SAP Basis

ADM100 Lesson: Data Structure of SAP Systems and System Landscapes
As the repository objects are cross-client, we recommend that you do not
develop in a system at the same time as you are working in it productively,
as this carries a danger of possible data inconsistency. If you are making
changes to the repository, we recommend that you use at least two, but
ideally three separate systems. One system for development, a second
system for tests and quality assurance, and a third system in which you
work productively: a system landscape of three systems.
A three-system landscape allows you to use the following, recommended
procedure: You develop your own programs and perform the required
Customizing in the development system. The Customizing settings that
you make and all changes to the repository (developments, corrections,
modifications) are recorded in the development system and then
transported to the quality assurance (or “Test”) system, and are checked
there without influencing production operation. All objects and settings
imported into the test system can then be transported to one or more
production systems after a successful test.
Different clients can be created for different purposes in one system. If
you perform client-dependent Customizing in a development system that
you want to check before transporting it to other systems, a test client in
the development system can be useful. Clients with specified roles are
usually created in each system: A development client in the development
system, a client for testing in the quality assurance system, and a client
for productive work in the production system. The clients should have
an identical ID, as far as possible, as the following rule applies during
transporting: Source client = Target client.
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