COLUMN

Lifecycle Management Matters

This article appeared in the Jul Aug Sep 2015 issue of
SAPinsider (www.SAPinsiderOnline.com) and appears
here with permission from the publisher, WIS Publishing.
n

A Foundation for the Future

Whats Coming Next with SAP NetWeaver 7.5

by Karl Kessler, SAP SE

SAP NetWeaver 7.4 is a comprehensive, stable

SAP Business Suite 4 SAP HANA (SAP S/4HANA)

technology foundation that has seen a rapid

a new business solution that is built on SAP

adoption rate in SAPs installed customer base

HANA and offers a personalized user experience

as organizations look to take advantage of inno-

with SAP Fiori. It is available in a cloud edition, as

vation in areas such as SAP HANA, cloud, and

announced in May 2015 at SAPPHIRE NOW, and

mobile, as well as support for modern develop-

will be available in an on-premise edition as well.3

ment tools such as Eclipse and HTML5. (See the

To support SAP S/4HANA, and allow the fast

sidebars on pages 64 and 65 for more on the 7.4

development of dramatically simplified business

adoption rate and features.) Since its release in

processes with an appealing user experience,

May 2013, SAP NetWeaver 7.4 has continued to

SAP needed to open up a new codeline for SAP

respond to changing business needs by delivering

NetWeaver. In addition, to enable customers run-

new features via quarterly support packages, a

ning Java-based SAP solutions to fully support

non-disruptive approach that is well understood

the latest technology trends, such as mobile and

and accepted by the SAP customer base.2

IoT, it became clear that SAP would need to pro-

So, with all of the functionality, stability, and

vide a design and runtime environment based on

reliability provided by SAP NetWeaver 7.4, and

Java 8 an update that could not be provided

with its widespread acceptance among the SAP

via an SAP NetWeaver support package without

customer base, why would there be a need for a

significant disruption of customers installed Java

new SAP NetWeaver release?

hubs and custom applications.

While SAP NetWeaver 7.4 has continued to

For these reasons, the need for a new founda-

adapt, technologies and trends have continued to

tion has become clear.

Karl Kessler (karl.kessler@

sap.com) joined SAP SE
in 1992. He is the Product
Manager of the SAP
NetWeaver foundation
which includes SAP
NetWeaver Application
Server, the ABAP Workbench, and the Eclipsebased ABAP development
tools for SAP NetWeaver
and is responsible for all
rollout activities.

evolve as well, bringing with them new requiremore central role as machines, devices, businesses,

The New Foundation:

SAP NetWeaver 7.5

and people become increasingly connected and

SAP NetWeaver 7.5 planned for the deliv-

drive the shift toward a networked economy. And

ery of the on-premise edition of SAP S/4HANA

SAP continues to develop new solutions to help

is designed to meet these needs and lay the

its customers adjust to these changes, such as

groundwork for supporting the next stage of

ments. The Internet of Things (IoT) is taking a

innovation.4 It will be the compatible successor

Learn more about SAPs development tools in my article
A Guide to SAPs Development Environments for
SAP HANA and the Cloud in the January-March 2015
issue of SAPinsider (SAPinsiderOnline.com).

For more on SAPs support package approach for SAP

NetWeaver 7.4, see my article Demystifying SAPs Support
Strategy for SAP NetWeaver 7.4 in the July-September
2014 issue of SAPinsider (SAPinsiderOnline.com).

For more on SAP S/4HANA, see Dr. Wieland Schreiners

and Dr. Markus Schwarzs article The Foundation to
Run Simple in the April-June 2015 issue of SAPinsider
(SAPinsiderOnline.com).

All statements targeting the SAP NetWeaver 7.5 codeline

(including the exact technical naming and versioning) represent planned product capabilities and are subject to change.

