SAP Maintenance Planner is a cloud-based solution that helps administrators identify, track, and manage SAP security notes and software updates. It simplifies landscape management by providing direct access to recommended notes—categorized by security, performance, and legal requirements—along with essential vulnerability data like CVE, CVSS, and vector information for each note.
SAP Maintenance Planner serves as the primary tool for planning and administering SAP system landscapes, functioning as the successor to Maintenance Optimizer and Landscape Planner. It maintains a comprehensive inventory of systems, synchronized daily from the SAP Solution Manager Landscape Management Database (LMDB). Beyond basic inventory management, the platform automates the identification of required software packages for upgrades and conversions, including support for S/4HANA migrations. For security management, the tool calculates recommended notes specific to each landscape and provides detailed risk metrics. While it offers a powerful alternative for note management, it has distinct limitations compared to the SAP System Recommendations tool, specifically regarding the discovery of SAP HANA, Web Dispatcher, and platform-related notes. It also lacks integration with advanced lifecycle management tools like Change Request Management (ChaRM) and automated change impact analysis.
Key Takeaways
- Maintenance Planner identifies and tracks required SAP security notes and software updates across customer landscapes.
- It provides critical risk data, including CVE, CVSS, and vector information, for all identified SAP Security Notes.
- Software information is synchronized daily from the SAP Solution Manager LMDB.
- The tool supports lifecycle tracking for notes using configurable processing statuses like “In Progress” or “Not Relevant.”
- It does not identify platform-specific notes like those for SAP HANA or Web Dispatcher.
What is SAP Maintenance Planner?
SAP Maintenance Planner is a cloud solution hosted on the SAP Support Portal that supports the planning and administration of systems in SAP landscapes. It consolidates and simplifies tasks such as system installation, updates, upgrades, and conversions. The platform maintains an inventory of SAP systems, which can be viewed using the Explore Systems tile, and allows for landscape analysis using graphical topologies in Hybrid Landscape Visualization.
Explore Systems provides detailed software information for each system, including product versions, components, stack levels, and dependencies. Software information is sourced directly from the Landscape Management Database (LMDB) in SAP Solution Manager and synchronized daily via the SAP-OSS connection.
How does Maintenance Planner manage security notes?
Maintenance Planner calculates and displays recommended notes for systems in each landscape, which are then managed using the View Recommended Notes tile. The tool supports searching, filtering, grouping, sorting, and exporting results, with the Calculate Notes option displaying relevant updates for selected systems. Notes are grouped by categories, including Security, Hot News, Performance, and Legal Change. For SAP Security Notes, the tool provides specific CVE, CVSS, and vector information.
How do you track the implementation of security notes?
Maintenance Planner tracks the implementation lifecycle of notes using the Processing Status option. Users can assign specific statuses to notes and utilize a Comments field to provide additional information regarding the implementation status.
The following processing statuses are supported:
- Transferring: Note is transferred for implementation.
- In Progress: Note implementation is in progress.
- Not Relevant: Invalid or irrelevant note for the system.
Maintenance Planner vs. System Recommendations
The following table compares the capabilities of SAP Maintenance Planner and System Recommendations regarding note management.
| Feature | Maintenance Planner | System Recommendations |
|---|---|---|
| SAP HANA/Platform Notes | Not identified | Identified |
| ChaRM Integration | No | Yes |
| Change Impact Analysis | No | Yes |
| Lifecycle Management | Basic | Full |
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is SAP Maintenance Planner hosted?
SAP Maintenance Planner is hosted on the SAP Support Portal. It serves as a central hub for planning system installations, updates, upgrades, and conversions within SAP customer landscapes.
How is software information updated in Maintenance Planner?
The software information in Maintenance Planner is sourced directly from the Landscape Management Database (LMDB) in SAP Solution Manager. This data is synchronized daily via the SAP-OSS connection between the customer’s Solution Manager and SAP Support.
Can Maintenance Planner replace System Recommendations for all note management?
While Maintenance Planner provides an alternative for discovering required notes, it does not identify SAP HANA, Web Dispatcher, or platform-related notes. Additionally, it lacks integration with Change Request Management (ChaRM), Usage and Procedure Logging (UPL), and automated change impact analysis, which are available in System Recommendations.