Connect LMDB to System Landscape Directory (SLD)

LMDB should receive as much system information as possible from a remote SLD, where systems register themselves automatically.

For most technical systems there are data suppliers, which automatically register the systems in the SLD.

The LMDB receives SLD changes automatically when a change occurs, using polling by LMDB or active change notifications by the SLD. If possible, register technical system information in SLD and do not create it in the LMDB manually.

Ideally, all systems in the landscape register to one remote SLD directly. If this is not possible, the LMDB must be synchronized with several SLDs, which can contain equal or contradictory data. Because the LMDB content depends on the sequence of changes in the various SLDs, any overlap between system data in multiple source SLDs implies the risk of inconsistencies in the LMDB. (For more information, see Integration of System Landscape Management and SAP Note 1669649.)

Once the synchronization connection has been configured, and the initial data transfer (full synchronization) from the SLD to the LMDB is complete, incremental synchronization between SLD and LMDB starts automatically. The LMDB queries, or 'polls', the SLD for changes every ten minutes. As of SLD 7.1, you can configure the SLD to send change notifications up to once per minute. Thereby, changes are synchronized with the LMDB more frequently.

Prerequisites

Required SAP NetWeaver Version for the SLD

Whether an SLD is compatible with the LMDB depends on the SAP NetWeaver version and Support Package on which the SLD is based:

SAP NetWeaver Release of SLD System	Supported Support Package Stack Level	Supported Support Package Stack Level for SAP HANA
SAP NetWeaver 6.40	not supported	not supported
SAP NetWeaver 7.0	not supported	not supported
EHP1 for SAP NetWeaver 7.0	not supported	not supported
EHP2 for SAP NetWeaver 7.0	SP6, patch 5	SP11
SAP NetWeaver 7.1	SP9	SP15
EHP1 for SAP NetWeaver 7.1	all SPs	SP10
SAP NetWeaver 7.2	all SPs	SP8
SAP NetWeaver 7.3	all SPs	SP8
EHP1 SAP NetWeaver 7.3	all SPs	SP3

Use a separate remote SLD for synchronization with the LMDB, with version EHP1 for 7.1 or higher, to have the latest SLD functional scope. (The local SLD in SAP Solution Manager has version 7.02 only). If your central SLD does not have the required status, you can use another SLD which does satisfy the minimum requirements (for example the local SLD in SAP Solution Manager) and synchronize it with your central SLD, using SLD bridge-forwarding or full, automatic synchronization.

Required CIM Model and SAP Software Catalog Version

These are the requirements for the CIM model and for the SAP Software Catalog (CR content) delivered by the SLD connected to the LMDB:

CIM model: 1.6.34 or higher. For more information, see SAP Note 1701770.
CR content: 8.8 or higher. For more information, see SAP Note 669669.

As a general rule, CIM model and CR content should not be older than three months compared to the latest available version at the SAP Service Marketplace. The SLD content updates are published every four to six weeks. A new major version of the CR content is created every year.

Required Versions for Polling and Change Notifications

To trigger incremental synchronization from SLD to LMDB, polling and change notifications are used. The remote communication uses HTTP(S).

All supported SLD versions support polling of system information: The LMDB queries the SLD for changes every ten minutes.

As of SLD 7.1, you can configure active change notifications from the SLD to the LMDB, to trigger processing of changes quicker. This requires a higher version of the SLD.

SAP NetWeaver Version of SLD System	Supported Support Package Stack Level
SAP NetWeaver 7.1	SP12
EHP1 for SAP NetWeaver 7.1	SP7
SAP NetWeaver 7.2	SP5
SAP NetWeaver 7.3	SP3

For more information, see SAP Note 1546079.

To configure the LMDB for Synchronization with an SLD, the following prerequisites must be fulfilled:

You have performed all previous system preparation steps in SAP Solution Manager Configuration (transaction SOLMAN_SETUP).
The SLD is running.
Users and authorizations:
- For SAP Solution Manager, users need administration authorization.
- For an SLD as of release SAP NetWeaver 7.1, users need the role SAP_SLD_CONTENT_SYNC.
  For an SLD as of release SAP NetWeaver 7.0, users at least need the role SAP_SLD_GUEST.

Procedure

To use the LMDB, you must configure it in the setup of SAP Solution Manager, during the configuration of SAP Solution Manager after installation or upgrade:

Start transaction SOLMAN_SETUP and choose System Preparation Prepare Landscape Description Set Up LMDB .
In the Synchronization Connections between SLD and LMDB area, choose Add. A window opens. To create a new synchronization connection, make the following entries:
1. Description: Enter a free text to describe the new SLD connection.
2. The input help offers all SLD connections that you defined in the previous setup step (Select SLD).
3. User: Enter or change the SLD user.
  In the SLD, check the user password you have entered and check the user roles that are listed as prerequisite above. Using a separate user for each connection makes the configuration more robust.
4. Source Namespace: Select the CIM namespace of the source (SLD). The default namespace is sld/active.
5. Rank of Source Namespace: A ranking is defined between SLD and LMDB to determine which status ‘wins’ in case of conflicts. A conflict exists if the status of an object on target side (LMDB) differs from what is expected by the source (SLD). This can happen, for example, if you have changed the system information (originally from the SLD) with the LMDB technical system editor. The LMDB must always have priority; this prevents changes in SLD from overwriting manual changes made in LMDB in the technical system editor. For more information, see SAP NetWeaver System Landscape Directory: Conflicts & Ranks in Full, Automatic Synchronization in the SAP Community Network at http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-8516.
  The rank is a positive whole number which specifies the priorities of system descriptions in the synchronization landscape: the higher the number, the higher the rank.
  
