With the release of SAP S/4HANA 2023 a recent innovation for OData V2 maintenance has been delivered.

High level details of this innovation are described in note:

3383515 – From SAP_GWFND 758 version – OData V2 Services created will no longer require service specific ICF node for runtime operation.

From the description this looks like a very simple feature, but we would like to provide some guidance on how this affects customers implementing, upgrading or using SAP S/4HANA.

What does this innovation bring?

The new behavior when activating OData V2 services in transaction /IWFND/MAINT_SERVICE is to set services to ICF Node = NONE, this means that there will be no specific ICF node created for each OData V2 service.

Why is SAP providing this innovation for OData V2 maintenance?

One of the main objectives is to simplify maintenance, with this new option, OData V2 services in the ABAP stack will now behave as OData V4 where ICF node is not needed either, additionally, the expectation is to improve upgrade experience as in some cases ICF nodes were the cause for having issues during an SAP S/4HANA upgrade (for example, incorrect namespace assignments, service deactivation on target system).

Additionally, through this option, in a regular SAP Fiori implementation, after transport of OData services without own ICF node  there is no need to activate ICF node in the target system, meaning OData transport between systems in your landscape is simplified too.

How does this affect me if I upgrade to 2023?

There should be no impact during an upgrade, starting on S/4HANA 2023 ICF node is no longer required, all new service activations in SAP S/4HANA 2023 or higher will be generated with option ICF Node = None (note that this is similar to how OData V2 services are activated in SAP S/4HANA Public Cloud and how OData V4 services are activated in on-premise and private cloud).

In existing services, after the upgrade, you can now simply delete the ICF node.

For a list of known services where deletion of ICF node is not applicable yet, see question: Are there any side-effects for standard OData V2 services in SAP S/4HANA on-premise or Private cloud deployments?

How does this affect SAP Fiori Rapid Activation task lists?

This optimized configuration option affects only the OData V2 services activation starting with SAP S/4HANA 2023.

Starting on SAP S/4HANA 2023, newly created OData services will be created without ICF node. This means that when you use the activation task list to activate a service which had never been activated in your system or it is a new service, in the log of the task lists you will only see text message: “Service: …. created” without any info about the ICF node. This is the case for new implementations or new service activations in SAP S/4HANA 2023.

However, if you are running the activation task list where OData services were previously activated,  in case of existing OData services, the ICF node won’t be touched; but will be activated in case it is inactive. This is the case for system upgrades to SAP S/4HANA 2023.

All Fiori content activation task lists behave the same and support both mixed service activation (with and without ICF node), meaning that the task lists are prepared for both activation concepts out of the box.

Note that task list logic also covers the “Activation Only Mode” in subsequent systems, this should help you activate ICF nodes in subsequent systems if you wish to maintain an specific ICF node for each OData service.

If I deactivate or delete the ICF Node will my service stop working?

Your services will continue to work, with this innovation a specific ICF node is no longer created, and service is linked to generic node ODATA.

How does this look from a maintenance perspective?

In transaction /IWFND/MAINT_SERVICE, in the ICF section, you will see the ODATA node with no status. This does not mean the service is not active rather, it is using the settings from ODATA node instead of a specific ICF node for the service.

How do I deactivate and delete the ICF node for each service?

In transaction /IWFND/MAINT_SERVICE, select the required OData service and in the ICF node section first deactivate the node and then delete.

Is it mandatory to delete the nodes for previously activated services?

No, this is not a mandatory activity and maintaining an ICF node for each service is still allowed, however, it is recommended that once you are in SAP S/4HANA 2023 you make necessary adjustments before your next upgrade to a higher version than SAP S/4HANA 2023.

Are there any side-effects for custom OData V2 services in SAP S/4HANA on-premise or Private cloud deployments?

Custom OData V2 services using soft-state should be replaced by OData V4 implementations

Are there any side-effects for standard OData V2 services in SAP S/4HANA on-premise or Private cloud deployments?

If you are using any of the following services, you should not delete the service specific ICF node:

• MM_PUR_CNTRL_CTR_MAINTAIN_SRV
• MM_PUR_OA_MAINTAIN_SRV
• MM_PUR_PO_MAINT_V2_SRV
• MM_PUR_PR_PROFNL_MAINTAIN_SRV
• MM_PUR_REQ_SSP_V2_MAINTAIN_SRV
• MM_PUR_SCHEDG_AGRMT_SRV
• PPM_PRO_PROJECT_RANKING_SRV
• SCWM_PACK_OUTBDLV_SRV

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