28_BPM Setup Guide

Business Process Monitoring Set-up and User Guideline

Business Process Monitoring with SAP Solution Manager Release ST 3.1/3.2 and ST-SER 2005_1_620

July 2005

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Business Process Monitoring in the SAP Solution Manager

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................ 8

2 BUSINESS PROCESS MANAGEMENT ................................................................................... 9 2.1 Aspects of Business Process Management............................................................................................ 9 2.2 Business Process Management in the SAP Solution Manager ............................................................ 11 2.2.1 Business Process Monitoring ........................................................................................................ 11 2.2.2 Integration Management and Interface Monitoring........................................................................ 13 2.2.3 Service Level Management and Reporting ................................................................................... 14 2.2.4 Business Process Management Related Services and Best Practice Documents....................... 14

3 TECHNICAL INFRASTRUCTURE........................................................................................... 15 3.1 SAP Solution Manager Infrastructure.................................................................................................... 15 3.2 Computing Center Management System (CCMS)................................................................................ 15 3.3 Data Collection Method ......................................................................................................................... 16 3.4 RFC Destinations .................................................................................................................................. 17 3.5 Add-Ons and Plug-Ins ........................................................................................................................... 18 3.5.1 SAP Solution Manager System ..................................................................................................... 18

3.5.1.1 ST.............................................................................................................................................................. 18 3.5.1.2 ST-SER ..................................................................................................................................................... 19

3.5.2 Satellite Systems ........................................................................................................................... 19 3.5.2.1 ST-PI ......................................................................................................................................................... 19 3.5.2.2 ST-A/PI...................................................................................................................................................... 19

3.6 OCX-Controls for SAP Solution Manager 3.1 ....................................................................................... 19

4 PREREQUISITES FOR BUSINESS PROCESS MONITORING ............................................. 20 4.1 Certification Key .................................................................................................................................... 20 4.2 Business Process Monitoring Infrastructure.......................................................................................... 20 4.2.1 Service Session(s)......................................................................................................................... 20 4.2.2 Service Session Structure ............................................................................................................. 20

5 SETUP OF BUSINESS PROCESS MONITORING ................................................................. 22 5.1 Review Core Business Processes ........................................................................................................ 22 5.2 Solution Support Organization .............................................................................................................. 22 5.3 Business Processes .............................................................................................................................. 24 5.3.1 Business Process Steps and Interfaces........................................................................................ 26 5.3.2 Monitoring Types ........................................................................................................................... 27 5.3.3 Application Monitor ........................................................................................................................ 28 5.3.4 Background Job............................................................................................................................. 28

5.3.4.1 Monitoring Objects .................................................................................................................................... 29 5.3.4.2 Monitoring Alerts ....................................................................................................................................... 32 5.3.4.3 Major Job Monitoring Cases...................................................................................................................... 34

5.3.5 Dialog Performance....................................................................................................................... 35 5.3.5.1 Monitoring Objects .................................................................................................................................... 36 5.3.5.2 Monitoring Alerts ....................................................................................................................................... 36

5.3.6 Update Errors ................................................................................................................................ 37 5.3.6.1 Monitoring Objects .................................................................................................................................... 37 5.3.6.2 Monitoring Alerts ....................................................................................................................................... 37

5.3.7 Due List Log................................................................................................................................... 37 5.3.7.1 Monitoring Objects .................................................................................................................................... 37 5.3.7.2 Monitoring Alerts ....................................................................................................................................... 38

5.3.8 Application Log .............................................................................................................................. 38


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5.3.8.1 Monitoring Objects .................................................................................................................................... 39 5.3.8.2 Monitoring Alerts ....................................................................................................................................... 39 5.3.8.3 Alert evaluation remarks............................................................................................................................ 40

5.3.9 Document Volume ......................................................................................................................... 41 5.3.9.1 Monitoring Objects and Alerts ................................................................................................................... 41

5.3.10 Other CCMS Monitors ................................................................................................................... 41 5.3.11 Monitoring Transactions ................................................................................................................ 42 5.3.12 Monitoring Activities....................................................................................................................... 42 5.3.13 Notifications ................................................................................................................................... 43

5.3.13.1 Workflow Notification............................................................................................................................. 43 5.3.13.2 Support Notifications ............................................................................................................................. 44

5.3.14 Interface Monitoring....................................................................................................................... 44 5.3.14.1 Define Monitoring Objects in local CCMS.............................................................................................. 45 5.3.14.2 Setup Interface Monitoring in SAP Solution Manager ........................................................................... 51

5.3.15 Generation of Customizing ............................................................................................................ 55 5.3.16 Data Collector Frequencies ........................................................................................................... 56 5.3.17 Local RFC Destination for Data Collection.................................................................................... 56 5.4 Activate / Deactivate Business Process Monitoring.............................................................................. 56 5.4.1 Activation ....................................................................................................................................... 57 5.4.2 Deactivation................................................................................................................................... 59

6 USE OF BUSINESS PROCESS MONITORING...................................................................... 60 6.1 Alert Rating............................................................................................................................................ 60 6.2 Graphical Overview ............................................................................................................................... 60 6.2.1 Alerts related to a Process Step.................................................................................................... 62 6.3 Business Process Monitoring Session .................................................................................................. 64 6.3.1 Business Process Step Information .............................................................................................. 64 6.3.2 General Monitoring Object Information ......................................................................................... 65 6.3.3 Alert Information ............................................................................................................................ 65

6.3.3.1 Messages.................................................................................................................................................. 65 6.3.3.2 Alert Confirmation...................................................................................................................................... 66 6.3.3.3 Support Notification ................................................................................................................................... 67 6.3.3.4 Alert Configuration..................................................................................................................................... 68 6.3.3.5 Analysis Transaction ................................................................................................................................. 68

6.4 Escalation Path and Error Handling ...................................................................................................... 68 6.5 Service Level Reporting ........................................................................................................................ 69

7 UPGRADE TO A NEW SAP SOLUTION MANAGER RELEASE ........................................... 70 7.1 SAP Solution Manager 2.2 Upgrade to SAP Solution Manager 3.2 ..................................................... 70 7.2 SAP Solution Manager 3.1 Upgrade to SAP Solution Manager 3.2 ..................................................... 70

8 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR USING SAP SOLUTION MANAGER ............................ 71 8.1 Solution Landscape Copy ..................................................................................................................... 71 8.2 SAP Solution Manager Roles and Authorizations................................................................................. 71 8.3 Service Desk Configuration................................................................................................................... 72 8.4 Workflow Configuration ......................................................................................................................... 72 8.4.1 Prerequisites.................................................................................................................................. 73 8.4.2 SAPconnect Administration ........................................................................................................... 73 8.4.3 Agent sapccm4x for satellite system ............................................................................................. 73

8.4.3.1 Download and Registration ....................................................................................................................... 74 8.4.3.2 Check SAP Solution Manager for sapccms4x........................................................................................... 74 8.4.3.3 Additional information................................................................................................................................ 74


