Fixing Time-Outs and Long-Running ABAP Reports

Slow ABAP reports and TIME_OUT runtime errors are a common source of frustration for SAP users, and the culprit is usually a custom Z program. This paper explains why reports slow down over time and the techniques that fix the majority of performance problems.

Key Takeaways

• Most long-running reports are custom ABAP programs that were never optimized or have been modified many times
• Raising the time-out limit is a temporary fix: the report will time out again as the database grows
• Database access is almost always the main issue: optimize data retrieval and avoid nested SELECT statements
• Use SE30 and the SE38 Extended Program Check and Code Inspector to find the bottlenecks
• Sometimes the best answer is a rewrite, a split into separate reports, or a different tool such as a BW cube

The Dreaded TIME_OUT Error

Reports that used to take seconds now take minutes, and a much-anticipated month-end report that used to chug away for a while instead returns the dreaded "ABAP Runtime Error", with TIME_OUT and "Time limit exceeded". It's a common scenario for many SAP customers.

More often than not, the culprit is a custom-written ABAP program: the giveaway is the "Z" at the start of the program name.

Common Causes of Long-Running Programs

• The ABAP program was not properly optimized. It may run quickly at first, but slows down over the years as the volume of data grows.
• A report started out simple, but modification after modification over the years turned it into a "Frankenstein" report that strays far from what the original was designed to do.
• Reports designed years ago may have been coded without optimization functionality available in more recent versions of SAP. Optimizations are often possible after SAP upgrades.

Why Not Just Allow Longer Run Times?

One way to stop a report timing out is to ask your Basis team to change system parameters to allow longer run times. This might get the report running again for a while, but it's not a permanent solution. We don't recommend it: the report is sure to time out again as the database grows, and longer run times can degrade system performance.

Solutions

Fixing a report's performance takes some ABAP expertise, and the solution depends on the underlying cause and the program's specific logic. These tips and techniques fix the majority of problems: