Upgradation of 3.1 i to 4.6c and 4.7

Question

Can any body please send the relevant information on Upgradation of 3.1 i to 4.6c and 4.7. And please tell what are all thing we can do in this process and what sort of obstacles we may face in this process

Answer 1

Hi,
I am sorry. I am sending you a long file since your question was very general.
Guidelines / Checklist for Upgrade
Before Upgrade
1.     Have the following information readily available to estimate and assess the effort and timelines :
a.     Hardware Upgrade plans (if any)
b.     No of Application servers
c.     Add-ons Installed and their respective version
d.     No of custom developed objects like reports, Module Pools, BDC etc
e.     % of changes to Standard SAP repository Objects
f.     PC configuration for end users
2.     Complete hardware should be available before upgrade as planned.
3.     Ensure hardware compatibility with target SAP R/3 Release in terms of performance & database storage capacity. A minimum storage of around 50-75 GB will be required for dump of Upgrade CD’s (includes extra Tablespace)
4.     Ensure that database / OS Upgrade hardware patches are readily available, if the same has to be updated.
5.     Ensure O/s level compatibility for 64 bit for Non windows based O/s. For example UNIX etc.
6.     Final System landscape should be finalized before the start of the Upgrade.  A minimum of three servers are required for any upgrade, one server will the current production server, One server for test upgrade and one server to restore the old production server backup just before go-live.
7.     The test upgrade server should have the configuration equivalent to current production server, to get a proper estimate of times lines and “Critical downtime” 
8.     Ensure that all SAP software CD’s  are available and check for their usability
9.     Have all the support packages readily available and apply highest level of support packs available in each of the respective area to minimize the problems after the upgrade.
10.     Ensure that all SAP perquisites have been taken care before the trigger of upgrade. 
11.     Make sure that all SAP notes, which details and describes the activities required to be carried out in order to avoid data loss and solution to known problems are available in the repository and all the activities have been carried out as per those notes. For example to avoid loss of customizing of movement types refer to note no :  ???
12.     If any add on like CIN, Cable Solution has been installed, please make sure that you search SAP notes for conversion / migration guides. These migration guides are very useful to determine the customizing changes to be made and also for converting old data to new tables and fields
13.     Analyze the SAP customizing, for any specific customizing / application , which generally is not part of a standard Normal R/3 customizing / application (for example Variant Configuration). Collect all notes related to such customizing if any before upgrade activities to avoid any surprises.  The same is true where the skill set of the consultant is not up to standards required in a particular area.
14.     A list of ABAP programs developed should be made available before the upgrade. The list should also classify the programs in terms of their criticality. A core team member should be assigned to each critical program for testing and sign off
15.     OSS connectivity is a must. It is preferred to have OSS connectivity thru SAP Front end using OSS1 transaction instead of internet based OSS connectivity
16.      The latest SAP GUI version required to run the upgraded SAP version should be installed on the Users PC before the start of upgrade process.
17.     If possible, find out the Holiday schedule for the time frame of the upgrade project. This is required to find dates for PRD – Go live so as to ensure that SAP shutdown is planned during holidays, therefore minimizing the impact of such shutdown.
18.     If a Go-live date is set prior to the upgrade then work back words to decide about the availability of test server, involvement of functional Team, user training etc.
Upgrade Test server
1.     Use SAP upgrade tools like – “ASU”. Refer to note no: 623723.   This will provide readily available solutions for known problems.
2.     Latest offline – O/S level backup should be restored to the Test upgrade Server prior to Upgrade
3.     If possible SAP support packs should be applied as part of Upgrade process.
4.     Process should be put in place to record and monitor the changes made to ABAP and customizing and transported to production during upgrade of Test server.
5.     Make sure that for Change requests related to upgrade is captured under a Project. This is required specifically for ABAP request. This also helps to avoid the confusion related to dependencies at the time of release and import into PRD system.
6.     All the issues faced during upgrade should be properly documented. A proper issue log should be maintained describing the problems and the resolution. This will serve has a reference for problems faced after go-live.
7.     All the test scenarios / test results should be documented along with the hardcopies of Layout and critical documents. This will serve as a base for user sign off.
8.     For problems faced while testing, search for SAP Notes for the resolution of the same. As it has been observed that for 90% of the problems there is a Note available in the SAP Repository
9.     Please use following methodology to find relevant SAP notes
a.     If an error message is displayed the put the “Message <Message Class> <Message ID> in the search field and sort the messages by date to get the latest notes.
b.     If a note reference is given in the source code where error has occurred check for related notes and latest version of the note
c.     Enter the Program name or Transaction code related to the error to get all the notes related to it.
d.     In case ABAP Dump enter the actual error like  “SQL_DUPREC_INSERT_ARRAY” and program name
e.     Sometimes titles of the SAP note are misleading, so please make sure that you check all the notes.
f.     Most of the Notes released prior the release date of last applied patch may be not be relevant, but sometime there are notes available which are release independent.
10.     Plan for the user trainings should be finalized as soon as first level testing is over. The training should cover New GUI features and Delta training for transactions and new transactions if any.
11.     If possible follow “Train the Trainer approach” to speed up the training. This also ensures that responsibility of training lies with the client and not with us
12.     A feedback form must be filled by the users / Core team members for the training conducted.
13.     Cutover plan for Pre-Go live and after go-live should be prepared for smooth go live and a proper recording of the backlog.
14.     Finalize the Go-live dates with the help of the “TOP MANAGEMENT” once 90% of the testing is completed. Make sure that TOP MANAGEMENT is involved in issuing notifications to the users with regards to Non-availability of the SAP and activities required to be carried out before and after such period.
PRD Upgrade
1.     Take an offline backup on the cutoff date. Make sure that backup copy is a working one. To ensure this restore the backup once.  This will serve as fallback in case of upgrade failure. This will increase the minimum shutdown time by approximate 8-9 Hours.
2.     A user with only display rights should be available during shutdown for  OLD PRD system. This provides data traceability to the users.
3.     Import the Transport requests, once the Post processing activities are over
4.     Schedule SGEN for database Generation after the import of Transport requests. Make sure that enough archiving and Table space is available for ICNV and SGEN.
5.     Run conversion programs if any required.
6.     Release the system to functional consultant for Pre-Go Live test. Make sure that no one saves any transactions in PRD server
7.     Once Functional test is over by functional team, release the system to those users only whose work has been affected during the shutdown.
8.     For errors reported in PRD system, simulate the scenario first in Test upgrade server. If the same scenario can be simulated in Test server then find out a solution for the same. Otherwise check for missing customizing and master data errors.
9.     Once backlog of shutdown period is completed, release the system to other users.
Regards
Karthik