Demystifying SAP HANA Development

[Former Member]

Demystifying HANA Development.

What are the SAP Education courses that will provide me with the needed information specific to my role in my organization?

 

Co-author: Quincy Mark Anderson.

 

SAP HANA is not just an in-memory database. It is a sophisticated packaging of required and optional components designed to meet the different needs of customers.  It all starts with the SAP HANA Platform Edition which is composed of several components the most important of which is of course the SAP HANA Database (DBS). The DBS combines the implementation of a Database Management System (DBMS), and the Database (DB) it manages.  Access to the database, such as create, read, update, and delete (CRUD) operations is managed by the DBS.

What makes the DBS so revolutionary is the achievement of innovations that come from both hardware and software evolutions over the past quarter century.  From a hardware perspective the DBS takes advantage of advanced multi core architectures built around 64 bit ( as opposed to 32 bit ) microprocessors and multiple cores per blade.  This alone achieves speed gains of almost 200 times what was previously available.  But we get even more gains when software innovations are applied.  Modern servers are able to have up to 4 TB of memory which allows entire databases to be held in memory.  Column In-Memory tables that use specially designed compression algorithms allow faster selection along with faster execution of calculations and aggregations.  Partitioning allows SQL operations to be executed by multiple cores in parallel.  Insert on delta allows the DBS to perform updates more efficiently without any loss of transaction integrity or isolation.  This revolutionary design results in so much performance improvement to the DBS that our entire notion of application development has been rethought and redesigned to take advantage of it.  Terms and changes such as “no need for Indexes”, “code to data”, “minimize data transfer – results only” will now be standard lexicon for developers and will be the dominant philosophy that we will use in the next phase of application development.  It’s like moving from the Mesozoic (middle) Era to the Cenozoic (new) Era.

The main question for a developer, database administrator, security administrator, modeler or system architect will be: what course will provide me with the needed information specific to my role? If you look at the SAP Education offerings you’ll realize that there are 13 different SAP HANA courses provided. What course should I take?  We’ll break it down role by role.  You’ll note that all roles require our foundation course HA100.

 

First we’ll look at the Project Leader \ System Architect role.  Professionals in these roles will take classes that give them the “the big picture” so they can make good project and architectural decisions.

 

Role: SAP HANA System Architect and/or Project Leader:

1. HA100 – SAP HANA – Introduction

This course will provide you with a great introduction to SAP HANA, its architecture, the development tools, basic modeling, and security.

Find out the different methods of Data Provisioning for SAP HANA:

1. Uploading data from flat files


2. Using SAP Data Services to connect to SAP ECC and SAP HANA


3. How to replicate data into SAP HANA with SLT Replication Server


4. SAP Direct Extractor Connection


5. SAP Sybase Replication Server


6. Smart Data Access

 

Understand Data Consumption in SAP HANA:

1. Preview Data using SAP HANA Studio


2. External Connectivity Methods


3. Use SAP Business Objects Analysis


4. Use the SAP Business Objects Design Studio


5. Analyze data with SAP Lumira


6. Read SAP HANA data using the XS Engine

 

2. HA350 – SAP HANA – Data Provisioning

The content of this course will provide you with the knowledge needed to implement data provisioning and data transformation for your SAP HANA project.

Trigger-based replication with SAP Landscape Transformation

ETL based data provisioning using SAP Data Services

Connecting SAP HANA to data sources using SAP HANA Smart Data Access

Real-time data loading using Smart Data Streaming

ETL based loading using Smart Data Integration and Smart Data Quality

SAP HANA Direct Extractor Connection

Fundamentals of SAP Replication Server

 

 

Next we’ll look at the System Administrator.  Administrators are responsible for installing, configuring, monitoring, and maintaining SAP HANA Platform Edition instances.

 

 

 

Role: SAP HANA System Administrator

1. HA100 – SAP HANA – Introduction

A System Administrator would typically use the SAP HANA Administration Console perspective.

The Administration Console perspective of SAP HANA Studio is used by SAP HANA Administrators to administrate and monitor the entire SAP HANA system.

You’ll understand the HANA System Views, such as Security folder. It will be here where System Administrators will define users and roles. Also, the Provisioning folder related to the Smart Data Access where you can combine data from different sources with data of the SAP HANA tables.

You’ll learn about the System Monitor View and the Administration View that will allow you to administer and monitor one or multiple SAP HANA systems.

 

2. HA200 – SAP HANA Installation & Operations

This is the most important course for the SAP HANA System Administrators.

You’ll learn everything needed to prepare installation, perform the installation, and follow the post-installation steps.

Also, you’ll identify the SAP HANA Roadmap and Scenarios, work with administration tools for SAP HANA, starting, stopping and configure SAP HANA.

You’ll learn what are the periodic tasks you should execute, deal with transporting changes, backup and recovery, and doing a database copy.

Monitoring and troubleshooting imply knowledge of configuring traces, use of SQL Console, run query analysis, and monitor using Solution Manager.

As a System Administrator you will maintain users and authorizations implementing security, authentication, encryption and auditing.

Also, you’ll manage SAP HANA continuous availability, scale out, disaster recovery and learning about administration of multitenant database containers.