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9 SAP NOTES AND FAQ ........................................................................................................... 76 9.1 Monitoring.............................................................................................................................................. 76 9.2 Miscellaneous........................................................................................................................................ 76

10 APPENDIX ............................................................................................................................... 77 10.1 Errors, Messages and Warnings - Generate Customizing.................................................................... 77 10.2 Errors, Messages and Warnings Activation ....................................................................................... 77


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TABLE OF FIGURES Figure 3-1 SAP Solution Manager and Satellite Systems............................................................................... 15 Figure 3-2 Technical Infrastructure.................................................................................................................. 16 Figure 3-3 Data collection................................................................................................................................ 17 Figure 4-1 SAP Solution Manager service session ......................................................................................... 21 Figure 5-1 Solution Support Organization - Teams......................................................................................... 23 Figure 5-2 Team Members .............................................................................................................................. 23 Figure 5-3 Contact maintenance with Solution Manager 3.2 .......................................................................... 24 Figure 5-4 Monitoring Roles ............................................................................................................................ 24 Figure 5-5 Business Processes....................................................................................................................... 26 Figure 5-6 Business Process Steps ................................................................................................................ 27 Figure 5-7 Job Details...................................................................................................................................... 30 Figure 5-8 Start Information............................................................................................................................. 31 Figure 5-9 Weekly Schedule ........................................................................................................................... 31 Figure 5-10 Monthly Schedule......................................................................................................................... 32 Figure 5-11 Monitoring Alerts - Background Jobs ........................................................................................... 32 Figure 5-12 Monitoring Objects Dialog Performance ................................................................................... 36 Figure 5-13 Monitoring Alerts - Dialog Performance ....................................................................................... 36 Figure 5-14 Monitoring Objects - Update Errors ............................................................................................. 37 Figure 5-15 Monitoring Object - Due List Log ................................................................................................. 38 Figure 5-16 Monitoring Alert - Due List Log .................................................................................................... 38 Figure 5-17 Monitoring Objects - Application Log ........................................................................................... 39 Figure 5-18 Monitoring Alerts - Application Log / Total Messages.................................................................. 39 Figure 5-19 Monitoring Alerts - Application Log / Critical Messages............................................................... 40 Figure 5-20 Monitoring Objects and Alerts - Document Volume..................................................................... 41 Figure 5-21 Other CCMS Monitors.................................................................................................................. 42 Figure 5-22 Monitoring Transactions............................................................................................................... 42 Figure 5-23 ALE/EDI Standard Monitoring Groups ......................................................................................... 46 Figure 5-24 qRFC/tRFC Standard Monitoring Groups .................................................................................... 46 Figure 5-25 BDMO - New Entry....................................................................................................................... 47 Figure 5-26 BDMO - Customize Monitoring Object......................................................................................... 48 Figure 5-27 ALE/EDI Specific Monitoring Objects........................................................................................... 49 Figure 5-28 qRFC-Customizing / New Entry ................................................................................................... 49 Figure 5-29 qRFC Customizing / Queue Groups ......................................................................................... 50 Figure 5-30 qRFC - Queue Assignments ........................................................................................................ 50 Figure 5-31 qRFC Specific Monitoring Object................................................................................................. 51 Figure 5-32 Setup Interface Monitoring in SAP Solution Manager ................................................................. 51 Figure 5-33 Use value help to assign ALE/EDI-monitoring object to an interface .......................................... 52


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Figure 5-34 Selection of ALE/EDI related alerts.............................................................................................. 53 Figure 5-35 Assign qRFC-monitoring object to an interface ........................................................................... 53 Figure 5-36 Selection of qRFC related alerts .................................................................................................. 54 Figure 5-37 Configure tRFC ............................................................................................................................ 54 Figure 5-38 Selection of a Interface technique other than ALE/EDI, qRFC or tRFC ...................................... 55 Figure 5-39 Other CCMS Alert Monitors ......................................................................................................... 55 Figure 5-40 Business Process Monitoring - Initial screen ............................................................................... 58 Figure 5-41 Business Process Monitoring - After activation............................................................................ 59 Figure 6-1 Possible alert ratings...................................................................................................................... 60 Figure 6-2 Current status of Business Process in Business Scenario ............................................................ 61 Figure 6-3 Current status on Business Process level ..................................................................................... 62 Figure 6-4 Current status on Business Process step level.............................................................................. 63 Figure 6-5 Open alerts on Business Process step level.................................................................................. 63 Figure 6-6 Business Process Monitoring Session........................................................................................... 64 Figure 6-7 Monitoring activities........................................................................................................................ 65 Figure 6-8 Messages relatet to an alert........................................................................................................... 66 Figure 6-9 Alert Confirmation in the session ................................................................................................... 67


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1 Introduction Business Process Management (BPM), as part of Solution Management, focuses on the operation (rather than on the implementation) of business processes from an application or functional perspective. This includes, basically, all steps or tasks that have to be fulfilled in order to operate the business processes and to ensure their smooth and reliable flow across the different technical components.

Business Process Monitoring (BPMon), as part of Solution Monitoring and Business Process Management, means the proactive and process-oriented monitoring of the most important or critical business processes including the observation of all technical and business application specific functions that are required for a steady and stable flow of the business processes.

The core business processes that are implemented in an ERP or other software and operated by a company are of particular importance, and Business Process Monitoring is intended to ensure a smooth and reliable operation of the business processes and, thereby, that the core business processes meet a companys business requirements in terms of stability, performance, and completeness.

The SAP Solution Manager provides a graphic to visualize a companys (distributed) system and solution landscape and all related business processes. By using Business Process Management, it is possible to define and customize alert situations from a basic set of configurable alerts provided by the SAP Solution Manager. These alerts are then visualized by green, yellow, and red alert icons for each individual business process step in the graphical business process representation. Business Process Monitoring is intended to detect and respond to critical situations as early as possible in order to solve problems as fast as possible.

In addition, the SAP Solution Manager offers extended functionality for error handling and problem resolution. By the definition of contact persons and escalation paths, Business Process Monitoring can be integrated into the companys overall strategy for Business Process Management and Solution Management within their Solution Support Organization.


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2 Business Process Management Business Process Management is a strategy that comprises all necessary procedures to ensure the operation and the smooth and reliable flow of the core business processes to meet a companys business requirements. It focuses on the operation (rather than on the implementation) of business processes from an application or functional perspective. This includes, basically, all steps or tasks that have to be fulfilled in order to operate the business processes and to ensure their smooth and reliable flow across the different technical components.

In the last few years the IT world of SAP customers has grown much more complex. Instead of one single SAP R/3 system there are now extensive system landscapes distributed over the entire globe and involving different mySAP.com-solutions. Thus, it has become much more complicated to keep track of the whole system landscape.

With the increased complexity of customers solution landscapes it has become a lot more important that the communication between the Business Departments and the IT Department is well established. By this way, the customer can ensure that upcoming problems can quickly be ranked by their business relevance. Hence corrective, and in the end preventive, measures can be taken. Business Process Management provides a possibility to establish a better communication between the IT Department and the Business Departments.

Example:

A background job is cancelled.

