Learn and share on deeper, cross technology development topics such as integration and connectivity, automation, cloud extensibility, developing at scale, and security.
Are you a Developer or Basis Administrator? Have you heard about ABAP Platform Tial 1909 yet? If you are interested in the SAP world, you probably have. Although I have the impression that not everyone has already heard about this initiative. So it's worth repeating the information again and writing a few words about the technical details.
ABAP Platform Trial
ABAP Platform is the technical base of the S/4HANA system. It can be said that ABAP Platform is to S/4HANA what Netweaver was to SAP ERP and other ABAP systems. So what is ABAP Platform Trial 1909? It is the foundation of the S/4HANA 1909 system, along with the HANA 2.0 database, perfectly wrapped in a docker image. What's more, the SAP Cloud Connector is also included, in case anyone would like to experiment with the BTP platform.
ABAP Platform Trial 1909 was released in mid-2023. One may wonder why it is not based on a newer version of the system. However, when you consider what you might need the system for, you will quickly come to the conclusion that this version is probably sufficient. Many new features have been introduced in this version, and it is likely that the features you would like to test are implemented there.
Who is it for?
Well, just whom is this product for? The target group is mainly developers. This great environment allows them to test new technologies, learn new techniques, test their ideas completely independent of their employer's environment. Besides, as we know, there are many companies using systems older than S4/HANA 1909, so it can be assumed that some will be able to test technological innovations not yet available on their system.
I think a somewhat underestimated group of recipients are Basis administrators. ABAP Platform Trial gives a really wide range of possibilities to test different configurations. Even when we have a sandbox at work, we can't always use it freely. Besides, a lot of people depend on the changes made on the real system directly. Here we can quickly create a completely clean system, accessible only to one person, and configure it at will. We can change parameters, test different types of connections, introduce restrictive parameters related to encryption. Complete freedom.
Both groups additionally have one thing in common - the need for continuous development. ABAP Platform Trial is a great place to learn. If you are preparing for some technical exam, this is a perfect product for you.
Docker image
Using a Docker image makes installing and running a very simple and quick process. You don't need a Basis engineer to do it. You can easily run the docker container on Windows, Linux or Mac. With a modern configuration you should be able to do it even on your laptop. In my opinion, however, this is not the best possible option. You have to remember that you will be sharing the resources needed to run the container with your computer. With today's configurations, this may not be the biggest problem, but it is worth noting that ABAP Platform Trial has quite a lot of requirements - 4 CPU, 16GB RAM and 130-170GB disk. 32GB of RAM is recommended. In addition, the system will have to be stopped whenever you turn off your laptop.
Mini-PC challenge
In my opinion, a much better option is to install ABAP Platform Trial on a separate computer. A recent favorite of mine is mini-PC based on the Intel N100 processor. Hardware that meets the minimum requirements of ABAP Platform Trial can be purchased for just over $100 (as of December 2023).
If you are interested in the walk-through installation process and whether such a system runs smoothly, I invite you to watch the video.
It's a great post and an interesting approach. I definitely appreciate any type of "what if I try this?.." explorations more than "how to set up something on SAP BTP" or "create OData service using some obsolete approach" posts. 🙂
But I have a serious issue with the blog title, sorry. This is absolutely not "your own S/4HANA sandbox". The video toys with "S/4HANA-like", which is somewhat questionable and link-baitey but at least not completely inaccurate.
I bet soon you will be inundated with questions like "I'm trying SELECT * FROM VBAK and it's not working" or consultant wannabes asking where to maintain business partners. I would urge you to correct the title before it happens.
To those who don't understand why I'm getting all worked up: ABAP Trial system only contains the bare bones of an SAP system that is sufficient to support ABAP development. There is no application component at all, so if you are a functional consultant trying to learn how to do things in S/4HANA business process wise, this environment will not help you. It is, however, adequate environment for the developers and Basis admins, I have no disagreement with the author here.
On the main point, I agree with you. I must confess to a somewhat click-bait title. Only that I try to be very honest with the reader. In addition to the question mark in the title, I literally from the first sentences write that this is an ABAP Platform Trial, who it is for, and what the difference is between this product and S/4HANA. I also say right away in the video that the product does not contain any business logic, and later in the video I also explain the differences.
Yes, I admit, this is a purposeful tiny click-bait. It seems to me that ABAP Platform Trial, an otherwise great product, suffers from one drawback. If you didn't see what it's called, and you searched for it, there's a good chance your thoughts and search would go to S/4HANA sanbox, not ABAP Platform Sandbox.
I hope readers will forgive me for my intentional, but immediately clarified, subtle misleading title. 🙂
And yes, I think ABAP Platform is perfect for Basis Administrators and only very good for developers, for the reasons you mentioned. You just have to know the limitations.
You could've just written "HANA sandbox" and it would've been accurate... HANA is there, S/4HANA is not.
Those looking for S/4HANA would want to have business component. This ABAP Trial will not be helpful to them, why get their hopes up? Sorry, I really don't get all these mental gymnastics to justify inaccurate title...
Correct, while following this logic I might as well write Linux Sandbox, because after all, the lion's share of Linux is in the image. The problem is, that's not what people are looking for. And HANA can easily be installed in the Express Edition, for people looking for HANA itself, the Platform Edition Trial is not needed.
I simply look at the product from the point of view of a Basis administrator, which I am. For me, ABAP Platform is the very essence of S/4HANA. Anyway, I honestly think this is unfair. Basis has been given a really great, robust tool, even a dream tool. Developers, can also celebrate. Module consultants, on the other hand, were not so lucky. Or I just don't know the right product for them. And sure, I wish there was such an available image with full S/4HANA, but I also understand SAP's reasons for not making it available. Nevertheless, I'm happy with what is there and that's why I'm trying to tell people about it. And I try to be honest.
Thank you ! This worked a treat. I upgraded my RAM to 32GB on my Lenovo Mini PC and ran a Debian Linux inside VMware on Windows and completed the rest of the steps.
@sheldondes0uza I'm interested in trying this on windows, but I'm confused about your statement "ran a Debian Linux inside VMware on Windows" - so you run SAP on Docker on Debian on WMware on windows?
Doesn't Docker desktop run directly on windows, so you could cut out Debian and WMware?
That is a very nice technical article, albeit the title is misleading. ABAP Platform Tial 1909 will get you ABAP tools to play around and get a test of what ABAP development is. However it will not get you S/4HANA, with all its business applications.
You must be a registered user to add a comment. If you've already registered, sign in. Otherwise, register and sign in.
