SAP System Landscape — DEV, QAS, PRD Fully Explained

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What is SAP System Landscape?

SAP System Landscape — DEV, QAS, PRD Fully Explained

A simple guide to understanding SAP environments

An SAP System Landscape is the complete setup of different SAP servers (or environments) used to build, test, and run your SAP system. It’s like a highway where every change travels safely before it reaches the live system.

Whether you’re configuring a new business process or developing a custom report — you don’t do it directly in the live system. That’s why we use a structured landscape with 3 main environments:

The 3-Tier SAP Landscape Architecture

DEV ➜ QAS ➜ PRD — Here’s what happens in each

SAP Live Courses

1. Development System (DEV)

This is where all the building happens.
You perform:

  • SAP configuration (e.g., setting up sales processes, material master)
  • ABAP development (custom coding)
  • Unit testing of your changes

Clients in DEV:

  • 800 – Configuration
  • 900 – Unit Testing
  • 700 – ABAP Development

📌 Think of DEV as your lab. Build here, break things, fix, repeat.

sap system landscape
sap system landscape

2. Quality Assurance System (QAS)

Once you’re done building in DEV, it’s time to test.

You perform:

  • Integration testing (Check how your change works with other modules)
  • User Acceptance Testing (UAT) (Get business users to try it out)
  • Training & mock data loads (for practice)

Clients in QAS can be 600, 700, 800, or 900 — depending on what you need.

📌 QAS is your dress rehearsal. Everything should work perfectly before moving to

3. Production System (PRD)

This is the live system. Business runs here every day — real users, real transactions.

You perform:

  • Daily operations (Sales, inventory, finance, etc.)
  • No configuration or testing allowed here

Clients in PRD are typically 800, 900, or 700.

📌 PRD is sacred. You don’t experiment here — this is the real deal.

SAP Transport Requests – Moving Changes Between Systems

In SAP, changes are not manually copied. Instead, they’re moved via Transport Requests (TRs).

Key Tools:

  • SE10: Create and release TRs
  • SCC1: Copy transport requests between clients
  • SE09: Manage transport layers and requests

Some changes (like certain tables or client-specific configs) are non-transportable — these must be set up manually in each system.

📌 Transport Requests ensure your changes flow securely from DEV ➜ QAS ➜ PRD.

Understanding SAP Clients & Cross-Client Objects

  • A client is like a mini version of the SAP system within the same server.

  • You can have multiple clients in one system (e.g., 800 for config, 900 for testing).
  • Cross-client objects (like table structures) are shared automatically across all clients.

📌 This setup lets you test, build, and operate in isolation without mixing data or changes.

Why You NEED a 3-System Landscape in SAP

  • Prevents errors from going straight to production
  • Isolates configuration & development work
  • Enables end-to-end testing
  • Provides a clear, safe path for changes
  • Keeps your live system clean, secure, and fully operational

📌 It’s not a luxury — it’s a necessity for serious SAP projects.