Without established communication the IT Department doesn't know at what point of the business process this background job was cancelled (or even what business process the background job is part of) and thus cant evaluate its business significance. Therefore they cant tell, what has to be done with this job:

- Restart the job? If yes, should it be done immediately or at what point of time?

- Is it enough to simply restart the job or do preliminary steps have to be repeated?

The Application Department may not notice for some time that something went wrong. If they do, it will be difficult to find out at what point the business process failed and what corrective measures should be taken.

2.1 Aspects of Business Process Management Whenever a Business Process Management strategy has been developed within a customers project, it has been proved that an overall concept for Business Process Management consists basically of nine different aspects, which should be considered when operating business processes in a complex and distributed system landscape. These parts will be briefly illustrated in the following section.

Solution Support Organization The roles and responsibilities, for all persons involved in the customers Solution Support and Monitoring Organization, have to be defined. As an example, during an implementation project there is usually an implementation project team responsible for the Application Support before the Going Live of the project. Hence it is important that there is also someone responsible and doing the Application Support after Going Live and after the implementation project team left the project. Therefore a handover procedure and a team responsible for the Application Support after Going Live have to be defined.

SAP provides a best practice document about General Business Process Management in the SAP Service Marketplace (URL http://service.sap.com/solutionmanagerbp). The document includes all relevant roles within a Solution Support Organization that should be defined and staffed in order to provide an optimal level of support to a related solution.

Business Process Analysis When creating a Business Process Management concept, it is essential that the business processes are known and well understood. Therefore, the business processes have to be analyzed and documented in detail, including all relevant business process steps, involved interfaces, availability requirements, performance and throughput requirements, and functional dependencies.


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Business Process Monitoring Business Process Monitoring (BPMon), as one essential aspect of Business Process Management, means the proactive and process-oriented monitoring of a companys core business processes including the observation of all technical and business application-specific functions that are required for a steady and stable flow of the business processes.

Integration and Interface Management Integration and Interface Management includes techniques regarding interface operation and the interfaces impact on business processes in order to ensure data quality and consistency, interface security and recovery reliability.

Program Scheduling Management (Ablaufsteuerung) Program Scheduling Management means the planning, controlling or scheduling, and monitoring of all system and business-process related operational activities (such as background job scheduling of programs and reports) in a distributed system landscape. Basically, Program Scheduling Management determines in which sequence all background activities have to be scheduled and thus executed to avoid hardware bottleneck situations and in order to meet processing deadlines, e.g. specific time windows reserved for maintenance and administration activities for hardware and software components.

Master Data Maintenance Master Data Management includes methods regarding the exchange of master data between different software components in a distributed system landscape with focus on master data consistency throughout the entire solution landscape.

Data Management and Archiving Data Management and Archiving aims to avoid unnecessary data growth within a solution and consists of four different parts:

Data Avoidance

o Do not write unnecessary application data

Data Summarization

o Write only limited business data

Data Deletion

o Delete a targeted set of non-relevant business information

Data Archiving

o Remove and keep approved business data objects

It also includes having procedures at hand that check for data inconsistencies on a regular basis and correct them if necessary.

Change Management Change Management includes measures for a defined workflow on how changes of business processes are applied. This may include code changes as well as SAP Note implementation related to changes of the business process itself.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) Key Performance Indicators can be used to quantify and verify the success of Business Process Management and Application Operation in order to support and ensure that the defined business objectives are met. KPIs are somehow associated with business-related or business-wise measures such as average business transaction response times in order to check and ensure the progress of the related business processes.


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Key Performance Indicators can be used to define Service Level Agreements between different support levels or organizational units, for instance the IT Department of a company and the business departments. By defining Key Performance Indicators and their related threshold values (e.g. for dialog transaction performance, business process availability, document throughput etc.), it is possible to verify the business process flow or progress during the day-to-day operation within a Solution Landscape. A summary of these verification results and the adherence to possibly defined Service Level Agreements is provided by means of Service Level (SL) Reporting.

2.2 Business Process Management in the SAP Solution Manager

Some important aspects of Business Process Management have been already integrated into the SAP Solution Manager. One of the main features of the SAP Solution Manager is the Business Process Monitoring functionality that will be explained in detail in this document. This includes procedures related to Program Scheduling Management (including background job monitoring) as well as the definition and documentation of error handling procedures and escalation paths. It further implies that the SAP Solution Manager can be used as central tool to map and document a companys business processes. Moreover, the SAP Solution Manager allows the definition and documentation of roles and responsibilities for a companys Solution Support Organization.

In addition to that, the SAP Solution Manager covers aspects related to Interface Monitoring and up to some extent Data Management and also Change Management. Furthermore, Key Performance Indicators and Service Level Agreements can be defined and verified by means of Service Level Reporting, and Business Process Management related best practice documents can be also accessed via the SAP Solution Manager. Besides, Business Process Management assessments are included within the SAP Solution Management Assessment (SMA), SAP Technical Integration Check (TIC), and the SAP Operations Competence Assessment (SOCA).

2.2.1 Business Process Monitoring Business Process Monitoring (BPMon) as one essential aspect of Business Process Management means the proactive and process-oriented monitoring of a companys core business processes including the observation of all technical and business application-specific functions that are required for a smooth and reliable flow of the core business processes. Business Process Monitoring is intended to detect problem situations as early as possible in order to solve them as fast as possible, before they become critical for the business. A tool for Business Process Monitoring is designed to provide defined monitoring procedures and to enable the customers Solution Support Organization to solve problems more proactively.

In general, a Business Process Monitoring includes the solution-wide observation of:

Business process performance (Key Performance Indicators)

Background jobs (Program Scheduling Management tasks (Ablaufsteuerung))

Business application logs (such as any error log, general application log, due list logs etc.)

Data transfer via interfaces between software components

Data consistency (update processing)

Technical infrastructure and components which are required to run the business processes

Required periodic monitoring tasks

Since Business Process Monitoring is not considered to be only a tool, it further comprises detailed procedures for error handling and problem resolution, the precise definition of contact persons and escalation paths, and the tight integration into the customers Solution Support Organization.

