Basis Interview Questions

Ask him/her to describe how SAP handles Memory Management? ST02 / ST03 In general via table buffers, you could go into the whole Work Process, roll in, roll out, heap (private) memory, etc. however just as a Unix or DBA admin would know, is you look this up when needed for the exact specifics. Ask him/her to describe where they would look at the buffer statistics, and what steps they would use to adjust them? ST02, RZ10 Ask him/her to describe how to setup a printer in SAP or where they would look to research why a user/users can not print? SPAD, SP01, SM50, SU01 ============== Keep the interview to 3 general areas: DB (what is the directory structure/ where are the files kept oracle alerts, init.ora, redo logs, archive logs, etc.; possibly some basics stuff like what to do "high level" when the archive directory fills up, etc. Keep this minimal as from a SAP basis admin point of view Oracle is just a big giant bit bucket and SAP can handle to the daily monitoring and maintenance itself. OS (what is the directory structure (what is NFS mounted and why / where are the message files contained for the OS error log; basic commands for the OS eg. Unix, mv, cp, ls, grep, ps-ef, df-k, etc. That is pretty much all the SAP basis admin will need to know. Client/Server architecture. SAP (what is the directory structure / where are files located ie. profiles - start, instance, default (what are they and what is the order of precendence) start is for statup only instance is the first to be read then the default and if a given parameter cannot be found in the instance or then the default then the internal standard is taken from RZ10 setting.

You can ask them to ran Transaction codes to you. Menus constanly change s-o go with T-codes. He should have a good knowledge of the following areas; transports, user / print / spool / batch management, monitoring, client tools and copies, support packages, kernel patches, workload analysis, Roles and Security, etc. The standard list of t-codes is pretty much

SM50, SM51, SM66, SM12, SM13, SM21, DB01, DB02, DB13, ST01, ST02, ST03, ST04, ST05, ST06, SU01, SUIM, PFCG, SCC4, SE01, SE09, SE10, SPAM, SM35, SM36, SM37, SPAD, SP01 SCC3, SCCL, SCC9 this are pretty much you heavy hitters for monitoring and support. I would ask in general how he would troubleshoot the following: - User cannot connect to SAP Check SAP logon settings, ping the host, check message server, check dispatcher, etc. - User cannot print Check SAP user setup, check SPAD, check spools, check unix queue or print queue at the os level, etc - System seems slow check Transactions SM66, SM51, SM50, SM21, ST06, ST03, SMLG, AL08 etc. Check Work Processes, System Buffers and the Database Increase the number of Dialog Work Processes Some important things to remember is to ask not get specific to your installation or specific system setup as all SAP instances are different, keep your question to general topics and general answers. The most important thing to notice when choosing a candidate is not how they parrot back answers to you, but if they can a) think for themselves and b) they actually like to and will keep on learning as no one knows it all and c) they have a good background and willingness to perform analyis and will keep on digginging until the answer is found or until their resources are exhausted and then they will pull in what is required to figure it out.

1) Which are the most frequent errors encountered while dealing with TRANSPORTS ? Return code (4) indicates import ended with warning. Return code (8) indicates not imported ended with error Return code (12) indicates import is cancelled.

Return code (16) indicates import is cancelled. 2) How will go about doing a client copy ? You can do a client copy using the SCCL transaction 3) List the difference between asynchronous and synchronous transport Synchronous Transport Dialog or batch process are blocked until import is ended Asynchronous Transport Dialog or batch process is released after import is started. 4) How will determine whether your SAP server is Unicode or ASCII ? Go to SM51 , Click Release Notes. Entry corresponding to ICU Version will tell you whether your system is ASCII or Unicode. 5) List the types of Transport requests ? There are 4 types of transport requests in SAP 1. Customizing Request 2. Workbench Request 3. Transport of Copies 4. Relocation 6) What is the difference between Consolidation and Development route ? In consolidation route objects can be changed and they can transport from one system to other. This is the route between development to quality In Development route Objects can not be changed and they can not be transported from one system to other. This is the route between quality to production 7) How will you define logon groups ? What is Load Balancing in SAP ? A. You can set the logon group using SMLG transaction. 8 ) What is supplementation language ? A. Default SAP systems are pre-installed with English and German. SAP does support many other language which may not full translate from the default English and German. To fill this gap , Supplementary language (a program) is installed. 9) Is SAP a database ? A. NO . SAP is not a database but it uses databases from other vendors like Oracle. 10) Which transaction do you use to check Buffer Statistics ? ST02 , RZ10 11) You cant find the answer to a question, what are some website you can visit to find the answer? A: OSS notes: http://service.sap.com/notes SAP help: http://help.sap.com Google: http://www.google.com

SAP Basis Interview Questions 1. SAP System is very slow then what you do? 2. How to create trusted RFC connection? 3. If the work process goes PRIV state then what you do?

