Planning your Production SAP® OS/DB migration

Planning  your   Production  SAP®   OS/DB  migration     What  is  an  SAP  OS/DB   migration?     An  SAP  OS/DB  migration  is  a  process   by  which  the  platform  (Operating   System,  Database  System  or  both)  of   an  SAP  system  is  changed  (for   example,  from  Windows/DB2  to  HP-­‐ UX/Oracle).  The  technical  procedure   for  the  migration  involves  copying  the   SAP  system’s  database  instance  to   another  server.    

Who  can  perform  production   SAP  OS/DB  migrations?     The  technical  migration  procedure   must  be  performed  by  a  consultant   with  a  special  SAP  certification  for   OS/DB  migrations.  Certified  SAP   OS/DB  migration  consultants  possess   the  knowledge  about  the  required   methodology  and  technology  for  the   migration.  There  is  only  one  SAP   OS/DB  migration  certification,  and  it’s   valid  for  all  supported  platform   combinations.       You  must  tell  SAP  who  your  certified   migration  consultant  is  and  they  will   verify  that  he/she  is  on  the  list  of   approved  consultants,  as  part  of  the   project  validation.  In  case  of  problems   during  go-­‐live,  SAP  will  ask  to  speak  to   the  certified  consultant  only.  If  you  do   not  have  one,  SAP  will  still  support  

you  but  consulting  fees  will  be   charged  if  SAP  needs  to  intervene.     It  is  advisable  to  engage  a  certified   migration  consultant  early  in  the   project  as  he/she  will  provide   valuable  input  for  the  planning.     Very  large  systems  with  critical  up-­‐ time  requirements  may  only  be  able  to   be  migrated  with  SAP’s  direct   involvement  in  addition  to  your   certified  consultant’s.  A  special   procedure  called  Incremental   Migration  (IMIG)  is  used  in  these  cases   to  minimize  downtime.  IMIG  is  a  fee-­‐ based  service  offered  by  SAP.    

Inform  SAP  

  You  must  inform  SAP  of  your  decision   to  migrate  your  productive  system  in   two  different  ways:       First,  you  must  inform  your  SAP   representative  as  soon  as  you  know   you  will  be  migrating  your  system.   There  are  contractual  implications  to   changing  your  platform.       And  second,  every  Production   migration  requires  the  mandatory  SAP   OS/DB  Migration  Check  service.    To   order  this  service,  open  a  Service   Marketplace  ticket  under  component   BC-­‐INS-­‐MIG  at  least  6  weeks  in   advance  of  your  intended  go-­‐live.    The   OS/DB  Migration  Check  is  a  fee-­‐based   service,  however,  it  can  usually  be   performed  free  of  charge  in  exchange   for  other  services  included  in  your   maintenance.  Ask  your  SAP   representative  about  your  specific   case.  

Time  requirements  

  SAP  makes  no  statements  about  the   total  duration  of  a  migration  project   because  every  SAP  system  is  different.   Having  said  that,  experience  shows   that  a  project  to  migrate  a  small  to   medium,  standard  3-­‐system  landscape   (DEV,  QAS  and  PRD)  can  have  a   duration  of  about  3-­‐4  months.   However,  large  or  complex  landscapes   may  take  much  longer  than  that.  The   estimated  duration  for  your  system   can  only  be  determined  once  your   Project  Manager  has  put  together  a   project  plan  with  input  from  the   migration  consultant  and  the  rest  of   the  project  team.    Total  project   duration  will  depend,  among  other   things,  on  how  much  testing  is   required.      

Testing  

  Adequate  testing  is  probably  the  most   important  success  factor  in  an  OS/DB   migration  project.  Both  technical   (Basis)  and  functional  testing  are   critical.  The  right  amount  of  functional   testing  depends,  among  other  things,   on  how  many  and  how  complex  your   SAP-­‐based  processes  are,  how  many   interfaces  exist  and  how  many   platform-­‐specific  programs  run  in   your  system.  The  minimum  that  SAP   requires  is  2  weeks  of  testing  between   the  test  run  and  the  productive  run.     A  minimum  of  one  successful  technical   test  run  is  required  by  SAP  for   productive  systems,  however,   especially  with  large  databases  or  old   hardware,  several  test  runs  may  be   required  in  order  to  optimize  the  

process  and  fit  the  downtime  to  the   required  window.  

Combining  an  OS/DB   migration  with  a  release   upgrade  

  Many  companies  make  the  decision  to   change  platforms  in  the  context  of   upgrading  their  SAP  system.  It  makes   sense  to  combine  both  projects  in   order  to  optimize  efforts,  however   there  should  be  a  stabilization  period   between  migration  and  upgrade  go-­‐ lives.  Plan  to  do  the  migration  first  and   the  upgrade  second  and,  ideally,  you   should  allow  at  least  6  weeks  between   the  migration  and  the  upgrade  go-­‐ lives  for  production  systems.  

Combination  with  Unicode   conversion  

  The  SAP  Unicode  conversion   procedure  is  based  on  the  standard   OS/DB  migration  procedure.  The  main   difference  is  that  the  Unicode   conversion  requires  additional   preparation  and  verification.  Other   than  that,  they  are  basically  the  same   and  can  be  performed  together.       For  more  information,  visit  the  SAP  OS/DB   migration  page  at:   https://service.sap.com/osdbmigration     Or  check  with  your  SAP  OS/DB  Migration   consultant.      

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