When you copy a system, you create a copy of the source system as a new target system. The most common use of copy function is to take a source production system and create a copy of that system for quality assurance or project work. Other use cases may also apply.

To copy a system follow the instruction below.

Procedure

  1. Login to LaMa web user interface and navigate to the Provisioning view and choose the Systems view.
    Figure 1. Navigation to Provisioning
  2. Click on the Provisioning button for the selected SAP system virtual machine.
  3. Select Copy System from the dropdown list.
    Figure 2. Copy operation
  4. In the pop-up window do the following:
    1. Provide the new System ID in the corresponding field.
    2. Provide a password for the new system that you are going to create as a result of Copy operation. Re-enter the password to confirm the same.
    3. Click on the Next button.
    Figure 3. Basic Data
  5. Click on the pencil icon to enter required parameters.
    Figure 4. Host Selection
  6. In the pop-up window do the following:
    1. Provide the Target Name for the new SAP system virtual machine.
    2. Click on the Target Element field.
      Figure 5. Target Selection
    3. In the Target Element window select the target resource pool or ESXi Host on which to place the new copied system. The dialog presents useful information like the current utilization levels for either the resource pool or host. This will help you to take informed decision on where to place the new copied system.
    4. Click on the Confirm button to close the Target Element window.
      Figure 6. Resource Pool Information
    5. Click on the Next button.
  7. Specify a Data Storage:
    1. Click on the Data Storage field.
      Figure 7. Data Storage
    2. In the Data Storage window select a Data Storage to store the new copied system. The dialog provides useful information like the size and current utilization levels for various available datastores. This allows you to take an informed decision of choosing the right Data Storage. Click on the Confirm button.
      Figure 8. Data Storage Information
      Note: Linked copies can only use the same Data Storage as the source system.
    3. Click on the Next button.
  8. For the next step do the following:
    1. Select Customization specification for guest OS.
      • Guest Customization Specifications are created in the VMware vCenter Server and are made available via the VMware Adapter for SAP Landscape Management. You will need a Guest Customization Specification in order to copy a system.
      • Work with your VMware Administrator to create a Guest Customization Specification if none is present in the SAP LaMa.
      Note: DHCP customization specifications may cause an inconsistent /etc/hosts file contents in the target system. PROMPT customization specifications is a more reliable option.
    2. Choose whether you want to create either a linked copy or a full copy.
      • A linked copy creates a target system that has a file link to the original source system. This reduces the utilized storage for the target system. Linked copy is most commonly used in development or sandbox systems. Linked copy operation completes substantially faster than full copy
      • A full copy creates a target system that has exactly the same disk structure and size as the source system. There is no link between the source and target systems here. For example, you can use Full copies to create production systems and/or systems that can be exported to be used in other datacenters.
    3. Click on the Next button.
    Figure 9. Customization Specification
  9. Review the various settings that you have chosen so far. Use the Previous button to go back and make appropriate changes, if required. When you are satisfied with the settings and are ready to proceed further, click on the Set button.
  10. Click on the Next button.
    Figure 10. Host Selection
  11. Choose a different network for each component of the target SAP system and clicking on the Next button.
    Note: If the host is not configured as adaptive instance you will see warnings that you need to ignore by pressing Ignore Warnings for This Step button, and clicking on the Next button again.
    Figure 11. Host Names and Networks
  12. Specify the instance number for the SAP instances and click on the Next button.
    Figure 12. Instance Number
  13. Select the appropriate database consistency method, depending on what state the database is in. Click on the radio button against one of the following options:
    • Online: Backup/Suspend IO Mode with a timeout value — Use this option typically for copying production systems to prevent system outages. A timeout value is provided to ensure database consistency is done in a timely manner
    • Offline: Stop and Restart System — When you select this option, the SAP LaMa will stop the system, take the copy and then restart the system after the copy completes.
    • Offline: Database already stopped — Use this option when the database is already stopped.
    • Database was stopped during system snapshot — Use this option when the database has already been snapshotted prior to initiating the copy process.
    • Scheduled Execution of Cloning Step — Use this option to schedule the cloning operation at a specific date/time of your choice. Need to input the date and time when you want to schedule the cloning operation. This option is useful, for example if you want to ensure that the current ongoing system activity is not impacted.

    Click on the Next button.

    Note: Offline linked copy of SAP HANA on SLES must be performed with closed hbdstudio on source machine.
    Figure 13. Consistency
  14. Review the new users that will be created on the target system and click on the Next button.
    Note: For the Copy process the SAP LaMa copies the users from the source system over to the target system changing them to match with the new System ID.
    Figure 14. Users
  15. Review the target system naming convention and click on the Next button.
    Note: Observe that the SAP LaMa takes the source system ID and swaps it out for the new target system ID.
    Figure 15. Rename
  16. You can choose to isolate the new target system from the source system. You do this by selecting the appropriate radio button under section Unfence Target System After System Copy/Refresh. This will prevent it from accidentally communicating as the source system.

    Click on the Next button.

    Figure 16. Isolation
  17. Choose to either enact ABAP PCA or by-pass it. If you indeed plan to use PCA, choose the appropriate parameters to apply. If no PCA will be used, then you must uncheck that option and further click the Ignore Warnings for This Step to proceed. Click on the Next button.
    Figure 17. ABAP PCA
  18. Review all settings you have made so far. When you are done reviewing the settings, click on the Execute button.
    Figure 18. Summary
  19. You will be redirected to the Activity view under Monitoring view where you can monitor the system copy progress.
    Figure 19. Monitoring

    Each activity in the copy process has a corresponding line item and a respective log entry. Click on the particular operation line item to read its corresponding log entry for more details.

Results

Successful completion of these tasks enables you to copy a source system into a new target system.

Note: Consider a system with two network interfaces, wherein one network interface is an actual vNIC and the second is an IP alias on the said vNIC. If you successfully clone or copy this system via LaMa, after you reboot or restart the network you will see that the target system has only one network interface. The alias disappears. For systems that are not adaptively installed or those that cannot be relocated, it is not possible to change the host name. SAP Landscape Management (LaMa) activates Internet Protocol (IP) addresses only in a transient way. When the host is rebooted, the IP addresses are no longer active.