Made Easy5–3

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Check system monitoringsystems for update.

System monitor Review for any events that shouldbe added or deleted.

Check system monitor alertmechanisms.

System monitor Test e-mail.

Test paging.

Clean tape drive. Tape drive Clean using cleaning cartridge.

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Problem Action Resolution


R/3 Tasks

Release 4.0B5–4

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This task involves monitoring the growth of the database and projecting future growth todetermine when to plan to expand the database.

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You need to plan when to expand database capacity with the least disruption to companyoperations. If this expansion requires additional disk storage, you will need to purchase andinstall the drives. This requires lead-time that should be incorporated into the planningtimeline. The drives should be installed during a “noncritical” period.

Running out of database capacity during a critical period can result in an emergency!Murphy says:

“The drives you need will not available from any of your suppliers when you criticallyneed them.”

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To effectively monitor database growth:� Record and plot the database and freespace sizes� Check for table and indices that are close to their maximum extents (maxextents)� Check for “fast growth” tables (for example, VBFS)

Alter the percent-used factor for fast growers that have grown too large.

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If your system experiences rapid changes, this task should be performed daily, rather thanweekly.


R/3 Tasks


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1. In the Command field, enter transaction DB02 and choose Enter(or choose Tools → CCMS, then Control/Monitoring → Performance Menu, and then Database →Table/Indexes).

2. Choose Space statistics.

3. Record and plot the free spacevalues.

4. Choose Graphics.

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R/3 Tasks

Release 4.0B5–6

This screen shows a graph of freespace in the database, and aprojection into the future.

A. Now

B. Past history

C. Future forecast

Use care when you interpret thegraph. Forecasts are based onhistorical usage that may or may notbe valid in the future.

5. Choose Back.

6. Choose Tablespaces.

This screen shows remaining freespace by individual tablespace.

7. To get the history of an individualtablespace, double-click on it.

For Oracle, monitoring tablespaceusage is a critical task.

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R/3 Tasks


On the Tablespace history screen,notice:

A. Free (Kbyte), the remaining freespace

B. Used (Kbyte), the amount of spacein use

8. Choose Months, Weeks, or Days foran alternate view of this data.

9. Record and plot the tablespaceusage and freespace to estimatewhen you will need to extend thetablespaces, or get additional drivespace for the tablespaces.

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Tables have a maximum number of times that they can grow, before a reorganization isneeded, this is the MaxExtents value.

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The MaxExtents value for Oracle 8.x is “theoretically” unlimited. But in practice, the numberof extents should not be allowed to get too large.

An excessive number of extents will create a performance issue, because a table would bespread over many “fragments.” If the fragments are physically spread over the disk,retreiving data would require more time than if the data was physically close together.

The table reorganization is essentially “defragmenting” the table.

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R/3 Tasks

Release 4.0B5–8

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1. In the Command field, enter transaction SE38 and choose Enter(or choose Tools → ABAP Workbench, then Development → ABAP Editor)(An alternate transaction is SA38, System → Services → Reporting).

2. Choose Enter.

3. Enter RSORATC5 in Program.

4. Choose Execute.

5. Enter 100 in More extents than.This reduces the amount of tableto review.

6. Choose Execute.

7. Read the value in the Extentscolumn.

8. If it is within 100 extents of theMaxExtents column, areorganization of the object/tablespace is needed.

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R/3 Tasks


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The SAP Spool is the output manager for R/3. From the SAP spool, the print job goes to theoperating system’s print spooler or manager.

You need to check that old spool jobs are being properly cleared by the daily batch job.

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Old spools will take up database space or file system space, depending on how the spoolsystem has been configured. Whether it is database or file system space, potentiallyavailable “space” is being used by these spools.

Look for any errors that may indicate problems in the printing process.

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1. In the Command field, enter transaction SP01 and choose Enter(or choose System → Services → Output controller).

2. Clear the following fields:� User name

� From (date)� to (date)� Client

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R/3 Tasks

Release 4.0B5–10

3. Scroll down the screen to find theoldest date. This date should be inthe time frame defined for theRSPO0041 job that deletes oldspools (see Online Service Systemnote 16083).If it is not, the job may not beproperly deleting the old jobs andneeds to be analyzed.

