1. Why Background Processing?
Reasons for Background Processing
Reducing load on dialog workprocesses
Scheduling regular activities B D
Dispatcher vs
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
Dialog work processes are intended for dialog processing. For this reason, the duration of a dialog step is limited. Background processing is intended for operations that require a longer time to run.
Background processing is also suitable for activities that are scheduled to run regularly, for example database backups or financial evaluations.

2. What is a Background Job?
A job consists of one or more steps
A job step is one of the following:
ABAP program (maybe with variants)
external command
external program
One job is processed by one background workprocess
Job 2
Job 3
Step 1
Step n
A job can be triggered
There are 6 priorities:
Class A job with target server
Class A job without target server
Class B job with target server
Class B job without target server
Class C job with target server
Class C job without target server
high 12 6 7 8 9 10 11 1 2 3 4 5
by time
Priority
A background job consists of one or more steps. A step can be:
An ABAP program
An external command
An external program
Each job is processed without interruption by a single background work process.
A job can be triggered to run:
At a predefined date and time
At the occurrence of a predefined event
Background jobs can be prioritized as:
Class A (high priority)
Class B (medium priority)
Class C (low priority)
Jobs allocated to target servers have higher priority than untargeted jobs.
by event
low

3. Defining a Job Using the Job Wizard
Transaction SM36
Job Wizard
General job
information
Define
a step
Define
start conditions
Task flow
The Job Wizard is an easy way to create a job.
Step-by-step dialog screens guide you through the process.
You can use the navigation buttons go back to previous steps.
On the last screen, you will see what you have defined before you save
Start condition of a job could be one of th
1.) immediately - meaning as soon as pos
2.) based on exact date time assignment
3.) after another job
4.) after an event
5.) when a certain operation mode switch
Immediately
Date/time
After job
After event
At operation mode switch
Start on workday
Job not released
Job view
Congratulations!
You have successfully defined a job. Choose 'Done' to actually create the job in the system.
You can also choose 'Back' to revise the job definition or Cancel' to cancel the whole process.
Here is the job you have defined:
Job name : GULP
Job class : C - LOW PRIORITY
Target server :
To define a new job, use transaction SM36. From Release 4.6A, you can use the Job Wizard to define new jobs as follows:
Specify job name, class, and optional target server
Define a job step (a step can be an ABAP program, external command, or external program)
Add further steps (if necessary)
Start condition (time or event based)
Complete the definition
The Job Wizard allows you to go back and make changes at any point during the definition process.
Back Complete Cancel

4. Start Conditions of a Job12
Time based 11 1
Event based 10 2 9 3 8 4 7 6 5
Immediate
once or periodically
if periodic, exceptions possible
At Date/Time
On chosen workday (per month)
After event
once or periodically
with or without parameter
After job
status dependent
At change of operation mode
Job 1
Job 2
Day
Night
The start conditions of a job can be time based or event based.
Time based:
Immediate
At date/time
On a chosen workday (defined as a certain workday per month)
All time-based start conditions can be periodic. That is, a job can be performed at regular, defined time intervals. Days that are not workdays can be treated as exceptions.
Parameter rdisp/btctime specifies the time interval of the job scheduler.
Event based:
After event (optional parameters can be used to further specify events) These can be periodic. That is, the job can be triggered every time the event occurs.
After job (this can depend on the status of the previous job)
At change of operation mode (for example, between day and night)
Parameter rdisp/btcname specifies which application server handles events triggered from within R/3.
rdisp/btctime
rdisp/btcname

5. Executing Programs as Job Steps
R/3 System
External Command
ABAP Program
External Program
No selection screen
With selection screen
predefined within R/3
Operating system
Command
Parameters
Any command on
Operating System
level +
Variant
sapxpg
sapxpg
A job step can be any one of the following.
ABAP program Any ABAP program that generates a list can be used as a job step. If the program includes a selection screen, you must create a variant before you can let it run in the background. A variant is the result of assigning definite values in the fields that appear in the ABAP program selection screen. The list is stored in the R/3 spool system. When you define the step, you can set the print parametsrs (for example, output device) and a spool list recipient (this is a SAPoffice addressee).
External command An external command is any non-R/3 program, script, or command that is executed at operating system level. Since these commands are defined in R/3 by the system administrator, the administrator use R/3 authorizations to limit the scope of the commands and their availability to R/3 users.
External program An external program is also any non-R/3 program, script, or command that is executed at operating system level. The system administrator has not previously defined these programs in R/3 and no check is made for critical or dangerous programs.
In the latter 2 cases, the programs are called up at the operating system level by program sapxpg. The programs are processed
synchronously (job waits for termination of the external program) or
asynchronously (next job step is processed immediately).
The output (stdout and/or stderr) of the external program can be taken up in the job log.
External Program
External Program
Operating System

6. Status of a Job Scheduled Change job Released Ready Active Monitor
Job log
Spool list
(only for ABAPs)
The job status can be any of the following:
Scheduled: job is created but has no start condition
Released: job is completely defined and waiting for selection
Ready: job has been selected for execution
Active: job is being executed by a background work process
Finished: the entire job has been successfully executed
Canceled: job terminated with problems
As long as a job has status scheduled or released, it can still be changed.
If execution of a job has already started, its progress can be monitored in the job log. If the job contains ABAP programs, their output is stored in spool lists.
To create the steps of a new job from an existing job, choose Copy.
Finished
Canceled
Use Copy
to create a new job

7. Operation Modes: Concept
NIGHT
Background
processing 12 9 6 3 11 1 7 5 8 4 2 10
Dialog
processing 12 9 6 3 11 1 7 5 8 4 2 10
BTC
DAY
Typically, customers require more dialog processes during the day and more background processes during the night. To adjust the proportions of the various R/3 work processes to suit different phases of system activity, you can:
Maintain the instance profile and restart the system (for unusual changes)
Define operation modes and use the operation mode switch (for daily changes)
Operation modes optimize system resources for different phases of system activity. Operation mode switching reconfigures your R/3 System dynamically, so you do not need to change the instance profiles for your server and you experience no system downtime.
An operation mode configures the use of resources for all the instances in your R/3 System based on:
The services or work processes you need
The time interval you choose

8. Job Monitoring: Text Form
Job overview and
path to more details
Spool list
Job log
Selection
criteria
Status
… Job details
Double-click
on line for ...
To monitor jobs, call transaction SM37. From Release 4.6A, the initial screen offers an extensive range of selection criteria. For example, you can select jobs by specifying one of their steps. To list event-based jobs, you must specify an event.
This job list presents the user selection at the top of the screen. The ABAP List Viewer (ALV) is used to display the list and enables you to store multiple display variants.
From the job overview, you can navigate to various detailed job-related views:
The job log enables you to monitor the progress of a job.
The spool list contains the output of ABAP programs, if any.
Job details include the job definition, execution time, and background work process number.