SAP HANA Deployment and Operations¶

SAP HANA Deployment Methods¶

SAP HANA Installation¶

Installation Options 1. Manual Installation - SAP Software Provisioning Manager (SWPM) - Command-line hdblcm tool - Full control over configuration - Time-intensive

AWS Launch Wizard for SAP
Automated deployment
Best practices built-in
CloudFormation-based
Quick start templates
SAP CAL (Cloud Appliance Library)
Pre-configured solutions
Demo and development systems
Pay-as-you-go
Rapid deployment

Prerequisites

# OS requirements (SUSE/RHEL)
- Supported OS version (check SAP PAM)
- Kernel parameters tuned for SAP HANA
- Storage configured per SAP guidelines
- Network configuration complete

# Storage layout
/hana/data    - 4x RAM (gp3, 16K IOPS min)
/hana/log     - 512 GB min (gp3, high IOPS)
/hana/shared  - 1x RAM
/usr/sap      - 50 GB
/backup       - Database size × 1-2

AWS Launch Wizard Deployment¶

Step-by-Step Process

1. Launch Wizard Selection
   - Choose "SAP HANA database"
   - Select deployment type (single-node, HA, scale-out)

2. Application Settings
   - SAP System ID (SID): 3 characters
   - Instance Number: 00-99
   - Master password
   - HANA version

3. Infrastructure Configuration
   - VPC and subnets
   - Instance type (r5.24xlarge, etc.)
   - Key pair for SSH access
   - Availability Zones for HA

4. Storage Configuration
   - EBS volume types and sizes
   - IOPS and throughput settings
   - Encryption (KMS keys)

5. High Availability (if selected)
   - Secondary instance configuration
   - Overlay IP address
   - Pacemaker cluster setup

6. Review and Deploy
   - Estimated cost
   - CloudFormation stack creation
   - 30-60 minutes deployment time

CloudFormation Template (Simplified)

Parameters:
  SAPSID:
    Type: String
    Default: HDB
    Description: SAP System ID

  HANAInstanceNumber:
    Type: String
    Default: "00"

  MasterPassword:
    Type: String
    NoEcho: true

Resources:
  HANAPrimary:
    Type: AWS::EC2::Instance
    Properties:
      InstanceType: r5.24xlarge
      ImageId: !Ref SUSEHANAImageId
      UserData:
        Fn::Base64: !Sub |
          #!/bin/bash
          # Download HANA installation
          aws s3 cp s3://${InstallationBucket}/HANA2.0/ /hana/install/ --recursive

          # Install HANA
          /hana/install/HDB_SERVER_LINUX_X86_64/hdblcm \
            --action=install \
            --sid=${SAPSID} \
            --number=${HANAInstanceNumber} \
            --password=${MasterPassword} \
            --system_user_password=${MasterPassword} \
            --sapadm_password=${MasterPassword} \
            --batch

  DataVolume:
    Type: AWS::EC2::Volume
    Properties:
      Size: 3072
      VolumeType: gp3
      Iops: 16000
      Throughput: 1000
      Encrypted: true
      AvailabilityZone: !GetAtt HANAPrimary.AvailabilityZone

  VolumeAttachment:
    Type: AWS::EC2::VolumeAttachment
    Properties:
      Device: /dev/sdb
      InstanceId: !Ref HANAPrimary
      VolumeId: !Ref DataVolume

SAP HANA High Availability¶

HANA System Replication Setup¶

Configure Primary System

# Enable system replication
su - <sid>adm
hdbnsutil -sr_enable --name=PRIMARY

# Check replication status
hdbnsutil -sr_state

Configure Secondary System

# Stop HANA on secondary
sapcontrol -nr <instance> -function StopSystem HDB

# Register as replication target
hdbnsutil -sr_register \
  --name=SECONDARY \
  --remoteHost=primary-host \
  --remoteInstance=00 \
  --replicationMode=sync \
  --operationMode=logreplay \
  --online

# Start HANA
sapcontrol -nr <instance> -function StartSystem HDB

Replication Modes | Mode | Description | RPO | Use Case | |------|-------------|-----|----------| | SYNC | Fully synchronous | 0 | Same AZ, HA | | SYNCMEM | Sync memory, async disk | 0 | Cross-AZ, HA | | ASYNC | Asynchronous | >0 | Cross-region, DR |

Monitor Replication

-- Check replication status
SELECT * FROM M_SERVICE_REPLICATION;
SELECT * FROM SYS.M_SYSTEM_REPLICATION;

