Dell EMC SC Series Storage Configuration Best
Practices for SAP HANA TDI
SC9000, SC7020, SC5020, and SCv3020 Storage Arrays
August 2018
H17356
Validation Guide
Abstract
This validation guide provides configuration best practices for deploying
SAP HANA using SAP tailored data center integration (TDI) on Dell
EMC SC9000, SC7020, SC5020, and SCv3020 Series storage arrays.
Dell EMC Solutions
Copyright
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Dell EMC SC Series Storage Configuration Best Practices for SAP HANA TDI
SC9000, SC7020, SC5020, and SCv3020 Storage Arrays
Validation Guide
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Published in the USA 08/18 Validation Guide H17356.
Dell Inc. believes the information in this document is accurate as of its publication date. The information is subject to change
without notice.
Contents
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Dell EMC SC Series Storage Configuration Best Practices for SAP HANA TDI
SC9000, SC7020, SC5020, and SCv3020 Storage Arrays
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Contents
Executive summary ....................................................................................................................... 4
Technology overview .................................................................................................................... 7
Storage design for SC Series arrays for SAP HANA ................................................................ 12
Configuring SC Series array storage for SAP HANA using Dell EMC DSM Client .................. 19
Accessing SC Series storage from the SAP HANA nodes ....................................................... 25
Conclusion................................................................................................................................... 36
References ................................................................................................................................... 37
Executive summary
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Dell EMC SC Series Storage Configuration Best Practices for SAP HANA TDI
SC9000, SC7020, SC5020, and SCv3020 Storage Arrays
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Introduction
Executive summary
SAP HANA is an in-memory data platform that can be deployed on-premises or in the
cloud. Organizations use the SAP HANA platform to analyze large volumes of data and
develop and deploy applications in real time. The SAP HANA database is at the core of
this real-time data platform.
SAP HANA combines SAP software components that are optimized on proven hardware
from SAP partners. Two models are available for on-premises deployment, as the
following figure shows.
Figure 1. SAP HANA appliance model and TDI model comparison (©SAP SE)
Appliance model
An SAP HANA appliance includes integrated storage, compute, and network components
by default. The appliance is certified by SAP, built by one of the SAP HANA hardware
partners, and shipped to customers with all of its software components preinstalled,
including the operating systems and SAP HANA software.
Customers using the SAP HANA appliance model have experienced the following
limitations:
Limited choice of servers, networks, and storage
Inability to use existing data center infrastructure and operational processes
Little knowledge and control of the critical components in the SAP HANA
appliance
Fixed sizes for SAP HANA server and storage capacities, leading to higher
costs and inability to respond rapidly to unexpected growth demands
TDI model
The SAP HANA servers in a TDI model must be certified by SAP HANA and meet the
SAP HANA requirements. However, customers can share the network and storage
components, including arrays, in their environments and also integrate SAP HANA
seamlessly into existing data center operations such as disaster recovery, data protection,
Executive summary
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Dell EMC SC Series Storage Configuration Best Practices for SAP HANA TDI
SC9000, SC7020, SC5020, and SCv3020 Storage Arrays
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Solution overview
Key benefits
monitoring, and management, and reduce the time-to-value, costs, and risk of an overall
SAP HANA adoption.
Dell EMC midrange SC9000, SC7020F, SC5020F, and SCv3020 all-flash and hybrid
arrays are certified by SAP as meeting all performance and functional requirements for
SAP HANA. This certification means that customers can use SC Series storage arrays for
SAP HANA TDI deployments in a fully supported environment using their existing data
center infrastructures.
SC Series arrays with SAP HANA
SAP certifies the enterprise storage arrays that are used in SAP HANA TDI deployments
to ensure that they meet the SAP HANA performance and functional requirements. Dell
EMC engineers performed extensive testing on the SC9000, SC7020F, SC5020F, and
SCv3020 hybrid and all-flash storage arrays using the SAP HANA hardware configuration
check tool (hwcct) in accordance with the HANA-HWC-ES-1.1 certification scenario.
Note: SAP recommends that TDI customers run the hwcct tool in their environment to ensure that
their specific SAP HANA TDI implementation meets the SAP performance criteria. For more
information, see SAP Note 1943937 - Hardware Configuration Check Tool - Central Note (access
requires an SAP username and password).
