SAP Universal ID (UID)

User accounts used for SAP support sites (like SAP Support Portal, SAP ONE Support Launchpad, sap.com, community.sap.com, OpenSAP, etc.) that used to be individual for each of the sites are finally becoming consolidated.

It was a matter of critique for many years that there were many different users to be used for particular SAP sites. Mostly each site was acting like a silo application for which user had to register separately. As of July this year, SAP came up with a solution. It is called SAP Universal ID. While creating the UID it allows you to link existing S* or P* users into one universal ID that can be used to login for multiple SAP sites. Currently following sites are being supported by the UID:

    SAP for Me

    SAP.com

    SAP ONE Support Launchpad

    SAP Support Portal

    OpenSAP

    SAP Help Portal

    SAP Training / SAP Learning

    SAP Customer Experience Wiki

    SAP SuccessFactors Community

    Service Now

    SAP CX Microlearning videos & SAP CX DOJO

    SAP Store

    SAP Best Practices Explorer

    SAP Ariba Connect

    SAP Customer Influence Center

See SAP Note 2948407 - Which SAP sites/platforms support SAP Universal ID login? For an up2data list of the supported sites.

Main advantage I see in here is that I could link many different SAP users I have for example to SAP Support Portal into one account. As it is normal, that an independent SAP consultant is working for multiple clients then the consultant has many different S* or P* users belonging to these clients. The SAP UID make the usage of the accounts easier as they can be linked into the one ID. The UID SAP hosted at address me.sap.com can manage all these different S* or P* users by adding/removing them from the UID.

More information:

SAP for Me

SAP Universal ID

Create SAP UID

Support component: XX-SER-UID

SMP components for BusinessObjects software

Similarly to other SAP’s software like BW also BusinessObjects (BOBJ or just BO) software has its own SAP Notes components on SMP. To be consistent with SMP terminology they are called Application Areas. They are all beginning with prefix BI. Just to name few main solutions - here they are:

BI-BIP Business intelligence platform

   BI-BIP-ADM User & server configuration, InfoView refresh, user rights

   BI-BIP-BIW BI Workspaces (Dashboard Builder)

   BI-BIP-CMC Central Management Console (CMC)

   BI-BIP-CRS SAP Crystal Reports Server

   BI-BIP-CS   Connection Server

   BI-BIP-IK    Integration; Integration kits for SAP, Baan, PeopleSoft, Siebel

   BI-BIP-INV  InfoView, BI launch pad

   BI-BIP-LCM  Lifecycle Management Console

   BI-BIP-LO   Live Office

   BI-BIP-MOB  Mobile Server

   BI-BIP-SRV BI platform servers, scheduling, publishing, migration, serv

   BI-BIP-TMT Translation management tool

   BI-BIP-UDT Universe Design Tool

   BI-BIP-UMT Upgrade management tool

   BI-BIP-VD   Visual difference

   BI-BIP-WDG BI platform widgets

  

BI-DD  Data Discovery

BI-DEV Business Intelligence Software Development Kits (SDKs)

BI-EDU Business intelligence education products

BI-OD  OnDemand offerings

BI-PRJ Self Service BI on HANA

BI-RA  Reporting, analysis, and dashboards

   BI-RA-AD    SAP BusinessObjects Analysis, edition for application design

   BI-RA-AO    Analysis, edition for MS Office

   BI-RA-AWB Analysis, edition for OLAP (Web)

   BI-RA-BICS BI consumer services

   BI-RA-CR    SAP Crystal Reports, Business Views Manager

   BI-RA-CRV  SAP Crystal Reports Viewer

   BI-RA-DKI   Desktop Intelligence

   BI-RA-EBI   Edge BI (Business Intelligence)

   BI-RA-EXP  Polestar, Explorer

   BI-RA-IA     SAP Crystal Interactive Analysis, desktop edition

   BI-RA-MD   OLAP Intelligence, multidimensional databases

   BI-RA-ODA  OLAP Data Access Components

   BI-RA-PA    Predictive Analysis

   BI-RA-PRD  Predictive

   BI-RA-VOY  Voyager

   BI-RA-WBI  Web Intelligence

   BI-RA-XL    Dashboards and Presentation Design

Software maintenance terminology in terms of BusinessObjects

SAP is not good in maintaining names for its software. We see very often changes (or XI->PI, etc.) in products names. Similarly also in case of integrating products originally developed outside of SAP and gained by acquisitions there are also issues. This time I just focus on terminology within software maintenance in terms of BusinessObjects’s products. Traditionally SAP’s software products based on NetWeaver are being patched by Support Packages (SP). In case of BusinessObjects there are more “packages”:

Service Pack (SP) – Complete program installation (a new software version).

Feature Pack (FP) or "patch" or a "hot fix" – term used in past. It was support pack with a number of new features. FP is finally contained in SP. Probably only used in ramp-up programs for new BOBJ software. This term should be abandoned going forward.

Fix Pack (FxP) - Used to identify patches on BOBJ’s BOE XI 3.X platform and earlier.  In version BI 4.0, SAP adopted standard SAP naming: Patches and Support Packs.  Not a full installation only partial installation delivering subset of SP. In BOBJ’s world while installing  FxP make sure you you install it over correct SP. If FxP releases for SP (full version) 8.00c.08.00, it would be numbered 8.00c.08.01.

Therefore don’t be confuse if you come across notes like following :-)

1602665 - SAP BusinessObjects BI Suite 4.0 Support Pack 2 Release Notes

1685879 - SAP BusinessObjects BI Suite 4.0 Feature Pack 3 Release Notes

1727458 - SAP BusinessObjects BI Suite 4.0 Support Pack 4 Release Notes

Do you know basic components of BW from SMP perspective?

Well might be very basic and similarly stupid question... But let me try: Are you familiar with basic components of BW? I mean the components as per OSS notes are categorized. You to mention that knowing proper component can help while searching for OSS note to fix your issue. If not I find a very short OSS note which helps you to get into on it. Here it is: 121067 - Help for BW notes

However the note is quite obsolete (last update 11.06.1999) and is mentioning only 5 basic components. Therefore find below current basic components of BW effective as in mid of 2012:

BW     SAP Business Information Warehouse

BW-BCT        Business Content and Extractors

BW-BEX        Business Explorer

BW-EI           Enhanced Infrastructure

BW-PLA         Planning

BW-SMA        Smart Meter Analytics for Utilities

BW-SYS        Basis System and Installation

BW-WHM       Data Warehouse Management

PS: Be aware that every each of basic components has several sub-components sometimes even going into 5-6^th level (e.g. BW-BCT-CRM-FM-LR - CRM Live Rates).

- update 27/10/2012 - 
For basic components of BusinessObjects software see here.

SMP: The message is currently locked - please try again in a few minutes

Recently I encounter very strange error on SDN while accessing my OSS message. I had opened message which was in Customer Action status and after I added my comment and tried either to Save message or Sent it to SAP I was getting following error:

The message is currently locked - please try again in a few minutes

Reason of having this error is pretty unknown to me. I’m sure that none of my colleagues had this message opened. So then I can only imagine two possible cases. SAP support consultant had opened it in same time when I tried to update it. Or there was some error within SMP in general.

There is nothing mentioned about this message within SAP Notes. Imagine if you are solving very urgent issue and you need to communicate to SAP in very timely manner proper functioning of SMP is crucial for you. Then encountering this issue may be very annoying…

Solution in my case was really just to wait. But I was trying to upload this for few hours until it was finally possible to upload it.

If someone from SAP Support organization by any chance comes across this blog can you update us what is going on in this issue?