SAP Archiving challenge
You’re responsible for the archiving of one or more SAP systems—congrats!
The challenges mount :
During the project
During the tests
When you start
During the recurrent archiving

During the project
Identify the boundaries

You’ve taken care to identify the volumes of the principle objects, as well as the places between the archiving objects Using all the archiving objects doesn’t bring much of an advantage.

Define the goals

You have, alone or with the help of an expert consultant, defined the provisional growth of the base and the increases in volume. You rarely archive 100% of the data—a level of 95% is often sufficient You should follow the level of achieved archiving.

Archiving notes, Naming Conventions

The people who are going to use the archived data are not yet in the company. To access the archived data, certain users should be able to select the ‘good’ archived files in a drop-down list The archiving notes for the archive files should be homogenous, contain good information, and this in the first archiving.

Pay attention to the legal and fiscal constraints

Tax legislation differs by country, but the guidelines are applicable everywhere.The amount of time to retain the data varies by object, and can vary by country, company or organizational entity Archiving should take into account different settings.

Organization of the archiving

What mandates will be used to test the archiving? What boundaries am I going to use for the users to test the solution? How many refreshes of my test system will oblige me to archive again at the end of the tests for my archiving project? It’s important to have an easy and rapid management of the archiving runs during the project.

Sweep archiving

The way we archive impacts the contents of the archives, the access times to the archived data.Archiving from the origins to the retention period is long (one tries to archive the non-archivable data each time) and doesn’t allow clear identification of the archived data during the archiving session. Set up an archiving per period (by month, for example), then a sweep archiving (for the year).

During the tests
Fastidious run time

The best way to test adherence by the key users is to let them test their archived data on a production copy. Test archive a maximum boundary, and do it rapidly in the project in a way that leaves the time for the users to use the archiving.

Manage refreshes

A refresh of your test system during the project is always synonym to a delay. You can anticipate and document your archiving tests (archiving ratio, logs, processing time). Ideally, a tool will automate the archiving under way in order to give you a new archiving in your new environment.

Show the users

The users are rarely the ones demanding archiving. The possibility to test makes it easier for you to ensure that they stick to your project. It’s therefore important that the re-reading techniques are operational on the test system—if they’re not, the users will be dissatisfied. Manage with attention the archived data access during the project.

Anticipate the re-reading

In order to show access to the archived data, you should, depending on your project: - Set up SAP AS - Set up the specific projects - Produce the specific developments - Produce the extracts (SAP DART,…) Set up the re-reading possibilities from the time of the first testing, in order to ease the acceptance of the users. Don’t wait for them to ask for it!

At launch
Creating the variables
Transfer to the desk worker

Setting up archiving jobs is complex. The rules depend on the objects, the national regulations, the accounting periods (the case for periods 13 to 16) the date of the accounting close, and the settings of the professional modules. Passing the information to a desk operator is generally not possible. The organizational solutions need to be found: who can do the archiving?

Storing the files

Where can one store the archive files? On the server? On the NAS? In a ‘compliant’ system? Is the amount of available space sufficient? Should I guard the technical archive files for the tax authorities? Should I safeguard the archives before starting deletion jobs? When can I erase the archives? The storage architecture must be defined, sized and managed

Long and numerous jobs
Reorganization

The increase in volume only increases after reorganization (the tables, the table spaces, the indices, or the base according to your selection). Without reorganization of certain tables, you might slow down your archiving performance (poor quality of the indices). During the initial archiving, plan on a reorganization after a few weeks.

Organization of the archiving

- Annual or recurrent archving? - Use of the ArchiveLink? - Supporting a ‘compliant’ storage? - Use of a scheduler? - Who should be trusted with the recurrent archiving? A lot of questions that you must answer, with the goal of Limiting the amount of repeat work in the future.

During the recurrent archiving
Continue

You’ve succeeded in your project and your initial archiving. Congrats! But there are still pitfalls ahead of you. Make sure that the repeat archiving will continue. If not, you’ll never achieve your ROI targets.

Prevent errors

An error is possible with each creation of a variant. You do not want to archive your recent SD data when you want to save the ones that are three years old. Your users would be disturbed. Prevent errors in the creation of variants.

Manage the low priorities

The project is done. SAP CC is loaded more and more with new projects and the daily management. Archiving is never a priority. Make sure that your archiving continues !

Archive the archives

As long as the archives are never needed, as long as the data in the SAP AS structiures aren’t necessary, they need to be erased. These jobs which won’t start for several years tend to be ‘forgotten’. Anticipate the archiving of the archives!

Follow the regulations

You observe the multitude of regulations concerning archiving. Great! But these regulations and tax accounting rules change over time. Make sure that you’re covered. Plan on an updating process which insures that you follow new regulations.

Follow the archiving results

The level of archving needs to be followed, and can’t suddenly fail. The new projects, or a different setting can modify the needs in archving. You add objects, or reduce the retention time as a function of your needs. Organize an annual or semi-annual follow-up on the archiving results.

Conclusion
We have been working for 10 years on the topic of data archiving.Some find archiving unattractive: we hope you are as empassioned about it as we are.
This will bring you a new light on your SAP system and the data it contains.

We’ve constructed ASC in order to save you hard work, to address the main challenges of an archiving job, and to make you to discover a new way of looking at your SAP system.