SAP Business Objects 4.1 to 4.3 Upgrade (Parallel Upgrade in Azure)

Upgrading SAP Business Objects from version 4.1 to 4.3 SP4 requires careful planning and execution, especially when the target system needs to retain the same hostname, IP, Azure resource group, subscription, tags, and VM size. In this blog, we’ll walk through a parallel upgrade approach leveraging Azure Cloud snapshots and migration steps.

📌 System Landscape

• Current System (HostnameA): SAP BO 4.1, DB2 11.1, SUSE 12 SP5
• New System (HostnameB): SUSE 15 SP6, DB2 11.5, SAP BO 4.3 SP4

All SAP Business Objects contents are migrated from HostnameA → HostnameB using Promotion Management.

📌 Upgrade Requirement

The final requirement is to retain HostnameA as the primary system, running SAP BO 4.3 SP4 with the same IP, Azure configurations, and hostname. To achieve this, the following parallel upgrade steps were performed.

🔹 Azure Cloud Steps

1. Trigger OS and Data Disk snapshots of both HostnameA and HostnameB.
2. Shutdown HostnameA from Azure Portal.
3. Build OS and Data Disk from HostnameB snapshot.
4. Swap OS and Data Disk into HostnameA.
5. Start HostnameA from Azure Portal.
6. Update configurations on HostnameA:
   • /etc/hosts
   • /etc/hostname
   • /etc/resolv.conf

🔹 Database Changes

Update DB2 configuration for the new HostnameA:

cd /db2/db2<SID>/sqllib
vi db2nodes.cfg
change HostnameB to HostnameA, save the file
db2start
db2 connect to <SID>

🔹 SAP Business Objects Configuration

Step 1: Recreate SIA Node

Run serverconfig.sh under <INSTALL_DIR>/sap_bobj (Refer SAP Note 2206006):

• Select no servers.
• Start with temporary CMS DB.
• Keep handy CMS DB details, Cluster Key, and Administrator password.

Step 2: Validate and Start Services

1. Start Tomcat and Business Objects services.
2. Login via CMS (HostnameB:6400) and validate new SIA for HostnameA.
3. Clone all servers from HostnameB SIA to HostnameA SIA (assign temporary ports e.g. 8000–8030), For Example – Give CMS Port for HostnameA – 8500
4. Start new servers and check logs for errors.

Step 3: Fix Hostname References

1. Navigate: /usr/sap/<SID>/sap_bobj/tomcat/webapps/BOE/WEB-INF/config/default
2. Run: grep HostnameB * to find references.
3. Copy required files to /custom directory.
4. Replace HostnameB → HostnameA.
5. Recheck with grep HostnameB * (no results expected).

Step 4: Finalize Migration

1. Restart Tomcat and SIA services.
2. Login via HostnameA:8500 and validate all servers.
3. Delete old SIA (HostnameB) via serverconfig.sh.
4. Change all ports back to automatic and reset SIA port to 6400.
5. Run cmsdbsetup.sh to update the cluster name to HostnameA:6400.

✅ Post Upgrade Validation

• Login to CMS via HostnameA:6400.
• Check all servers and ensure cluster name reflects HostnameA.
• Hand over the system to functional teams for validation.

📚 Reference SAP Notes

• 3586348 – Unable to login to System (CMC/BI launch pad)
• 2206006 – Recreating the SIA in BI 4.x on Linux/Unix [How-To/Video]
• 1730788 – How to recreate an existing SIA in BI 4.x [Video]

🔖 Conclusion

The above parallel upgrade method ensures a smooth transition from SAP BO 4.1 to 4.3 while retaining the original system hostname and Azure configurations. This approach minimizes downtime and ensures continuity for users and business processes.

Also Read – How BusinessObjects Licensing Works

🔥 Hashtags

#SAP #BusinessObjects #SAPBO #SAPBObj #SAPUpgrade #BusinessObjectsUpgrade #SAPBasis #SUSE #DB2 #Azure #CloudMigration #SAPAdministration #SAPSupport