You can virtualize an SAP instance using a cluster. Using shared disk and virtual IP addresses, you can manage a large set of SAP Web AS instances in a single cluster.

For multiple instances running concurrently on a single node, the agent must be able to uniquely identify each SAP WebAS instance on that system.

Each instance has a unique instance name. The instance names may follow the conventional form. For example, additional application server instances begin with 'D', and Primary application server instances are typically named DVEBMGS.

Instance names often include an instance ID suffix which is an integer between 00-99. For example, an application server instance with an instance ID = 00 may have an instance name of DVEBMGS00.

The SAPSID and InstName form a unique identifier that can identify the processes running for a particular instance.

Some examples of SAP instances are given as follows:

Differentiating SAP instances is important to identify each instance uniquely. When the agent kills the processes of a non-responsive or failed instance in absence of unique names for each server, the agent may kill processes for more than one SAP instance during a clean operation.