Overview of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux for SAP Applications subscription

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Important

A Red Hat Enterprise Linux for SAP Applications subscription is required for installing the latest version of SAP NetWeaveror SAP Kernel on Red Hat Enterprise Linux. See the Why switch to the Red Hat Enterprise Linux for SAP Applications subscription from the standard Red Hat Enterprise Linux subscription? section of this article for more information.

Overview

Built on Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), the RHEL for SAP Applications subscription provides the following additional software components through a dedicated Red Hat SAP Server channel:

• sapconf(in RHEL 7.x): provides an automated RHEL provisioning solution for SAP, including kernel parameters, additional rpms, network settings, and so on. sapconf can be integrated into Kickstart and Red Hat Satellite Server.

• compat-sap-c++(in RHEL 7.x): provides additional runtime compatibility libraries required by newer NetWeaver releases. These libraries are installed independently of the standard runtime libraries provided by RHEL. Please see Which compat-sap-c++ package are required for SAP on RHEL? for more information.

• tuned-profiles-sap: provides the sap-netweaverprofile (based on the enterprise-storage profile) to tune RHEL for running SAP NetWeaver-based applications.

• resource-agents-sap: provides Pacemaker cluster resource agents (SAPDatabase and SAPInstance) to set up high availability for SAP NetWeaver environments. Please note that an additional RHEL HA Add-On subscription is required to be able to use the resource agents provided in the resource-agents-sap package to set-up high available SAP NetWeaver or ABAP Application Platform (S / 4HANA) environments. See the following two sections for more information:
  HA Solution for S/4HANA based on ABAP Platform 1809 or newer
  HA Solution for NetWeaver or S/4 Based on ABAP Platform 1709 or older

• compat-locales-sap: enables Legacy SAP locales to easily migrate non-Unicode SAP NetWeaver installations from UNIX/Windows to Linux; see SAP Note 187864 for more information. compat-locales-sap also provides additional locales for customers running non-Unicode SAP applications. For example, the de_DE@HPUX locale changes the sorting for German on RHEL to match the sorting on HP-UX to avoid sorting issues as described in SAP Note 952625. As of RHEL 8.0, this package is now part of the AppStream repository.

• vhostmd/vm-dump-metrics: a monitoring daemon and client required by SAP for KVM support; see SAP Note 1400911 for more information. In RHEL 8, the vm-dump-metrics package is part of the BaseOS repository and the vhostmd package is part of the AppStream repository.

• IBM 1.4.2 JDK (deprecated): provided for installing legacy versions of Java-based SAP applications on Linux x86_64 architectures, for example, SAP WebAS Java 6.40; see SAP Note 1495160 for more information.

Difference between RHEL for SAP Applications and RHEL for SAP Solutions

Red Hat has another subscription offering called RHEL for SAP Solutions. See Overview of Red Hat Enterprise Linux for SAP Solutions Subscription for more information.

Integrated support process

• Red Hat and SAP deliver integrated support for all customers who have active Red Hat Enterprise Linux for SAP Applications subscriptions. The integrated support includes the following elements:

  • SAP Global Support Backbone integration with Red Hat Customer Experience & Engagement support cases.
  • Dedicated engineers on-site at the SAP LinuxLab who work directly with SAP on certifications and customer issues.
  • Red Hat and SAP customers can benefit from the integration of SAP Solution Manager and Red Hat's customer support ticketing system by gaining a single point of contact for support issues, streamlined resolution of incidents, and continued collaboration for running SAP applications on Red Hat Enterprise Linux. The integration of the two ticketing systems ensures Red Hat and SAP can easily liaise on support issue resolutions, providing enhanced support services to customers.

  • Workflow of the integrated support process:

    1. SAP customer initiates a support request with SAP.
    2. After a triage by the SAP Linux team, the case may be routed to the SAP LinuxLab.
    3. The LinuxLab staff troubleshoots the issue with the assistance of the Red Hat on-site support engineer.
    4. If Red Hat CEE assistance is required, the LinuxLab staff sends the SAP message to Red Hat.
    5. Red Hat CEE handles the case in collaboration with the customer and SAP via the SAP Global Support Backbone integration.
    6. The case remains open until it is closed by the customer changing the SAP message to confirmed.

Deployment procedure

Note: There is no specific Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 for SAP Applications ISO.

Complete the following steps:

1. Download the RHEL Binary DVD ISO.
2. Install Red Hat Enterprise Linux. For information on how to install RHEL, see the Product Documentation web page on the Red Hat Customer Portal.
3. For RHEL 7, subscribe the system to the RHEL for SAP Applications channel.
4. For RHEL 8, enable the RHEL for SAP NetWeaver repo. See RHEL for SAP Subscriptions and Repositories for more information.
5. When the subscription process is complete, specific content for RHEL for SAP Applications is accessible via yum.

Why switch to the Red Hat Enterprise Linux for SAP Applications subscription from the standard Red Hat Enterprise Linux subscription?

The only way to meet the SAP runtime compatibility library requirement for the latest SAP NetWeaver products or to use the latest SAP kernels is through the compat-sap-c++ package. This package is only provided as a part of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux for SAP Applications channel. To access this channel, a Red Hat Enterprise Linux for SAP Applications subscription is required.

How to switch from the standard Red Hat Enterprise Linux subscription to the Red Hat Enterprise Linux for SAP Applications subscription?

Switching from the standard RHEL subscription for an SAP server does not require an OS rebuild. To switch from the standard RHEL subscription to the RHEL for SAP Applications subscription at the next renewal point, contact your Red Hat Account Team.

Once the Red Hat Enterprise Linux for SAP Applications subscription has been acquired, follow the steps in the knowledge base article
What should I do after switching to Red Hat Enterprise Linux for SAP Applications from regular Red Hat Enterprise Linux subscription ? for information on how to subscribe the server to the Red Hat Enterprise Linux for SAP Applications channel.