Landscape Data: SLD, LMDB & Maintenance Planner

How does each type of system register with the SLD?

How often should SLD content be updated, and what's notable about applying an update?

What replaced the Maintenance Optimizer, and when are customers required to use it?

What is the key output of the Maintenance Planner, and what tool consumes it to execute the planned upgrade?

What role does the System Landscape Directory (SLD) play in an SAP landscape?

What's the trade-off between having SolMan read a central/remote SLD versus using an SLD bridge?

When deciding where to run the SLD, what makes putting it on SolMan's own Java stack the preferred choice — and when is the decision trivial?

How does an SLD bridge keep landscape updates flowing while SolMan is down?

You're tempted to manually edit Software in the LMDB — why is that usually the wrong move?

Your Basis team hits a wall calculating the software needed for an upgrade in the Maintenance Planner — where do you look first?

How does the LMDB in Solution Manager relate to the SLD, and what does the LMDB require from the SLD?

Trace the data flow from an SLD data supplier through to SAP — where does the information land along the way?

What changed about the LMDB's responsibilities in 7.2 versus earlier releases?

Your SLD doesn't recognize a freshly installed S/4HANA 1709 — why, and what fixes it?

What is the LMDB, and why does bad LMDB data cause trouble everywhere downstream?