 

3. HA240 – Authorizations, Security and Scenarios

This is a specific course about security. You’ll learn about:

Creation of authorizations, users and roles

Encryption options

Authentication and SSO options

Overview of SAP GRC Governance Risk and Compliance and SAP NetWeaver Identity Management integration with SAP HANA

Reusing of BW authorizations for SAP HANA applications

Introduction to SAP HANA Live Authorization Assistant

 

4. HA250 – Migration to SAP HANA using DMO

This course has been designed for technical consultants and administrators who will plan a migration to SAP HANA Database using the Database Migration Option (DMO). The course covers the most important tasks for an SAP HANA administrator for the combined update and migration of an SAP system to the SAP HANA database. Furthermore, it provides details about the preparation of the procedure and technical details of the process.

This course provides a step by step exercise how to prepare and start this kind of migration. The exercise covers the DMO specific steps. After this course the participants are well prepared for a successfully migration to SAP HANA.

5. HA350 – SAP HANA – Data Provisioning

The content of this course will provide you with the knowledge needed to implement data provisioning and data transformation for your SAP HANA project.

Learn the concepts and how to do the following:

Trigger-based replication with SAP Landscape Transformation

ETL based data provisioning using SAP Data Services

Connecting SAP HANA to data sources using SAP HANA Smart Data Access

Real-time data loading using Smart Data Streaming

ETL based loading using Smart Data Integration and Smart Data Quality

SAP HANA Direct Extractor Connection

Fundamentals of SAP Replication Server

 

Now we’ll look at the Developer role.  Developers will be responsible for designing and implementing the applications that are powered by the SAP HANA Platform.  From the modeling of information models, to the creation of stored procedures with SQL, to the development of the GUI, a wide variety of courses are available.

 

 

Role: SAP HANA Developer

1. HA100 – SAP HANA – Introduction

 

2. HA150 – SQL and SQL Script Basics for SAP HANA

To access database artifacts in SAP HANA database, you need to know the SAP HANA SQL, and the SAP HANA programming language SQLScript It is built on a foundation of standard ANSI SQL, and it extends the standard considerably, in part to better support the column and in-memory store nature of SAP HANA.

Learn about reading data from a table, view, or multiple tables, use aggregation functions and SAP HANA functions, changing data in tables, create Functions and Procedures, defining data access and deal with database transactions.

 

3. HA300 – SAP HANA – Implementation and Modeling

Here are some of the concepts provided by this course:

Explain differences between the SAP HANA join types and know when to use which type of join when connecting tables

Explain how to use union on datasets and union with constant values

Describe the different types of information views

Explain how to model a Star Schema-like view with Analytic Views and Attribute Views

Decide whether to use a Calculation View

Create Attribute Views and time-based Attribute Views

Create standalone text tables

Use base table aliases

Describe the different types of Calculation Views

Explain the benefits of each type of node in Calculation Views

Create and combine nodes in Calculation Views in the most relevant way

Use Calculation Views specific features to enhance its flexibility

Use Hierarchies

Overview of the SAP BI Tools that Support SAP HANA Hierarchies

Filtering Data, Using Variables and Input Parameters, and Implementing Currency Conversion

Describe SAP HANA Live and Understand the Virtual Data Model

Implement Full Text Search and Text Analysis

Work with Geospatial Data

Develop Predictive Models

Learn about Security in SAP HANA modeling and optimization of Models

 

4. HA400 – ABAP Programming for SAP HANA

If you’ll use SAP HANA as a secondary or primary database from any SAP Application part of Business Suite, such as ECC, CRM, SRM, SCM, or PLM, then you’ll use ABAP programs running on the SAP NetWeaver Application Server to access data stored in SAP HANA database.

You will be introduced to the ABAP Development Tools (ADT) and work with it.

You’ll learn when you can use Open SQL to access SAP HANA native artifacts and when you’ll need to use SAP HANA SQL.

If you are preparing to migrate to SAP HANA, you’ll use the guided performance analysis creating a prioritized worklist using the new tools provided by SAP development.

The New, Extended OPN SQL is introduced and you’ll have the ability to use it also next to new ABAP statements and techniques.

You’ll learn about the ABAP artifacts for HANA, such as Core Data Services

(CDS) Views, and ABAP Managed Database Procedures. Also, you’ll learn about

accessing native HANA views and database stored procedures via ABAP Dictionary External Views and Database Procedure Proxies.

And more, for example using SAP HANA Full Text Search and the ABAP List Viewer (ALV) with Integrated Access to SAP HANA.

 

5. HA450 – Application Development for SAP HANA

SAP HANA can be used as a standalone system. This course will introduce you to development of software applications running on the SAP HANA Platform.

This course is the natural starting point to learn "Native" software development for the SAP HANA Platform. "Native" means "independent from the ABAP world", that is the whole application runs based on the SAP HANA platform, no NetWeaver Application Server is used.

You’ll learn about the different parts of a software application native to SAP HANA, such as:

User Interface

Database

client-server communication services

Analytical layer

At the end, you will be able to code simple but fully functional SAP HANA Software Applications.

Part of the Contents of the course are the following:

Use the tools for SAP HANA Application Development

Introduction to JavaScript

User interface: introduction to SAPUI5 Development

Database design: introduction to Core Data Services

Services: introduction to ODATA

The Analytical layer: introduction to Modeling

Server-side scripting: Introduction to SQLScript

Server-side scripting: Introduction to XS JavaScript

 

Finally some companies will subdivide the “Developer” role into two parts.  The “Modeler” role (usually drawn from the BW data modeling team) and the “Developer” role (usually drawn from the ABAP team).  The modelers will design and create the information models only.

 

Role: SAP HANA Modeler

HA100 – SAP HANA – Introduction

 

HA300 – SAP HANA – Implementation and Modeling