Purpose
A modern computing environment consists of
a number of hardware and software components that depend on each other with
regard to installation, software updates, and demands on interfaces. The SAP
System Landscape Directory (SLD) simplifies the administration of your
system landscape.
The SLD is a server
application that communicates with a client application by using the
Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). The SLD server contains
component information, a
landscape description, and a
name reservation, which are based on the
standard
Common Information Model (CIM). The CIM
standard is a general schema for describing the elements in a system
landscape. This standard is independent of any implementation.
Features
The component description provides
information about all available SAP software modules. This includes version
numbers, current patch level, and dependencies between landscape components.
SAP makes this information available to its customers. You can download the
current component description from SAP Service Marketplace, which then
updates your local component description (see SAP Note 669669). It is also
possible to add instances for third-party components to the component
description.
The system landscape description represents
the exact model of an actual system landscape. Together with the current
component description, the system description provides information for
various processes (the system administration and implementation, for
example).
The example below shows a possible scenario
that illustrates how the component and system landscape description
functions.
Example
On the left-hand side of the following
graphic is the master description for all existing SAP software modules. SAP
maintains this information. The local component description on the
right-hand side (client side) can be updated in accordance with the master
description.
An installed mySAP.com component is
registered in the System Landscape Directory. The component description
contains information about the installed components. If, for example, a new
Support Package is available for this component, SAP publishes this
information using the master description. In this way, the customers receive
all the latest information relevant for their system landscape promptly.