Functional Scope of Business Process Monitoring The functional scope of Business Process Monitoring within the SAP Solution Manager (Release 3.1 and 3.2, ST-SER 2005_1_620) comprises the following features (i.e., alert monitoring capabilities):

Complete Functional Scope of Business Process Monitoring

R/3 background jobs (running on SAP systems with an R/3 basis)


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o Start- and end-delay

o Out of time window

o Maximum Duration

o Cancellation

o Parallel processing of jobs

o Job log messages

o Monitoring of jobs that are scheduled monthly or via factory calendar

Dialog transaction performance per instance (as of SAP R/3 4.6B)

o Response time

o Wait time

o Load and Generating time

o Database time

o GUI-time

Update errors for transactions and programs

o V1 update errors / V2 update errors

Document volume (of any tables at any time)

o Inserts, updates, deletes

Application log messages

o Application Log alerts for specific objects and/or sub-objects or MSG type, MSG ID, MSG No

Application Monitoring of application-specific key figures

o Monitoring of due list logs (e.g. for delivery, picking and billing)

Document Creation

Minimum quantity of documents

Total quantity of messages

Due List log messages

o Monitoring of MRP key figures (SAP R/3 MM/PP)

Availability / existence of a disposition list

Evaluation of a disposition list by plant, controller, exception group

o Monitoring of SAP APO Application Log (MC8K)

Application Log alerts (differentiated by MSG type, MSG ID and MSG No)

Application Log summary (evaluating the amount of errors)

o Performance monitoring of transactions or programs on function code level


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Performance for Function Codes being CUA internal commands

Performance for Function Codes transferred in HTTP requests

o User exits that can be individually customized (ABAP) for extension of the available functionality

All alerts which are configured in the CCMS of the central or one of the satellite systems

Interface Monitoring

Data transfer via interfaces (effective from SAP R/3 4.6C)

o EDI / ALE (IDoc)

o qRFC

o tRFC (generic)

Additional Functionality usable for Business Process Monitoring within the SAP Solution Manager

Service Level Reporting aggregated per day, week or month and business process, business process step, monitoring type, and alert type based on:

o Statistical performance data (EWA) for Service Level Agreements

o Real" alerts from Business Process Monitoring

Auto-Reaction e.g. via Email, Fax or SMS (can be created for single alerts)

Auto-Creation of Service Desk messages (can be triggered automatically for single or multiple alerts)

Service Desk including a solution database

2.2.2 Integration Management and Interface Monitoring Integration Management comprises all necessary procedures to ensure the reliable and safe operation of all interfaces included within the business processes with respect to consistency, security and recovery.

One essential part of Integration Management is Interface Monitoring. Interfaces are very often considered to be a potential risk to their related business processes and are often one reason for failure of the business process flow. When core business processes fail or do not perform as required, it is possible to lose money within a short period of time. Hence Interface Monitoring is very important and aims to check on a regular basis if an interface is available and working properly. Procedures for Interface Monitoring should include:

Monitoring tasks that are split up into Technical and Application Support

Error handling procedures

Restart and recovery techniques

Escalation paths

The SAP SMO Service for Interface Management is intended to analyze and optimize essential interfaces which are related to the core business processes. Thereby the focus lies on performance, design, configuration and operation aspects.

For details about Interface Monitoring in the SAP Solution Manager, see the chapter about Interface Monitoring below.


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2.2.3 Service Level Management and Reporting Service Level Management means to measure defined parameters in accordance with Service Level Agreements committed between two parties, organizational units, or organizations involved in the management and operation of a customers SAP solution. The following different organizations might be involved in a customer's project and therefore should be considered within a Service Level Management:

Customer himself

Hardware partner

Software partner

Implementation partner

Outsourcing partner (e.g., for hardware hosting, support, etc.)

The results can be reported by means of Service Level (SL) Reporting in order to verify the adherence to the defined Service Level Agreements and hence if the committed support levels are met. Moreover, Service Level Reporting might be used to reveal any communication or competence issues between the different parties involved.

Service Level Agreements can be based on technical indicators such as system availability and database free space or on business KPIs such as dialog transaction performance and document throughput. The Service Level Report itself should be prepared on a regular basis including all relevant data and information, and it should be available to all relevant parties.

For details about Service Level Management and Reporting in the SAP Solution Manager, see the chapter about Service Level Management and Reporting below.

2.2.4 Business Process Management Related Services and Best Practice Documents

Besides the Solution Management Optimization Service for Business Process Management, SAP offers different other services and Best Practice documents related to this topic. The following SAP Services are available in the area of evaluation and assessment of a particular customers project or solution:

The SAP Technical Integration Check (TIC)

The SAP Solution Management Assessment (SMA)

The SAP Operations Competence Assessment (SOCA)

The SAP Technical Integration Check (TIC, prior to Going Live) and the SAP Solution Management Assessment (SMA, post to Going Live) map the system and solution landscape as well as the core business processes. Additionally both services aim at identifying all related issues and their impact on the system and solution landscape and the core business processes. As a result these services provide an issue list and action plan including all necessary steps and recommendations in order to address or solve all problems that were found. The SAP Operations Competence Assessment (SOCA) analyzes an existing Solution Support Organization in terms of necessary roles, responsibilities and required skills (related to trainings). This service shows required actions that should be taken in order to operate and support the customers SAP Solution optimally.

Best practices in managing the SAP solution are for

Knowledge transfer; the employees gain the knowledge to continuously improve their SAP solution

Currently the following Best Practice Documents are available in the area of Business Process Management

General Business Process Management Is a Best Practice Document and describes how to develop and implement an all-inclusive concept for Business Process Management and Monitoring for a solution landscape comprising mySAP components.

Program Scheduling Management

This Best Practice Document provides you a rough roadmap on how to create and install a holistic


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Program Scheduling Management concept and lays the groundwork for an optimal Background job scheduling.

Further documents are available which are SAP solution specific (e.g. CRM, SCM and SRM)

By using SAP's experience gained in thousands of installations will save time and money because it avoids complications from the very beginning.

The documents are available on the SAP Service Marketplace via the URL http://service.sap.com/solutionmanagerbp.

3 Technical Infrastructure For all SAP Solution Manager Releases, the technical infrastructure used for Solution Monitoring is based on the CCMS Alert Monitor (see below). The communication technique that is used between the SAP Solution Manager and the corresponding satellite systems is established via the RFC technology. This technique is used for all parts of Solution Monitoring in the SAP Solution Manager, i.e. for System, Interface, and Business Process Monitoring.

3.1 SAP Solution Manager Infrastructure The SAP Solution Manager obtains all necessary information for System and Business Process Monitoring as well as other Services from so-called satellite systems. These satellite systems can be SAP basis systems connected with application components such as CRM or BW or components from other vendors.

For components from other vendors self-developed CCMS agents are necessary.

Figure 3-1 SAP Solution Manager and Satellite Systems

3.2 Computing Center Management System (CCMS) The Computing Center Management System or CCMS Alert Monitor (transaction /nrz20) provides the underlying monitoring infrastructure for Business Process Monitoring. Basically, we distinguish between different CCMS Alert Monitor locations: The CCMS Alert Monitor that is located in the SAP Solution Manager is referred to as central CCMS, the one that is located on each of the satellite systems is referred to as local CCMS.

During the Business Process Monitoring Activation (see below), monitoring objects so-called Monitoring Tree Elements or MTEs are created in either the central or the local CCMS Alert Monitor, depending on the specific BPMon monitoring type configured. Several monitoring objects are grouped by topic into so-called


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Monitor Collections. In the SAP Solution Managers CCMS Alert Monitor, all relevant monitoring objects for Business Process Monitoring are included in the Monitor Collection called BPM.

As described above, the SAP Solution Managers Solution Monitoring is generally based on the CCMS Alert Monitor, and some of the monitoring functions make use of standard monitoring objects, which are provided by the CCMS Alert Monitor. This concerns all monitoring objects of System and Interface Monitoring as well as monitoring objects for dialog transaction performance and update errors within Business Process Monitoring. These monitoring objects are generally located in the local CCMS of each individual satellite system.

