Delay software update feature of integration suite was released in the middle of year 2022 to delay cloud integration runtime update by 1 week. You can refer the help documentation for details. However, with May 2023 release – 6.39.x, we have enhanced the feature to display the cloud integration runtime version for the better clarity and transparency.
In this blog, I will give a short overview on delay software update and recent enhancement.
What is the delay software update?
Delay software update is a self-service feature for the tenant administrator in cloud integration capability of the Integration Suite tenant to delay the monthly increment by 1 week. The delay in update affects only the Cloud Integration runtime. Cloud Integration design time gets updated without any delay. Delay software update feature is available across all the editions of the Integration Suite tenant except Basic, Trial and SuccessFactors. For more information about different service plans, editions and their supported feature set, see SAP Note 2903776.
Why delay software update?
The goal of delay software update is to mitigate the risk of business disruption which may cause due to the monthly increments in the productive tenants. To achieve this, configure delay update in the productive tenants and consume the regular updates without delay in the test tenants. This will allow one week to test the new increment in the test tenants. It will mitigate the risk of business disruption caused by any probable regressions for custom built integration flows in the productive tenants. If any disruption is noticed in the test tenant, mitigate the same to SAP via the incident management system. Make sure to tag “Regression” in the incident so that it can be handled appropriately by SAP.
How to use delay software update?
You must be aware that the configuration to switch on/off delay software update is available in the tenant settings view of the integration suite tenant. This feature is available only for the tenant administrator. The role collection required is PI_Administrator. By default, the delay software is switched off in the integration suite tenant.
Image 1: Delay software update feature in the tenant settings of Integration suite tenant
To safeguard the productive tenant from any business disruption, you should switch on the delay software update feature which will delay the cloud integration runtime update by 1 week. Please note, 1 week delay is fixed.
Go to the Settings view of the integrations. You will notice a tab “Software Updates”. Switch on the delay. Some important points which is worth to consume.
- If you enable the delay software feature before an update is triggered by SAP, then the delay is effective in the current update cycle, and you will notice a scheduled date as well.
- If you enable the feature after an update is triggered by SAP, then the delay is effective only from the next update cycle. The currently triggered update from SAP happens without any delay.
In the below scenario, delay software is switched-on in the production tenant before an update is triggered by SAP and hence 1 week delay is applied in the current update cycle.
Image 2: Delay software update is switched-on in the production tenant.
You should not enable delay in the integration suite test tenant. Since delay software is switched-off in the test tenant, regular updates will be applied without any delay of 1 week.
Image 3: Delay software update is switched-off in the test tenant
Since your production tenant is delayed by 1 week and test tenant had consumed the regular update, you can validate the integration scenarios in the test tenant. This way, you get a 1-week time to validate the new increments in your test tenants. If any probable issues identified during the validation, mitigate the same to SAP via the incident management system.
In due course after 1-week, delayed software will be updated on the productive tenant and new increments will be available for the consumption. This way you can safeguard your productive tenant from any potential issues.
How to view Cloud Integration Runtime version?
After you delay the software update in the productive tenant and consume the regular update in the test tenant, you can easily compare the cloud integration runtime version in these tenants.
To check the Cloud Integration Runtime version, you can follow the steps.
- In the SAP Integration Suite home page, on the top-right corner, choose your profile button.
- Choose About.
The software build numbers of SAP Integration Suite and the activated capabilities come up.
The production tenant will be on the older version of the cloud integration runtime as delay software was applied. Additionally, information icon will be visible which depicts the delay software along with the scheduled date.
Image 4: User profile in the top right of integration suite tenant.
Image 5: About dialog displays the cloud integration runtime version along with information icon in the productive tenant.
Image 6: Information popover displays the scheduled update along with the date in the productive tenant.
Test tenant on the other side will be on the newer version of the cloud integration runtime as delay software was not applied.
Image 7: About dialog displays the cloud integration runtime version in test tenant.
In nutshell, Cloud integration runtime version display in the About dialog will help to confirm that the delay is applied on the productive tenant, and it is on the older version of cloud integration runtime, however test tenant on the latest version.
FAQs
- In which editions of Integration suite tenants, delay software update is available?
- All the editions of Integration suite tenant except basic, trial and SuccessFactors.
- Can I delay the patch update?
- Delay is applicable only on the monthly increment. Patch update will be applied regardless delay software feature is switched on/off.
- What happens if there is a pending delayed update and new patch is available?
- Delayed update will be skipped, and patch update gets applied without delay.
- What should be the next steps if issues are encountered while validating the integration scenarios in the test tenant?
- Report a ticket to SAP via the incident management system. Tag the ticket as a “Regression” to get an appropriate attention.
- What will happen if delay software is switched on before a monthly update is triggered by SAP?
- Software delay is effective from the current update cycle.
- What will happen if delay software is switched on after a monthly update is triggered by SAP?
- Delay is effective only from the next update cycle.
- Which component is delayed via the delayed software update?
- Only cloud integration runtime is delayed.
- Can I delay cloud integration design time component?
- No, delay software is applicable only to cloud integration runtime.
- Can I delay the update beyond 1 week?
- No, delay is fixed which is 1 week.
- Which role collection is required to switch on/off Delay software update?
- Role collection – PI_Administrator is required.
- Which persona can delay the software update in the integration suite tenants?
- Tenant administrator having PI_Administrator role collection.
- Is the delay software update available in the Cloud Integration Standalone NEO and CF environment.
- No, the delay software update is available only in the integration suite tenant.
- Which role collection is required to visualize cloud integration runtime version in the integration suite tenant?
- All the users who shall be having bare minimum PI_Read_Only role collection.
- Can I see the Cloud Integration runtime version even though delay software update is not enabled?
- Yes, cloud integration runtime version is visible in the integration suite tenant regardless delayed sofware update is switched off/on.
Note
In the Integration Suite tenant where delay is enabled, new design time increments might not be available for consumption owing to dependency on the runtime. In certain cases, the new design time increments might be consumable but deploying them can lead to runtime errors. In either case, we recommend you consume the new design time increments only after the Cloud integration runtime update is applied after 1 week delay.
Hope you are benefited with this feature. Please experience the delay software update and share your experience and feedback.
