In this document you will find the latest information about the SAP kernel such as

Announcements of SP stack kernel deliveries
Other news related to the development, maintenance and usage of the SAP kernel versions 72X (721, 721_EXT, 722, 722_EXT) and 74X (742, 745)

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News

15.07.2016: SP Stack Kernel 745 PL 201 released

SP stack kernel 745 PL #201 is now available on SAP Support Portal.
It fixes two important regressions, which affected all previous Kernel 745 versions lower than PL 211 (excluding 201). Details are outlined in SAP Note 2340627.

Information on known issues in the stack kernel 745 PL #201 can be found in SAP Note 2341597. This note will be updated on a regular basis.

17.06.2016: SP Stack Kernel 745 PL 200 released

SP stack kernel 745 PL #200 is now available on SAP Support Portal.
It contains various improvements and enhancements that are outlined in detail in SAP Note 2299971.

Information on known issues in the stack kernel 745 PL #200 can be found in SAP Note 2317428. This note will be updated on a regular basis.

16.06.2016: NW 7.4 upgrade issues on Windows

1. when common crypto lib starting 8.4.31 till (including) 8.4.34 is in place, upgrade runs into error. For details see item 4 in SAP Note 2200230.

2. On Windows 2008 (w/o R2) on Haswell CPU the SAP Kernel 745 can crash. For details see SAP Note 2330836.

15.06.2016: Kernel 742 PL 414 is not a SP Stack Kernel

By mistake SAPEXE and SAPEXEDB archives have been available for Kernel 742 PL 414 on the support portal for a short time. As PL 414 is supposed to be only a regular patch (and not a stack kernel for which SAPEXE, SAPEXEDB will be published), these packages have been revoked meanwhile and replaced by the corresponding DW packages. Sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused.

14.06.2016: SP Stack Kernel 742 PL 401 released

SP stack kernel 742 PL #401 is now available on SAP Support Portal. It fixes several known issues with the previous version PL 400. For details see SAP Note 2324879.

Information on known issues in the stack kernel 742 PL #401 can be found in SAP Note 2324928. This note will be updated on a regular basis.

07.06.2016: SP Stack Kernel 721 PL 700 released

SP stack kernel 721 PL #700 is now available on SAP Support Portal. It contains various improvements and enhancements that are outlined in detail in SAP Note 2316471.

Information on known issues in the stack kernel 721 PL #700 can be found in SAP Note 2316429. This note will be updated on a regular basis.

18.05.2016: Kernel 722 PL 118 and 742 PL 412 revoked

There are issues with the RFC delta manager inside the kernel. External clients may get stuck. As a precaution the affected kernel patches have been revoked from ServiceMarketPlace. The correction causing the issue has been retracted. A new version of Kernel 722 PL 118 with compile time on May 19th as well as Kernel 742 PL 413 has been published.

28.04.2016: SP Stack Kernel 742 PL 400 released

SP stack kernel 742 PL 400 is now available on SAP Support Portal. It contains various improvements and enhancements that are outlined in detail in Note 2300406.

Information on known issues in the stack kernel 742 PL 400 can be found in Note 2294986. This note will be updated on a regular basis.

14.04.2016: WebGUI issue with Google Chrome Version 50

After updating Google Chrome from Version 49 to Version 50 the Easy Access Menu (start screen) remains empty. We are working on a kernel patch to circumvent this. For details see SAP Note 2305778.

12.04.2016: Potential Issue with Kernel 742 PL 311 - 321 and Kernel 745 PL 25 - 35

In edge cases a select statement may return an unexpected result. For details see SAP Note 2273425.
It is recommended to upgrade to SP Stack Kernel 745 PL 100 or Kernel 742 PL 329 which is the last release candidate before the upcoming SP Stack Kernel 742 PL 400.

17.03.2016: Kernel 745 Released as DCK to Kernels 740, 741 and 742

After an extended validation phase kernel 745 PL#100 has been released as a downward compatible kernel (DCK) to kernels 742, 741 and 740 and can be used instead of these with SAP NetWeaver 7.4. Refer to SAP Note 2251972 for details on installation and usage of kernel 742 as DCK. The release roadmap for 74* kernels is presented in SAP Note 1969546.

17.03.2016: SP Stack Kernel 722 PL 101 released

SP stack kernel 722 PL #101 is now available on SAP Support Portal. It contains various improvements and enhancements that are outlined in detail in Note 2292019.

Information on known issues in the stack kernel 722 PL #101 can be found in Note 2292017. This note will be updated on a regular basis.

18.12.2015: SAP Kernel 721 PL 618 and SAP Kernel 722 PL 20 and PL 21 revoked

As a precaution the Kernel (dw.sar) for 721 PL 618 and 722 PL 20 and 21 have been revoked from the SAP Support Portal.

For further details see SAP Note 2259736. We are working a patch highest priority.

13.11.2015: Heads up on Kernel 745 for NetWeaver 7.4

During Q1/2016 SAP Kernel 745 will be made available as Downward Compatible Kernel for SAP NetWeaver 7.4.

SAP Kernel 745 will eventually succeed SAP Kernel 742 (and 741 and 740).

SAP Kernel 742 will be retired in Q1/2017, one year later than the availability of SAP Kernel 745 as DCK. No more patches will be provided for SAP Kernel 742 after that date.

09.11.2015: SP Stack Kernel 742 PL#300 Released

SP stack kernel 742 PL #300 is now available on SAP Support Portal. It contains various improvements and enhancements that are outlined in detail in SAP Note 2237353.

Information on known issues in the stack kernel 742 PL #300 can be found in SAP Note 2231749. This note will be updated on a regular basis.

16.10.2015: Kernel 722 PL14, PL15 and enserver PL 14 revoked

As a precaution Enqueue Server 722 PL 14 (enserver.sar) and Kernel (dw.sar) 722 PL 14 and PL 15 have been revoked from the SAP Support Portal.
The new patch of the Enqueue Server might not be 100% compatible to older clients (e.g. disp+work PL 13) and the newer disp+work starting PL 14 might not be 100% compatible with old Enqueue Servers (prior patch 14). Standard operations Enque, Dequeue and DequeueAll are NOT affected. Details can be found in SAP Note 2239931

13.10.2015: SP Stack Kernel 721 PL#600 Released

SP stack kernel 721 PL #600 is now available on SAP Support Portal. It contains various improvements and enhancements that are outlined in detail in SAP Note 2214191.

Information on known issues in the stack kernel 721 PL #600 can be found in SAP Note 2214680. This note will be updated on a regular basis.

02.10.2015: issue with Oracle lib_DBSL 722 PL 13

Please do not use patch 13 for the 722 Oracle lib_DBSL

Further details can be found in note 2220724. A fix is expected early next week.

14.09.2015: SP Stack Kernel 741 PL#300 Released

The last SP stack kernel for the 741 kernel version has been released today. Kernel 741 PL #300 can be downloaded from the archive area of SAP Support Portal. Refer to release note 2207362 for information on fixes included in this stack kernel.

As announced previously, kernel 741 has reached its end of maintenance, see note 1969546 for more detail. Future 74* kernel corrections will be delivered through 742 kernel patches.

08.07.2015: SP Stack Kernel 742 PL#200 Released

SP stack kernel 742 PL #200 is now available on SAP Support Portal. It contains various improvements and enhancements that are outlined in detail in Note 2178917.

Information on known issues in the stack kernel 742 PL #200 can be found in Note 2176515. This note will be updated on a regular basis.

07.07.2015 SAP Kernel 741 maintenance

The SAP Kernel 741 reached its end of maintenance, see note 1969546. We will continue to deliver regression fixes during July and a final stack kernel 741 PL#300 in August. After that corrections will be delivered through kernel 742 patches.

12.06.2015 SAP Kernel Archive

SAP Kernels which are out of maintenance like SAP Kernel 720 can be found in the archive https://support.sap.com/software/patches/archive.html

For SAP Kernel 720 the last version is patch level 800. Please read the release note 2158874 - SAP Support Package Stack Kernel 7.20 (EXT) Patch Level 800. Corresponding note for regression found in the future is 2138737.

20.05.2015 SAP Kernel 722 Released

SAP kernel 722 has been released for customers today. The first shipment (Kernel 722 PL#4) can now be downloaded from SAP Support Portal. With this a new release cycle has been established for 72X kernel versions that can be used with all SAP NetWeaver releases 7.00-7.31:

Kernel 720 reached its end of maintenance, no further corrections will be provided for this kernel version
Kernel 721 becomes the standard kernel containing only corrections/bug fixes
Kernel 722 replaces Kernel 721 in its role as Innovation Kernel. Besides regular corrections, new features/enhancements/improvements will be delivered with Kernel 722.

Refer to SAP Note 2133909 for general information on Kernel 722 including new features and current limitations. This note will be updated on regular basis.

Kernel 722 can be applied manually as a kernel patch, see Note 2115344 - Installation of Kernel 722 (EXT) for detailed instructions. Options to apply Kernel 722 during upgrade/update are outlined in Note 2133909.

04.05.2015: SP Stack Kernel 721 PL#500 Released

A new SP stack kernel 721 PL #500 is now available on SAP Support Portal.

SAP Note 2158856 contains the list of changes and enhancements introduced in this stack kernel compared to the previous stack kernel PL #402.

All regressions known in the PL #402 have been fixed.

Review SAP Note 2155366 for known issues in the stack kernel 721 PL #500. This note will be continuously updated.

14.04.2015: Kernel 742 Released as DCK to Kernels 740 and 741

After an extended validation phase kernel 742 PL#101 has been released as a downward compatible kernel (DCK) to kernels 741 and 740 and can be used instead of these with SAP NetWeaver 7.4. Refer to Note 2128122 for details on installation and usage of kernel 742 as DCK. The release roadmap for 74* kernels is presented in Note 1969546.

31.03.2015: SP Stack Kernels 741 PL#201 and 742 PL#101 are delivered

As announced previously, SP Stack kernels for 741 and 742 kernel versions have been updated. 741 PL#201 replaces 741 PL#200 and 742 PL#101 replaces 742 PL#100. New SP stack kernels can be now downloaded from SAP Support Portal, following fixes are included:

Regression in the Oracle DBSL Library (Note 2118448, Point 2 - Termination during secondary database connection; LRAW length error) is removed.
CommonCryptoLib has been updated to the version 8.4.35 (see Note 2134460.)

For more details on 741 PL#201 refer to Notes 2150081 - SAP Support Package Stack Kernel 7.41 Patch Level 201 and 2100429 - Known regressions in kernel 7.41 patch level 201.

Fixes and enhancements in the SP stack kernel 742 PL#101 are listed in the note 2145156. Information on known issues with this stack kernel can be found in the Note 2134238.

19.03.2015: Update on SP Stack Kernels 741 PL#200 and 742 PL#100

The latest SP stack kernels 741 (PL#200) and 742 (PL#100) contain a regression in the Oracle DBSL Library, see Note 2118448 -Termination during secondary database connection; LRAW length error, Point 2.

As a solution you may use the latest ORA lib_dbsl available on SAP Support portal. For kernel 741 on Windows, please be aware of the issue 2142073 - Application server in Windows NT with Oracle does not start.

Updated stack kernels will be provided as soon as possible.

11.03.2015: SP Stack Kernel 721 PL#402 Released

SP Stack kernel 721 PL #402 has been released and can be downloaded from SAP Support Portal. The issues from PL#400 (Note 2118382) and PL#401 (Note 2138260) are fixed.

Refer to Note 2138680 - SAP Support Package Stack Kernel 7.21 (EXT) Patch Level 402 for overview of new features, enhancements and improvements added since PL#300. Known regressions are documented in Note 2138678.

09.03.2015: SP Stack Kernel 742 PL#100 Released

SP stack kernel 742 PL #100 is now available on SAP Support Portal. It contains various improvements and enhancements that are outlined in detail in Note 2136550.

Information on known issues in the stack kernel 742 PL #100 can be found in Note 2129327. This note will be updated on regular basis.

04.03.2015: SP Stack Kernel 721 PL#401 Revoked

SP Stack kernel 721 PL #401 has been revoked from SAP Support Portal for all platforms except for MS Windows because the kernel archives contained some files with wrong versions.

In most cases it is not necessary to replace the kernel in a system running with PL#401 because the issue has a limited impact and does not affect the kernel itself. Details are outlined in Note 2138260.

SP stack kernel PL#402 will be released as soon as possible; this document will be updated accordingly.

06.02.2015: SP Stack Kernel 741 PL#200 Released

A new SP stack kernel 741 PL #200 has been released today and can be downloaded from SAP Support Portal.

For a summary of enhancements and improvements included into this stack kernel, see SAP Note 2101802 - SAP Support Package Stack Kernel 7.41 Patch Level 200.

30.01.2015: SP Stack Kernel 721 PL#401 Replaces PL#400

Current SP stack kernel 721 PL#400 has been replaced with PL#401, see Note 2121693 - SAP Support Package Stack Kernel 7.21 (EXT) Patch Level 401.

It fixes a file permission issue that has a very limited impact:

It occurs with 721_EXT kernel on Windows platforms only
It has no effect at runtime, only for future system maintenance
Workaround is easy.

This means: even if above criteria apply, it is not always necessary to replace already installed 721 kernel PL#400. Refer to Note 2118382 for more information.

Note 2084437 contains the list of known regressions in the stack kernel 721 PL #401. This note will be continuously updated.