Server & Network Administration for SAP Basis Administrators

Server & Network Administration for SAP Basis Administrators

SAP Basis sits on Linux or Windows, DNS, storage, and firewalls. This course covers the server and network skills a Basis administrator needs before touching SWPM.

You practise the OS and network checks that stop an install or a go-live when they are missed.

Syllabus

  • Server & Network - Program overview and learning outcomes
    • Role of server and network administration in SAP Basis work
    • Typical SAP landscape components and infrastructure dependencies
    • Shared responsibility: Basis vs. OS vs. network teams
    • Lab environment, access models, and safety practices
    • Course tools: SSH, RDP, ipconfig, ping, tracert, nslookup
  • Server & Network - SAP landscape infrastructure context
    • Presentation, application, and database tiers in SAP
    • Central instance, application servers, and database host
    • SAP hostnames, instance numbers, and SID conventions
    • Internal vs. external client access paths
    • High availability and DR - infrastructure view
  • Server & Network - Windows Server administration for SAP
    • Login at OS level (Windows Server) for SAP administration
    • Windows services relevant to SAP (overview)
    • Disks, volumes, and pagefile considerations for SAP
    • Windows updates and patching coordination with Basis
    • Event Viewer and basic Windows troubleshooting for SAP hosts
    • Local users, groups, and UAC impact on SAP installs
  • Server & Network - Linux administration for SAP
    • Linux distributions used for SAP (RHEL, SUSE) - overview
    • SSH login, sudo, and sapadmin / <sid>adm users
    • Filesystem layout, mounts, and sapmnt / oracle or HANA paths
    • systemd services and starting/stopping SAP-related units
    • Package management and kernel/driver coordination
    • Log locations: messages, syslog, SAP trace directories
  • Server & Network - Virtualization and compute for SAP
    • Virtual machines vs. bare metal for SAP workloads
    • vCPU, memory, and NUMA awareness (overview)
    • VM snapshots, clones, and Basis change windows
    • Hypervisor networking basics (vSwitch, port groups)
    • Preparing a VM for SAP and database installation (lab context)
  • Server & Network - Storage and filesystems
    • SAP directory structure on application servers
    • Database data, log, and backup storage layout
    • NFS, CIFS, and shared storage for SAP (overview)
    • Disk space monitoring and Basis escalation thresholds
    • File permissions and ownership for SAP users
  • Server & Network - Networking fundamentals
    • TCP/IP, UDP, and the OSI model (practical subset)
    • IP addresses, subnets, masks, and gateways
    • MAC addresses, ARP, and local segment communication
    • VLANs and network segmentation concepts
    • NAT and SAP landscapes (overview)
  • Server & Network - DNS and hostname resolution
    • DNS records (A, PTR, CNAME) for SAP hosts
    • Forward and reverse lookup verification (nslookup, dig)
    • hosts file vs. DNS - when each is used in SAP projects
    • Split-horizon DNS and internal vs. external names
    • Common DNS misconfigurations affecting SAP logon and RFC
  • Server & Network - SAP ports, protocols, and connectivity
    • Default SAP port ranges and instance numbers (32xx, 36xx, etc.)
    • Message server, gateway, and ICM ports
    • Database listener ports (HANA, Oracle overview)
    • Testing connectivity with ping, telnet, Test-NetConnection, nc
    • SAProuter and remote support connections (overview)
  • Server & Network - Firewalls and network security zones
    • Firewall rule concepts: source, destination, port, action
    • DMZ, application zone, and database zone patterns
    • Windows Defender Firewall and Linux firewalld/iptables (overview)
    • Change process for firewall requests in SAP projects
    • Documenting required flows for a new SAP system
  • Server & Network - Load balancing and reverse proxies
    • Load balancer role for SAP HTTP(S) traffic (overview)
    • SAP Web Dispatcher as reverse proxy - placement
    • SSL termination at LB vs. on SAP host
    • Health checks and session persistence (overview)
  • Server & Network - SSL/TLS and certificates
    • Public/private keys, CAs, and certificate chains
    • SAP PSE and STRUST - Basis touchpoints
    • Installing and renewing certificates on SAP ICM / Gateway
    • Certificate expiry monitoring and incident prevention
  • Server & Network - Secure Network Communication (SNC)
    • Secure Network Communications (SNC) - concepts
    • SNC quality of protection and profile parameters
    • SNC configuration for RFC (overview lab)
    • Troubleshooting SNC and GSS-API errors (overview)
  • Server & Network - Remote access and jump hosts
    • SSH key-based authentication and hardening basics
    • RDP best practices for SAP Windows hosts
    • Jump hosts / bastion architecture for SAP landscapes
    • Session recording and access audit (overview)
  • Server & Network - Time synchronization and clustering
    • Why time sync matters for SAP, DB, and cluster nodes
    • NTP on Windows and chrony on Linux (verification)
    • Cluster time skew symptoms in SAP HA environments
    • Coordinating time changes during maintenance
  • Server & Network - Monitoring and performance at OS/network layer
    • CPU, memory, and I/O monitoring on Windows and Linux
    • Network utilization and error counters
    • Correlating OS metrics with SAP SM50 / ST06 (overview)
    • Baseline documentation for SAP host performance
  • Server & Network - Troubleshooting connectivity for Basis
    • Layered troubleshooting: client -> network -> OS -> SAP -> DB
    • Diagnosing SAP GUI logon failures (network angle)
    • RFC and SM59 connection failures - network checks
    • Packet capture concepts (when to escalate to network team)
    • Runbook template for connectivity incidents
  • Server & Network - Hands-on labs and assessment
    • Lab: Verify IP, gateway, DNS, and SAP port reachability
    • Lab: Document firewall rules for a three-tier SAP landscape
    • Lab: STRUST / certificate import walkthrough
    • Lab: SSH hardening and sudo check on Linux SAP host
    • Knowledge check: ports, DNS, zones, and escalation paths
    • Capstone: infrastructure readiness checklist for new SAP system