Subscribe today. Visit SAPinsiderOnline.com.

of SAP NetWeaver 7.4, and will provide the on-

information management capabilities of SAP

premise foundation for SAP Business Suite (as of

HANA); and big data (support for Hadoop and

enhancement package 8 for SAP ERP) and for the

dynamic tiering). Performance optimizations

on-premise edition of SAP S/4HANA. Both the

for SAP Fiori applications are also planned, and

cloud and on-premise editions of SAP S/4HANA

in the area of lifecycle management, the focus

share the same new codeline, meaning that

is on a solid kernel infrastructure, simplified

there is only one innovation codeline for SAP

migration and upgrade capabilities, true zero

NetWeaver, and the same features are available

downtime, and cloud operation and extensibil-

for each edition. Enhancements are delivered

ity features for SAP S/4HANA.5

for the on-premise edition of SAP S/4HANA via

While the improvements and optimizations for

regular support packages, in the same manner to

the SAP NetWeaver hubs, SAP Fiori, and lifecycle

which customers are accustomed, and those same

management will provide important benefits for

enhancements are delivered on a more frequent

customers, there are three areas in particular

basis for the cloud edition.

ABAP, Java, and the cloud with innovations

SAP NetWeaver 7.5 will also include improve-

planned for SAP NetWeaver 7.5 that will provide

ments for the SAP NetWeaver hubs. For instance,

significant advantages. Lets take a closer look at

SAP Gateway will offer support for OData ver-

these key areas of enhancement.

sion 4 and incorporate productivity enhancements for OData service developers. For SAP

New ABAP Development Features

Business Warehouse (SAP BW), the major areas

ABAP is a key engine behind the solutions

of innovation are flexibility (planning, Eclipse-

that drive your business. Planned features for

based tools, and web-based tools); SAP HANA

integration (more pushdown and leveraging the

Note that SAP NetWeaver 7.5 will support Unicodeonly deployments.

SAP NetWeaver 7.4 Adoption: Where Are We Now?

SAP customers have adopted SAP NetWeaver 7.4 in large numbers to gain access to the
latest innovations in their SAP NetWeaver usage types.
SAP has seen very high adoption numbers for SAP Business Warehouse (SAP BW) 7.4 on
SAP HANA. SAP BW is fully optimized for SAP HANA, and benefits from the SAP HANA
approach of pushing down data-intensive logic to the database layer to execute typical
activation and transformation steps. SAP NetWeaver 7.4 provides SAP BW customers with
the foundation for a successful migration and upgrade path to the SAP HANA database,
especially when coming from other platforms.
Many customers running Java-based SAP NetWeaver hubs, such as SAP Enterprise
Portal and SAP Process Orchestration, have also moved to SAP NetWeaver 7.4 from earlier
releases such as SAP NetWeaver 7.0, which run on old Java runtime platforms that cannot
support many of SAPs recent infrastructure investments in performance, supportability, and active monitoring. Some customers have co-deployed the new versions of their
Java-based hubs with their ABAP hubs on the same SAP HANA instance, while others
have stayed on their established relational databases. Those who continue to run earlier
releases should keep in mind that, in addition to lacking access to new features and
functionality, the SAP NetWeaver 7.0-based Java hubs will be maintained only until 2017.
The highest rate of adoption by far belongs to SAP Business Suite. In 2014,
thousands of customers moved to enhancement package 7 for SAP ERP which runs
on SAP NetWeaver 7.4 as part of implementing SAP Business Suite, and this rapid rate
has held steady in 2015.
Together, these trends mean that SAP NetWeaver 7.4 has become the de facto go-to
release not only in theory, but also in customer practice.

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SAP NetWeaver 7.4: Features for Modern Business Needs

SAP NetWeaver 7.4 provides access to innovation that helps customers address their
evolving business needs, including support for modern tools for development and
features to handle big data, mobile enablement, and the cloud.
SAP NetWeaver 7.4 includes enhancements for custom ABAP development that leverage SAP HANA, including the Eclipse-based ABAP development tools for SAP NetWeaver
(known as ABAP in Eclipse).* It also includes support for SAPUI5 (SAPs implementation
of the HTML5 standard), which enables the development of modern user interfaces with
web-based tools such as SAP Web IDE.**
To handle big data, SAP NetWeaver 7.4 is optimized for SAP HANA, which can
address an organizations most challenging processing and analytics needs. It provides
mobile enablement with the ability to develop responsive SAPUI5-based SAP Fiori
applications and deploy them as native apps on mobile devices via SAP Mobile
Secure. SAP NetWeaver 7.4 is also optimized for the cloud through SAP HANA Cloud
Platform, which integrates with existing on-premise SAP NetWeaver backends and
offers an on-demand development and runtime environment for ABAP as well as a
micro-services-oriented environment for use with technologies based on Java runtimes and JavaScript containers.
Learn more about SAPs Eclipse-based development tools in my article A Guide to SAPs Development Environments for SAP HANA and the Cloud in the January-March 2015 issue of SAPinsider (SAPinsiderOnline.com).

