In SAP system, a patch is used to fix a bug. There are different types of patches that can be used in SAP system. All patches start with SAPK followed by patch type.

The following are the four different types of patches −

ABAP (SAPKA620XXXX)
BASIS (SAPKB620XXXX)
HR (SAPKE470XXXX)
APPLICATIONS (SAPKH470XXXX)

A patch follows this structure SAPKA <Rel><No>

Patches are also called support packs and they should be applied in the following sequence −

BASIS (SAPKB620XXXX)
ABAP (SAPKA620XXXX)
HR (SAPKE470XXXX)
APPLICATIONS (SAPKH470XXXX)

Support Packages and Add-ons

As the name suggests, support packages are used to fix the bug and to improve the quality of SAP system. Support package implementation and administration is done with Transaction Spam (Support Package Manager). Each support package is valid for one release and Support Package Manager ensures that all support packages are applied in a specified order.

Support packs are applied in the above mentioned order Basis > ABAP > HR > Applications. It is not necessary that Basis and ABAP patch levels should be same but SAP recommends that they should be at the same level. Generally, Basis and ABAP should be applied together however to apply one first, it should be Basis.

All support packs are applied with client 000. Support packages should be imported at regular intervals to avoid errors and to keep system landscape up to date.

There are different types of support packages available −

SPAM Update − A SPAM Update contains updates and improvements to Support Package Manager (SPAM) and Add-On Installation Tool.
Component Support Package − This contains improvement for one software component such as SAP Basis, SAP HR or SAP APPLICATIONS and to update repository and dictionary objects.

The following table shows some naming conventions for Support Packages −

Software Component	Name
SAP_APPL	APPL Support Package
SAP_BASIS	Basis Support Package
SAP_ABA	Application Interface Support Package
SAP_HR	HR Support Package
SAP_BW	BW support Package

Conflict Resolution Transport − This is used to adjust the support packages on add on. A CRT for one release also contains adjustment for earlier releases of this add-on.

Requirements to Implement Support Package

A support package is always implemented on client 000 and user should have an authorization equivalent to DDIC or SAP.

To implement a support package, use transaction code SPAM. You can check if any previous package is in progress or is incomplete. If there is an incomplete support package, you cant proceed with the implementation of a new one.

Note − Transport directory /usr/sap/trans should have enough space.

Support Package and Stack Update

You can download support package from SAP Service Market place. Open the link service.sap.com and login with your SID.

Go to SAP Support Portal from the dropdown → Software Downloads

Go to Support Packages and Patches under software downloads. Now, go to Software Downloads.

Download the support package and save in OS level Transport directory /usr/sap/trans

Uncompress the file- sapcar xvf <support package name>

You can see .ATT and .PAT files in Transport directory.

To load the support package from application Server, use transaction code SPAM. Support Package → Load Packages → From Application Server

Or you can also load it from Front End in case it is < 10 MB. The support packages which are in the form of .car will be decompressed into eps/in directory.

If the size of the Support Package is greater than 10mb, then copy the support packages to /trans directory as above and uncompress to .ATT and .PAT files.

SPAM Update

You can also update Support Package Manager and Add-on installation tool. This should be performed before any support package upgrade.

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