The Service Management Experts
Menu

Month: August 2012

Home / 2012 / August (Page 2)

Installing SAP – What do you need?

Well, for the small business person, the task of installing SAP can be quite daunting.  Take me for example, when I first tried to install SAP it took me a couple months.  Here’s why:

1.  I had to learn how to use virtual server
2.  I didn’t have CD/DVD’s of the SAP software, so I had to download everything
3.  I didn’t have an appropriate operating system.
4.  I didn’t have the first clue about settings for the SAP installation
5.  Woefully deficient hardware

So, those 4 minor points, made things go a little slower.  Luckily, SAP has provided some Netweaver trial systems that I could use while I figuring this all out.  Well, Step 1 I talked a lot about yesterday, so I won’t go into too much detail.  Just remember, VirtualBox is far better than Virtual Server (in my humble opinion).  Step 2…  This was just time consuming.  Downloading SAP 1 file at a time from service.sap.com was quite an ordeal.  Then to make things worse, I would often encounter an error half way through my installation because one of my downloads was corrupt.
The next thing I quickly found is that SAP can’t run on the standard windows software.  So I had to go get a license for Windows Server.  Initially, I chose 2003 (32 bit) because it was affordable, and for running a 4.7 SR2 system, it worked.  Not a huge deal, but it did require me to start my whole virtual system over again, since I originally installed it with Windows XP (I’m sure many of you are laughing at me right now wondering how the hell did this guy ever make it this far).  Like I mentioned in earlier posts, I learn really wall the HARD way.
Next, my hardware is way underpowered.  I was running off my laptop (I still am today, but I’ve since bought a much better laptop).  So I only had 4GB of memory to run my laptop and my entire SAP system.  Needless to say, an installation would run for 5 days, if it didn’t encounter an error forcing me to start over.  It could be painful, including waking up in the middle of the night, just see if things had failed, so I could start the install again with slightly different settings.

Eventually, it did all happen and my 4.7 system has been happily running ever since…  well, I did learn some valuable lessons about backing up…  but I’ll save that for a another time.

Thanks for reading,

Mike

Mime Repository – Good and Bad

Well, yesterday I spent dealing Eclipse, today’s challenge is with the Mime Repository.  It seems that no matter what I do, certain logo’s won’t show on the BSP.  I’ve tried different folders, different sizes, and even reloaded it, still no luck.

It seems there may be a glitch with the way I uploaded the transports when I rebuilt the system a few weeks ago.  It seems that in ERP 6.0, the package won’t allow me to create a new Mime folder, but if I go to the Mime repository, I can see a folder there.  Unfortunately, I don’t seem to be able to link it using my BSP application.  After scouring the internet, and OSS with no luck, a new idea hit me.  What if the name of the document is what is causing the issue?  So I uploaded the logo with a new name, and it worked.  So somehow, in my transport, the file was corrupted and has a bad link.  Just one more lesson learned.  Be very careful transporting Mime objects.

Now, back my testing.  Thanks for reading.

Mike

Infrastructure – Setting up SAP on a budget

Well, for those of you that don’t know me that well, you’ll find I like to be as self sufficient as possible.  That tends to mean a lot of work and a lot of learning (when I first installed, it took more a couple months…  but I’ll save that for another time).  Today, I’d like to explain a little of how I went about setting up SAP, and some trouble shooting for those of you in a similar situation (and maybe you have some advise for me).

First of all, I’ve set my system up using VirtualBox from Oracle.  When I first started, I used VirtualServer from MS, but I quickly found it doesn’t work with Windows 7, and doesn’t play well for 64 bit operating systems.  So then I discovered Oracle’s tool, and I”ve been very pleased with it.  The functionality and usability seems much better.  Of course, you decide for yourself.  Now it may seem like a lot of work to set all of this up in a virtual environment, but let me tell you, it’s well worth it.  Since I still do consulting as my “day” job, I often have to travel.  Setting up a dedicated server and all of the infrastructure to go along with it can be expensive, and can be limiting.  In order to access it, you must have internet.  Since I’ve been doing this for roughly 6 years (I can’t believe it’s been that long), I often wanted to work in the airport or airplane. At that time, internet on a aircraft was very rare, even today, not all airplanes offer wi-fi.  So with my virtual system, I was able to get myself a big HDD (portable of course) that could just come with me anywhere.  Then I could just plug it, fire up the server, and continue developing.  the other thing it got me was freedom.  With virtualbox, I can create a save point anytime.  And for testing this invaluable…  Now I can create a system, and a whole bunch of configuration and master data.  Save that snapshot…  install my applications, and if it doesn’t work, I simply roll back and install the latest version like nothing ever happened.  It also allows me to create a unique system for each customer if needed.  So if I do custom development unique to one customer, I can have their own system and configuration saved in it’s own box.    I can go on and on…  but the short story is for someone just starting out, this environment has been awesome for me.

