SAP BTP Cloud Platform

Core platform: account model, entitlements, service marketplace, and CLI tooling.

Prerequisites

• SAP BTP global account with at least one subaccount
• Admin or member role on the target subaccount
• btp CLI and cf CLI installed locally

1. Account Hierarchy

Global Account (contract-level)
├── Directory: DEV-DIR (organizational grouping)
│   └── Subaccount: DEV
│       ├── Entitlements (service quotas)
│       ├── CF Org: dev / Space: dev
│       ├── Service Instances (HANA, ABAP, Destination...)
│       └── Subscriptions (Launchpad, Work Zone, Build)
├── Subaccount: PRD
└── Directory: SHARED-DIR

2. Log In with btp CLI (Account Level)

btp login --url https://cockpit.btp.cloud.sap
btp list accounts/subaccount
btp list accounts/entitlement --subaccount DEV

3. Assign Entitlements

btp assign accounts/entitlement \
  --to-subaccount DEV \
  --for-service abap \
  --plan standard \
  --amount 1

Entitlement = what services a subaccount CAN use (assigned from global account). Quota = how much of a plan can be provisioned.

4. Log In with cf CLI (Runtime Level)

cf login -a https://api.cf.us10.hana.ondemand.com -o dev -s dev
cf marketplace                       # list available services and plans
cf services                          # list existing instances

5. Create a Service Instance

cf create-service abap standard my-abap-env
cf create-service hana hana my-hana-db
cf create-service destination lite my-dest

6. Key Marketplace Services

• ABAP Environment — standard / abap_cloud — Steampunk ABAP development
• SAP HANA Cloud — hana — Cloud database
• Destination — lite — HTTP destination management
• Connectivity — standard — Cloud Connector bridge to on-premise
• XSUAA — application — Authentication and authorization
• Application Autoscaler — standard — Auto-scaling CF apps
• HTML5 App Repository — app-host — Host Fiori/UI5 apps
• Job Scheduling — standard — Cron-based scheduling
• Cloud Logging — standard — Centralized logging (OpenSearch)

btp CLI vs cf CLI — When to Use Which

• btp CLI — account management: subaccounts, entitlements, subscriptions, directories
• cf CLI — runtime operations: deploy apps, create/bind services, manage spaces

Pitfalls

• Subaccount region is immutable
  • Cause: Region is set at subaccount creation and cannot be changed later.
  • Solution: Create a new subaccount in the desired region, migrate instances and subscriptions.
• Service creation blocked despite entitlement
  • Cause: CF org quota or space quota may limit service instances independently of entitlements.
  • Solution: Check cf org quota and space quota. Request admin to increase quota if needed.
• Confusion between btp CLI and cf CLI
  • Cause: Both tools operate on BTP but at different layers (account vs runtime).
  • Solution: Use btp for subaccounts/entitlements/subscriptions. Use cf for apps/services/bindings within a space.
• Entitlement assigned but plan not visible in marketplace
  • Cause: Entitlement may not have propagated, or the plan name differs from expectation.
  • Solution: Re-check entitlement in BTP Cockpit. Run btp list accounts/entitlement --subaccount <name>. Allow a few minutes for propagation.
• Directory vs subaccount confusion
  • Cause: Directories group subaccounts but are not billing or runtime entities.
  • Solution: Entitlements and services live on subaccounts, not directories. Use directories only for organizational grouping and bulk entitlement assignment.

Verification

# btp CLI — confirm subaccounts and entitlements
btp list accounts/subaccount
btp list accounts/entitlement --subaccount DEV

# cf CLI — confirm runtime is accessible
cf target                             # should show correct org/space
cf marketplace | grep hana            # service should appear if entitled

# BTP Cockpit — visual confirmation
# https://cockpit.btp.cloud.sap → Global Account → Subaccount → Entitlements