For more on application development using SAP Web IDE, see my article (with Monika Kaiser) SAPFiori
Application Development in the Cloud in the April-June 2015 issue of SAPinsider (SAPinsiderOnline.com).

**

SAP NetWeaver 7.5 to help applications meet

CDSviews, which provide access to the data in

your changing needs include enhancements to

the data model.6

ABAP development functionality, including pro-

The CDS framework has evolved to include

gramming model enhancements via core data

more than 6,000 standard-provided view defini-

services and support for real-time web-based

tions and several hundred thousand lines of code.

communication for IoT use cases via TCP-based

This innovative data layer is critical not only for

protocols, which build on the ABAP channels

efficiently retrieving data, but also for adding

concept introduced in SAP NetWeaver 7.4.

annotations that describe the semantics and use

of the data and its types in different contexts,

Core Data Services (CDS)

such as in the user interface, for analytics, and

Introduced with support package stack (SPS)

in searches. While SAP NetWeaver 7.4 includes

05 for SAP NetWeaver 7.4, the CDS infrastruc-

a wide range of functionality for using CDS, the

ture represents the data layer in SAPs modern

enhancements planned for 7.5 bring additional

business solutions, such as SAP S/4HANA and

features and flexibility.

SAP Business Suite. Supported natively in

For instance, SPS 08 for SAP NetWeaver 7.4

ABAP and SAP HANA, CDS is a framework

introduced support for parameterized CDS

for defining and consuming semantically rich,

views, which allow you to produce context-

reusable data models on the database instead

specific results using parameters for example,

ofthe ABAP server, regardless of the database

system fields such as logon language and logon

platform, enabling a common programming

user that are passed to the view at program

model that can take advantage of innovations

such as in-memory processing. These data
models are defined in ABAP programs as

For more on CDS, see my article Where ABAP Meets

SAP HANA in the October-December 2014 issue of
SAPinsider (SAPinsiderOnline.com).

Subscribe today. Visit SAPinsiderOnline.com.

execution. Think of user interfaces where select-

allows you to join information from custom

ing a logon language defines the language

tables following an association. In addition,

in which text is displayed on the screen. SAP

SAPNetWeaver 7.5 includes a full range of date,

NetWeaver 7.5 adds the ability to pass the actual

time, and timestamp functions for extending

date and time or logon client as parameters, pro-

CDS views, and string functions for the compari-

viding more options for specifying the result set

son and calculation of complex column logic.

of the view depending on the user and system

SAP NetWeaver 7.5 also introduces a

execution context, and avoiding the need for

table functions concept in CDS. With SAP

view generation on the fly.

HANA, database procedures push down data-

SPS 08 for SAP NetWeaver 7.4 also introduced

intensive logic to the database. Table functions

the ability to extend a standard-provided CDS

provide a means to incorporate the pushdown

view with custom fields to customize the data

logic residing in these database procedures

result setit returns. SAP NetWeaver 7.5 expands

into the CDS view abstraction layer, so

on thisfunctionality by enabling you to expose

that you can write more compact and modular

anassociation, follow associations, or evaluate

code. The implementation of a table function

complex expressions containing cast operators

for accessing SAP HANA logic is repre-

in acustom-defined CDS view extension, which

sented by a corresponding SQLScript-based

FIGURE 1 p An example table function definition in the CDS view editor

FIGURE 2 p An example table function implemented as an AMDP in the CDS view editor

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ABAP managed database procedure (AMDP)

proactively sends notifications directly to the

an approach introduced in SPS 05 for

user instead of waiting for a request, eliminating

SAP NetWeaver 7.4 that allows developers to

unnecessary database load and enabling real-time

manage database procedures in ABAP while

communication capabilities. To bring this capabil-

they execute in the database.7 The AMDP

ity to SAP customers, SPS 05 for SAPNetWeaver

framework provides lifecycle and extensibility

7.4 replaced the inefficient polling approach with

support for the implementation.

an infrastructure for event-based communication

Figure 1 shows the definition of an example

using ABAP channels created in SAP NetWeaver

table function (myFlightDates), and Figure 2

Application Server (SAP NetWeaver AS) ABAP.

