SAP BASIS Interview Questions and Answers
1) What happens in pre-processing phase in SUM tool? What is shadow
instance? How would you know that shadow instance has created? How would
you start, stop shadow instance?
Answer: The pre-processing phase prepares the system for the update by
creating a shadow instance, which is a temporary SAP instance used to
minimize downtime. You can verify the creation of the shadow instance by
checking the logs in the SUM directory or the system landscape directory. You
can start/stop it using the SUM tool commands.
2) If you are doing SAP ECC installation on Unix platform and you have
installed database first and then you are going to install SAP ECC. Would SAP
detect already installed DB in Unix?
Answer: Yes, SAP installer will detect the pre-installed database if it is properly
configured and the required parameters are set in the installation files.
3) You are doing SAP installation and DB file system got full. Would installation
continue? And if usr/sap file system got full, would it continue?
Answer: If the DB file system is full, the installation will stop as the database
cannot write data. If usr/sap is full, the installation will also stop as it stores
SAP executables and other critical files.
4) What is logon load balancing? How to do logon load balancing?
Answer: Logon load balancing distributes user logons across multiple
application servers to optimize performance. It is configured in the SAP Logon
Group in SMLG by defining logon groups and assigning instances.
5) If you have 5 application servers and 1 central instance, how would you do
kernel upgrade?
Answer: Perform the kernel upgrade on the central instance first, then
distribute the new kernel files to the application servers using tools like SCP or
FTP.
6) How did you build your training system using system copy?
Answer: By performing a system copy using export/import or backup/restore
methods, and adjusting system parameters for the training environment.
7) What is ASCS split? From which version it got implemented?
Answer: ASCS split involves separating the message server and enqueue
server from the central instance to improve scalability and performance. It was
implemented from NetWeaver 7.1.
8) How would you find out bigger tables in SAP?
Answer: Use transaction DB02 or DBACOCKPIT to identify large tables by their
size.
9) How would you check the database size in SAP?
Answer: Check transaction DB02 or use database-specific tools like BRTOOLS
or SQL queries.
10) What is SSFS?
Answer: SSFS (Secure Store and Forward System) is used to securely store
database credentials.
11) What activity have you done recently?
Answer: Document your recent BASIS tasks like upgrades, configurations, or
issue resolutions.
Part 2
1) How client connects to application server?
Answer: Clients connect to the application server through the dispatcher, which
handles requests and assigns them to available work processes.
2) Where do you check the logs if your system is not starting up after kernel
upgrade?
Answer: Check the developer traces in transaction ST11 or log files in the work
directory.
3) Where to keep uncarred patches files in SAP system?
Answer: Place the uncarred patches in the /usr/sap/trans/EPS/in directory.
4) If sap* and password 'pass' is not working which parameter to set and where
to set?
Answer: Set the parameter login/no_automatic_user_sapstar = 0 in the instance
profile.
5) How will you identify long running jobs and how to troubleshoot?
Answer: Identify long-running jobs in SM37 and analyze their logs. Check for
system resources and indexes.
6) Where would you check system logs? What types of logs are there in system
log?
Answer: Check system logs in transaction SM21. Types include application,
security, and system logs.
7) If you are doing online backup, the database should be in archivelog mode or
noarchivelog mode?
Answer: The database should be in archivelog mode.
8) What is the path of archive log files?
Answer: The path depends on the database configuration, commonly in
/oracle/<SID>/saparch.
9) Where spool requests are generated at OS level and application level?
Answer: At the OS level, they are in /usr/sap/<SID>/SYS/global. At the
application level, check in SP01.
10) What is RZ20 and RZ21?
Answer: RZ20 is for monitoring alerts, and RZ21 is for configuring the CCMS
monitoring infrastructure.
11) How to configure email in SAP system?
Answer: Use transaction SCOT to configure the email settings.
12) What is the pre-requisite for sap installation?
Answer: Ensure hardware, OS, and database meet SAP's requirements, and
perform pre-installation steps like creating users and directories.
13) Which is better remote client copy or client export/import? Why?
Answer: Client export/import is better for larger data as it allows asynchronous
data transfer.
14) Can we do client export/import for remote client?
Answer: Yes, using export/import and proper transport configuration.
15) How to delete a client?
Answer: Use transaction SCC5 to delete a client.
16) If there is a long-running job in the system, how can we make it to run
faster?
Answer: Analyze the job in SM37, check for resource bottlenecks, optimize
queries, and assign more resources if needed.
