Archiving Strategy

Overview

The overall objective of an SAP ERP archiving is to manage the growth of the SAP ERP

database thereby ensuring long-term system stability and performance as well as

implement a document archiving solution to ensure that legal and business requirements

are satisfied.

Archiving removes obsolete, expired, or rarely accessed data from the database. Regular

archiving ensures the access time for on-line information is kept to a minimum, allows

jobs to be processed faster, and makes more efficient use of memory resources, storage

and backup facilities.

SAP ERP allows the client to archive data from the application while retaining it on the

system for interrogation or reloading. Data in the archive files can be displayed using

either the application or reports. Data to be archived is copied to a new location and then

deleted from the SAP ERP database. This two-step process provides data security. The

archived data can still be displayed on-line but can no longer be modified.

Archiving is not the only solution to managing database growth and improving

performance and should not be seen in an isolated manner. An overall Data Management

Strategy evaluates Data Prevention, Data Aggregation, and Data Deletion as well as Data

Archiving.

Archiving Project Implementation Roadmap

The following diagram depicts the recommended phases for planning and executing an

SAP Data Archiving project.

The following table sets out the tasks required to design and implement an SAP

Archiving project.

Project Tasks

No. Task

1. Establish Archiving Team

The project team must be established and the archiving plan documented

and communicated to the team with activities, timelines, deadlines and

roles & responsibilities. An archiving kick-off meeting should be

conducted with all participants.

• Archiving project technical lead (consultant )

• Archiving administrator (customer)

• Business Process Team representatives (customer)

• Legal/audit representatives (customer)

• IT representatives (customer)

2. Archiving Workshops

Archiving workshops should be conducted to define the objects one should

archive and the residency requirements for each object identified . The

Project Tasks

No. Task

requirement for archiving is both technical and business driven. The

business requirements for archived data will be captured in this process.

The primary information to be gathered is data that can be archived and

the identification of residence periods for this data.

3. Design Archiving Management Strategy

In this task the business process owners further define the archiving cycles

for the applications as captured in the Archiving Workshop. The following

affect the strategy for archiving application (business) data:

• Technical - Identify data volumes that ensures optimum throughput

from the technical implementation perspective. This can be identified

based on historical SAP 4.5b volumes and on SAP recommendations

for fast growing tables.

• Business – Identify business data that must be stored in the live

ERP2005 System for internal analysis, to meet commercial and legal

requirements, or to meet group requirements. Identify residence and

retention periods.

In addition, various migration approaches for currently archived SAP R/2

data will be evaluated. This will be performed in conjunction with the data

conversion team.

4. Identify Business Object Types

Based on data to be archived as identified in the previous task, related SAP

Business Objects (BOs) are identified.

This task defines all SAP standard BO types in use (transaction or master

data) for which the archiving management will be required.

The outcome from this task is a list of BO types in the various modules.

5. Define Residence Period for Business Object (BO) Types

The aim of this task is to define residence periods for all SAP standard BO

types in use (transaction or master data). This will be based on current

residence periods in SAP R/2 and the requirements captured in the BPDs.

6. Evaluate and Select Archiving / Storage Solution for Archive Files

This task determines a solution for both the storage and retrieval of

archived data. The evaluation includes the SAP standard solution (ie. no

external storage solution and no third party query software).

7. Create Preliminary Archiving Management Concept

The aim of this task is to create the definition of the preliminary archiving

management concept for selected Business Object types.

For every selected BO type, an archiving method has to be identified. In

most cases, there will be an Archiving Object (AO) available.

Based on the gathered information, a preliminary concept is defined and

documented as a basis for the prototype.

8. Create Archiving Management

The process of archiving business data is defined by the external

application if used. The purpose of this activity is to determine the

archiving strategy for the core business processes in the R/3 System in the

Project Tasks

No. Task

context of the technical implementation process.

This task establishes an archiving manual, based on the information

gathered, to record standard procedures and schedules, and what to do in

exceptional circumstances.

9. Prototype Archive Management Concept

This task prototypes the preliminary archiving management concept with

all business cases/scenarios on the client where the considered BO types

will be used, covering both archiving and retrieval functionality.

During the prototyping, initially defined SAP residence periods can be

challenged. The time to keep data online might be reduced if the available

retrieval functionality is demonstrated to users.

10. Construct Archiving Management

The aim of this task is to set-up archiving management in the SAP system

by performing the required application, technical and basis customising for

each Archiving Object

11. Test Archiving Procedures

This task tests archiving for each business procedure and archiving object.

The steps to take will be agreed with the application team members

responsible.

12. Review Archiving

Review of the archiving sessions defined in the archiving manual, and

release of the standard procedure for archiving based on the tests in the

previous step. The owners of the applications must be involved in

reviewing archiving.

13.. Finalize Archiving Management Concept and Signoff

Finalize the archiving management concept and obtain project

management approval/signoff.