4. Difference between Master Role and Derived Role? 1. If your SAP landscape is composed of a DEV server and PRD server and you need to transport a change request from DEV client 111 to DEV 131 (i.e. transport in the same server). How can this be accomplished? A. Transaction SCC1 2. We have recently experienced some internet outages caused by our ISP. Although we have resolved our ISP problems, the users refuse to believe that losing the internet connection was to blame for the SAP problems. How can we ensure that this was an internet problem and not an SAP problem? A. Open a maintenance window, connect to the machine and kill the ISP connection and see if this kills your connection. Repeat at will until they believe that the ISP was the problem. 3.What is an OK code? What are thedifferences an OK code to a T-code? An OK Code is used by a program to execute a function for example after a pushbutton has been clicked. A transaction code is a shortcut that helps a user run/execute a program. 4. Where are t-code name and program values stored? How can I find a list of all the t-codes in the SAP system? You can use transaction st11 to view Table TSTC. You can define a new t-code using transaction se93. 5. How can one disable the Import All button on STMS for the queues? A. Login to your Transport Domain Controller. Run STMS->Overview->System. Choose the System you want to disable import all. Go to Transport Tool tab. Add/Create Parameter NO_IMPORT_ALL set its value to 1. 6. What are the different types of work processes in R/3? A. Dialog (D), Update (U), Enqueue (E), Background(B), and Spool(S). 7. How can you confirm the patch level for SAP GUI? A: Log into SAPGUI, and hit Alt-F12 -> 8. Why is Web-Help considered easier to install than CHM, the standard delivered SAP help? A: Web help is easier than trying to get every remote user connected to a network share. If you dont want to use SAPs help site, you can setup your own website to do it. The best route depends on your business network structure. 9. If you cant find the answer to a question, what are some website you can visit to find the answer?

A: OSS notes: http://service.sap.com/notes, SAP help: http://help.sap.com, Google: http://www.google.com 10. We want to install another new instance on same development box. Is this possible? What are some of the important considerations? A: Yes, it is possible to have more than one instance on a single box. The key is to use a different SID and a different system number. It is also important to note that for a 64 bit SAP kernel, SAP recommends a 20 GB swap space for 1st instance and 10 GB per each additional instance. 11. What is the difference between a client copy and client refresh? A: Sometimes these are the same, For example, if you are performing a copy to an existing client for the express purpose of updating the data, then it is called Client Refresh. If you are copying to a newly created client then it is more appropriate to say client copy. 12. What is the purpose of table T000? A: Table T000 contains a list of defined clients, which you can maintain with transaction SCC4. 13. What is the purpose of table USR02? A: This table stores User IDs and passwords 14. How do you create a password exception list? A: Place the answers in table USR40 15. What is the purpose of table TADIR? A: Table TADIR contains object directory entries 16. What is the purpose of table TDEVC? A: Table TDEVC contains development classes and packages. 17. What are the transaction codes associated with changing requests, request headers, or request object lists? A: The following tables hold information about change requests. E070 Change request headers E071 Change request object lists 18. How can you get a list of the users with development access on a particular system? A: Table DEVACCESS 19. Where can you find a list of object keys included in a transport?

A: E071K Object keys contained within transports 20. How can you tell if a transport entry is in the process of being imported? A: Check table TRBAT 21. How can you find a list of objects, that have been repaired in the system? A: ADIRACCESS List of repaired objects and their access keys 22. How do you Disable Multiple Logins in the Same Client? A: To disable multiple user logins within the sameclient implement this parameter in the instance profile: login/disable_multi_gui_login = 1 If you do not use this parameter in your system, users have the ability to ignore the warning window at the time they try to login to the same client. Activating this parameter in your system will make you look good if you get audited! 22a. How about exceptional logins? In case youre wondering how to allow multiple logins for certain key users you can implement parameter login/multi_login_users. You can list the user IDs that should be ignored if the parameter above is active in your system. 23. How can you View Locked Transactions? A: As you know, you can lock/unlock transaction codes via SM01. But, how do you go about viewing the transactions that are locked in the system? You need to look in field CINFO, table TSTC. Within SAP, you can use either SE11 or SE16 to browse the table contents. Make sure you enter A0? As the HEX01 data element for SYST starting value and A9? as the ending value. This will list all the transactions locked in the system. Note: The CINFO field description is HEX01 data element for SYST. 24. What is the difference between TP and R3TRANS? A: TP controls the process and calls several tools, like r3trans but also e.g. DDIC-Activation. 25. Is there a difference between user DDIC and SAP_ALL/SAP_NEW? A: Yes, DDIC is hard coded to do some things other IDs cannot. But you should be able to activate tables in SE11 using a SAP_ALL user. 26. If you receive an error occurred during installation message when trying to install the DB Instance

(SAP DB) what can you do to fix the problem? A: Use shorter pathnames. 27. Is it possible to install ECC 5.0 as a test system and not production, without installing solution manager? A: During the installation you will be asked for a key, which can only be generated by the solution manager. 28. Is there a way to perform SAPGUI 640 roll out using a centralized server? A: Look for SAPADMIN and SAPSETUP on the installation CD. Then, use a utility such as Microsofts SMS to distribute this program or use a login script to call the SAPSETUP program. 29. If SAP console telnet screen size is too big how do you make it smaller? A: Go to the control panel, and then to the SAP console administrator and general tab. 30. Is there a way to find out what was entered in a particular transaction code screen? A: No, but you can analyze tables associated with the transaction code and see if there is a username field that traces what this user has done.