SAP High Availability

What Is High Availability?

High availability (HA) is the ability of a system to operate continuously without failing for a designated period of time. HA ensures a system meets an agreed-upon operational performance level. Availability is expressed as a percentage:

99% = 87.6 hours of annual downtime
9% = 8.76 hours of annual downtime
99% = 52 minutes of annual downtime
999% = 5 minutes of annual downtime.

High availability usually equals 99.999% or better. HA is achieved by eliminating single points of failure and providing the ability to rapidly resume operations after a system outage with minimal business loss.

What Is SAP High Availability?

SAP has put in place plans and procedures that enable SAP ERP and other critical systems to keep on running. A high-availability solution for SAP needs to achieve four core goals:

Minimize downtime
Eliminate data loss
Maintain data integrity
Enable flexible configuration.

For example, SAP offers the Standalone Enqueue Server 2 (ENSA2) as a component of Application Server ABAP to provide high availability. It supports two-node and multi-node clusters, which enables switchover to ENSA2 to ensure continued system availability. In addition, SAP High Availability Failover enables SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise (SAP ASE) to work in a cluster of servers in a specific configuration, enabling failover and failback on servers.

Further Resources for SAPinsiders

SAP High Availability Best Practices in AWS. In this webinar, Brett Barwick, Senior Software Engineer of SIOS Technology Corp., and Tamara Astakhov, Senior Partner, Solution Architect for Big Data & Analytics, AWS, discuss best practices for SAP high availability and how to achieve near-zero downtime.

The 15 Most Overlooked Items in Planning for High Availability and Disaster Recovery. In this article, Kurt Bishop, a retired member of SAP America’s Technical Consulting Team, offers advice on how to avoid costly mistakes by sharing the 15 most overlooked items — including the cost of downtime, security issues, loss of personnel and systems, and the importance of testing — and discussing how to incorporate them into recovery planning.

Architecting a High Availability SAP NetWeaver Infrastructure: Strategies for Ensuring a Successful, Cost-Effective Implementation. In this article, Matt Kangas, U.S. Product Manager for SAP NetWeaver Application Server at SAP Labs, provides an overview of HA basics and then discusses the technical details of an HA setup with SAP NetWeaver, including topics such as architectural single points of failure and ways to isolate and protect such failure points.

Vendors that can assist SAP customers with high availability include: AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft, Managecore, Red Hat, Saberpoint, SIOS, SUSE, Virtustream, and Zebra Technologies.

- SAP SD
Improve Your Company’s Revenues with ATP in Sales Using SAP SD

Published: 30/December/2017

Reading time: 22 mins

Learn about the processes involved in sales using Available-to-Promise (ATP) functionality. Read details about the main master data to be maintained in the system along with the main customizing settings available for this solution. Key Concept The Available-to-Promise (ATP) quantity is calculated from the warehouse stock, the planned inward movements of stock (production orders, purchase...…
- SAP Production Planning
Streamline Your Company’s Production Rates with ATP Using SAP PP

Published: 29/December/2017

Reading time: 19 mins

Learn about the processes involved in production using Available-to-Promise (ATP) functionality. Read about the master data to be maintained in the system along with the main customizing settings available for this solution. Key Concept In SAP Production Planning (PP) the Available-to-Promise (ATP) check is carried out for the components of the main material. SAP Production...…
- SAP High Availability
Best Practices for SAP High Availability in AWS

Published: 28/May/2021

Reading time: 5 mins

The global marketplace and its supply chains are complex and volatile. Companies rely on their SAP ERP systems to manage those dynamics and engage with their suppliers and customers. While on-premise control of your SAP landscape and data centers provides advantages, it may be time to consider transitioning to the AWS cloud. The question is,…
- SAP APO
Configure Capable-to-Promise for Both External and Internal Demands

Published: 15/February/2016

Reading time: 26 mins

Learn how to configure Capable-to-Promise in SAP Global Available-to-Promise (GATP) in a manufacturing environment for both external as well as internal demands. Understand the various configuration aspects of both GATP and Production Planning (PP) /Detailed Scheduling (DS). Key Concept Production can be directly triggered through a Capable-to-Promise check within the SAP Global Available-to-Promise (GATP) module...…
- SAP High Availability
Use SAP Solution Manager’s Extensive Reporting Capabilities to Ensure Consistent Performance Across Your System Landscape Through Proactive Monitoring

Published: 15/March/2008

Reading time: 24 mins

SAP/Solution Manager Learn about SAP Solution Manager 4.0’s reporting options and how to use them to ensure consistent performance across your system landscape. Key Concept SAP Solution Manager 4.0 includes a wide range of reporting options for generating technical and administrative information about your system landscape, including SAP EarlyWatch Alert Reporting, Service Reporting, EarlyWatch Alert...…
3 Steps to Identify Missing Parts and Evaluate Shortages for Production Orders

Published: 09/November/2010

Reading time: 11 mins

The availability of required parts becomes more critical as you get closer to starting your production run. Learn three steps to easily update your SAP ERP system with the latest availability of parts required for production, identify missing components, check expected receipts, and expedite procurement. Key Concept Components that are not available in sufficient quantities...…
Use Document Types for Budget Availability Control in SAP PS

Published: 30/January/2013

Reading time: 10 mins

See how, why, and where you can configure budget availability control based on document types to improve your project controlling efficiency with a standard SAP system. Key Concept Budget availability control in the Managerial Accounting (CO) and Project System (PS) modules is a standard SAP functionality that automates budget control through warnings and error messages....…
Accurate Order Promising through Global ATP in a Consolidation Environment

Published: 25/August/2014

Reading time: 29 mins

Learn how to implement rules-based available-to-promise (ATP) in a consolidation scenario including the use of multi-level ATP. Key Concept Fixed pegging is the process of establishing the relationship of a receipt document to the requirement document it fulfills. This linkage is not broken when receipts or requirements are rescheduled in time or through a planning...…
Take Control of Order Confirmations with Backorder Processing in APO

Published: 15/March/2007

Reading time: 36 mins

Find out how the sort profile and filter type affect backorder processing (BOP). In this example based on a real-world scenario, see how the author developed a workaround that allowed the company to use the material availability date as a sort criterion for BOP. Key Concept Backorder processing (BOP) is a critical step in sales...…
How Rights Inventory Management Works in SAP IPM

Published: 11/June/2012

Reading time: 23 mins

See how an SAP system handles the media industry’s need to manage intellectual property and to avoid the conflicts that can arise when an intangible product is licensed in multiple ways. Key Concept SAP Intellectual Property Management (SAP IPM) is part of the industry-specific offering SAP for Media. It sits on top of SAP CRM....…