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Function documentationConfiguration Validation

 

Configuration validation helps you to determine whether the systems in your landscape are configured consistently and in accordance with your requirements. You can use configuration validation to answer the following questions, for example:

  • Have the latest support packages been installed?

  • Have all transports from the development system arrived in the production system?

  • Have particular notes been implemented in the production system?

  • Have the desired security settings been made in the production system?

Note Note

The Security apps are based on configuration validation. You can use these apps to get an overview of the compliance of your production systems with regard to certain security-specific settings. For more information, see Dashboard for Security.

End of the note.

Integration

Configuration validation is based on Change Reporting and the Configuration and Change Database (CCDB).

Prerequisites

For information about the prerequisites for using configuration validation, see SAP Note 1483508Information published on SAP site.

Features

Reports

You can execute validation reports to compare the current configuration of one or more systems with a reference system. The reference system can be either a real, existing system or a virtual target system containing user-defined configuration criteria. Each configuration element is checked. If the value of the element in the comparison system fulfills the conditions defined in the reference system, it is rated compliant. If any element in a configuration store is not compliant, the entire configuration store is rated not compliant. The same applies to a system: If any element in a configuration store is not compliant, the entire system is not compliant.

You can also execute simple configuration reports without validation, if you just want to view configuration data (such as the software, kernel, or database levels) for a single system or a system list.

The Report Execution tab has the following views:

Report Directory

The report directory provides access to predefined reports and any custom reports you create.

SAP provides the following predefined reports. Choose Display predefined reports to display only these:

  • Single Store Report

    Use this report to quickly check the values of the elements of a single configuration store, across systems. You can select from a number of reporting themes, such as software levels, database levels, user profiles, and RFC destinations.

  • Software

    Use this report to check whether your systems have the most recent Support Packages installed. You can refine the report by selecting which components to compare and defining the allowed difference (number of SPs).

  • Transports

    SAP provides several predefined reports for checking and validating transports in your systems. You can also access these reports from the Transport Reports view, which provides a detailed explanation of each report.

You can create and execute your own custom reports based on reporting templates. For more information, see Creating a Custom Report.

For more information on how to execute reports, see Executing a Report.

Reporting Templates

From this view, you can execute ad hoc reports based on various reporting templates. You can compare your systems to a reference system (user-defined target system or real system) or to a single reference item (values for a specific configuration store) for a one-time validation or quick configuration check.

The reporting templates are organized into the following categories:

  • Operator validation

    Target system operators are considered when calculating whether systems are compliant.

  • Consistency validation

    Systems are rated compliant only when the values of configuration items are equal to those of the reference system. Other operators are not considered.

  • Configuration reporting

    Simple reporting on the contents of specified configuration stores, without validation.

  • Weighted validation

    Reports consider the weighting values and descriptions specified in the target system.

For more information, see Executing an Ad Hoc Report.

Transport Reports

This view provides quick access to a set of predefined reports for checking and validating transports. This view also provides a detailed explanation of each report. You can execute these reports from here or from the report directory.

Bookmarks

You can save the URL of a report variant for later access. All users can access the bookmarks.

Target Systems

A target system is a virtual system containing user-defined target configuration data. You use the Target System Maintenance view to create and edit the target systems, which can then be selected as reference systems when you execute configuration validation reports.

For more information, see Creating a Target System.

Comparison Lists

You can define comparison lists to group together similar systems that you validate on a regular basis. Then you do not have to select the systems individually each time you run a report. You can select the comparison list instead.

You can create a static list with a fixed set of systems or a dynamic list that finds the systems that match specified criteria at runtime.

For more information, see Creating a Comparison List.

Trend Analysis

You can schedule reports to be run regularly, at daily or weekly intervals, in order to analyze compliance trends over a certain time period. The Trend Analysis view allows you to view compliance trends and execution logs for your reports.

Trend analysis reporting does not use the reporting templates of the report directory.