SAP Basis

Unit 7: Working with the Transport System ADM100
SAP systems differentiate between client-dependent and cross-client
Customizing. Cross-client Customizing includes the public holiday
calendar, or settings for the transport domains and system changeability.
Figure 65: Client
SAP systems are divided into business units, in clients. A client is a
self-contained unit in commercial, organizational, and technical terms in
an SAP system and consists of business settings (Customizing), its own
master and transaction data, and its own user data.
A client’s data is described as client-dependent or cross-client data.
Client-dependent data types are closely interdependent. Thus, when
application data is entered, the system checks whether the data matches the
client’s Customizing settings. If there are inconsistencies, the application
data is rejected. Application data is therefore only meaningful in business
terms in the relevant Customizing environment.
Examples of client-dependent Customizing are company codes and
business settings such as plants, warehouses, and so on.
Client-dependent data is data that is only valid in that client. This includes,
for example, material master records, orders, and invoices.
User data and authorizations are also client-dependent.
Various client roles are used in an SAP system. A Customizing client
is required for the client-dependent Customizing in the development
system. In test systems, a client is created for test purposes (“Test” role); in
production systems, a client for productive work. You can use transaction
SCC4 to assign the roles to the clients.
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