Next time, I’ll go into more details of what you’ll need…

Thanks for reading

Mike

 

Eclipse – Editing your SAP Themes

Well, today has been a big relearning experience for me. When I originally designed Rapier, I played around with Eclipse. With is a piece of software that has partnered with SAP that allows you to edit your SAP theme for a BSP or WebDynpro application. If you’re not familiar with a SAP theme, it’s basically all of the colors, fonts, and styles for your web page.
Well, the last time I used Eclipse, it was a almost 2 years ago. So today I had to go through and relearn how to install and use it. IN fact, I’m still playing with it as we speak. What I wanted to talk about today is the basic process for editing your SAP theme and testing it.
Step one is get it installed. You’ll need to download a few things to make this all work properly:
SAP Install Files
This link will give you the SAP specific files you need to edit themes.
http://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/downloads?rid=/library/uuid/b08a05ec-e24a-2d10-189e-f5c6bcbf39a5
This link gives you the how to of installation and how to get started.  This guide is good, but most of the Eclipse is trial and error.  As far as Rapier is concerned, this is the only time consuming part of the whole installation process.  You have infinite colors and a LOT of areas that can be customized.

Finally, once you have something to play with, go back into SAP and execute the program:

BSP_UPLOAD_MIMEREPOS

Then just enter in the path of where you want to upload the theme,
/SAP/PUBLIC/BC/UR/Design2002/themes/
is the default area SAP keeps it’s themes .  Select upload, and all the files will be pulled in.

Finally, point your application to the new theme and give it a try.  If you are using Rapier, just go to /ZPSE/CONFIG transaction and enter in your new theme.

So, get ready to do a lot of trial and error, but before you know it, your website will look awesome.

Thanks for reading,

Mike

Cloning is bad… and I’m not talking about Sheep, SAP transaction cloning

Alright, well, I just learned something the hard way. For those of you that know me, you’ll know I’m good at that =). Anyway, a few days ago I talked about the new SM/WM integration product I was working on. I was all excited because I almost finished a replacement for the MB1A, B & C transactions to perform material movements and auto generate the transfer order. Well, I took a short cut. I copied the transaction MB1A, and did my updates to that. Well, I finished my development, got it all working in my 4.7 development system. So, as my usual process, I moved the code to my ERP 6.0 system. Well, I got instant syntax errors because things have changed a lot between those versions. Naively, I thought this old transaction will never change. SAP transaction cloning certainly bit me in the butt.  It’s been around forever, so I can just copy it. WRONG!!! The code had a lot of enhancements (included enhancement points, changed forms, etc…). So… I’m back to the drawing board. I’m still going to generate the transaction, but now I need to build the entire front end.
Short story, there are no short cuts in solid developments. Anyway, I’ll keep you in the loop for my continued progress.
Thanks for Reading…

Starting a new Product – SM/WM

Like always, I just hate being bored, so I’m working on my next product that I think will take off. For those of your using SAP Service Management, you probably already know that Service Management and Warehouse Management have ZERO integration. Even though WM is fully integrated with production orders, which are very similar to service order, SAP neglected SM. Sometimes I think I picked the Red-Headed Step Child to specialize in… and as it’s turning out, it could be the best thing ever for me (as soon as my apps start getting into the market).
Well, this new tools is 2 phases. The first phase is create a universal WM helper tool. It will use the functionality of MB1A, MB1B, MB1C and add the ability to automatically create a Transfer Order from it. Simple, but according to my good friend and WM expert, Jeff, something many smaller companies would love. Especially if the same person who does the material movement also creates the TO. I’m nearly complete with this first phase.
Next up, will be integrate the SM orders the same way that production orders are integrated with WM. I don’t know if I’ve fully wrapped my head around how I’m going to accomplish this connection. I have 2 schools of thought and I’ll have to contemplate a little more before I start the coding. One option is to utilize user exits along with a custom configuration table. While this method can work, it is a little more intensive for a customer to implement. In order to avoid any possible overwriting, the customer would have to manually place this include into thier code. Not difficult, but not as easy as my other products. Option 2 entails a batch program that would need to run pretty often to pick up any demands released into the system from service orders and then generate the appropriate WM documents. I also need to spend more time understanding all of the pieces involved for production orders.
All fun stuff, and yet another learning experience. Special Thanks to my good friend Jeff Bass. without him, WM would just be another black box of SAP that I know nothing about. Jeff is an amazing teacher of this stuff. If you need WM help, check him out.
Thanks,
Mike

