Transport from ECC6 to 4.6C

Question

Hi there,
I need to transport a whole lot of custom development objects including ABAP, screens, functions, tables etc. They are all contained in a single workbench request.
The original system is a unicode ECC6 (700) system running off Win 2008 R2, MaxDB 7.6. The target system is non-unicode R/3 4.6C
I am no Basis Administrator - my problem is that this is an unusual request that basis admins don't really have experience with, so I am being left to find a solution myself...
When I try to import the transport files into the 4.6 system I get an error related to unicode to non-unicode transporting.
I have checked the following notes:
Note 330267 - https://service.sap.com/sap/support/notes/330267
Solution: First import into a byte-oriented system (that is, a system where one byte is used for each character) with Release >= 6.10. Then export the data from this system. The resulting export can then be imported into earlier releases.
This is not an option as I don't have a non-unicode system available with version 610 or later.
Note 1090842 - https://service.sap.com/sap/support/notes/1090842
A general prerequisite for this type of transport is that the R3trans belonging to the system is used during both the import and export processes.
I don't really know what this means - can anyone shed some light on what I need to do to try this?
Note 638357 - https://service.sap.com/sap/support/notes/638357
Up to now, such transports have not been possible, because in Basis releases prior to 6.10, R3trans cannot understand the internal format of the transport files that result from the export from Unicode systems.
Transport profile parameter "exporttoascii" is available as of the tp and R3trans versions listed below. If you set "exporttoascii=true" in the export system, a transport file is created during the export from Unicode systems that can also be imported into old Basis releases.
I have tried to use the following command with no luck - "D:\usr\sap\<SID>\DVEBMGS00\exe\tp export <SID>K900079 "-D exporttoascii=true"". I run this command while logged in as <SID>ADM, but get the following error - "Connection failed (RTE:could not create comm. shared memory \[51\])". When using STMS in SAP to release a transport normally it works fine, so not sure why the TP command will not work??
Note 1113226 - EXPORT/IMPORT: UC converter for R3TRANS - https://service.sap.com/sap/support/notes/1113226
A converter was developed that
u2022     converts the internal format of the exported data into the older format and
u2022     converts Unicode characters that are contained in the exported data into code page 1100 and adjusts the length accordingly.
The transport tool R3TRANS uses this converter.
Patch text: EXP/IMP: UC converter for R3TRANS
Check SAP Service Marketplace to see whether the patch is already available for your platform and apply it in accordance with Note 19466.
I checked this but again, I don't fully understand this note - it does not seem very clear what should be done. I have searched the downloads center and have not found any converter utility...
I would really appreciate any help on this!
Thanks very much
David

Answer 1

Hi David,
In my opinion, Note 1090842 should solve your requirement.
I hope the following section from the note is already taken into consideration for your import procedure:
Furthermore, general logical transport problems occur that are not specific to a certain release, especially concerning the usage of functions that are not available in the previous release.  When you, for example, use functions that exist only as of Release 7.1, especially ABAP statements, the return transport to lower releases is not recommended. At least, you must manually repair these objects after the import. In cross-release development projects with regular transport requirements, we recommend that you carry out your developments in the earliest target release and then transport these developments to subsequent releases because this is usually linked to fewer complications.
A general prerequisite for this type of transport is that the R3trans belonging to the system is used during both the import and export processes.
The R3trans is an executable file which is a part of the SAP system's kernel (in location /usr/sap/<sid>/SYS/exe/run). This tool is used by the tp program while perfoming any export/import activities. The R3trans is usually different for different releases - the same way that you need different kernel files for different releases. However as per the above prerequisite, it is suggested to have the same R3trans executable file being used during the export from source system and import to target system. Means you would have to copy the ECC 6.0 system's R3trans file to the 46C system kernel directory before performing the import.
Regarding the R3trans version required on your systems, as per Note 638357, you need to use the tp and R3trans files with release date later than June 02, 2008. So taking the latest tp and R3trans files available on the SMP should be enough.
Also suggest you to check thread:
Transport objects from 4.6C to ECC 6.0?
Regards,
Srikishan