Is time running out for your SAP Linux support? | SUSE Communities

Is time running out for your SAP Linux support?

Share
Share

In 60 days, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 11 SP4 will reach the March 31, 2019 end date for General Support. This means that it’s no longer possible to purchase a Priority Support subscription with the updates, proactive fixes for bugs and security vulnerabilities, and unlimited technical support that you depend on. More than likely, your SAP systems and services are critical to your business operations, so it’s equally critical that you maintain Linux support for those systems.

If you’re no longer running your systems on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 11 SP4, or have a plan to maintain support with Long Term Service Pack Support (LTSS) then you’re already ahead of the game. Just skip the rest of this blog and enjoy your day. If, on the other hand, you’re wondering what to do next then read on to understand your options.

Your first and best option is to upgrade to the newest version, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15. Since the release of version 11 SP4, we’ve added many new features to simplify and speed up the deployment and improve the uptime of SAP systems since we launched version 11 SP4 in 2016. Here is my Top 10 (in no particular order):

  • Support the latest SAP HANA 2.0
  • Minimize risk and improve SAP system resiliency with the full system snapshot and rollback, including support for service pack rollbacks
  • Choose from more public cloud providers including Alibaba, Amazon, Google, IBM, and Microsoft
  • More easily set up and configuration of high availability for SAP systems with an improved Installation Wizard that
    • supports automate configuration and tuning of SAP S/4HANA systems
    • installs the complete HA stack including SAP HANA System Replication on-premise and in the public cloud
    • supports the installation of more SAP applications including SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise SAP Business Objects, and SAP Business One applications
    • supports multiple database containers for faster set up of multi-tenancy configurations
  • Protect in-memory data with automated configuration for the SAP HANA firewall
  • Protect data on remote storage volumes with enhanced encryption management using a built-in key server or KMIP-compliant 3rd-party key servers
  • Reduce system recovery time with NVDIMM support for SAP HANA databases
  • Eliminate downtime for Linux kernel vulnerability patches with full support for SUSE Linux Enterprise Live Patching
  • Reduce complexity and errors with automated SAP HANA upgrades in clustered environments
  • Maintain productivity while sys admins transition to Linux with support for the Microsoft Remote Desktop Protocol and Active Directory integration

With SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 you not only get all of these advantages (and more) over release 11 SP4, but also a 4-1/2 year lifecycle for each service pack. That’s right; you don’t need to worry about buying an LTSS subscription again because we’ve lengthened the Extended Service Pack Overlap Support from 1 year to 3 years with versions 12 and 15.

I’m sure some of you are thinking, “I’d love to upgrade to SLES for SAP Applications 15, but I can’t finish evaluating and testing it by March 31st.” That’s perfectly understandable and you do have an alternative: Long Term Service Pack Support. Purchasing a one-year subscription (or longer if you need it) of LTSS gives you continued access to technical support, maintenance and security patches for SLES for SAP Applications 11 SP4. However, there will not be any additional hardware enablement or software enhancements. And when you call for Technical Support, you get migration, configuration, and break-fix help but Defect Resolution is limited to Level 1 and 2 severity defects.

I highly recommend that you contact your SUSE reseller partner or SUSE sales rep right away to start planning your best option to maintain full Linux support of your SAP operations. Eventually, you’ll have to make the move to a newer version of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications because LTSS for version 11 SP4 ends 3 years. Now is the time to start.

To see the support dates for all SUSE products, visit suse.com/lifecycle .

 

And as always you can follow me on Twitter @MichaelDTabron.

Share

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

No comments yet

Avatar photo
6,081 views
Michael Tabron I'm a SUSE Product Marketing Manager focused primarily on open source solutions for SAP applications across all platforms. I joined SUSE in 2015, and have over 20 years of experience with hardware and software marketing.