The creation and maintenance (e.g. of alert thresholds) of all monitoring objects specified and configured in the SAP Solution Manager (and hence necessary for System, Interface, or Business Process Monitoring can be controlled by the SAP Solution Manager itself. Hence manual (direct) changes of a monitoring objects properties directly in the CCMS are not necessary.

Figure 3-2 Technical Infrastructure

3.3 Data Collection Method For data collection there will be standard methods used which are provided by the CCMS. Additionally there are data collectors which are exclusively written for Business Process Monitoring. The difference is that the alerts build with the standard methods are stored in the local CCMS on every satellite system while the other alerts (BPMon specific) are built in the central CCMS on the SAP Solution Manager.

1. The local CCMS on each satellite system comprises information about performance (dialog transaction), update errors (V1 and V2), other monitoring and interfaces.

2. The central CCMS comprises information about background jobs, application monitoring, application log, due list log as well as document volumes.

Solution Manager

Solution Landscape

Monitoring Graphic Monitoring Session

Monitoring Infrastructure

RZ20 Monitoring Infrastructure

Solution Manager Monitoring Engine

RZ20 Monitoring Infrastructure

SAP R/3

data collector

APO

data collector

BW

data collector

CRM

data collector

EBP

data collector


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Figure 3-3 Data collection

The frequency of how often the data will be collected can be customized for the alerts that are centrally built during the set up of Business Process Monitoring. The frequency cannot be changed for alerts that are locally built.

3.4 RFC Destinations There are some RFC destinations that are relevant for the operation of Business Process Monitoring within the SAP Solution Manager. Usually those RFC destinations will be created and assigned when a new satellite system is connected to the SAP Solution Manager (This can be set up and checked in transaction /nSMSY). There need to be two RFC destinations created and assigned for monitoring for every satellite system. In the following and describe the SID and Client of the satellite system to be monitored:

SM_CLNT_READ The RFC-connection is necessary for the data collection. During the generation of the RFC destination a user (SOLMAN) with the correct authorizations is created on the satellite system and assigned to this RFC destination. If the RFC destination is created manually in /nSM59, this user has to be created manually, too. In this case please observe SAP Note 455356 for the necessary authorization for the user. Of special importance for the monitoring (e.g. maintaining thresholds in the satellite system) is the combination S_RZL_ADM ACTVT 01 and 16.

SM_CLNT_LOGIN This RFC-connection is for a remote login to the satellite system. It will be used during the Business Process Monitoring when it is necessary to perform a further analysis on the remote system in case of a problem. This RFC-connection provides the possibility to jump into the corresponding satellite system and to call a transaction directly. (It is recommended to use a login connection to protect unauthorized access to a productive system. But if there is a trusted relationship between the SAP Solution Manager and the respective satellite system it is also possible to use the SM_CLNT_TRUSTED RFC-connection.)


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In transaction /nRZ21 in the SAP Solution Manager the correctness of the assigned RFC destinations can be checked (Topology -> System Overview). In the column Read Destination Data you should find an entry SM_CLNT_READ and in column Destination Analysis you should find an entry SM_CLNT_LOGIN for the corresponding System you want to monitor. If this is not the case then click on the white paper button (Monitor Remote System) or go to RZ21 Technical Infrastructure Create remote monitoring entry. On the following screen you enter the SID for the satellite system to be monitored, SM_CLNT_READ as Collecting Data and SM_CLNT_LOGIN as Executing Analysis Method.

It is also possible to create the RFC destinations manually on the SAP Solution Manager system via transaction SM59 and assign them for monitoring in transaction RZ21. In this case it would be necessary to observe SAP Note 455356 for the necessary authorization for user SOLMAN.

For technical reasons, the Business Process Monitoring function requires a local RFC destination BPM_LOCAL_ within the SAP Solution Manager system, where stands for the Client in which the Business Process Monitoring is set up. This RFC-connection can be created from within the Setup Business Process Monitoring Session. A respective user needs to exist to create the connection. This user needs to have the authorization profile S_CSMREG. SAP Note 455356 provides detailed information.

In case Business Process Monitoring will be used in different clients, every client needs to have a local RFC-connection that points into the client.

If you want to use automatic creation of service desk messages for Business Process Monitoring alerts, the user in the RFC destination BPM_LOCAL_ additionally needs to have role SAP_SOL-SERVTRANS_CREATE or role SAP_SUPPDESK_CREATE assigned. Please refer to the following SAP Notes: 653454 - ST 310: Missing role SAP_SOL_SERVTRANS_CREATE 808396 - Authorization object B_NOTIF_IB for Support Desk messages

3.5 Add-Ons and Plug-Ins In order to operate and use Business Process Monitoring, certain technical requirements must be met, i.e. some technical components must be installed on the SAP Solution Manager System and the connected satellite systems that will be monitored. The relevant Add-Ons and Plug-Ins are listed in the following sections. It is recommended and important for Business Process Monitoring to stay current with the corresponding Add-Ons, Plug-Ins, and their related Support Packages. The newest Releases and latest versions are always available via the SAP Service Marketplace by using the URL http://service.sap.com/swdc.

3.5.1 SAP Solution Manager System SAP Solution Manager Release ST 3.1 or 3.2 must be installed as well as the add-on ST-SER that includes the Business Process Monitoring functionality (see SAP Note 521820 for details regarding the available Releases).

Since Solution Manager 3.1 Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 has to be installed and Java Script has to be enabled.

3.5.1.1 ST The SAP Solution Manager Add-On itself is called ST (abbreviation for Support Tool). This Add-On can be installed on each SAP R/3 or Web Application Server (WAS) system.

Technical background: The monitoring data collection in the satellite system is triggered by the AutoABAP SAPMSSY6, which runs in client 000 of the SAP Solution Manager system and is executed by the standard user SAPSYS. This user, however, does not have the authorization to call other systems via RFC and is not able to parallelize the data collection via aRFCs. Therefore, the RFC destination BPM_LOCAL_ which points from client 000 to the Business Process Monitoring setup client on the SAP Solution Manager system is used in order to transfer the task of actually calling the satellite system to the user maintained in the RFC destination BPM_LOCAL_. This user has the necessary authorizations (profile S_CSMREG) and triggers the data collection on the satellite systems.


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3.5.1.2 ST-SER The Add-On SAP Solution Manager Service Tools (ST-SER) is part of SAP Solution Manager and contains the services that are available in the SAP Solution Manager.

3.5.2 Satellite Systems For SAP Systems the newest Release of the Plug-In ST-PI and ST-A/PI are required. Business Process Monitoring with SAP Solution Manager is possible since SAP R/3 Rel. 4.0B. Dialog transaction performance as well as interface monitoring is possible since SAP R/3 Rel. 4.6B. It is also possible to include non-SAP Systems into the monitoring. Therefore special CCMS data collectors need to be written that provide the required monitoring information into the CCMS of the SAP Solution Manager system. A documentation of how to write a data collector is CCMS Agents: Features, Installation and Usage (URL: http://service.sap.com/monitoring Monitoring in Detail).