-- Check replication lag
SELECT SECONDARY_ACTIVE_STATUS, REPLICATION_STATUS_DETAILS 
FROM M_SERVICE_REPLICATION;

-- Shipping delay
SELECT SHIPPED_LOG_POSITION_TIME, LAST_LOG_POSITION_TIME
FROM M_SERVICE_REPLICATION;

Pacemaker Cluster Configuration¶

Install Cluster Software (SUSE)

# On both nodes
zypper install -y -t pattern ha_sles
zypper install -y SAPHanaSR SAPHanaSR-doc

# Initialize cluster (primary node only)
ha-cluster-init \
  --name=hana_cluster \
  --interface=eth0 \
  --unicast

# Join cluster (secondary node)
ha-cluster-join -c <primary-ip>

Configure SAPHanaSR

# Set cluster properties
crm configure property stonith-enabled="true"
crm configure property stonith-action="off"
crm configure rsc_defaults resource-stickiness="1000"
crm configure rsc_defaults migration-threshold="5000"

# Create SAPHana resource
crm configure primitive rsc_SAPHana_HDB_HDB00 ocf:suse:SAPHana \
  op start interval="0" timeout="3600" \
  op stop interval="0" timeout="3600" \
  op promote interval="0" timeout="3600" \
  op monitor interval="60" role="Master" timeout="700" \
  op monitor interval="61" role="Slave" timeout="700" \
  params SID="HDB" InstanceNumber="00" \
  PREFER_SITE_TAKEOVER="true" \
  DUPLICATE_PRIMARY_TIMEOUT="7200" \
  AUTOMATED_REGISTER="true"

# Create virtual IP resource
crm configure primitive rsc_ip_HDB_HDB00 IPaddr2 \
  params ip="10.0.20.100" \
  meta target-role="Started"

# Create cluster colocation
crm configure colocation col_saphana_ip_HDB_HDB00 2000: \
  rsc_ip_HDB_HDB00:Started \
  msl_SAPHana_HDB_HDB00:Master

# Commit configuration
crm configure commit

STONITH with AWS

# Install AWS CLI and configure
pip3 install awscli

# Create STONITH resource
crm configure primitive stonith_hana_primary stonith:external/ec2 \
  params tag=pacemaker \
  profile=cluster \
  pcmk_reboot_timeout=300 \
  op monitor interval=120 timeout=60

crm configure clone fencing_hana_primary stonith_hana_primary

Test Failover

# Crash test on primary
echo c > /proc/sysrq-trigger

# Verify automatic takeover
crm status
hdbnsutil -sr_state

# Manual takeover
crm resource move msl_SAPHana_HDB_HDB00 <secondary-node>

Backup and Recovery¶

AWS Backint Agent¶

Benefits - Direct backup to S3 - Compression and encryption - Lifecycle policies - Cost-effective

Installation

# Download AWS Backint Agent
aws s3 cp s3://awssap-backint-agent/aws-backint-agent-latest.tar.gz /tmp/

# Extract
cd /tmp
tar -xvzf aws-backint-agent-latest.tar.gz

# Install
cd aws-backint-agent
./install.sh -i <HANA-SID>

# Configuration file: /opt/aws/backint/hdbbackint.cfg

Configuration File

[aws]
aws_access_key_id = <from IAM role>
aws_secret_access_key = <from IAM role>
region = us-east-1

[backup]
bucket = sap-hana-backups
prefix = HDB/backups/
max_channels = 4
compression_level = 6
encryption = SSE-S3

[log]
level = INFO
file = /var/log/aws-backint.log

Backup Commands

-- Full backup
BACKUP DATA USING BACKINT ('COMPLETE_BACKUP');

-- Differential backup
BACKUP DATA DIFFERENTIAL USING BACKINT ('DIFF_BACKUP');

-- Incremental backup  
BACKUP DATA INCREMENTAL USING BACKINT ('INCR_BACKUP');

-- Log backup (automatic, but can be triggered)
BACKUP LOG USING BACKINT;

-- Check backup status
SELECT * FROM M_BACKUP_CATALOG ORDER BY ENTRY_ID DESC;

Backup Schedule

# Create backup script
cat > /usr/sap/HDB/backup/full_backup.sh << 'EOF'
#!/bin/bash
source /usr/sap/HDB/home/.sapenv.sh
hdbsql -u SYSTEM -p <password> -d SYSTEMDB \
  "BACKUP DATA USING BACKINT ('FULL_$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)')"
EOF