shows the implementation of this table function

This approach which supports push channels,

as an AMDP (getFlightDates) in the CDS view

messaging channels, and collaboration scenarios

editor. To use the table function, you simply

uses web sockets to facilitate the exchange of

embed a call to it that is, a call to the method

messages between different ABAP sessions and

containing the AMDP representation of the

enable users to collaborate over the infrastruc-

table function in a CDS view similar to how

ture in real time.

you would embed other ABAP artifacts. Once

Figure 3 on the next page illustrates the

embedded, the signature of the procedure (the

basic channel infrastructure. A push chan-

definition of the table function with its import-

nel is an implementation of the web socket

ing parameters and return columns) is included

protocol in SAP NetWeaver AS ABAP that

in the CDS view definition, so that syntax and

allows

type checking can be properly performed.

a change in the systems state to the end

With SAP NetWeaver 7.5, you can also acti-

user by immediately updating the frontend.

vate a CDS view before the implementing AMDP

A messaging channel is a logical channel that

method is available, so that you can prototype

enables ABAP sessions to exchange messages

your functions in an incremental fashion. A quick

using a publish/subscribe model of communi-

fix (pressing Ctrl+1) lets you create the method

cation. A collaboration scenario combines the

from within the CDS definition, so that you dont

push and messaging channels, using a publish/

have to leave the CDS view editor.

subscribe approach to push messages from

the

ABAP

backend

to

propagate

ABAP sessions to the frontend via a web socket

ABAP Channels

connection. This enables chat-like conversations

Many traditional SAP user interfaces are

between two end users, and is already used in

designed to follow a request/response model of

customer relationship management scenarios.

interaction, where one system (for example, the

The ABAP channels are available for use with

user interface client) sends a request to another

both modern user interfaces based on SAPUI5

system (for example, the ABAP backend), which

(SAPs adaptation of the HTML5 standard) as

then sends a response to the request. With this

well as traditional user interface frameworks

approach, if you want to be notified about an

such as Web Dynpro. Channels are defined using

important change, such as a change in a data-

the ABAP Workbench, and can be accessed pro-

base field, you have to trigger a refresh action,

grammatically with an ABAP class-based API,

such as pushing a refresh button on the screen,

with methods for sending and receiving mes-

which is essentially a poll conducted periodically

sages. There are many sample programs that

on the backend to gather changes in the underly-

are standard-delivered with SAP NetWeaver AS

ing database table. This is a time-consuming and

ABAP that can help you master the technology

resource-draining approach that can struggle to

rather quickly.

support highly interactive and collaborative sce-

SAP NetWeaver 7.5 will add further protocol

narios that leverage real-time data.

support for the ABAP channels. For instance, it

In contrast, most modern application devel-

will add the ability to define arbitrary TCP-based

opment follows a more efficient approach that

channels to allow the coupling of the ABAP

For more on AMDPs, see Where ABAP Meets SAP HANA

in the October-December 2014 issue of SAPinsider
(SAPinsiderOnline.com).

stack in IoT scenarios, such as warehousing and

shop floor environments, which will enable the
management of control flow and event handling

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ed
dat

UI

Up

Data
change

User 1

ABAP Messaging
Channel

HTTP

UI
HTTP

ABAP Push
Channel

ABAP Push
Channel

Session A

Data
change

User 2

UI

Session B

Application Server X

Application Server Y
ABAP System

FIGURE 3 p The ABAP channel infrastructure enables real-time message exchange and user collaboration

simultaneously. In addition, the channel infra-

which are identical, both running on SAPs

structure will bring stateful and stateless support

Java virtual machine 6 (JVM6) are supported

for both client and server and will complement

until 2020, keeping pace with new and rapidly

the publish and subscribe models with point-to-

evolving technologies is a compelling reason to

point messaging.

update your Java-based environment to the latest

version, Java 8.