3.5.2.1 ST-PI The newest version of the Solution Tools Plug-In (ST-PI) must be installed in the satellite systems. The ST-PI is available via the SAP Service Marketplace Quick Link /PATCHES Entry by Application Group Plug-Ins SAP Solution Tools ST-PI. In addition, SAP Notes 545661, 546283, 545920 have to be applied.

The add-on Solution Tools Plug-In (ST-PI) provides Basis and Trace Tools, which are required for service delivery and system monitoring.

The Solution Tools Plug-In contains the latest version of:

Function modules for data collection

Transaction SDCC (Service Data Control Center) *

Transaction SQLR (SQL Trace Interpreter) *

*SDCC and SQLR are included in ST-PI for releases 4.0B - 4.6D. For release SAP Web AS 6.10 and higher the transactions are included in the SAP Basis. Changes are shipped by basis support packages.

3.5.2.2 ST-A/PI The newest version of the Applications Plug-In (ST-A/PI) must be installed in the satellite systems. The Service Tool for ST-A/PI is available via the SAP Service Marketplace Quick Link /PATCHES Entry by Application Group Plug-Ins SAP Solution Tools ST-A/PI. It contains the latest versions of:

Transaction ST14 (Application monitor)

Report RTCCTOOL (Service tools Update)

Transaction ST12 (ABAP trace for EarlyWatch/GoingLive)

Transaction ST13 (Launch pad for further analysis tools)

new SDCC data collectors for BW, APO, CRM and databases

3.6 OCX-Controls for SAP Solution Manager 3.1 In order to maintain business processes by means of the graphical tool in the SAP Solution Manager 3.1, a so-called SAP Solution Manager Control (OCX) is required. The latest OCX can always be obtained from the SAP Service Marketplace (URL http://www.service.sap.com/solutionmanager -> Downloads -> SAP Solution Manager Downloads). Make sure that the current valid SAP GUI version is installed to avoid problems. Note: Since SAP Solution Manager 3.2 the OCX-graphic is not available anymore, hence the OCX file doesnt have to be installed.


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4 Prerequisites for Business Process Monitoring Business Process Monitoring is not just activated by pressing a button in the SAP Solution Manager and therefore the configuration of Business Process Monitoring is currently not intended as a customer self-service. Instead, the procedure to set up Business Process Monitoring in the SAP Solution Manager is rather realized by the delivery of the SAP Solution Management Optimization (SMO) Service for Business Process Management due to the complex nature of the overall configuration of Business Process Monitoring. However, it is possible (but not recommended) for customers to configure Business Process Monitoring by themselves without any guidance of SAP.

A prerequisite for the delivery of the SMO Service for Business Process Management is the preceding delivery of a Solution Management Assessment (SMA) Service, which captures all necessary system and solution landscape as well as business process information in the SAP Solution Manager. Since Business Process Monitoring includes more than the functionality provided within the SAP Solution Manager, this guideline cannot replace the SMO Service for Business Process Management and is not intended to do so.

In addition to the SMO Service for Business Process Management, SAP provides the training USCP60 - Business Process Management and Monitoring. This training enables to internalize the method and concept of Business Process Management and it qualifies to set up and use the Business Process Monitoring for the daily work (URL http://www.service.sap.com/ Quick Link Education (Online Training Catalog)).

4.1 Certification Key In order to be able to use Business Process Monitoring in the SAP Solution Manager, a certification key is required. This key can be ordered via customer message on component 'SV-SMG-MON-BPM' with short text "Certification key for BPM. The following information must be provided:

Service: Business Process Management (CP_BPM)

System ID:

Installation Number:

See SAP Note 521820 for further details.

4.2 Business Process Monitoring Infrastructure All business process and business process step information is stored in the so-called Solution Repository.

4.2.1 Service Session(s) All relevant data related to Business Process Management will be entered in the SAP Solution Manager via so-called Service Sessions. There are basically three different Service Sessions in the context of Business Process Monitoring:

Set Up Business Process Monitoring Session

o Used for BPMon configuration and Customizing

Business Process Monitoring Session(s)

o Will be generated for each individual business process (for which the monitoring customizing has been generated) and keeps current and historic monitoring data

Service Level Reporting Session

o SL Reporting as a part of Service Level Management

4.2.2 Service Session Structure A session is generally split into three areas. On the left hand side there is a tree containing nodes and sub-nodes that map the structure of the session content. Depending on the entries, the structure of the tree may change.


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Figure 4-1 SAP Solution Manager service session

The right hand side of an SAP session is split into the Action Description (upper part) and the Area of Table Entries. The Action Description contains the description about what has to be entered into the respective tables in the area of table entries. Additional background information as well as important SAP Notes completes this section. The area of table entries offers the possibility to enter information. There may be one or more tables for entering information. Depending on the entries, the tree on the left hand side may change automatically (usually only after saving).


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5 Setup of Business Process Monitoring The Setup of Business Process Monitoring is done in the Setup Business Process Monitoring session. This session can be found in the area Operations Setup / Solution Monitoring / Business Process Monitoring within the SAP Solution Manager. In this session the monitoring customizing for all business processes and interfaces belonging to this solution landscape can be maintained. There is only one Setup Business Process Monitoring session per solution landscape and at least one business process must exist within that solution landscape. Usually, the solution landscape and the business processes in the SAP Solution Manager have been set up during a Solution Management Assessment (SMA) Service. However it is possible to set up the solution landscape and the business processes independently. Information about how to set up a solution landscape and how to enter business processes will be found under a link which will be announced shortly.

It is not guaranteed that the existing landscapes with the corresponding business processes are up to date. Maybe the SMA and the entry of the business processes respectively have taken place a long time ago and something has changed in the customers core business processes. Therefore it is recommended to review the system landscape and the business processes before setting up Business Process Monitoring.

5.1 Review Core Business Processes In general, the SAP Solution Management Assessment (SMA) Service should be used to get the necessary information regarding the system and solution landscape as well as the core business processes in the SAP Solution Manager.

However the business processes should be reviewed before setting up the monitoring in order to make sure that all data regarding the business processes and their related steps are available. This task requires the technical and functional knowledge of the flow of a particular business process as well as detailed information about the business process itself. Members of the application support team and members of the business department should provide this knowledge.

It is therefore recommended to make use of the SAP Solution Management Optimization (SMO) Service for Business Process Management (BPM). However, if the business process review is performed without any SAP assistance, make sure that you acquire the following information about:

Processes (such as Internet Sales, Purchasing Goods, Creating Demand Plan, )

Process steps per process (such as create sales order, create purchase order, )

Processing types per process step (as dialog or as background)

Monitoring Objects (such as specific background jobs, transactions, application logs, )

Interfaces (such as from R/3 to R/3, from R/3 to CRM, from R/3 to BW, )

Make sure that the corresponding data is entered and hence available in the SAP Solution Manager for all core business processes to be monitored. If necessary, complete the corresponding data.

