On September 5, we hosted a webinar featuring IT-Conductor FLUX, our latest innovation for automating SAP Post-Copy Automation (PCA). Led by Linh Nguyen, CEO and Co-founder at IT-Conductor, the session explored the complexities of refreshing SAP systems and how FLUX enhances efficiency for organizations that are still performing them manually. For SAP administrators and IT teams, this means drastically reducing manual efforts, saving valuable time, and mitigating the risks typically associated with manual SAP system refreshes.
Challenges of Performing Manual Post-Copy in System Refresh
Post-copy refers to the critical phase following a system refresh or system copy, where adjustments are made to ensure the refreshed target system performs correctly in its new environment. After a system refresh, the copied environment retains many of the configurations from the source system, including settings related to system connections, scheduled background jobs, and other key functional elements. To avoid conflicts and ensure smooth operation, these configurations must be adapted to the specific role of the target system, such as development, quality assurance, or sandbox. This step is crucial for configuring logical system names, resetting background jobs, reconfiguring communication interfaces, and modifying specific security settings like passwords, system users, and URLs, ensuring the copied system behaves as intended.
However, performing manual post-copy presents significant challenges. The manual process is labor-intensive, requiring administrators to perform several steps, each with its own set of technical configurations. This process is time-consuming and prone to human error, especially in large or complex SAP environments. A single misconfiguration, such as incorrectly setting up Remote Function Calls (RFCs) or forgetting to reset a critical job, can cause inconsistencies in system behavior, security vulnerabilities, or integration failures. Such errors may lead to downtime, system performance degradation, or issues discovered only later during testing or production. These risks highlight the importance of precision and expertise in the manual post-copy process, emphasizing the need for automation tools or detailed procedural checks to mitigate the challenges and ensure system stability and integrity.
Automating SAP Post-Copy with IT-Conductor FLUX
The webinar started by introducing IT-Conductor FLUX, an SAP-native Post-Copy Automation (PCA) tool designed to streamline the SAP post-copy process. Unlike traditional solutions that demand extensive OS-level access, FLUX operates entirely within the SAPGUI, ensuring smooth integration with your existing SAP setup and full compliance with SAP RISE deployments.
With FLUX, IT-Conductor provides a highly efficient and user-friendly tool for replacing SAP technical data. This tool is particularly valuable in environments with restricted OS-level access. Using SAP's Background Job Processing and R3Trans technology, FLUX delivers robust performance and reliability, making system refreshes easier and more efficient.
Step-by-Step Product Demo of IT-Conductor FLUX
The webinar walked participants through a step-by-step demo of how IT-Conductor FLUX automates the export and import portion of the SAP system refresh process. Here’s a breakdown of the key steps involved in the demonstration:
1. Creating Configuration for Export
The first step was demonstrating how to configure an export in FLUX. The tool allows users to select packages for export, such as background RFC, batch server groups, TMS highest transport number, Operating System Commands, Login Screen Information, Logon Groups, Operation Modes, Spool Configuration, System Profiles, RFC Connections, etc. These configurations can then be stored in a default directory or a custom location based on your preferences.
Figure 1: Creating Configuration for Export
2. Exporting Configurations
After selecting the desired packages, the configurations were saved and ready for export. IT-Conductor FLUX executes this process with just a click of a button.
Figure 2: Exporting Configurations
FLUX uses Function Modules (FMs) to generate R3TRANS exports. The exported data is stored in the specified directory upon creating the export configuration. You can see the export status in real time from the FLUX cockpit. Refresh the page until you see the export process completed.
Figure 3: Export Configuration Status
You can also view a detailed log of the technical configurations of each exported package by double-clicking the package of interest.
Figure 4: Export Configuration Logs
In a real-world scenario, this export is done before performing a database refresh to ensure the refreshed environment can be restored to match the original production system.
3. Simulating Database Refresh and Restoring Configurations
For demo purposes, we simulated a database refresh. This process typically involves suspending jobs and checking RFC connections to ensure no unintended jobs are triggered during the refresh.
To demonstrate how FLUX solves the tedious portion of restoring configurations after the refresh, the technical configurations, such as deleting an operation mode and RFC destination, were intentionally modified.
Figure 5: Deleting RFC Destination
Then, the same set of packages was imported to demonstrate the seamless restoration of all deleted configurations.
Figure 6: Importing Configurations
After the simulated database refresh, it was demonstrated that the operation modes, RFC destination, and other system settings were restored to their exact state before the refresh.
Figure 7: Restored RFC Destination
Use Cases Beyond Post-Copy Automation
While FLUX is primarily designed for post-copy automation, there are other use cases for the tool. For example, FLUX can also be used to save configurations during system migrations or to create backups of critical settings that can be restored in case of a system failure.
The versatility of FLUX makes it a valuable tool for any organization that uses SAP. Whether performing a routine system refresh or migrating to a new platform, FLUX ensures that key configurations are preserved and restored with minimal effort.
What’s Next?
For SAP administrators looking to streamline their Post-Copy Automation processes, IT-Conductor FLUX offers a powerful solution that saves time, reduces errors, and improves system uptime. With its ability to handle complex configurations and support multiple SAP modules, FLUX is a valuable addition to any SAP landscape.