Post-Project Tasks

No. Task

14. Initial Archive in Production

In this task, the initial periodic archiving run will be performed. This

includes a review of the archive runs by business representatives and the

production deletion run.

15. Evaluate Effectiveness of Archiving

As part of the Post-implementation review, it is important to review the

adequacy of the implemented Archiving procedures. This should include a

review of database and table growth rates to identify any additional objects

that should be archived. This should also include a review of business

process procedures to ensure that transaction data is processed

appropriately to allow for archiving, ie. transactions are closed correctly.

The following tables give an overview of the objects that are available within each

business process area.

FI -Financial Accounting

Objects in Financial Accounting Archiving Object

Asset data AM_ASSET

Bank data storage FI_ELBANK

Bank master data FI_BANKS

Accounting documents FI_DOCUMNT

Budget hierarchy documents (Funds Management) FM_BUDHIE

CO posting documents (Funds Management) FM_DOC_CO

Customer master data FI_ACCRECV

Line items (consolidation) FI_LC_ITEM

FI accounting document (Funds Management) FM_DOC_FI

Cash journal documents FI_TCJ_DOC

Vendor master data FI_ACCPAYB

Earmarked funds documents (Funds Management) FM_FUNRES

Commitment and funds transfer documents (Funds Management)

FM_DOC_OI

G/L account master data FI_ACCOUNT

Check data FI_SCHECK

Totals records (Consolidation) FI_LC_SUM

Totals records and line items (consolidation) (Reload, delete, and read only)

FLC_OBJECT

Totals records and line items (Special Purpose Ledger)

FI_SL_DATA

Transaction figures FI_MONTHLY, FI_TF_CRE, FI_TF_DEB, FI_TF_GLC, FI_TF_GLF

Payment requests FI_PAYRQ

SD - Sales and Distribution

Objects in SD Archiving object

Sales documents SD_VBAK

Billing Documents SD_VBRK

Sales activities SD_VBKA

Conditions SD_COND

Customer master data FI_ACCRECV

Controlling

Objects in Controlling Archiving Object

CO line items CO_ITEM

Line items / Totals records from reconciliation ledger

CO_CEL_RCL

Line items (cost center) CO_ITEM

Totals records (cost center) CO_TOTAL

Master data (cost center) CO_CCMAST

Fully reversed documents (cost center) CO_ALLO_ST

Orders with transaction data CO_ORDER

Business processes CO_PROCESS

Settlement documents CO_KABR

Material cost estimate data CO_COPC

Base planning object data CO_BASEOBJ

Cost object data CO_KSTRG

Material ledger data CO_ML_DAT

Material ledger documents CO_ML_BEL

Material ledger indexes CO_ML_IDX

Transaction data for costing-based profitability analysis

COPAA_xxxs, COPAB_xxxx, COPA1_xxxx (obsolete)

Transaction data for account-based profitability analysis

COPA2_xxxx

Profitability segments for costing-based/account-based profitability analysis

COPAC_xxxx

Funds Management

Objects in Funds Management Archiving Object

Earmarked funds FM_FUNRES

Budget hierarchy documents FM_BUDHIE

Budget entry documents FM_BUDENT

FI postings FM_DOC_FI

CO postings FM_DOC_CO

Commitments and funds transfers FM_DOC_OI

Commitments/actuals totals records FM_ACTSUM

Budget totals records FM_BUDSUM

LO–Logistics General Objects in Logistics Archiving Object

Materials MM_MATNR

Special Stocks MM_SPSTOCK

Statistical Data MC_Snnn

Selection Versions MC_SELVS

General Site Data WS_ACSITE

Pricing Documents W_KALK

Single settlement requests WZR

Settlement request lists WREG

Vendor Billing Documents WLF

Posting lists WBU

Remuneration lists WRECH

Customer settlements WCI

Expense settlement documents WSI

Additionals Document WTADDI

Change Master Records LO_CHANGEM

Handling units LE_HU

Packing Instructions for Handling Units VHU_PI

LE - Logistics Execution

Objects in LE Archiving Objects

Warehouse Management Records RL_*

Deliveries RV_LIKP

Shipment Documents SD_VTTK

Shipment Cost Documents SD_VFKK

MM - Materials Management

Objects in Materials Management Archiving Object

Purchase requisitions MM_EBAN

External purchasing documents MM_EKKO

Purchasing info records MM_EINA

Service master records MM_ASMD

Material documents MM_MATBEL

Physical inventory documents MM_INVBEL

History records for the stock value tables MM_HDEL

Invoice documents MM_REBEL

Plant Maintenance

Objects in Plant Maintenance Archiving Object

Pieces of equipment PM_EQUI

Functional locations PM_IFLOT

Serial number history PM_OBJLIST

Measurement documents PM_IMRG

Maintenance notifications PM_QMEL

Service notifications SM_QMEL

Maintenance and service orders PM_ORDER

Task lists PM_PLAN

Maintenance plans PM_MPLAN

Object links PM_NET

Installations PM_IBASE

Work approvals (WCM) WCM_WAP

Applications (WCM) WCM_WAPI

Work clearance documents (WCM) WCM_WCD

PP - Production Planning and Control

Objects in PP Archiving Object Bills of Material CS_BOM Process Orders PR_ORDER Master Recipe PI_PLAN Production Orders PP_ORDER