4. To add the user name on thescreen, choose User name.

Two reasons for failure of the RSPO0041 job are:� The user ID under which the job is run does not have the proper security authorization

to execute the program.� The job is routed to an invalid printer.

5. The Client User option helps yousee which user from which clientis related to the spool jobs. Thisinformation is helpful if there arespool errors.

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Database Tasks


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A transport is the mechanism that R/3 uses to move changes from system to system orclient to client.

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Complete the transport in the production system during a “quiet” period (for example,Sunday afternoon or evening) when users are not logged on the system.

Ideally, a full system backup should have been completed before transports are imported.

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During a transport, objects may be overwritten. If an object is being used in the targetsystem when a transport is performed, the transport may cause inconsistent results orterminate the transaction.

In the worst case scenario, a transport may “break” the production system and you willneed to restore the system.

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To learn how to do transports, see the section, Transporting Objects, in chapter 10,Nonscheduled System Administration Tasks. Transports are a “nonscheduled” task becausethey are only done when necessary (that is, when you have a transport that needs to bemoved). You may also have the occasional “emergency” transport that must be moved at atime other than at your normal weekly transport time.

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There are two database checks; DB system check and DB verfication.� DB system check is for a “health check” of the database.� DB verification checks the internal Oracle block structure for block corruptions.

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If there is a problem with the database, a restore of the database will have the sameproblem. The DB verification give assurance that the backup is of a “good” database.

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See chapter 14, Checking the Database.


Release 4.0B5–12

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The file system should have sufficient “free space” to permit normal operations to run. Overtime, various operations will write files that will use up file space. These files need to beperiodically reviewed and moved, or backed up and deleted.

A few of the items that consume file space and must be considered when monitoring filespace usage include:� Transports� Hot Packages� Extract files from the R/3 System� Program logs� Backup logs� Error logs� Inbound interface files� Third-party programs that store their data outside the R/3 database

In addition to these items, check to see that “house cleaning” programs are runningproperly (See Online Service System note 16083).

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If your file system fills up, the R/3 System may stop because it cannot write a file. Thisstoppage will, in turn, stop any business operations that use the system.

In the Oracle database, this is a critical situation for the Oracle redo archive logs. If the filesystem fills and Oracle cannot write anymore redo archive logs, Oracle will stop, causingR/3 to stop.

To plan for such a situation:� Predict and plan for disk space needs.� Determine if storage space expansion is needed.

If storage space expansion is needed, purchase and installation plans need to be made.The expansion should be planned to minimize operational disruption.

� Determine if “house cleaning” is needed.If archiving is required for data files, archive to quality storage media such as opticaldisk, CD, or similar long-term media.


Operating System Tasks


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You can use the R/3 Alert Monitor, or you can go to the operating system to check file system space usage.In this step-by-step procedure, we use the R/3 Alert Monitor, because we can set alert points.

1. In the Command field, enter transaction RZ20 and choose Enter(or choose Tools → CCMS, then Control/Monitoring → Alert Monitor 4.0).

2. To expand the system to bechecked, click the node (forexample, SAO).

3. Double-click on the monitor, forexample Basic monitor.

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Release 4.0B5–14

4. Drill down as follows:SAP domain → <Instance> (SAO) →<server_instance_system number>(pa100767_SAO_01) →OperatingSystem → Filesystems.

The drives are color coded toindicate alert status:� Green (OK)� Yellow (Warning)� Red (Critical)

5. Expand the drive (for example, E:)to its statistics (Freespace andPercentage_Used):

These are statistics at the drive(not directory) level.

View these statistics while keepingyour particular system in mind.

For example, on your system,drive E may contain the databasewhich takes up all the space onthat drive. Keeping this in mind,you can expect and ignore thewarning message. Or change thealert threshold for that specificdrive. See Changing the AlertThreshold on page 5–15.