Client and SID Check for process steps For SAP Solution Manager 3.1 it is of particular importance to check for every process step that is performed in an SAP R/3 System if the System-ID (SID) and the Client information is maintained. This needs to be checked in the very first node of a business process where all the included process steps are listed. If the information is not available the monitoring will not work.

For SAP Solution Manager 3.2 the client information is part of the logical component.

5.2 Solution Support Organization The first section of the Setup Business Process Monitoring session is dedicated to the Solution Support Organization. Within this section it is possible to build up the customers solution support organization involving the different monitoring teams and monitoring roles. Regarding the concept of Business Process Management it is essential to clearly define the roles and responsibilities for the members of the special support teams. Those teams, respectively the members of those teams can be used later on to define


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escalation paths and error handling procedures. The figure below shows the table where the different teams should be maintained.

Figure 5-1 Solution Support Organization - Teams

After the teams are documented and saved, every single team will appear as a separate entry in the tree on the left hand side. For proceeding, each entry must be selected and the required information needs to be filled out. Each team has individual team members and one or more roles. Corresponding name, company, e-mail address, phone number and pager number has to be entered for every team member.

Figure 5-2 Team Members


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In SAP Solution Manager 3.2 you cannot create Contact Persons in this node but just assign existing contacts to the various teams. Contact persons in this release are created in the Solution Directory under path Operations Setup / Solution Landscape / Solution Landscape.

Figure 5-3 Contact maintenance with Solution Manager 3.2

Monitoring roles can be assigned for every team. The following monitoring roles are available:

System Monitoring

Software Monitoring

Development Monitoring

Business Process Monitoring

Program Scheduling Management

Other Monitoring

Figure 5-4 Monitoring Roles

5.3 Business Processes For all business processes that are already defined within the solution landscape, Business Process Monitoring can be set up. All existing processes are listed in a table. It is recommended to setup Business Processes Monitoring for the core business processes of a company. A core business process is a


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process that is essential for business success. The sum of all core business processes is what generates the bulk of a company's revenue.

Business Process Monitoring is the proactive and process-oriented monitoring of a companys core business processes. The goals are to detect critical situations as early as possible and to enable the customers support organization to respond to and solve problems as fast as possible.

Referring to the definition of Business Process Monitoring at that point is to emphasize, that it makes less sense to set up Business Process Monitoring for non-critical business processes. Business Process Monitoring is a real-time-monitoring tool. Only those business processes that are really business critical should be taken into consideration.

The following figure shows the selection of some business processes. The business processes will be marked as planned until they are set to productive. This has to be done during the maintenance of the business processes.

Note: With SAP Solution Manager 3.20 the whole Business Scenario that includes the business process must be set to productive as well.

Setup of Business Process Monitoring for planned processes is possible but it is not possible to activate the monitoring. Before activating Business Process Monitoring the process must be changed from planned to productive.

For every selected business process a sub-node will be generated after saving. The name is always BPMon: .


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Figure 5-5 Business Processes

5.3.1 Business Process Steps and Interfaces Once a business process is selected for monitoring the next step will be to define which business process steps are relevant for monitoring. All steps of a business process are available in table Steps of Business Process. The names of the different steps together with the System ID, System Type, Release and Client information of the system on which the step is performed are displayed here. It is not possible to change that information in this table. Therefore it would be necessary to change the definition of the business process within the SAP Solution Manager.

For every selected business process step a respective sub-node will be created after saving the entries. The monitoring will be set up individually for each business process step.

All Interfaces belonging to that business process are listed in a separate table Interfaces in Business Process. The table contains the information about the name of the interface, the interface technique, the initial step, the final step as well as the sender and the receiver information. The configuration of Interface Monitoring will be done later.

For documentation purposes the tables Description of Process and Restart of Process are available. If the business process has been described during the set up of the business process inside the SAP Solution Manager, the information would be displayed in table Description of Process. Restart procedures are important in case of a breakup of the process. Employees from within the support can react immediately and re-start the process again. The restart procedures must be entered in table Restart of Process.

The following chapters and sub-chapters will describe all possibilities that can be set up for a single business process.


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Figure 5-6 Business Process Steps

5.3.2 Monitoring Types Monitoring Types are part of the functional scope of Business Process Monitoring. Since SAP Solution Manager Add-On ST-SER 3.20 the below Monitoring Types are available:

Application Monitor (due list log, MRP key figures, user exit)

Background Jobs (Jobs running on SAP Systems with an SAP Basis)

Dialog Performance (Dialog transaction performance)

Update Error (V1 and V2 update errors for specific transactions and programs)

Due List Log (messages for deliveries and billings)

Application Log (messages from the Application log)

Document Volume (based on table statistics)

Other CCMS Monitor (all alerts that are configured in the CCMS Alert Monitor)

Depending on what is executed during a single step the relevant Monitoring Types must be selected. E.g. if a step is performed just via dialog transaction it makes no sense to select the Monitoring Type Background Job or if there are no information about application logs regarding a step it makes no sense to select Application Log as a Monitoring Type. According to the selected Monitoring Types several sub-checks will be created after saving the check. Within those sub-checks the details concerning the specific monitoring objects e.g. transactions, background jobs, different tables etc. must be maintained. If there are monitoring objects it is possible to define alert objects e.g. thresholds for transaction performance or a start delay for background jobs.


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5.3.3 Application Monitor The Application Monitor is just one of many different Monitoring Types within the Business Process Monitoring. For using this Monitoring Type the respective entry for a specific Business Process step has to be flagged and saved. In the then appearing sub-node you can load Monitoring objects from the corresponding satellite system on which the Business Process step is executed. The latest Monitoring objects are only provided if the latest ST-A/PI plug-in is installed on the satellite system. The Service Tool for ST-A/PI is available via the SAP Service Marketplace Quick Link /PATCHES Entry by Application Group -> Plug-Ins SAP Solution Tools ST-A/PI. Currently the following Application Monitors are available:

Dialog Performance Monitoring on Function Code Level which is especially interesting for the SAP New Dimension products like CRM, SCM and SRM where complex transactions (e.g. CIC0, SDP94, BBPSC02) provide many different functions so that a general average response time evaluation is of little benefit.

APO Demand Planning Application Log which makes an automatic evaluation of the /SAPAPO/MC8K transaction possible

MRP Key Figure which provides an automatic evaluation of MRP runs with more sophisticated monitoring possibilities as of 4.7 Enterprise Edition

Due List Log Monitoring which provides an automatic evaluation of the due list logs for delivery or billing. This functionality is identical to the normal due list log monitoring of Business Process Monitoring.

User Exit which provides an easy possibility to include self-written monitoring collectors in the Business Process Monitoring

With the user exit it is possible to define other monitoring objects specific to a transaction or application. It is possible to develop own data collectors and display the alerts in the SAP Solution Manager together with the rest of the standard monitoring alerts.

The monitoring object is defined by the customer according to their needs, and its parameters are maintained to specify its details, i.e. object type, aggregation level.