XSteps CMX_XSTEPS Routings PP_PLAN Work Centers and Capacities

PP_WKC

Backflush Documents PP_BKFLUSH

PS - Project System

Objects in the Project System Archiving object

Operative project structures PS_PROJECT

Standard networks PS_PLAN

Documents for transfer price agreements and transfer price allocations

CO_FIXEDPR

HR - Human Resources Objects in HR Archiving Object

PA long-term documents PA_LDOC

Payroll results PA_CALC

Time evaluation results PA_TIME

Trip data PA_TRAVEL

Payroll documents for posting data to Accounting

PA_PDOC

Index files for posting data to Accounting PA_PIDX

Account data for pension fund PA_PFUND

HR object BC_HROBJ

Cross-Application Time Sheet CATS_DATA

Reasons for Archiving

There are both technical and legal reasons for archiving application data. Data Archiving:

• Resolves memory space and performance problems caused by large volumes of

transaction data

• Ensures that data growth remains moderate so that the database remains manageable

in the long term

• Ensures that companies can meet the legal requirements for data storage in a cost-

efficient manner

Purpose of Data Archiving

The goal of data archiving is to reduce or limit data growth in your SAP system which

allows you to live within your current system resources. The result of not having a data

management strategy that involves prevention, aggregation, deletion, and archiving may

lead to the need to upgrade your hardware, addition of disk space, expanded main

memory or CPU improvements. This results in a greater cost of managing your solution

environment.

Data Management: Prevention, Aggregation, Deletion and Archiving

Data archiving is a very effective tool for reducing large data volumes. However it

should not be the only consideration in a Data Management strategy. Applying the

following four-step method is recommended to reduce your data volumes before you

start archiving.

1) Data Prevention

For certain data it is technically possible to switch off updating. This is usually for data

that is not necessary from a business point of view. An example is spool data being

immediately deleted after their output.

2) Data Aggregation

In some cases it is possible to aggregate data, for example through forming sums. An

example of how to apply this method would be in line item aggregation in CO.

3) Deletion

Some data that is not required can be deleted rather than archived. An example of this

type of data is a batch input folder. Generally these folders are created during a batch

transfer and are no longer needed after the transfer. These processed folders can be

deleted by using a delete program.

4) Archiving

Archiving should be used for data that cannot be prevented nor deleted. Determine how

long your data needs to remain in the system from a business point of view. Only archive

the data that is no longer needed for processing in the production system.

The following figure can help you decide when to use data archiving:

Basis Data Archiving Functions

To better understand data archiving it is important to understand the technical basis of the

functions and get an overview of the relevant processes and scope of the functions

Basic Terms Used in Data Archiving

The following are the most common terms in SAP data archiving.

Archive Development Kit

The Archive Development Kit (ADK) is the technology at the core of data archiving. It is

responsible for controlling and managing the archiving sessions and makes sure that the

data remains interpretable in the long term. ADK is also a programming interface for

application programs and it is responsible for handling the archive files. ADK is used to

create, open, write, read and close the archive files.

The following figure shows ADK integration functions.

Archiving Objects

Another central component of data archiving is the archiving object. It determines which

tables are accessed during archiving to make sure that a business object, such as an

invoice or a financial accounting document, can be completely removed from the

database. In addition, an archiving object also contains the archiving programs and

Customizing settings, necessary for archiving its corresponding business object type.

An archiving object has the following components:

Data declaration

Is used to define which data from the database makes up a business object.

Archiving programs

o Write program: Writes the business objects sequentially to the archive files.

o Delete program: Deletes the business objects from the database after it has read

and confirmed them in the archive file.

o Preprocessing program (optional): Prepares the data for archiving. This includes,

for example, the setting of an archivability indicator (also called a deletion

indicator).

o Read program: Is used to display an archived business object.

o Postprocessing program (optional): Is used to process data after archiving; for

example to update statistic data or indexes.

Reload program (optional): Reloads the archived business objects into the database.

Customizing Settings

Customizing settings are used to define the archiving-object-specific parameters for a

specific archiving session. These settings depend on the archiving objects and can

vary.

The following figure shows the different components of an archiving object.

Archiving classes

Another common term used in data archiving is "Archiving Classes”. It refers to data

objects that are not independently defined from a business process point of view, but

which belong together from a technical point of view; these include SAPscript texts,

change documents, and classification data. These data objects are created when a

business object is created or modified and they are usually archived together