The sapstartsrv process is the SAP Start Service, which runs as a service or daemon on the operating system of each server hosting an SAP instance. It is the central component for managing the state of SAP instances. When a command to start an instance is issued (e.g., via the SAP Management Console or the sapcontrol command-line tool), it is the sapstartsrv process that receives this request. It then reads the instance's start profile and initiates the startup sequence by launching the necessary processes, which for an AS Java instance is primarily the jstart process.

A. jstart: This process is started by sapstartsrv. Its role is to start the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) and manage the server nodes, but it does not initiate the overall instance start procedure.

B. saphostexec: This is the main executable for the SAP Host Agent. While it manages host-level tasks and can start sapstartsrv, it does not directly initiate the start of a specific SAP instance.

C. sapcpe: This program is responsible for checking and copying executables from a central share to the local instance directory during startup. It is part of the startup sequence but is not the initiator.

1. SAP Help Portal

SAP NetWeaver Application Server for Java 7.5

"Startup

Operation

and Shutdown of an SAP System": This document states

"The SAP start service sapstartsrv starts and stops the instances on a host... For each instance

sapstartsrv starts the jstart process according to the parameters in the instance profile." This clearly identifies sapstartsrv as the initiator that subsequently calls jstart.

2. SAP Help Portal

SAP NetWeaver Application Server for Java 7.5

"Startup Framework for AS Java": This section details the process flow

explaining that the startup of an AS Java instance is performed by sapstartsrv and jstart. It clarifies that sapstartsrv is the service that receives the external start command and then executes the jstart program to bring up the Java instance.

3. SAP Course TADM12 - SAP S/4HANA Installation and Upgrade

Unit: Starting and Stopping SAP Systems: The course material explains that the SAP Start Service (sapstartsrv) is the key process for starting and stopping any SAP instance (ABAP or Java). It acts as the receiver for commands from administration tools and is responsible for reading the profile and launching the subsequent processes required for the instance type.