Landscape: is the arrangement for the servers

DEVELOPMENT: is where the the consultants do the customization as per the companys
requirement.
QUALITY: is where the core team members and other members test the customization.
PRODUCTION: is where the live data of the company is recorded.
A request will flow from Dev -> Qual -> Prod and not backwards.

1. Sandbox server: In the initial stages of any implementation project, you are given a
sandbox server where you do all the configuration/customization as per the companys
business process.
2. Development Server: Once the BBP gets signed off, the configuration is done is
development server and saved in workbench requests, to be transported to Production
server.
3. Production Server: This is the last/ most refined client where the user will work after
project GO LIVE. Any changes/ new development is done is development client and the
request is transported to production.

These three are landscape of any Company. They organized their office in these three way.
Developer develop their program in Development server and then transport it to test server. In
testing server tester check/test the program and then transport it to Production Server. Later it
will deploy to client from production server.
Presentaion Server- Where SAP GUI have.
Application Server Where SAP Installed.
Database Server Where Database installed.
I hope this document will help, but will welcome all the help we can improve this document.

Functional Specification in SAP

To speak at macro level that is at project manager or at senior levels. The Functional Spec
(Specification) which is a comprehensive document is created after the (SRD) Software
Requirements Document. It provides more details on selected items originally described in the
Software Requirements Template. Elsewhere organizations combine these two documents into a
single document.
The Functional Specification describes the features of the desired functionality. It describes the
products features as seen by the stake holders, and contains the technical information and the
data needed for the design and development.
The Functional Specification defines what the functionality will be of a particular area that is to be
precise a transaction in SAP terminology.
The Functional Specification document to create a detailed design document that explains in detail
how the software will be designed and developed.
The functional specification translates the Software Requirements template into a technical
description which
a) Ensures that the product feature requirements are correctly understood before moving
into the next step, that is a technical development process.
b) Clearly and unambiguously provides all the information necessary for the technical
consultants to develop the objects.

At the consultant level the functional spects are prepared by functional consultants on any
functionality for the purpose of getting the same functionality designed by the technical
people as most of the times the functionalities according to the requirements of the clients
are not available on ready-made basis.

Let me throw some light on documentation which is prepared before and in a project:
1) Templates
2) Heat Analysis
3) Fit Gap or Gap Analysis
4) Business Process Design
5) Business Process Model
6) Business Change & Impact
7) Configuration Design, which is just 5 % of Total SAP- have different names
8) Future Impact & Change Assessement
9) Functional Design (Module Wise)
10) Risk Assessement
11) Process Metrics and Many More Which has impact on Business and its work flow

Note * Things differ from one implementation to another, and it always depends on the type
of business which is opting for SAP.

I hope this document will help, but will welcome all the help we can improve this document.

Number Ranges

A Number range is a Group of numbers to which the unique-Id created for an SAP Object
belongs. In each module we have masterdata having SAP objects such as Equipment,
Notification, Order, Measuring Point, Maintenance Plans etc in PM, Material number,
Material Document, Purchase Requisition, Purchase Order in MM, Sales Order, Sold-to-
party etc in SD, Production Order in PP, Inspection lots in QM and the list is long. This
document is intended to give basic concepts of Number Ranges we need to create during
the Configuration of various modules in the implementation time and after. In this document
we try to understand these things through a Plant Maintenance object ,
namely Equipment .
Before starting our job related to Equipment, lets understand few generic things
about Number Ranges.
Types of Number Ranges
There are 2 categories of number ranges:

Internal numbers: These are purely numbers. System generates the number (within the
range youve specified) next to the immediate previous allotted number.
External numbers: This is where the person creating the SAP object (e.g., Equipment) is
required to enter his choice of number. This will be as per the alpha-numeric pattern he has
already declared while creating the number range.
T-Codes
There are configuration paths in each module for respective objects to Define respective
number ranges. Also many objects have Tcodes. Here we see the Tcodes for Defining
number ranges in PM module.
SAP-PM Object Tcode

Equipments OIEN

Notification IW20

PM Order OION

Maintenance Tasklists OIL0, OIL4, OIL5

Maintenance Plans IP20

Maintenance Items IP21

Measuring Points IK09

Measuring Documents IK19

Revision DIWPS_REVNRS

Lets first see the Internal Number Range

We know that there are different categories for each SAP object.

