Updating ECC6.0 EHP0 to EHP7

[tan_michael]

Hi Experts,

I would like to ask your stories, tips, opinions, experiences and difficulties when you're updating your non-EHP SAP ECC 6.0 to EHP7.

System Details:

OS: WS 2012 Std R2

DB: Oracle 12c

Source System: SAP ECC 6.0 EHP0 / Netweaver 7.0 - SAP_BASIS 700 / SAP_APPL 600

Target Systrem: SAP ECC6.0 EHP7

I was assigned to update our current SAP system(Please see above details) to EHP7. This is for the preparation in upgrading our ECC system to S/4 Hana. Correct me if I'm wrong, atleast I need to update our system to EHP6 in able to upgrade it to S/4 Hana right?

Although I have searched and have some idea now, its still best to seek guidance from an expert since I'm going to implement this all by myself (kinda paranoid and nervous O.o it's a mission critical project for me) and please answer some of queries below:

1. When updating to EHP7, do I need to update first our netweaver platforms or it happened during EHP7 update? ( kinda confused when in Maintenance Planner added to my download basket the SPAM update for 7.4x, this should be SPAM update for 7.00 right? )

2. What are the preparations that I need to do/check(OS level/System Level) before updating.

3. Since I'm updating from ECC installation stack to EHP7 latest stack. How to manage it, should I look for a long holiday and upgrade it 1 big time or update it bit by bit until I achieve it?

4. Please share your EHP update stories & experiences. Please share the link if you blogged it ^_^

[BJarkowski · Accepted solution]

Hello,

If your target system release is S/4HANA you need to plan the upgrade as a two-step procedure. Firstly you need to upgrade to EHP7 with HANA Database. You should check if your system is Unicode or not, as this might be an additional challenge. You can use Database Migration Option to simplify the process of upgrade and migration.

(source: sap.com)

https://blogs.sap.com/2013/11/29/database-migration-option-dmo-of-sum-introduction/

And now answers to your questions:

1) You can (and you should) upgrade entire system at once. That means you upgrade the SAP Netweaver and all the applications. Database migration option should help you here, as it can execute the migration as well.

2) Check if your OS is valid for the target SAP release - the best way to check is SAP PAM (http://support.sap.com/pam). Read all the notes about the upgrade at least twice to avoid surprises 🙂 Remember that SAP HANA database has quite high system requirements. Execute the HANA Migration Sizing (SAP Note: 1872170) and check the memory parameters.

3) Yes, you should upgrade it at once. Of course, firstly execute the upgrade on some sandbox system to get the idea how long will it take. You can process all pre-processing step when the system is running. There are various methods to minimize the downtime, so you need to read and test.

4) You should be able to find some stories about the upgrades. If you are not experienced in such operations, think about getting a helping hand (contractor or 3rd party company). You will run into issues and that's normal. Try to perform the upgrade on sandbox as long as you get the confidence you know what you're doing.

Good luck!

Bartosz

[tan_michael · Accepted solution]

Hi Bartosz,

Good day!

Yes, our system is in unicode.

Is there's any future trouble in upgrading it to S4 Hana and we don't upgrade it yet to HANA DB because my orignal plan is

ECC 6.0 / Ora DB >> EHP7 / Ora DB >> S4 HANA / HANA DB (On or Before Year 2025, this is the year where support for oracle ends right?) with this its gonna be a cost efficient for us. we don't have yet license for hana db.

I have a sandbox now equal to our prod and just waiting for our solman to be done.

Thank you very much! *thumbs up*

[BJarkowski · Accepted solution]

If you plan to convert your system to S/4HANA in more than 5 years I think it's not the time to discuss the potential troubles.

But in general, your path is correct. The only question I have is why not to upgrade to EHP8 directly? I know that EHP7 is the minimal requirement, but the effort of upgrading to EHP8 will be pretty much the same as you are already on Unicode.

[tan_michael · Accepted solution]

Hi Bartosz,

I have yet search regarding EHP8 but I will look about it and think if we can consider to upgrade it ehp8, thanks.

I only know that EHP8 is not an update, its an upgrade and I don't know if we need additional license for it.

Thanks for your help 😄

[tan_michael · Accepted solution]

Hi Bartosz,

As per checking, we're able to download the installation medias for EHP8 and have checked PAM. gonna search now for EHP8.