Create and Share a Source Service Instance

This tutorial is service-agnostic and uses SAP Cloud Logging as example. You can use any service whose plan supports standard instance sharing; for a list of supported services and which use service-specific methods instead, see Sharing SAP BTP Services.

Throughout this tutorial, the commands use placeholder values. Replace them with the values for your chosen service:

To find the technical names of services and plans available in your subaccount, run:

btp list services/offering --subaccount <SUBACCOUNT_ID>
btp list services/plan --subaccount <SUBACCOUNT_ID>

Create the source service instance at the subaccount level with the btp CLI (rather than a runtime-specific tool). This way, you decouple the instance from the runtime’s lifecycle, so that disabling the runtime on that subaccount doesn’t affect the service instance.

1. To create the instance, run:

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   btp create services/instance --subaccount <SUBACCOUNT_ID> --offering-name <SERVICE_NAME> --plan-name <PLAN_NAME> --name <INSTANCE_NAME>

2. To verify that the instance was created, run:

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   btp get services/instance --subaccount <SUBACCOUNT_ID> --name <INSTANCE_NAME>

   The output shows the instance details, including its id. You need this value later to establish the reference pointer. You can retrieve it at any time by with this command.

Tip: Some services need configuration parameters at creation time. If your service needs parameters, add --parameters <JSON_OR_FILE> to the create command. Check the service’s documentation for required parameters.

To make the instance available for reference from other scopes, mark it as shared.

Run:

btp share services/instance --subaccount <SUBACCOUNT_ID> --name <INSTANCE_NAME>

This command marks the instance as shared in SAP Service Manager. Also, it makes a new service plan named reference-instance available for the service. When you consume the shared service, you use this plan to create pointers to the shared instance.

1. To confirm that the instance is shared, run:

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   btp get services/instance --subaccount <SUBACCOUNT_ID> --name <INSTANCE_NAME>

   In the output, verify that the shared property is true.

2. To confirm that the reference-instance plan is available, run:

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   btp list services/plan --subaccount <SUBACCOUNT_ID> --offering-name <SERVICE_NAME>

   The output must include a plan named reference-instance. If it doesn’t, verify that the instance is shared and that the service plan supports sharing.

You now have a shared service instance that other scopes can reference. Depending on your target runtime, continue with:

• Consume a Shared Service Instance in Cloud Foundry
• Consume a Shared Service Instance in Kyma.

Question 1: Why is it recommended to create the shared instance using the btp CLI rather than a runtime-specific tool?

• The btp CLI is faster.
• It decouples the instance from any single runtime’s lifecycle. [CORRECT]
• Runtime-specific tools don’t support instance creation.
• The btp CLI automatically shares the instance.

Question 2: What happens when you share a service instance?

• A copy of the instance is created in every space.
• The instance credentials are sent to all subaccount administrators.
• A reference-instance plan becomes available for the service. [CORRECT]
• The instance is moved to the global account level.

Question 3: How do you confirm that the reference-instance plan is available after sharing?

• Run btp list services/plan and check that reference-instance appears in the output [CORRECT]
• Run btp get services/instance and check that shared is true
• Run btp share services/instance again to refresh the plan list
• Check the SAP BTP cockpit under Service Instances