Update Requests Test

An update request, or update record, describes the data changes determined in an SAP LUW. These changes should be made completely, or not all (this means, in a database LUW). This refers only to V1 updates. V2 updates are triggered once the V1 update is complete, and are processed in a separate database LUW.

An update request is identified by its update key.

When the dialog transaction ends (COMMIT WORK), and the update process is called, an update header is created. Then the update record is created. The update data is contained in the update modules that was created using the ABAP command CALL FUNCTION ‘…’ IN UPDATE TASK. The function module type is defined in the transaction for maintaining function modules (transaction SE37). Whenever there are too many data changes in the target environment, then it indicates that so many update requests will be created to effect those changes. With an increase in the volume of data changes, administrators may need to check the volume of the update requests too. The time taken for an update request to complete processing depends on the changes that were made to the target environment. Therefore, when too many update requests are created in the environment, administrators need to identify the update requests that are taking too long to process, update requests that are stopped and are stuck for a longer duration. This is exactly where the Update requests test helps! Using this test, you can figure out how many update requests were created and how many were actually stopped/stuck in the target environment. In addition, administrators can figure out the update requests that encountered errors.

Target of the test : A SAP ABAP instance

Agent deploying the test : An internal/remote agent

Outputs of the test : One set of results for every SAP ABAP instance being monitored.

Configurable parameters for the test
Parameter	Description
Test Period	How often should the test be executed
Host	Host name of the server for which the test is to be configured.
PortNo	Enter the port to which the specified host listens.
ClientName	Specify the ID of the client system as what the eG agent will be connecting to the SAP ABAP instance. To know how to determine the client ID to use, follow the instructions provided in Determining the Client ID/Name for the eG Agent to Connect to the SAP ABAP Instance.
SAPUser	Typically, to connect to a SAP ABAP instance and run tests, the eG agent requires the permissions of a SAP user who has been assigned with certain authorization objects. Ideally, you will have to create a new user role on the SAP ABAP instance for this purpose, associate the above-mentioned authorization objects with that role, and assign the new role to an existing SAP user. The procedure for the same has been provided in Creating a New User Role for Monitoring and Assigning it to a SAP User. Once the new role is assigned to a SAP user, specify the name of this user against SAPUser.
Password	The password of the specified SAPUser.
Confirm Password	Confirm the password by retyping it here.
SysNo	An indicator of the TCP/IP port at which the SAP server listens. For example, for a server that listens at port 3200, the SysNo will be ‘00’. Similarly, if the SAP server port is 3201, the SysNo will have to be specified as ‘01’. Therefore, in the SysNo text box specify the system number of the SAP server with which the specified client communicates. To know the system number for the ABAP server being monitored, follow the procedure detailed in Identifying the SAP Router String and System Number.
Router	If the SAP client with the specified ClientName exists in a network external to the SAP server, then a router will be used to enable the server-client communication. In such a case, specify the router string of the router in the Router text box. If both the client and the server exist in the same network, then specify ‘none’ against the Router text box. To know what is the SAP Router string for the ABAP server being monitored, follow the procedure detailed in Identifying the SAP Router String and System Number.
InstanceName	This is set to none by default. This implies that the eG agent automatically discovers the instance name at run time.
Timeout	Indicate the duration (in seconds) for which this test should wait for a response from the SAP ABAP instance. By default, this is set to 120 seconds.
JCO Version	The eG agent uses the SAP JCO library to connect to the SAP ABAP system and pull out metrics. To enable the eG agent to make this connection and query the metrics, you need to specify the version of the SAP JCO library that the agent needs to use. For instance, to instruct the eG agent to use JCO v2.1.19, it would suffice if you specify the ‘major version number’ alone against JCO Version – in the case of this example, this will be 2.x. Note that if you have downloaded the SAP JCO CONNECTOR files for SAP JCO version 3 from the SAP market place (as instructed by Downloading the SAP JCO Connector files Required for Monitoring ), then the JCO Version configuration should be 3.x.
IsPassive	If the value chosen is Yes, then the server under consideration is a passive server in a SAP ABAP INSTANCE cluster. No alerts will be generated if the server is not running. Measures will be reported as “Not applicable” by the agent if the server is not up.
StuckUpdateCutoff	Specify the time duration (in minutes) beyond which the update requests in the following states are classified as stuck: VB_RUN_V1, VB_RUN_V2, VB_RESTART_V1, VB_RESTART_V2, initial, auto(sys) and auto(dia)
DD Frequency	Refers to the frequency with which detailed diagnosis measures are to be generated for this test. The default is 1:1. This indicates that, by default, detailed measures will be generated every time this test runs, and also every time the test detects a problem. You can modify this frequency, if you so desire. Also, if you intend to disable the detailed diagnosis capability for this test, you can do so by specifying none against DD Frequency.
Detailed Diagnosis	To make diagnosis more efficient and accurate, the eG Enterprise embeds an optional detailed diagnostic capability. With this capability, the eG agents can be configured to run detailed, more elaborate tests as and when specific problems are detected. To enable the detailed diagnosis capability of this test for a particular server, choose the On option. To disable the capability, click on the Off option. The option to selectively enable/disable the detailed diagnosis capability will be available only if the following conditions are fulfilled: The eG manager license should allow the detailed diagnosis capability Both the normal and abnormal frequencies configured for the detailed diagnosis measures should not be 0.

Measurements made by the test
Measurement	Description	Measurement Unit	Interpretation
Number of update requests created	Indicates the number of update requests that were created during the last measurement period.	Requests
Rate of update requests created	Indicates the rate at which update requests were created during the last measurement period.	Requests/sec	This measure is a good indicator of the load on the system.
Total number of stopped updates	Indicates the total number of update requests that were stopped since the start of the server.	Requests	The update requests may be stopped due to various reasons such as database issues, longer wait period to connect to the server, the update server being inactive for a longer time etc.
Rate of stopped update requests	Indicates the rate at which update requests were stopped during the last measurement period.	Percent
Total number of error updates	Indicates the total number of errors encountered in the update request since the start of the server.	Number	Ideally, the value of this measure should be zero.
Rate of update requests with errors	Indicates the rate at which errors were encountered in the update requests during the last measurement period.	Requests/sec	An increasing trend for this measure indicates an error with the update system. If so, update system can be deactivated to prevent issues relating to the abnormally terminated updates and reactivated once the issue has been resolved.
Total number of updates stuck	Indicates the total number of update requests that were stuck while processing since the start of the server.	Requests	Stuck updates are hanging updates that have not been marked as error updates. Stuck updates may need to be manually processed depending upon their actual status.
Rate of update requests stuck	Indicates the rate at which update requests were stuck while processing during the last measurement period.	Requests/sec
New updates stopped	Indicates the number of update requests that were stopped during the last measurement period.	Number
New updates with errors	Indicates the number of errors encountered in the update requests during the last measurement period.	Number	Ideally, the value of this measure should be zero.
New updates stuck	Indicates the number of updates that were stuck while processing during the last measurement period.	Number