# SAP ECC Support Package Stack (SPS) Update Checklist > Source: https://netray.co/tools/sap-ecc-support-package-stack-update-checklist > Publisher: Netray (netray.co), AI and integration engineering for ERP and manufacturing systems. > Section: Free Tools ## Short answer A checklist for applying a support package stack to SAP ECC 6.0: decide, prepare, apply with SUM or SPAM, adjust modifications and validate. ## Category sap ## Erp SAP ECC 6.0 ## Audience - SAP Basis administrator - ABAP developer - SAP security administrator ## Tool **Kind:** checklist **Groups:** #### Decide **Items:** Decide between single SAP Notes, a full SPS update or an EHP upgrade; write down why Check SAP's SPS schedule for your EHP and pick a stack that has been out long enough for side-effect notes to appear Review the side-effect and known-issues notes for the target SPS Review security notes from SAP Security Patch Day (second Tuesday of each month) and check which the SPS already contains **Text:** Agree the target SPS for the whole landscape so DEV, QAS and PRD end up identical **Critical:** true #### Prepare **Items:** Calculate the stack in Maintenance Planner, including add-ons, and download the stack XML and files Place the packages in the EPS inbox (/usr/sap/trans/EPS/in) or the SUM download directory **Text:** Import the latest SPAM/SAINT update before any other package **Critical:** true Check whether the stack needs a newer kernel or a higher DB client and plan that change Load packages and check the queue in SPAM; confirm prerequisites and add-on conflict resolution packages (CRTs) Estimate SPDD and SPAU effort from the DEV run and list modified objects Check SM13, SMQ1/SMQ2 and open background jobs before the import **Text:** Take and verify a backup before the import **Critical:** true #### Apply **Items:** **Text:** Use SUM for a full stack that includes kernel or many components, as SAP recommends; use SPAM for smaller component updates **Critical:** true Book a downtime window sized from the DEV and QAS runtimes, with buffer **Text:** Import in landscape order DEV, then QAS, then PRD, using the same queue or stack XML **Critical:** true Adjust dictionary modifications in SPDD when prompted and record them in a transport Watch for SPAM phase errors (for example TEST_IMPORT, DDIC_ACTIVATION or XPRA_EXECUTION) and resolve from the logs before continuing #### Post-processing **Items:** Adjust modifications in SPAU and enhancements in SPAU_ENH In SPAU, reset SAP Notes now included in the SPS and reapply those that are still valid **Text:** Register the SPDD and SPAU adjustment transports so QAS and PRD reuse them instead of manual adjustment **Critical:** true Run SGEN for the updated components Review profile parameters in RZ10 that the stack notes recommend changing Release blocked background jobs and confirm standard jobs run #### Validate **Items:** **Text:** Run the regression test pack in QAS before PRD **Critical:** true Test RFC destinations, IDoc flows and external interfaces Check ST22 and SM21 after the import and during the following days Confirm System > Status shows the target levels for every component Record runtimes and issues for the next stack **Scoring Note:** Critical items cover the mistakes that cause failed imports or a landscape out of sync: no SPAM update, different stacks per system and manual adjustment in production. ## Content **Intro:** This checklist covers applying a support package stack (SPS) to SAP ECC 6.0, from choosing the stack to validating production. It separates the decision (note, SPS or EHP), preparation, the import with SUM or SPAM, modification adjustment and testing. **Sections:** #### Types of update in SAP ECC **Body:** There are three levels of change. A single SAP Note, applied with SNOTE, fixes one issue. A support package or support package stack brings the components to a newer patch level without new functionality; this is the routine SP upgrade in SAP and also the main channel for security fixes. An enhancement package upgrade (for example EHP6 to EHP8) brings new software versions and new business functions you may activate. A component upgrade, such as moving one add-on to a new release, sits between these. The checklist is for SPS updates; for EHP upgrades use the EHP8 readiness checklist. **Bullets:** - SNOTE: one correction, quick, but many notes become hard to manage - SPS: tested combination of support packages for all components - EHP: new versions, done with SUM #### SUM or SPAM **Body:** SPAM (transaction SPAM, Support Package Manager) imports support packages for ABAP components in queues. SUM (Software Update Manager) handles full stacks, kernel switches and EHP upgrades, and offers downtime-minimised options. SAP recommends SUM for applying complete stacks; SPAM remains common for smaller updates to individual components. In both cases, first import the latest SPAM/SAINT update, because older versions of the tool may not handle newer packages correctly. #### Worked example: security-driven SPS **Body:** A plant's ECC 6.0 EHP7 system has 40 security notes applied with SNOTE over two years. The team chooses a recent SPS for EHP7, checks that it contains most of those notes, and calculates the stack in Maintenance Planner. In DEV the SPAM update goes first, then the queue. SPDD shows four dictionary objects and SPAU 60 objects, most of them notes that SPAU resets because the SPS now contains them. The adjustments go into two transports. QAS and PRD use the same queue, and the registered transports apply the adjustments automatically, so PRD downtime is close to the measured import time. #### Common mistakes **Body:** Skipping the SPAM update. Importing different stacks into DEV and PRD because a new SPS appeared in between. Re-doing SPAU manually in production instead of reusing the adjustment transports. Forgetting that some stacks require a newer kernel. Treating Patch Day notes as optional because an SPS is planned in six months. Not testing interfaces, which are where side effects of support packages usually appear first. **Cta:** If you want your Basis team to ask ECC about component levels, open notes and job health in plain English on your own servers, we can set that up. **Faq:** #### What is an SP upgrade in SAP? **Answer:** It is applying support packages, usually as a support package stack, to bring SAP components to a newer patch level. It fixes errors and security issues and adds legal changes, but does not add new business functions the way an enhancement package upgrade does. #### Why must I update SPAM/SAINT first? **Answer:** Newer support packages can rely on features of the latest Support Package Manager version. Importing them with an older SPAM can fail or behave unpredictably, so SPAM shows a warning if a newer SPAM/SAINT update exists. Import it first in each system, then load your queue. #### How do security notes relate to support packages? **Answer:** SAP publishes security notes on Patch Day, the second Tuesday of each month. Each note lists the support packages that contain the fix. You can apply urgent notes with SNOTE now and pick them up permanently with the next SPS, when SPAU will let you reset the note corrections. #### Do I adjust SPAU again in QAS and PRD? **Answer:** Not if you set it up properly. Collect the SPDD and SPAU adjustments in transport requests in DEV and mark them for reuse. When the same queue is imported in QAS and PRD, SPAM or SUM offers the adjustment transports and applies them, which keeps systems consistent and downtime shorter. ## Search terms sp upgrade in sap, sap support package stack update, sap security upgrade steps, component upgrade in sap, sap erp upgrade and update guide, types of upgrade in sap, spam update steps, sap support package checklist --- Talk to an engineer: https://netray.co/contact?intent=erp_ai | Machine catalog: https://netray.co/agent/catalog.json