SAP Software Provisioning Manager (SWPM)
SAP has released a new component of the SL Toolset which replaces the installation tools for SAP NetWeaver 7.3 and higher e.g. for products like PI 7.31 or BW 7.3
In detail, the SWPM can handle installations, system copies etc. for the following products
- SAP NetWeaver 7.3
- SAP EHP1 for SAP NetWeaver 7.3
- SAP NetWeaver 7.3 Developer Edition
- SAP EHP1 for SAP NetWeaver 7.3 Developer Edition
- Update: SAP NetWeaver CE 7.2
- Update: SAP EHP1 for SAP NW 7.1
- Update: SAP EHP1 for SAP NW CE 7.1
- Update: SAP NetWeaver 7.1
- Update: SAP NetWeaver CE 7.1
- SAP Business Suite 7i 2011 Java
- EHP2 for SAP CRM 7.0 for SAP NetWeaver 7.3
- EHP2 for SAP CRM 7.0 for EHP1 for SAP NetWeaver 7.3
- EHP6 for SAP ERP 7.0 for SAP NetWeaver 7.3
- EHP6 for SAP ERP 7.0 for EHP1 for SAP NetWeaver 7.3
- EHP2 for SAP SRM 7.0 for SAP NetWeaver 7.3
- EHP2 for SAP SRM 7.0 for EHP1 for SAP NetWeaver 7.3
- SAP Business Suite 7i 2010 Java
- EHP1 for SAP CRM 7.0 for SAP NetWeaver 7.3
- EHP1 for SAP CRM 7.0 for EHP1 for SAP NetWeaver 7.3
- EHP5 for SAP ERP 7.0 for SAP NetWeaver 7.3
- EHP5 for SAP ERP 7.0 for EHP1 for SAP NetWeaver 7.3
- EHP1 for SAP SRM 7.0 for SAP NetWeaver 7.3
- EHP1 for SAP SRM 7.0 for EHP1 for SAP NetWeaver 7.3
- SAP Business Suite 7 SR1 Java
- SAP CRM 7.0 for SAP NetWeaver 7.3
- SAP CRM 7.0 for EHP1 for SAP NetWeaver 7.3
- EHP4 for SAP ERP 7.0 for SAP NetWeaver 7.3
- EHP4 for SAP ERP 7.0 for EHP1 for SAP NetWeaver 7.3
- SAP SCM 7.0 for SAP NetWeaver 7.3
- SAP SCM 7.0 for EHP1 for SAP NetWeaver 7.3
- SAP SRM 7.0 for SAP NetWeaver 7.3
- SAP SRM 7.0 for EHP1 for SAP NetWeaver 7.3
It also includes tools that are valid for all SAP NetWeaver releases like the SAP Tools for Microsoft SQL Server. Details about these tools are described in one of my previous blogs
Current Situation
Let’s first take a look at the current lifecycle of an installation DVD. The installation DVD is released by SAP and cannot be patched afterwards e.g. by uploading a new installation DVD to the SAP marketplace. If SAP wants to fix an issue, it depends on how complex it would be to patch the installation DVD.
If the fix is easy, SAP describes in a SAP note how the installation DVD must be patched e.g. changing some lines in the control.xml file or another file.
If the fix is considered to be too complex for the customer to fix it, a patched file is attached to a SAP note. The customer must exchange this file on the installation DVD with the attached file.
For an example see SAP Note 1152240 (login required)
While this was a valid approach for many years, SAP has decided to develop a tool that is always up to date and does not need to be patched prior to execution.
Introducing the SAP SWPM
The SAP Software Provisioning Manager is part of the SL Toolset and is therefore shipped with it regularly. The new versions include bug fixes and can include new features like installation of a new SAP release.
The major difference though is that SAP can fix bugs in already released SWPM versions and always provide an up to date version of the SWPM for their customers. The patched versions is always available on the SAP marketplace.
Also, older releases like e.g. SAP NetWeaver 7.3 benefit from the improvements and development that is done as part of new releases e.g. SAP EPH1 for SAP NetWeaver 7.3.
See SAP Note 1680045 (login required) on how to download the current version of SWPM.
SAP Notes
For more details about SL Toolset and the SAP Software Provisioning Manager, read the following SAP notes