Support for Java 8

To enable SAP customers running Java-based

The speed of innovation, especially in cloud envi-

hubs such as SAP Enterprise Portal, SAP

ronments based on Java, is very high. While the

Process

Java codelines for SAP NetWeaver 7.31 and 7.4

Process Management to update to Java 8

Orchestration,

and

SAP

Business

to take advantage of features such as lambda

expressions for functional programming, an
enhanced collection framework, default meth-

The speed of innovation in cloud

ods, and new tools for profiling and remote

environments based on Java

debugging to ease daily support, the Java stack

is very high. To enable SAP

runon SAPs JVM8, and include support for

customers running Java-based

hubs such as SAP Enterprise
Portal, SAP Process Orchestration,
and SAP Business Process Management to keep pace with

for SAP NetWeaver 7.5 will be optimized to

Java Connector (JCo) 3.0 as well as enhanced
security features.
It is important to keep in mind that updating the Java stack for SAP NetWeaver to Java
8 is a major task to undertake, since all of the
SAP NetWeaver usage types and Java-based
software components are updated during the

new and changing technologies,

SAP upgrade. In addition to updating the SAP

SAP NetWeaver 7.5 will be

NetWeaver AS Java runtime environment, you

optimized to support Java 8.

will need to update SAP NetWeaver Developer

Studio, which is based on the Eclipse platform,
to Eclipse 4.4 (Luna). Updating the Eclipse

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platform then requires updating all of the tool

plugins, such as the Java and Java EE plugins, the
Web Dynpro plugin, the Web Services plugin,

With SAP NetWeaver 7.5,

the Composite Application Framework plugin,

SAP expands the relation-

and so on.
Also be aware that, while updating to the

ship between SAP NetWeaver

Java 8 adaptation of the SAP NetWeaver Java

andthe new and emerging

stack is recommended for customers running

Java-based hubs to protect and optimize their

on-demand platform offerings

software investments, SAP is not repositioning

from SAP.

new Java-based program models in the context of SAP NetWeaver AS Java. The adoption
of newstandards and innovative programming
models are reflected in SAPs in-memory and

multiple software vendors. SAP HANA Cloud

cloud platforms.

Platform will take advantage of Cloud Foundry

ideas and concepts, such ascloud-based polyglot

Enhancements for the Cloud

development and runtime environments, with

Businesses are continuing to push forward

simplified and optimized access to SAP HANA

with cloud adoption, and in keeping with this

and SAP NetWeaver-based solutions.

trend, planned features for SAP NetWeaver 7.5

To further support hybrid deployments, SAP

include enhancements for integration with SAP

is investing significant development effort into

HANA Cloud Platform. Due to the importance

providing an on-premise runtime container

of on-premise landscapes in the SAP installed

forSAP HANA that is designed with Cloud

customer base, SAP does not restrict itself to

Foundry principles in mind and supports Java,

cloud-only models, and for this reason, SAP

JavaScript (node.js), and a compatibility layer

NetWeaver 7.5 includes extended support for

for SAP HANA extended application services

hybrid deployments.

(XS), following the bring your own language

With SAP NetWeaver 7.5, SAP expands the

paradigm. This approach will enable partners

relationship between SAP NetWeaver and the

and customers to develop new solutions based on

new and emerging on-demand platform offer-

innovative technologies such as node.js and will

ings from SAP. In addition to serving as the

also ease the adoption of standards not only in

basis for standard deployments as a platform

on-demand environments, but also in established

for standalone SAP NetWeaver hubs such as

on-premise landscapes.

SAP BW, or as the foundation for enhancement

packages for SAP Business Suite, for instance

Summary

SAP NetWeaver also provides the basis for

SAP NetWeaver 7.4 is a full-featured, reli-

SAP S/4HANA, both the cloud edition and the

able technology platform that has kept pace

on-premise version.

with market trends and customer needs and is

SAP NetWeaver 7.5 will remain an important

widely adopted by SAPs customer base. How-

player in hybrid deployments, extending SAP

ever, emerging business and technology trends

Business Suite and SAP S/4HANA via a micro

around the cloud, big data, and IoT are driving

services-oriented environment offered bySAP

needs that require a new codeline and runtime

HANA Cloud Platform that includes SAP environment to support innovative features
NetWeaver connectivity services. These cloud-

and functionality. To meet these needs, SAP is

based micro services give Java and JavaScript

planning a new SAP NetWeaver release SAP

developers full access to a wide range of back-

NetWeaver 7.5 that will serve as the founda-

end

standard

tion for the next enhancement package for SAP

SAP interfaces and protocols, enabling them

Business Suite and the on-premise edition of

to generate added value in loosely coupled

SAP S/4HANA, and will lay the groundwork for

scenarios. In parallel, SAP joined Cloud Foundry,

the future of application development in your

an open source cloud platform supported by

own organization. n

services

delivered

through

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