Many blog posts have been released over the past years explaining the Zero Downtime Option (ZDO) in Software Update Manager (SUM) and how it ensures performing maintenance events without technical downtime. As of SAP S/4HANA 2021 release and with SUM 2.0 SP12, you can make use of Zero Downtime Option for SAP S/4HANA. In this blog, I want to introduce you to the free and self-paced learning journey
Leverage SAP S/4HANA Updates and Upgrades with Zero Downtime Option of SUM on
learning.sap.com. This self-paced and interactive learning journey provides you with all necessary information that is needed to operate SUM with ZDO, plan, and execute maintenance projects.
When you choose in SUM the Scenario Strategy Zero Downtime Option (ZDO), you will be prompted for an authentication. Part of it is to successfully complete this learning journey.
ZDO decreases the downtime significantly. With the option, technical unavailability of a system can be reduced to a single restart of application servers. This is possible due to the temporary transition to a bridge subsystem. In the meantime, the maintenance is performed on the original system. After the restart of the application servers, there is a switch back and the original system is available in the new release. Since ZDO is part of the SUM tool, it does not require any additional license. You need, however, to ensure that a minimal additional space in the database is available.
The learning journey consists of
five units, is 9h long, and describes what you as technical consultant or system administrator need to know. You will learn:
- how ZDO is performed
- what do you need to prepare
- what are the different components in a maintenance project, like original system, bridge subsystem, database, releases
- and what other options are there in SUM
One of the units explains the supporting tools, prerequisites and restrictions when using ZDO of SUM for SAP S/4HANA. Backup plan and recovery strategy are also important aspects of a maintenance event. The learning journey highlights how the strategy should be with ZDO.
At the end, you will get an overview of all important resources in one place: SAP Notes, which need to be implemented before and while the maintenance event, where to implement them, and guides describing the execution of the maintenance event in SUM:
- What steps are required for a successful execution?
- How to analyze errors and troubleshoot if something goes wrong?
- What will be the impact on the business process and how to analyze it?
After completing the
learning journey, you will get a record of achievement, which is a digital badge on the Credly platform. Only after receiving this badge, you will be able to request a password for SUM when you choose the Scenario Strategy Zero Downtime Option (ZDO).
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