  A previously selected rank number is displayed when you select the namespace. If no assignment has yet been made, -1 is displayed, and you have to assign a rank.
  
  Example: To be flexible for subsequent changes in your synchronization landscape, use a rank of 1000 for the source (SLD) and 2000 for the target (LMDB).
  
  Note
  If the source namespace already has a rank, do not change it since it is the rank of the namespace in the SLD. Changing the source rank can affect other content synchronizations. If you must change it, keep the relative position (higher or lower), relative to the rank of all other existing synchronization connections. You need a good overview of all SLD and LMDB rank settings in the system landscape.
  
  End of the note.
6. Target Namespace: For LMDB in SAP Solution Manager 7.1, only the target namespace active is supported.
7. Rank of Target Namespace: Enter rank of the target (LMDB). Choose a number higher than that for the source (SLD).
  Example: If a rank has already been assigned to SLD, add 1000 to it. Thereby, there is enough flexibility for subsequent ranking changes in your synchronization landscape.
8. Choose Check.
  If you want to save your settings and activate them later, confirm with Save. To start the full, automatic content synchronization immediately, choose Save and Activate.
9. If the source SLD supports change notifications, an additional pop-up appears where you can decide to enter the target LMDB connection. Enter connection parameters that the SLD can use to notify the LMDB about changes.
If you have problems when you try to save, see SAP Note 1699142.
You can change some connection parameters later on. In the list of synchronization connections, choose Advanced to specify, for example, whether you want to use change notifications (available as of NetWeaver 7.1).
If you add more than one SLD, set the Is CR Source indicator for the SLD that provides the SAP Software Catalog (CR content). This should be the first synchronization connection you activate.
Choose Activate for each SLD connection, if you have not already done so.
The initial, full synchronization with the SLD can take several hours, depending, for example, on the number of systems in the SLD, and the hardware.
If the job is aborted, it will be automatically restarted after ten minutes (according to the polling interval).
After the full synchronization, the system carries out an incremental synchronization every ten minutes (standard) to propagate changes to the LMDB.

Monitoring the Synchronization

To monitor synchronization, you have the following options:

In SAP Solution Manager, you can view information about the synchronization job. Start transaction SOLMAN_SETUP and choose System Preparation Prepare Landscape Set Up LMDB .
Select a synchronization connection and choose Advanced.
Transaction SM37 (Simple Job Selection) displays jobs and logs. Search for jobs starting with SAP_LMDB_LDB_* and leave the User name field empty. (Jobs usually run under the SOLMAN_BTC system user. The name of the synchronization job for the target namespace is SAP_LMDB_LDB_<number of LMDB target namespace> e.g. SAP_LMDB_LDB_0000000001.)
The job log for the initial, full synchronization contains information like the following:

Full Sync: Number of instances to be synced from destination LMDB_SyncDest1: 373920.

From this you can extrapolate job duration: A job should write about 10 objects per seconds into the LMDB. For more information about performance, see SAP Note 1594654.
Transaction SLG1 (Analyze Application Log) display logs.
All relevant information is stored in the job log. Transaction SLG1 is only required for low-level analysis.

Under Object, enter AI_LMDB to find the application logs related to the LMDB.

To increase the detail level of SLG1 logs, start transaction SM30 and maintain the V_LMDB_LOG_CONF view. The log level can be set per user and sub-object in the LMDB. Several log levels are supported, for example:
- Error (default)
- No logging
- Error and Warning
- Error, Warning and Info
Transaction SM12 (Select Lock Entries) displays locks.
Under Table name, enter LMDB*. During content synchronization, a change in the LMDB can be blocked by another user. If so, the active sync job is cancelled because changes must be processed in the order in which they occurred in the source system. The next scheduled sync job will continue at the same point, later. Locks will usually have been released in the meantime, and pending changes can be processed. If a lock persists, check the lock entries.

For performance issues with the full synchronization job, see SAP note 1555955.

Result

Now you have connected the LMDB to a central SLD, which provides changes in system descriptions by incremental synchronization. So all SAP Solution Manager applications use the latest system information, for example to monitor and update the systems.

More Information

For information on how to use automatic data suppliers, see the following sources of information:

SAP Community Network, at http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-8516
SAP Solution Manager Setup Wiki at http://wiki.sdn.sap.com/wiki/x/yoEtCg