Using Red Hat Insights to streamline SAP server maintenance

⇨ Server downtime in SAP-based systems is a critical issue that can lead to significant monetary loss, necessitating instant resolution and careful maintenance planning.

⇨ Automation solutions, such as Red Hat Insights, streamline the entire lifecycle of SAP-hosting servers, reducing the risk of human error during maintenance and enhancing operational efficiency.

⇨ Red Hat Insights not only automates maintenance tasks but also provides predictive analytics and a centralized dashboard for configuration management, allowing system administrators to focus on delivering higher quality services.

SAP-based systems can be all-encompassing, complex networks of software, apps and solutions. Many SAP-enhanced operations are business-critical; any server maintenance downtime will have a negative impact on business processes. As such, server downtime is a high-priority issue for many organizations – it needs to be solved instantly to avoid monetary loss.

Typically, SAP servers undergoing maintenance require manual configuration. Any patches required for an organization’s operating system, for example, need a detailed and extensively researched plan for which servers are undergoing maintenance, the order in which they are to be maintained, the new software packages being applied as well as a few other important factors. From here, SAP admins need to identify the best window to perform maintenance with the Line Of Business.

As can be common with manual-reliant testing, human errors could result in a software patch in disarray – potentially leading to issues within SAP operations. Automation solutions, however, can help throughout the entire lifecycle of SAP-hosting servers, from Day 1 operations (deployment) to Day 2 operations (operational retirement). Red Hat Insights is one such solution that can help automate and streamline Day 2 operations for Red Hat Enterprise Linux servers, included with all Red Hat Enterprise Linux for SAP Solutions subscriptions.

Through Red Hat Insights, users also get access to a large database of domain expert recommendations for a variety of different SAP workloads. Referring to this database for business operations means Red Hat Insights can carry out predictive analytics – helping prevent some potential programming issues before they have a chance to harm the business.

Red Hat Insights can create a configuration baseline for SAP servers, making it easier to define specific policies for them. System admins can do all this from a dashboard, which could end up reducing the time admins spend defining and managing server compliance by around 30 percent.

Ultimately, the role of the system administrator has changed. Before, their main job role was dedicated to maintenance tasks. Now, with tools like Red Hat Insights helping automate some processes, admins can focus on providing a higher quality of service for clients.