My 2nd Real Product – Service Dashboard

I’m pretty excited right now. A couple months ago, I completed Broadsword: SM Dashboard, an SAP Dashboard. I took my own advise this time around and designed something that some of my previous clients specifically asked for. It helps because I know the process so well, that I came up with all the scenarios I’ve seen throughout my career.
It’s pretty awesome because I was able to learn several new skills building this product (I’ll post more about those in some future posts) and more importantly, I actually have interested parties in this tool. Like everything else, I need a starting point, and once I have several clients running the tool effectively, that should open the door to future sales. Anyway, things are getting exciting, and between the new products I’m developing and joint venture with DMS I feel like my business is about to take off…

A Whole New Adventure – Joint Ventures

About 2 months ago, I did the SC Mud Run with a friend of mine that I consulted with. During the hour car ride, and then over dinner and drinks, we realized that we both were interested in launching products. My friend Mike also had a lot of ideas of things we could develop and sell to companies. Finally, I found a like minded soul. Since then, we’ve actually designed the first 2 pieces of Mike’s PP offering. The bad news, and it’s not really bad, but it is more work, is that now we’re looking to do a joint venture between the 2 of us. While this i awesome because I finally have someone to help with the workload, it brings about a whole new set of challenges.
1. We need to determine how to structure ourselves into a new entity. This may be a new LLC, it might be an operating agreement, or it might be both. While it sounds easy because I’ve already set up a business, it turns out because I already exist it’s a whole new set of challenges. I need to work closely with SAP to make sure that I don’t lose all of the development work I’ve done. Partnering with SAP is a great thing, but I’m being told I can’t transfer all of my development work to a new company. So I’m working through those details now.
2. For the first time, I need to work with someone else and listen to their ideas, and work together. Simple things like coming up with a company name, deciding where to incorporate, etc. Not bad, but I can’t just make a decision. We need to work together.
3. Determining revenue splits. It’s great because i have someone to share the costs with, but now I have to split the revenue as well.
And that’s just the things we know so far… I’m exciting for this new venture, but like every change, it’s always a bit scary. I’ll keep you posted as things progress.
Thanks,
Mike

Making Friends – How to connect with new business contacts

Today, I wanted to talk a little about making friends. Now this sounds simple, we learned this before we even started kindergarten, but in the business arena, it’s a little different. Not everyone wants to be your friend. It’s often a “what’s in it for me?” attitude.
I recently was lucky enough to talk to someone that has made it to where I’m trying to get to. His name is Sumit Sangha and he runs Security Weaver. They are a company that provides applications to SAP customers in the area of security. Needless to say, I was able to learn a lot from Sumit in a short amount of time. But I never would’ve met Sumit if it wasn’t for one of my consulting friends. He made the introduction because he knew I was trying to get my business off the ground and Sumit was a friend of his. I doubt I would’ve ever talked to Sumit if I wasn’t introduced to him by someone he knew and trusted.
The point of this is to remind you that everyone you know in your business life potentially knows someone with the next piece of information you need to go to the next level. So remember, promote yourself to your friends too. You never know when they might connect you to someone that can help.

Select-Option in OO class

Here’s part 2 of my adventure with SELECT-OPTION. Now one of the cool things that SAP did was to move to an OO programming method. However, since I got very used to SAP forms, functions and programs, I keep finding things that aren’t as easy to do with classes. SELECT-OPTION for example.
Now, what I really wanted to do was to send the select option table into a global class, so I could use it select statements and other table functions. Sounds easy, right? Well, actually it is, once you figure out how to do it.
It turns out, all you need to do is create a global structure/table type that woks as a select-option. The new trick that I learned is that there is a special function in SE11 when creating a table type that allows you to create it as a select-option table.
All you need to do is go into SE11, enter in the name of the table type, select TABLE TYPE as the object to create. Once you are in SE11, Enter in the short text, then go to the menu: edit–>Define as Ranges Table Type. This changes the inputs you’re given for creating the table type.
Enter in the data Element (MATNR for example), then enter in the name of the structure you want to create, and press create. It will automatically create the fields for your SELECT-OPTION range.
Save and activate everything. Now all you need to do is enter it into the parameter for your public class and you’re ready to go.
One last point, don’t forget when calling the class, to send it in as a table…

SELECT-OPTION: matnr FOR mara-matnr.

call method XXXX (
exporting
IT_SO_MATNR = matnr )

Anyway, that’s one of my recent discoveries. I’m learning a lot about layouts and trees currently, so there will probably be a post about some of those tricks as well.
Thanks for reading,
Mike