# Add to crontab
crontab -e -u <sid>adm
# Daily full backup at 2 AM
0 2 * * * /usr/sap/HDB/backup/full_backup.sh

Recovery Procedures¶

Point-in-Time Recovery

-- Stop HANA
sapcontrol -nr 00 -function StopSystem HDB

-- Recover to specific time
RECOVER DATA USING BACKINT 
  UNTIL TIMESTAMP '2024-01-15 14:30:00' 
  CLEAR LOG 
  CHECK ACCESS USING FILE;

-- Start HANA
sapcontrol -nr 00 -function StartSystem HDB

Recovery from S3 Backups

# List available backups
aws s3 ls s3://sap-hana-backups/HDB/backups/

# Restore specific backup (if needed manually)
aws s3 cp s3://sap-hana-backups/HDB/backups/COMPLETE_BACKUP_databackup_0_1 \
  /hana/backup/data/

# HANA will use Backint automatically during recovery
hdbcons "recover data"

Performance Monitoring¶

HANA Monitoring Tools¶

SAP HANA Studio - Graphical interface - Real-time monitoring - SQL console - Administration tasks

SAP HANA Cockpit - Web-based interface - Multi-system monitoring - Alerts and diagnostics - Resource utilization

SQL Queries for Monitoring

-- CPU usage
SELECT HOST, USAGE_PCT 
FROM M_HOST_RESOURCE_UTILIZATION 
WHERE MEASURE_NAME = 'CPU';

-- Memory usage
SELECT HOST, USED_PHYSICAL_MEMORY, FREE_PHYSICAL_MEMORY, TOTAL_MEMORY
FROM M_HOST_RESOURCE_UTILIZATION;

-- Disk I/O
SELECT HOST, SUM(TOTAL_READS), SUM(TOTAL_WRITES)
FROM M_VOLUME_IO_TOTAL_STATISTICS
GROUP BY HOST;

-- Long-running queries
SELECT STATEMENT_STRING, EXECUTION_TIME, CPU_TIME
FROM M_ACTIVE_STATEMENTS
WHERE EXECUTION_TIME > 60000
ORDER BY EXECUTION_TIME DESC;

-- Table sizes
SELECT TABLE_NAME, DISK_SIZE, MEMORY_SIZE_IN_TOTAL
FROM M_TABLE_PERSISTENCE_STATISTICS
ORDER BY MEMORY_SIZE_IN_TOTAL DESC
LIMIT 20;

CloudWatch Integration¶

HANA CloudWatch Metrics

import boto3
import subprocess

cloudwatch = boto3.client('cloudwatch')

def publish_hana_metrics():
    # Get HANA metrics via SQL
    cpu_usage = get_hana_cpu()
    memory_usage = get_hana_memory()

    # Publish to CloudWatch
    cloudwatch.put_metric_data(
        Namespace='SAP/HANA',
        MetricData=[
            {
                'MetricName': 'CPUUtilization',
                'Value': cpu_usage,
                'Unit': 'Percent',
                'Dimensions': [
                    {'Name': 'SID', 'Value': 'HDB'},
                    {'Name': 'Environment', 'Value': 'Production'}
                ]
            },
            {
                'MetricName': 'MemoryUtilization',
                'Value': memory_usage,
                'Unit': 'Percent',
                'Dimensions': [
                    {'Name': 'SID', 'Value': 'HDB'},
                    {'Name': 'Environment', 'Value': 'Production'}
                ]
            }
        ]
    )

# Schedule with cron
# */5 * * * * python3 /scripts/publish_metrics.py

CloudWatch Alarms

Resources:
  HANAHighCPUAlarm:
    Type: AWS::CloudWatch::Alarm
    Properties:
      AlarmName: HANA-High-CPU
      MetricName: CPUUtilization
      Namespace: AWS/EC2
      Statistic: Average
      Period: 300
      EvaluationPeriods: 2
      Threshold: 80
      ComparisonOperator: GreaterThanThreshold
      Dimensions:
        - Name: InstanceId
          Value: !Ref HANAInstance
      AlarmActions:
        - !Ref SNSTopic

  HANAHighMemoryAlarm:
    Type: AWS::CloudWatch::Alarm
    Properties:
      AlarmName: HANA-High-Memory
      MetricName: MemoryUtilization
      Namespace: CWAgent
      Statistic: Average
      Period: 300
      EvaluationPeriods: 2
      Threshold: 85
      ComparisonOperator: GreaterThanThreshold

