Manual Vs Automatic SLD Configurations

Manual or Automatic? What would you prefer?

While browsing through blogs on Netweaver Portal, I came across one of the blogs on SDN that speaks of SLD configurations. It gives nice step-by-step explanation of configuring the SLD manually. You can read more of this blog here. After reading this blog, I was forced to come up with a post that would talk about difference between Manual Vs Automatic SLD Configurations.

As you may have guessed from this post, there are two approached for configuring the SLD. I don’t know why people still prefer manual configurations at all and how does it makes sense to know every bit of information like SID, installed softwares and what not.  Automatic configuration on the other-hand is extremely easy and time efficient. Even someone one who does not know a damn about technical details can configure it. Like they say, so easy that a sales person could do it.

Manual SLD Configuration:

I won’t criticize this approach but SAP does allows you to configure SLD manually, but at the same time, it also provides all configuration options for editing a automatically configured SLD registry. This approach would ask you to be ready with the crazy data like Installation Number, Message Server Port, Installed Software Components, Application server and so on. So if you would want to configure SLD with this approach, you either has to be a basis guy or would need great contacts in basis team who will bestow you with the information like Installation number. I am not too sure about the configurations and reliability of this approach because I never used it. Yes, I never followed this approach and you are welcome if you can tell us why this approach should be followed?

Automatic SLD Configuration:

Ok, this approach also requires you to be ready with the some data like SAP Gateway Service and Gateway host. Gateway host can be IP address of gateway. Generally, it is the IP address of your backend server. Gateway service needs you to know instance number of backend. Yes, that’ all. Std. format of configuring this parameter is SAPGW<instance number> for e.g. sapgw00

That’s it! Key in this data in the datasupplier and re-start the SLD. I assume here that SLD configurations from R/3 side i.e. RZ10 transaction should be configured and proposal should be generated. Which is by default configured.

With this, you are done. No need of knowing too much of irrelevant data.

So what approach would you use to configure SLD?