When installing SAP Netweaver there was a step to specify the SAP installation export. I want to know what these files contain and what they are used for.
the installation export contains the actual application that is supposed to run on the netweaver platform. This could be SAP ERP, SAP Solution Manager or something else. It is probably called "Export" because technically it is an export of a functioning application environment. If you for instance move your Netweaver installation to another server, you export your application on the old server and import that Installation Export when installing your new netweaver server. For new installations, this installation export is downloaded from the SAP Support website.