Skip to main content

SAP Data Archiving & ILM Roles Overview

SAP Data Archiving & ILM Roles Overview

In the world of SAP, data archiving and Information Lifecycle Management (ILM) are essential for managing data growth, ensuring compliance, and optimizing system performance. But just as important as the tools themselves are the roles and authorizations that govern who can do what.

This guide walks you through the key roles, transaction codes, and best practices for SAP data archiving and ILM.

🔐 Key Authorization Objects

To manage access, SAP uses authorization objects assigned via transaction PFCG. Here are the most relevant ones:

  • S_ARCHIVE – Controls access to archive functions (write, delete, read).
  • S_DATASET – Governs access to logical file paths and file operations.
  • SBTCHJOB / SBTCHNAM – For scheduling and managing background jobs.
  • SADMIFCD – Administrative functions for archiving.
  • S_TCODE – Required for executing archiving transactions.
  • S_PROGRAM – Allows execution of archiving reports.
  • SILMOBJ / SILMSTOR / SILMLKPR – ILM-specific objects for managing policies, storage, and legal holds.

👥 Common Archiving Roles

SAP may not always provide pre-built roles, but here are some commonly used or custom-defined ones:

Role NameDescription
ZARCHIVEADMINFull access to all archiving and ILM functions
ZARCHIVEDISPLAYRead-only access to archive logs and files
ZILMADMINFull ILM object and policy management
ZILMUSERExecutes ILM-based archiving activities
SAPBCSRVARCADMINSAP NetWeaver role for basic archiving services
SAPILMADMINTemplate for ILM administration (customizable)

🔁 Transaction Codes (T-Codes)

Ensure users have access to these T-codes via S_TCODE:

TransactionPurpose
SARACentral archive administration
ILMSTOREADMILM store and storage system management
ILMWORKCENTERILM Work Center (Web UI)
AOBJArchive object definition
SARIArchive Information System
FILELogical file path configuration
WE20Partner profile (for ALE scenarios)

🛠️ Role Design Best Practices

  • Least Privilege: Only assign what’s necessary.
  • Split Duties: Separate write and delete permissions.
  • Enable Logging: For sensitive archiving actions.
  • Audit Compliance: Especially important with ILM.

🧩 ILM-Specific Enhancements

When using ILM, you’ll work with:

  • Retention & Destruction Policies
  • Legal Holds
  • ILM Store Integration
  • Audit-Proof Archiving

These require fine-grained authorizations like:

  • S_ILM_STOR – Storage operations
  • S_ILM_LKPR – Legal case handling

🧪 Sample Role Templates

Here are three hybrid role templates combining SARA and ILM access:

RolePurpose
ZARCHIVEADMINFull admin access to SARA and ILM
ZARCHIVEUSERCan schedule/view jobs, but not delete archives
ZARCHIVEDISPLAYRead-only access to logs and archived data

📌 Final Tips

  • Use SU24 to check default authorizations.
  • Always test in QA before going live.
  • Restrict access to SDATASET and SARCHIVE by object or file path.

Popular posts from this blog

Overview of SAP Authorization Roles for Data Archiving and ILM

SAP Data Archiving & ILM Authorization Roles SAP Data Archiving & ILM Authorization Roles In SAP Data Archiving, proper authorization roles are crucial to ensure users can only access the data and archiving objects they’re permitted to. Below is a list of common authorization roles and objects used in SAP Data Archiving, particularly in ILM (Information Lifecycle Management) and classic SARA-based archiving. 1. Key Authorization Objects for SAP Data Archiving These are the technical authorization objects assigned to roles via transaction PFCG. 2. Common Archiving Roles (SAP Delivered or Custom) SAP doesn’t always deliver pre-built roles for archiving, but you can either create custom roles or base them off templates like these: Role Name Description Z_ARCHIVE_ADMIN Full ac...
Read more

Mastering SAP ILM: Data Archiving Strategies for Compliance and Cost Reduction

Mastering SAP ILM: Data Archiving Strategies for Compliance and Cost Reduction Mastering SAP ILM: Data Archiving Strategies for Compliance and Cost Reduction For many organizations, the move to SAP S/4HANA—and the rise of global data regulations—has turned data archiving into a business-critical activity. SAP ILM (Information Lifecycle Management) isn’t just a compliance safeguard—it’s a proven strategy for managing data growth, reducing TCO, and enabling audit-readiness. Why SAP ILM is a Game-Changer SAP ILM goes beyond traditional archiving by enabling: Policy-driven retention management Granular legal hold enforcement Automated data destruction workflows Metadata tagging and storage governance Strategic Benefits of ILM-Based Archiving Compliance: Ensure data retention and deletion align with regulations like GDPR, SOX, and local tax laws. Cost Optimization: Offload aging data to lower-cost storage to reduce HANA memory and licensing costs. Audit Readine...
Read more

SAP ILM Landscape design

  It is very important for SAP Customer to develop an appropriate approach to management of data lifecycle. In this context retention of data is very important. Retention period should not be longer than necessary (for the purposes for which the data was obtained). When purpose expired / terminated, data should be removed. The SAP ILM (Information Lifecycle Management) solution could be very helpful in data lifecycle management. Key Features: Archiving- Data Archiving is the process where in, huge volume of data is deleted from the system which has not been used for a long time. SAP recommends this process of data archiving to clean up the SAP standard tables, to improve the system performance and usability which yield to shorter response time. a) Cost reduction in terms of memory, hardware/disk and administration. b) Ensures cost efficient system upgrades and migration. c) Improved System performance due to shorter response time. d) Reduction in the cost of maintenance and run of ...
Read more