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To customize the points when thealert indicator changes from green toyellow, yellow to red, and back fromred to yellow, and yellow to green:

1. Click the node of the specific drivefor which you want to change thethreshold.

2. Select an alert.

3. Choose Customizing.

4. Choose Change.

5. Choose Thrshld values.

6. Enter new values for when thealerts will change (for example,1000).

These threshold values are specificto your system, and even tospecific drives in your system.

7. Choose Save.

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Other Tasks

Release 4.0B5–16

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A hardware or system monitor paging system generates alert messages (including e-mail)and pages based on your predefined parameters. Depending on the software, the followingcan be monitored:� Hardware items, such as servers, routers, and printers� Logs, such as operating system, applications, and database

By monitoring the NT event logs, you can monitor events from the SAP system log. Thisway, critical events such as an Update Terminate can be detected and acted on as soon asthey happen.

The following screen is courtesy of TNT Software.


Other Tasks


The previous screenshot shows what one of these monitors looks like. It has three functionalwindows:� Notification Rules

This is the mechanism to pass or filter events, and what action will be taken on theevents that are passed.

� EventsThese are the events that have been passed to the monitor program. (They got throughthe filters in the “notification rules”.)

� Monitored deviceThese are the monitored servers and IP devices.

This example, however, has not been configured to pick up and report on SAP events.

Initially, there will be a lot of tuning as you adjust the parameters of the system. Over time,parameter adjustments will become less and less.

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You may need to change alert parameters to filter noncritical events and to generate alertsfor critical events. Some of these tasks are as follows:� Account for new events

� Critical, you need to generate a page� Important, you need to generate a message (for example, e-mail)

� Determine if an event that used to be filtered now needs to generate an alert� Filter out events (both old and new) that should not generate alert messages

Filtering is necessary to manage the messages that are reviewed. If too many irrelevantmessages get through the filter, it becomes difficult to review the alert message log.

� Adjust for personnel changes

Occasionally, there may be other events that require action (for example, shift or dutychanges for organizations with several people “on call”).

You need to test that all alert mechanisms are functional

The paging/messaging function needs to be tested regularly. If it is unable to send a page,you will not receive the page when a critical alert occurs.

Not sending a page can be caused by:� Someone changing something in the e-mail or phone system that prevents alert

messages from being sent� A phone patch cable that has become disconnected from the modem


Other Tasks

Release 4.0B5–18

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To review the paging system:� Review the various monitored logs (such as the NT event logs) to look for events that

should generate an alert message (e-mail or page).The monitor program needs to be configured to pick these up and properly processthem.

� Review the log of the alert monitor for alert events that should be “filtered” out.The monitor program needs to be configured to filter or ignore such events.

� Test all alert mechanisms, such as pager, e-mail, and so on to make sure that they arefunctional.If you receive regular daily e-mail messages, then the e-mail testing is being done foryou.

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Clean the tape drive as part of a preventive maintenance program to minimize a backupfailure due to a dirty head.

Murphy says: “The backup that failed is the backup you will need.”

To keep your tape drive clean:� Follow the tape drive manufacturer’s instructions for your tape drive.

Some drives specify a specific interval of use for cleaning, typically based on hours ofuse. Adjust your cleaning frequency to account for your usage. Remember, that these arerecommendationsnot rules. If you consistently have recording errors or “head dirty”messages, then decrease the time between cleanings. If you have to clean your tapedrives more or less frequently, this task should be moved to the appropriate interval.Some drives (for example, DLT) do not require regular cleaning. They only needcleaning when the “clean head” indicator light is activated.

� Use the manufacturer’s approved cleaning cartridge for the tape drive.� Use the cleaning cartridge according to the manufacturer’s instructions.� Between uses, store the cleaning cartridge according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Keep your server room clean.

A dusty or dirty environment will not only make you clean your tape drive more often, butwill also coat the inside of the server with dust and cause a cooling problem.

6493413 sap r3 administrator chapter 5

Documents

system tasks

system monitor paging

production system

system monitor review

monitor database growth

file system space usage

system monitor test

database capacity