In the context of SAP systems, a transport buffer generally refers to the list of transport requests awaiting import into a specific SAP system. More specifically, as stated in the provided reference, TPBUFFER (tp Transport Buffer) is a standard table in SAP R\3 ERP systems.
The TPBUFFER Table in SAP R/3
According to the reference, the TPBUFFER is identified as a standard table within SAP R/3 ERP systems. This table stores technical details about the "tp Transport Buffer."
- Technical Details: The reference indicates that this table contains specific fields and potentially foreign key relationships linking it to other SAP tables. While the reference doesn't list the exact fields or relationships, its existence as a standard table implies it holds structured data related to the transport process.
The Transport Buffer Concept in SAP
Beyond the specific database table, the term "transport buffer" in SAP's Transport Management System (TMS) refers to a crucial component for managing software changes.
- Purpose: The transport buffer is essentially a queue that holds a list of transport requests. These requests contain development changes (like program code, configurations, dictionary objects, etc.) that have been released from a source SAP system and are ready to be imported sequentially into target systems (e.g., from Development to Quality Assurance, and then to Production).
- Physical Location: The contents of the transport buffer for each SAP system are typically stored in buffer files located on the central transport directory (often shared network storage). The main buffer file is usually named
<SID>BUFFER(where<SID>is the system ID), and there's a domain-wide configuration file calledTP_DOMAIN.CFGthat manages the transport landscape and buffer details. - Management: The transport buffer is managed using SAP transaction codes like STMS (Transport Management System) or via command-line tools like
tp. These tools read and update the buffer files and interact with SAP system components, likely including theTPBUFFERtable, to display buffer contents and execute import processes.
Linking the Table and the Concept
The TPBUFFER table in SAP R/3, as mentioned in the reference, likely serves as the internal SAP system's representation or cache of information related to the external buffer files or the history of transport operations involving those files. It could store details about requests in the buffer, their status, import history, or other relevant data used by the SAP system interfaces (like STMS) to interact with the transport buffer files managed by the tp program.
