FAQ List - LT Replication Server for SAP HANA

AGS SLO Product Mgmt

06/ 2011

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Frequently Asked Questions (1/8)

Positioning

How to position LT replication server compared to other replication

options?

LT replication server is today the ideal solution for all HANA customers who need real-time data

replication sourcing from SAP ERP systems into HANA. With availability of HANA 1.0 SPS02, LT

replication server is fully integrated with the UI of HANA modeler.

allows real-time (and scheduled) data replication, replicating only relevant data into HANA

provides ability to migrate data into HANA format while replicating data in real-time

is targeting existing SAP customers using SAP ERP (SAP R/3 4.6C onwards) supporting all platforms

is a robust solution leveraging proven SLO technologies (Near Zero Downtime, TDMS, SAP LT)

quarantees a simple and fast set-up of LT replication server (installation and configuration < 1day)

Currently LT replication server does not (yet) cover data replication from non-SAP sources and the

ability to re-use existing BI extractors

Is LT replication server a newly developed offering?

NO – only minor developments (mainly the integration into the UI of the HANA modeler) were

developed to cover HANA replication requirements. LT replication server is based on proven SLO

technology used since years (by a hugh number of SAP customers) with the following SAP

offerings:

Near Zero Downtime: using trigger technology in upgrade projects with large data bases (up-to 25 TB)

TDMS: used by almost 2.000 SAP customers to migrate data and build-up non-productive SAP systems

SAP LT: SAP product available since 10/2010, incl. all SLO migration and conversion technologies to

support any business and IT driven transformation of SAP landscapes (e.g. Client Transfer)

© 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 3Internal

Frequently Asked Questions (2/8)

Shipment, Pricing and Installation Aspects

Is LT replication server included with HANA software shipment?

YES – with the release of SAP HANA 1.0 SPS02, LT replication server will be part of the HANA

software BOM (bill-of-material).

SP04 (of SAP Landscape Transformation) - the technical prerequiste to enable the integrated use

of the LT replication server with UI of the HANA modeler - is also included in the HANA software

shipment.

What are the pricing details of LT replication server?

All capabilities to use SAP Landscape Transformation as LT replication server for SAP HANA are

covered with the SAP HANA license. For details on current HANA pricing status, contact

Prakash.Darji@sap.com (HANA Solution Management)

How much effort is it to install and prepare LT replication server for data

replication into HANA?

On average, the overall effort to set-up LT replication server for data replication into SAP HANA is

less than one day. This includes the installation (Add-on to be installed on source system and LT

replicator server instance) , the basic configuration (set-up of system connections) and the

initialization for initial data load and delta replication

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Frequently Asked Questions (3/8)

Installation and Technical Prerequisites in Detail (1/2)

Does LT replication server support data replication from source systems

on all platforms and SAP releases?

YES – LT replication server allows to support all platforms (HW, OS/DB combinations) and SAP

releases starting with R/3 4.6 onwards as source systems. Beside SAP ERP also other ABAP based

SAP applications are supported - however for SAP Netweaver BW (BI) and SAP SCM (APO),

limitations for the use of LT replication server may apply. Sybase ASE as platform will be

supported soon.

What are the technical prerequisites to install the LT replication server

instance?

For source system: no specific technical prerequisites apply - only the installation of the

respective DMIS add-on and latest available SP level is required

For the LT replication server instance: SAP NetWeaver 7.02 (with SAP Kernel 7.20EXT which is

currently limited to specific platforms only) is required. SP04 of SAP LT has to be installed - see

details also in SAP Note 1602938

What is the standard system set-up using LT replication server for data

replication into HANA?

LT replication server does not have to be a separate SAP system and can run on any SAP system

with SAP NetWeaver 7.02 ABAP stack (Kernel 7.20EXT), for example SAP Solution Manager 7.1.

Since current SAP ERP systems may not run on NW 7.02 with Kernel 7.20EXT, a separate SAP

hosting the LT replication server instance might be required

Refer to slide „Technical requirements and System Set-Up information“

and Installation and Configuration Guide for details

© 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 5Internal

Frequently Asked Questions (4/8)

Installation and Technical Prerequisites in Detail (2/2)

Does LT replication server has any additional security requirements? What

are the security implications if one leverages LT replication server?

