Automate SAP Application Provisioning on SAP ASE database with AWS Launch Wizard for SAP

[HongzhuQiao]

Introduction:  

Just before Christmas 2023, AWS released an exciting update to its Launch Wizard for SAP service, introducing support for SAP application deployment on SAP ASE database.

Ever since the advent of Launch Wizard, we have been waiting for this feature in Launch Wizard service as we see many customers running their SAP applications on SAP ASE such as SAP NetWeaver, SAP Process Orchestration (PO) and Solution Manager. This new feature will help customer and implementation partners to speed up SAP deployments on SAP ASE database during their implementation projects.

In this blog post, we will walk you through essential steps that are required to deploy SAP application based on SAP ASE database using the automation capabilities of AWS Launch Wizard for SAP.AWS

AWS Launch Wizard for SAP: 

AWS Launch Wizard for SAP is a service that helps in deployment of SAP workload based on SAP HANA and SAP ASE database in AWS cloud using a guided wizard-based experience & APIs for programmatic deployments. Users will have to provide inputs related to their SAP workload like SAP application and database versions, landscape settings, deployment details etc. Launch Wizard identifies the appropriate AWS resources to deploy and run your SAP application. 

Launch Wizard for SAP not only automates the SAP deployments, but also helps in EC2 instance selection and configuration, resource selections, cost estimation, installation of Data Provider for SAP etc... For the complete list of features refer to Launch Wizard User Guide.  

Prerequisites: 

Before getting started, ensure that you have the following in place: 

• Key Considerations: Current Launch for SAP supports deployment of SAP ASE version 16 SP4 PL4. Also, only single instance deployment is supported as of today.  
• AWS Account: Make sure you have an active AWS account with the necessary permissions to access AWS Launch Wizard. 
• SAP System: Have an SAP build sheet ready with all the information on SID, instance number and file system layout and so on. 
• Launch Wizard Access: Ensure you have access to AWS Launch Wizard and that it's available in your AWS region and supported by AWS. 
• Download SAP packages: We can follow the guide below to download SAP packages and pay special attention to SAP ASE software.
• Upload SAP software to Amazon S3. For more details refer to AWS documentation.

Testing Steps: 

1. Launching AWS Launch Wizard: 

• Log in to the AWS Management Console and navigate to the AWS Launch Wizard service. 
• Select the SAP workload type. 
• Define Infrastructure.

2. Network Configuration: 

• Define the network architecture for your SAP deployment, including VPC settings, subnet configurations, and security groups. 

3. Selecting SAP ASE as the database: 

• Select SAP Application Type (we choose Netweaver stack on SAP ASE) and Application (we choose Netweaver ABAP).  One can also choose Application as Netweaver Java (single stack) or Solution Manager (dual stack) 
• Configure SAP system parameters.
• Ensure that the selected parameters align with the requirements of your SAP landscape. 

• Configure storage settings, specifying the type, size, and configuration of storage volumes for your SAP system and SAP ASE database. 
• Choose the appropriate Amazon EC2 instance type for your SAP workload, considering performance requirements and resource utilization. 

4. Review and Launch: 

• Review all the configured settings to ensure accuracy. 
• Click on the 'Deploy' button to initiate the deployment process. 

5. Monitor and Validate:

• Monitor the deployment progress through the AWS Launch Wizard console. 
• Once deployed, validate the SAP system's functionality and SAP ASE database connection. 

Conclusion: 

In this blog you have seen how easy it is to deploy SAP workload based on SAP ASE database in AWS cloud. AWS Launch wizard for SAP takes away heavy lifting from project consultants & makes it easy and quick for customers and partners to deploy their SAP workloads. Hence reducing the errors in the deployment cycles and overall reduction in project implementation timelines. Launch Wizard for SAP already supports SAP deployment based on SAP HANA and now with the SAP ASE deployment support, it's convenient for the customers to use single service to meet the majority of SAP workload deployment needs for their SAP landscape in AWS cloud.

Authored By:

  Hongzhou Qiao, Technical Architect and AWS SME – Deloitte

  Sachin Bhatt, Sr. Partner Solutions Architect, SAP – AWS

Credits:

  Naresh Pasumarthy,  Product Manager, AWS Launch Wizard for SAP - AWS