Patching and Maintenance¶

HANA Patching Strategy¶

Patch Types 1. Support Package Stack (SPS) - Major updates (annually) - New features - Requires downtime - Test thoroughly

Revision Updates
Security patches
Bug fixes
Monthly/quarterly
Minimal downtime
Hot fixes
Critical issues
Applied as needed

Patching Process

# 1. Download patch from SAP Support Portal
# 2. Upload to S3
aws s3 cp SAP_HANA_DATABASE100_122_45_Linux_on_x86_64.SAR \
  s3://sap-software/patches/

# 3. Download to HANA server
aws s3 cp s3://sap-software/patches/SAP_HANA_DATABASE100_122_45_Linux_on_x86_64.SAR \
  /hana/patches/

# 4. Extract SAR file
SAPCAR -xvf SAP_HANA_DATABASE100_122_45_Linux_on_x86_64.SAR

# 5. Run hdblcm as sidadm
su - hdbadm
cd /hana/patches/SAP_HANA_DATABASE
./hdblcm --action=update --sid=HDB

# 6. Verify version
HDB version

# 7. For HA, repeat on secondary after replication sync

Maintenance Windows¶

Plan Maintenance

# Create maintenance plan script
cat > /scripts/maintenance.sh << 'EOF'
#!/bin/bash
# Pre-maintenance checks
echo "Starting maintenance at $(date)"

# 1. Notify users (via email/slack)
/scripts/notify_users.sh "Maintenance starting in 30 minutes"

# 2. Stop all application servers
for server in $(cat /config/app_servers.txt); do
  ssh $server "su - <sid>adm -c 'sapcontrol -nr 00 -function Stop'"
done

# 3. Backup HANA
su - hdbadm -c "hdbsql -u SYSTEM -p <pwd> 'BACKUP DATA USING BACKINT'"

# 4. Perform maintenance (patch, reboot, etc.)
# ...

# 5. Start HANA
su - hdbadm -c "HDB start"

# 6. Start application servers
for server in $(cat /config/app_servers.txt); do
  ssh $server "su - <sid>adm -c 'sapcontrol -nr 00 -function Start'"
done

# 7. Verify systems
/scripts/health_check.sh

echo "Maintenance completed at $(date)"
EOF

Migration to AWS¶

SAP Migration Options¶

1. Homogeneous Migration (Same OS/DB) - Backup/restore - Storage replication - Minimal changes

2. Heterogeneous Migration (Different OS/DB) - SAP DMO (Database Migration Option) - Combines migration and upgrade - Zero downtime options

3. SAP S/4HANA Conversion - Convert ECC to S/4HANA - Use DMO with system conversion - Data cleanup during migration

Migration Tools - SAP Software Update Manager (SUM/DMO) - AWS Application Migration Service (MGN) - CloudEndure Migration - SAP LT Replication Server

Migration Steps

1. Assessment
   - Current landscape documentation
   - Sizing for AWS
   - Cost analysis

2. Planning
   - Migration strategy selection
   - Cutover planning
   - Rollback procedures

3. Preparation
   - AWS account setup
   - VPC and networking
   - Install AWS tools
   - Create S3 buckets

4. Test Migration
   - Migrate to test environment
   - Validate functionality
   - Performance testing
   - User acceptance testing

5. Production Migration
   - Final sync
   - Cutover window
   - Production go-live
   - Hypercare support

6. Post-Migration
   - Decommission source
   - Optimize AWS resources
   - Documentation update

Exam Tips¶

HANA Deployment¶

Launch Wizard: Fastest deployment method
Manual: Full control, time-intensive
Prerequisites: OS tuning, storage layout
Installation: hdblcm or SWPM

High Availability¶

HSR modes: SYNC (HA), ASYNC (DR)
Pacemaker: Automated failover
Overlay IP: Virtual IP for failover
Test failover regularly

Backup & Recovery¶

Backint Agent: Direct S3 backups
Backup types: Full, differential, incremental, log
Recovery: Point-in-time using Backint
S3 lifecycle policies for cost optimization

Operations¶

Monitoring: HANA Studio, Cockpit, CloudWatch
Patching: SPS, revisions, hot fixes
Maintenance: Plan windows, backup first
Migration: DMO for database change, backup/restore for homogeneous

Common Scenarios¶

HA Setup: SYNC HSR + Pacemaker + Overlay IP
DR Setup: ASYNC HSR to different region
Backup: Daily full to S3 with Backint
Performance: Monitor CloudWatch, optimize queries
Patching: Test on non-prod, patch secondary first in HA