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.

Procedure

  1. To copy a system you need to login to SAP LaMa's administrative console and Click on the System and AS Provisioning tab under Provisioning menu option in the main menu bar.
    Figure 1. SAP LaMa Administrative Console


  2. Click on the source host that you wish to copy. Then Click on the Copy System tab to start the process to define the copy operation.
    Figure 2. Copy System


    A new System Copy definition dialog window will appear.
    1. In the first step called Basic do the following —
      Figure 3. System Copy - Basic


      1. Enter a new System ID
      2. Provide a new system password for the new system that you are going to create as a result of Copy operation. You need to re-enter the password to confirm the same.
      3. Click on the Next tab.
    2. You are now taken to the second step called Hosts.
      Figure 4. System Copy - Hosts


      Click on the Edit button (highlighted for reference). You are now taken to the Define Virtual Host window where you will create the new virtual host settings.
      1. In the first step here called Target Selection, you select the target resource pool or ESXi Host on which to place the new copied system.
        Figure 5. Define Virtual Host - Target Selection


        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 the place the new copied system. Click on Next button to move to the next step.
      2. In this step called Data Storage, you select a target datastore for the new copy system.
        Figure 6. Define Virtual Host - Data Storage


        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 datastore. Click on the Next tab.
        Note: Linked copies can only use the same datastore as the source system.
      3. In this step called Guest Customization, you do the following —
        Figure 7. Define Virtual Host - Guest Customization


        1. Choose whether you want to create either a linked copy or a full copy. You do this by selecting appropriate value in the Value drop down list.
          • 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.
        2. You need to select the Guest Customization Specification.
          • 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 that DHCP customization specifications may cause an inconsistent /etc/hosts file contents in the target system. PROMPT customization specifications is a more reliable option. See section Known Issues for more information.
        3. Click on the Next tab to move to the next step.
      4. In this step called Network Adapters, you select the target Network for the network adapters of the new copy VM.
        Figure 8. Define Virtual Host - Network Adapters


        • If you are going to change the virtual network on this step, ensure that the network is also available to the LaMa. This is needed for the LaMa to be able to manage the new target system.
        • Changing the virtual network should be considered on the Host Names step in order to assign the consistent IP addresses and hostnames from a new network.
      5. Click Next to move to the next step called Host Names.
        Figure 9. Define Virtual Host - Host Names


        You do not need to provide any input in this step.
      6. Click the Next tab to move to the Summary step.
        Figure 10. Define Virtual Host - Summary


        Review the various settings that you have chosen so far. You can use the Previous tab to go back and make appropriate changes, if required. When you are satisfied with the settings and are ready to proceed further, Click the Define tab to finish defining the new virtual hist settings.
    3. You are now back at the System Copy window.
      Figure 11. System Copy - Hosts


      Click Next tab to proceed to the third step in the System Copy window, called Host Names.
      Figure 12. System Copy - Host Names


      In this step you may choose a different network for each component of the target SAP system.
      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.
      Click Next tab to move to the next step.
    4. Figure 13. System Copy - Instance Number


      In this step called Instance Number, you select the instance number for the SAP instances and then Click Next.
    5. You now move to the step called Consistency. In this step you select the appropriate database consistency method, depending on what state the database is in, by Clicking on the radio button against one of the following option —
      Figure 14. System Copy - Consistency


      1. 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.
      2. 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.
      3. Offline: Database already stopped — Use this option when the database is already stopped.
      4. Database was stopped during system snapshot — Use this option when the database has already been snapshotted prior to initiating the copy process.
      5. There is also an option to schedule the cloning operation from here so not to impact the system activity further at the current instant. You can provide the values for date and time to schedule the operation.
      Note: Offline linked copy of SAP HANA on SLES must be performed with closed hbdstudio on source machine.
      When you have selected one of the options mentioned above, Click Next to proceed to the next step.
    6. Figure 15. System Copy - Users


      In this step called Users, you can review the new users that will be created on the target system.
      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.
      Click Next to proceed further.
    7. Figure 16. System Copy - Rename


      In this step called Rename, you can see the target system naming convention.
      Note: Observe that the SAP LaMa takes the source system ID and swaps it out for the new target system ID. Click the Next tab to proceed to the next step.
    8. Figure 17. System Copy - Isolation


      In this step called Isolation, 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 Next tab to proceed to the next step.
    9. Figure 18. System Copy - ABAP PCA


      In this step called ABAP PCA (Post Copy Automation), you can 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 Next to proceed.
    10. In this step called Summary, you get to see the consolidated view of all the settings you have made so far. When you are done reviewing the settings, you Click on Start System Copy tab to initiate the copy operation.
      Figure 19. System Copy - Summary


    11. You can monitor the system copy progress by Clicking on Activities tab under Monitoring section in the menu bar.
      Figure 20. Monitoring - Activities


      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.
      Figure 21. Monitoring - Activity Log Entry


Results

Successful completion of this task 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.