Automatic Information / Notification About Patches on SWDC?

[detlev_beutner]

Hi there,

I'm planning to create "some kind of tool" (details are not to be published yet, for instance if this should be offered as a service or as software, etc pp) which sends notifications if there are new patches for a certain SAP component / SPS level / ... on SWDC ("Software Download Center" on service.sap.com).

As far as I know, there does not exist such a functiionality, not at service.sap.com nor in SolutionManager nor in ...

Have I overlooked something? Someone told me, there might be something similar on service.sap.com, but wasn't sure.

Any input?

Or - if there is no such "already exists"-input - would you like such a tool?

Best regards

Detlev

[sunny_pahuja2 · Accepted solution]

Hi,

If you will configure solution manager, then in dswp transaction, there you will get SAP Hot notes which can help you to get information on the notes released as well information about patches.

Thanks

Sunny

[detlev_beutner · Accepted solution]

Hi Sunny,

Thanks for that hint; I don't know that in detail (otherwise I would already have mentioned it ), so could you clarify this a bit more: As far as I understand you, this is (just) about receiving SAP (hot) notes for certain topics - which includes notes on patches (as long as they exist, there not always a one-to-one mapping between released patches and corresponding notes).

Or, asked the other way round, would you think the tool I sketched would offer additional value?

Thanks in advance

Detlev

PS: Just checked out the HotNews/TopNotes/etc section on service.sap.com/notes, incl. the newsletter via myProfile (selecting TopNotes does not work for me, only HotNews and SecurityNotes are listed). As expected, the notes offered are absolutely not matching the released patches!?

Edited by: Detlev Beutner on Oct 12, 2010 10:09 AM

[sunny_pahuja2 · Accepted solution]

Hi,

Option which I am telling you does not give one to one mapping but whenever SAP release some new notes or updates the note, it get reflected there in solution manager.

I think its gud to have some tool but as per real customer scenario's, customer would not go for SP upgrade very easily, so for them it does not matter if new patch is released. But any way this is good tool to have.

Thanks

Sunny

[detlev_beutner · Accepted solution]

Hi Sunny,

> whenever SAP release some new notes or updates the note,

> it get reflected there in solution manager

Yeah, but what is missed from an operational point of view is: Whenever SAP releases patches (not: SPS - these dates are more or less well known), there is not automatically a note in the HotNews/Notes/... section published. That was what I checked on service.sap.com for exampel for the portal.

> as per real customer scenario's, customer would not go for SP upgrade very easily,

> so for them it does not matter if new patch is released

Please differentiate between patch and SPS. Patches (and their info description, which sometimes points to a note, sometimes holds the complete info about the corrections by itself) often point to possibly very problematic issues. These at least can be more than helpful (for customers to prevent production problems; for SAP to prevent customers running into the same and then calling SAP for support).

The idea for the tool was just from "real customer scenario's" - where people tend not to be informed about released patches, as this takes a hundred klicks (OK, maybe some less) on SWDC; and you would have to do this regulary. So, most people working in operations just don't do it, not once in a month, not once in a quarter. Most people working in operations stumble over patches just when they have run into an issue.

OK. I already have talked to some customers (and for some years, I'm working in operations, so that I know the problems in this area quite well). So far, it seems that I have not overlooked anything (I would have loved to...).

It will take some days / weeks until further steps are sorted out, and a first version might take it's time (I would expect January at the moment, but just like SAP - this might be subject to change without further notice

Still, if anyone likes to add additional input - where the shoe pinches for you, working in operations for example - that would be highly appreciated, or what concrete features you would like to see. I won't do everything on my internal list in the first step, but knowing what might get into it one day makes design decisions easier.

Best regards

Detlev

[dao_ha · Accepted solution]

Hi Detlev,

In my opinion, it'd be a very useful tool. Maybe there's a better way (which I'm not awared of) but I certainly do not want to go back to /swdc, again and again, to check on every related components for new patches/hot fixes before/after every SPS update. Worst, after the SPS update, you'd get an error ... then, after spending time to investigate, you'd find out that there's a new patch/hot fix just being released for that problem

It'd be nice if, after selecting a target SPS level, the tool would notify you all the currently available related patches/hot fixes and then it'll keep notifying you in the future of newly released patches, etc. (for that particular SPS level)... until your next SPS update or upgrade.

Best regards,

Dao