Few examples:
SAP Object Category

Equipment Equipment Category

Notification Notification Type

Maintenance Order Order Type

Measuring Point Measuring Point Category

In the number ranges configuration-screen you get these Categories, where you need to
assign this category/type to a particular number range group. Where from these Groups
come? These Groups are nothing but the Number ranges we need to create. One Number
range group for one or more Categories of SAP Object, (i.e., Equipment in present case).
See this picture:
Here Groups are Test, Standard Number range, Mechanical Equipment, Electrical
Equipment, Instrumentation. Under each group different categories of Equipments are
seen.

Now lets start how to create a new internal number range for an Equipment and assign few
categories to it .
Tcode OIEN

Click on the Groups icon. to arrive at the picture referred in the beginning. Here you use
the menu GoTo > Insert OR
hit F6 function key to get this pop-up.

Now, Give a title to the Group (Say Demo), give some number range say
000000000010000000 to 000000000019999999 to the Group and upon clicking the

Add icon, system might give you the following error messages, telling that this range is
interfering with some other Group already existing. i.e., some overlap between.

(In case no such overlap is there, then the Group will be created)

Assuming that overlapping is there, identify the overlapping Group, tick-in the checkbox and
go to the maintain screen like below .
See here upper range 000000000019999999 has been
modified as 000000000014999999.
Means we have freed numbers from 000000000015000000 to 000000000019999999.
Now again GoTo > Insert and repeat the New Group (Demo) creation. Now it will be
accepted.

Thus,we have created a Group named Demo. See this is visible in the list of Groups.

Now we will try to assign one Equipment category to our new Group.Lets suppose, we want
to shift Category G Equipments to this new Number Range. For this follow this procedure.
 1.Mouse click on the Category G in the present position where it is .

2.Tick the check box of the target Group, here it is Demo like this

3. Then click on these icons in these sequence (first 1 and then 2)

Now your Category G is there in the Group Demo.

Everything has been done. Now the Category G Equipments when created
through IE01 will be given the numbers specified here.
Lets learn about Few clicking sequences for Assigning and Not Assigning the Categories
to Groups.
Case1: Unassigning a Category from any Group.
Lets suppose I want to unassign Category H . Means I want to bring it to the Not
assigned list at the bottom. Follow this mouse click sequence.

Means

1.Click on letter H (Remember the checkbox of this Group should not be ticked-in)

2.Then click on the icon at the top.

3. Then on Not Assigned at the bottom

4. Then on icon at the top.

Youll find the letter H is in the Not Assigned list like this.

Case2: Assigning a Category from Not Assigned to any Group.

Lets suppose we want to assign Category T to Group Demo .
Follow this Mouse click sequence shown here.

Means

1.Click on the letter T in the Not Assigned list

2.Then click on the icon

3.Then Tick the Checkbox of group Demo
 4.Then finally on at the top.
Youll find the Category T has been assigned to group Demo.

Now let see the External number Range.

The process is almost same except for youll be providing Character format for number
range. A typical External number range format can be AAAAAAAAAAAA
ZZZZZZZZZZZZ. Here even you use numbers they are treated as characters. In case you
need have Alpha Numeric then you can have ranges like 01AAAAAAAAAA
99ZZZZZZZZZZ. Here first 2 places will be having numeric features. You can make use of
characters like / also.

Important:
For alphanumeric external number ranges in Equipments you need to have the following
setting in the SPRO of Equipment Categorisation.

Path:

Setting

See, for Alpha numeric number Ranges the Checkbox under column a should not be
ticked-in.
Note:

Though concepts were explained with Equipment number as example, there is an

identical dealing with all other number ranges, irrespective of which module does it
belong to.
And most importantly Number ranges are not recommended to be transported from
Dev client to PRD. They should be locally created in PRD client.

Few words about SNRO and Buffer value

Number ranges for all standard objects can be seen in SNRO tcode. You can see
this by inputting the Object value. In the present post the Object is EQUIP_NR .
For many standard number range objects
(like QMEL_NR for Notification and AUFTRAG for Order) a Buffer value is
maintained. This is 10 for Notification and 20 for Order. For present case
of EQUIP_NR there is no buffer is maintained.
Very often you notice skipping of numbers while creating Notifications or Orders in
PRD client. This is due to the buffer value.
The buffer is important in multiple server scenario where one client has several like
in PRD client.
This Buffer value helps in quicken the process of allotting a number to the Object by
the system.
 Had this Buffer not been there, system takes too long to Save an Object while
creating due to contacting all servers and deciding the next consecutive number in
the series.
We can create our own Number range object in SNRO and use it in developments in
combination with a function module NUMBER_GET_NEXT , during the situations where
we need to have an auto-number generation for custom objects..

So friends, thats about the Number Ranges from my side. Hope members find this post too
useful .
Thank you