After the new monitoring object has been defined, the next step is the definition of the alerts types that are desired for that monitoring object, i.e. maximal number of entries reached or too many IDocs with error status.

The alert types are maintained in the customizing via the key figures. The parameters of those key figures are specified in the customizing too, and they will define the output fields and the alert details, i.e. the alert message that will be displayed, timestamp of the alert, etc.

More detailed information about the different Application Monitor functionalities and a detailed description on how to define self-written monitoring collectors for the user exit are explained in the document Application Monitor and User Exit - Setup Guide (URL http://www.service.sap.com/ Alias BPM Media Library).

5.3.4 Background Job The background job monitoring should be part of a Program Scheduling Management concept (go to http://service.sap.com/solutionmanagerbp Topic Area to find a Best Practice document Program Scheduling Management). Because of several restrictions regarding background job scheduling, e.g. time restrictions, restriction of hardware resources (CPU, main memory, ) or existing dependencies between different activities (e.g. invoices can only be created after the corresponding goods issue is posted, or Back Order Processing and Material Requirements Planning should not run at the same time) it is very important to ensure the stable run of background jobs. A canceled background job should be identified as soon as possible in order to react as fast as possible. Therefore it is also necessary to define restart procedures and escalation path.

A more detailed description (than provided in this document) on the subject what kind of alerts make sense or what kind of alerts are possible will be discussed in a new Best Practice document Job Monitoring with SAP Solution Manager which will be available around August 2005. So check the SAP Marketplace http://service.sap.com/solutionmanagerbp Topic Area for new Best Practice documents.


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5.3.4.1 Monitoring Objects Before setting up the monitoring the monitoring objects must be clearly defined. A monitoring object is a single background job or a group of background jobs. There are four different possibilities to identify a special background job or a group of background jobs. This information needs to be maintained in the sub-node Background Job below a business process step. All following information is stored in table Job Identification.

1. Job name This is the name of the background job as it is scheduled in SM37. It is crucial that this information is correct in order to ensure a proper identification of the job. It is possible to specify a group of jobs by using *, e.g. if there are several jobs starting with the same name and just differ in some digits or numbers. In addition to the job name it is possible to specify the name of an ABAP program or the name of an external program, e.g. if there are several jobs with similar names but just some of these jobs executing a specific program, need to be monitored. The other possibility is that a program is executed from different jobs but just the program in combination with a background job is relevant. See ABAP program or external program for more details.

2. ABAP program A background job can be identified just by the name of an ABAP program that is executed during a step of the job. It is important to maintain the number of the step in which the program is executed. If the wrong step number is maintained, the job cannot be found. In addition to a program name a special variant can be selected that is used by the program. A variant must not include *. As described above, the name of the job is not mandatory while using program names but it could be relevant when monitoring special combinations.

3. External program It is used the same way as described under ABAP program. It is important to maintain the step number. In addition external parameters can be specified. External parameters must not include *.

4. Special Rules Rules for job names are applicable to identify groups of background jobs if the job names follow more complicated naming conventions, and cannot be mapped by the simple procedures mentioned before because they are not flexible enough. For example, for step1 you are interested in the monitoring of the background jobs with the names job1, ... , job10 , whereas for step2 the background jobs with the name job11, ..., job20 are relevant . Another example would be that the names of the jobs are build dynamically with data from a table. In this case it is not possible to define the name of the jobs prior their execution. In general a rule needs to be developed by the customer himself. There is a template program where those customer specific rules can be placed. The first thing that needs to be done is to add the include zxdswp_bpm_rules inside the function module DSWP_BPM_JOBNAME_BY_CUSTOM. All rules will have a unique rule number by which the rule will be identified from within the Business Process Monitoring. This number must be entered in the field Rule for Job Name. In field Rule Description the user can provide a short description that explains what the rule is doing. When rules are used, all other specified information for job identification will be ignored.

The following table shows the fields with a short explanation of table Job Identification.

ID Internal number. Will be filled automatically after saving.

Monitoring? Mark Jobs that need to be monitored

Job Name Name of the background job

Job Step. No. Step in which a program is executed. Mandatory when using programs

ABAP Program Name of the executed ABAP program


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Variant Name of a special variant

External Program Name of an executed external program

External Parameter Can be used, when an external program is specified

Rule for Job Name Existing rule number when custom specific rules are used

Rule Description A description for the used rule

Job Schedule Indicates whether the job(s) is (are) scheduled on a weekly or on a monthly basis.

Further detailed information is required to monitor the background jobs. There are 3 more tables Job Details, Start Information and, depending on the selection in the node above, Weekly Schedule/Monthly Schedule that need to be filled out.

5.3.4.1.1 Job Details

In table Job Details a custom identifier can be specified if this is needed, e.g. if the job name is very cryptically. This name is used to represent the background job on a higher-level node. If not specified explicitly, the job name is filled in automatically. If the job name is not specified, the name of the ABAP program is used. If neither job name nor ABAP program was filled in, the name of the external program is taken automatically.

To flag a job as critical job has influence on the data collection for this job. Per default the data collection for critical jobs is 5 minutes and for non-critical jobs the data collection is 60 minutes. Those values can be changed as described in chapter Data Collector Frequencies.

A user executing the job can be specified. If no user is maintained explicitly, all users ('*') are taken into account.

If the processing is done in parallel it must be specified in the drop-down list.

Figure 5-7 Job Details

The button offers the possibility to check if the specified job exists in the corresponding system, i.e. the SAP Solution Manager checks on the satellite system if there were jobs within the last three days that would have been monitored with the current customizing settings. After pressing the button you need to log on to the system and the check will be performed. The result will be presented in an additional table called Check Result: Job Identification.

5.3.4.1.2 Start Information

In table Start Information the information about how the job is planned to run needs to be maintained. In column start procedure there are four different possibilities to enter.


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The first one and probably the most common one is the start procedure by time. In this case the planned start time of the job is known, e.g. the job runs every day at 10 pm, and need to be entered in column planned start. The other columns will be ignored. Note: The planned start time should not be greater than the actual start time because no job would be identified in that case.

The second start procedure is by event. In this case a system event triggers the scheduling of a background job. Therefore the event ID and existing event parameters must be maintained. It is also possible to enter a start time. The other columns will be ignored.

If a job is triggered by a preceding job, the name of this preceding job is necessary. All other columns will be ignored.

The last possibility is to choose the start procedure use job start start condition. The start procedure is used when the start time or any other start procedure of a job is not known. As soon as this job is scheduled in SM37 the monitoring would recognize the job and starts the monitoring. This can also be used to monitor jobs that are scheduled via an external job scheduler. All other columns will be ignored.

Figure 5-8 Start Information

5.3.4.1.3 Weekly Schedule

If the scheduling of the job is set to weekly in the parent node the below table Weekly Schedule is displayed. This is relevant for jobs that are scheduled on a daily basis. The days when the job is running need to be selected. If a job runs once a day, every day needs to be flagged. If the job runs with a certain period within one day, in addition the period needs to be entered in column Period (min).

Figure 5-9 Weekly Schedule


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5.3.4.1.4 Monthly