If you are still running SAP Solution Manager 7.1, or an early version of Solution Manager 7.2, you need to update to a recent version to keep it connected to the SAP backbone.
In 2019, SAP informed its customers of an upcoming change to the way SAP systems connect to their support backbone, SAP's network to deliver updates to content, documentation and software. This change would replace RFC connections with standard HTTPS requests. In addition, SAP Notes, the technical documents that include ABAP code changes, would be digitally signed to improve security.
These changes needed some technical configuration in all SAP Netweaver ABAP systems, for example, SAP ERP or SAP BW. In addition, if the customer has a SAP Solution Manager system, it might need to be updated. These changes had to be finished on January 2020 (although this date was pushed back by a few months), so if your systems haven't been updated, you might be missing some content updates and it might be harder to complete them in the future.
SAP Solution Manager
SAP customers usually have a Solution Manager system in their landscape, and its main use is the preparation of the weekly SAP EarlyWatch Alert report. This report requires the periodic update of its content definition, so that it can suggest useful recommendations for each connected SAP system.
The changes in SAP's support backbone require that all customers' Solution Manager systems are updated at least to version 7.2 support package stack 07 or higher, to enable the system to keep downloading updates, and uploading the EarlyWatch Alert reports back to SAP, all via HTTPS instead of RFC. This normally is a straightforward project, although considerations have to be taken for this update or upgrade if the customer is coming from an older version and/or uses other Solution Manager functionalities.
Digitally Signed SAP Notes
To further improve system security, SAP enforced the use of digitally signed SAP Notes. This, together with the change from RFC to HTTPS connections, has to be implemented in every Netweaver ABAP system, including Solution Manager. The implementation might be different depending on the system's Netweaver release, and involves the installation of an updated SNOTE tool.
Take action
If you haven't already, you might need to check your Solution Manager and other SAP systems to keep them connected to SAP's support backbone. If you need some help with this technical project, contact us to see how we can help.