Yes – LT replication server has predefined role / authorizations. Both are shipped and all connectivity

needs to be properly defined. You find details in Security Guide.

What are the network bandwith requirements for connectivity between SAP

ERP and HANA?

Current tests do not indicate any special bandwith requirements.

© 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 6Internal

Frequently Asked Questions (5/8)

Functional Aspects in Detail (1/4)

How are logging tables, triggers and read modules created?

After the definition of the replication method (initial load only or initial load with continuous

replication) per each table in the HANA modeler UI, related logging tables and DB triggers are

automatically created.

How does the trigger-based approach work in detail?

Generated DB trigger will record all changes of in application tables writing the key and update

method apply into the related logging tables. On the LT replication server instance, the control

module triggers - based on the defined settings in a replication schema for the source system - the

read modules in the source system checks for updates in the logging tables and intiates the actual

data transfer from the source into the HANA system.

How do triggers work?

Triggers are database object (for detailed information you can check google or Wikipedia). In a few

words, with triggers you can place a code part to a ddl statement. The code is executed whenever

the ddl statement is executed.

Example for a trigger for INSERT:EXEC SQL.

CREATE TRIGGER "&trg_name&" AFTER INSERT

ON "&TABNAME&" REFERENCING NEW AS NEW

FOR EACH ROW MODE DB2SQL

BEGIN ATOMIC

INSERT INTO "&LTABNAME&"

VALUES ( GENERATE_UNIQUE (), CURRENT TIMESTAMP, ' ',

/$NEXT_KEYFIELD$$

$NEW."&FIELDNAME&"$ , $$/,

'I'); END

ENDEXEC.

© 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 7Internal

Frequently Asked Questions (5/8)

Functional Aspects in Detail (2/4)

Are SAP LT transformation capabilities directly available within the HANA

modeler UI?

NO - LT replication server provides standard out-of-box transformations like conversion of date

field. Non-UNICODE into UNICODE or the declustering of tables. However, any advanced use of the

transformation capabilities is available only with transformation platform hosted on the LT

replication server instance. It is highly recommeded to engage with an SAP LT expert using the LT

platform.

© 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 8Internal

Frequently Asked Questions (7/8)

Functional Aspects in Detail (3/4)

Is LT replication server able to decluster tables (cluster and pool tables)?

YES – the trigger on DB level identifies a change (e.g. in table RFBLG). The read module uses

standard SAPNW interface capabilities to link this to the related logical table (e.g. BSEG) available

on ABAP layer and transfers related records in transparent format into the HANA DB.

How to handle dictionary changes in the source system that affect the

replicated tables?

As long as the key fields of a table are not affected, the trigger still work properly. However, if

tables would include new / appended colums - those records would not be covered automatically

with existing replication procedure. To ensure proper data replication, it would be necessary to

stop and restart the replication again (incl. an initial load).

How to monitor the progress of the data replication?

As long as the data records are not replicated into the HANA system (no successful commit on the

HANA DB), replication will be continuously repeated - once the replication is successfully

completed the entry of in the logging table will be deleted.

Currently, there is no specific monitoring functionality available with the LT replication server to

track on the replication process. In case of problems, contact SAP Support. (Message on CSN

compontent: BC-HAN-LTR)

© 2011 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 9Internal

Frequently Asked Questions (8/8)

Functional Aspects in Detail (4/4)

In case of a system outage from the HANA box, how does the recovery

process look like using LT replication Server?

While the HANA system is down, the trigger on the source system still would continue to record

changes in the logging tables. Once the HANA system is available again, the delta from the logging

tables will be automatically replicated into the HANA system.

If the HANA system was reset or includes a back-up that is several days old, it is necessary to

restart the replication (incl. Initial load) to ensure data consistency.

Thank You!

Contact information:

Michael Erhardt / Tobias Koebler (AGS-SLO Product Management)

Jochen Merkel (Project Lead - LT Replication Server for HANA)