This guide provides storage configuration recommendations for the SC Series arrays
based on the results of those tests. The recommendations meet SAP performance
requirements and ensure the highest availability for database persistence on disk.
The TDI model increases server and network vendor flexibility while reducing hardware
and operational costs. The SAP HANA TDI on SC Series storage solution provides the
following benefits:
Integrates SAP HANA into an existing data center.
Uses shared enterprise storage to rely on already-available, multisite concepts
to benefit from established automation and operations processes.
Enables customers to transition easily from an appliance-based model to the
SC Series-based TDI architecture, while relying on Dell EMC Professional
Services to minimize risk.
Achieves global data reduction with a highly integrated data deduplication and
compression architecture, increasing the return on investment in the SC Series
all-flash and hybrid arrays.
Enables faster read operations with faster database restarts, host auto-failovers,
log backups, database recoveries, and table loads.
Enables efficient storage protection and recovery with the Dell EMC Data
Domain system and Dell EMC Data Domain Boost (DD Boost) software.
Greater throughput, a reduced storage footprint, and reduced network
bandwidth requirements are achievable because only unique data is sent to the
Data Domain system.
Executive summary
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Dell EMC SC Series Storage Configuration Best Practices for SAP HANA TDI
SC9000, SC7020, SC5020, and SCv3020 Storage Arrays
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Scope of this document
Audience
We value your feedback
This guide provides the following information:
An introduction to the key technologies in the solution
A description of the storage design principles and configuration requirements for
SC Series enterprise storage arrays for SAP HANA TDI deployments
Best practices for deploying the SAP HANA database on SC Series enterprise
storage arrays
Detailed instructions for accessing SC Series storage from the SAP HANA
nodes to set up SAP HANA
Steps for configuring the Data Domain system and DD Boost software for SAP
HANA backup and recovery
This guide is for system integrators, storage administrators, partners, and members of
Dell EMC Professional Services who are configuring SC Series hybrid and all-flash
storage arrays to use in a TDI environment for SAP HANA. Users must have appropriate
SAP HANA and SC Series skills as well as an understanding of storage area network
(SAN) technologies and Linux operating systems.
Dell EMC and the authors of this document welcome your feedback on the solution and
the solution documentation. Contact the Dell EMC Solutions team with your comments.
Authors: Quocdat Nguyen, Benjamin Simroth, Aighne Kearney
Technology overview
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Dell EMC SC Series Storage Configuration Best Practices for SAP HANA TDI
SC9000, SC7020, SC5020, and SCv3020 Storage Arrays
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SC Series storage array
Technology overview
The Dell EMC SC Series is a radically simple, enterprise-grade storage platform. It is built
on modular architecture that delivers next-generation storage virtualization, providing the
ability to place the right data in the right place, at the right time, for the right cost.
SC Series arrays respond intelligently to real-world workload needs, automatically
providing the best performance possible at the lowest price. Whether it be tiering among
different media types, auto-provisioning and rebalancing RAID levels, or managing host
mappings in multi-array environments, SC technology takes the guesswork out of cost
savings and helps you get more out of your storage while spending less. The following
figure shows the specifications for the SC Series product family.
Figure 2. SC Series system specifications
Each SC array model features active/active dual-controller design, that is, twice the
bandwidth and CPU performance of active/standby systems, with modern Intel Xeon
processors and generous on-board memory. The array includes multiprotocol
host/network I/O options such as Fibre Channel (FC), iSCSI, and SAS.
The SC9000, SC7020, SC5020, and SCv3000 models have hybrid drive configurations
and can be configured to include all-flash drives. The SC7020F and SC5020F models are
all-flash storage arrays.
Intelligence feature: Data progression
The SC Series data progression feature is a fully integrated feature of the virtualized
storage platform. Data progression intelligently classifies and migrates data to the best tier
of storage by using real-time intelligence about how data is used throughout the data’s
lifecycle. This method enables organizations to retain frequently accessed data on highperformance drives and to move infrequently accessed data to lower-cost drives. By
maintaining all data online and optimizing placement across multiple storage tiers,
organizations can increase the performance of their data storage platforms and purchase
less storage overall. Data progression further enhances value by extending the benefits of
tiered storage to all-flash configurations. By using expensive write-intensive (WI) drives for
Technology overview
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Dell EMC SC Series Storage Configuration Best Practices for SAP HANA TDI
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write operations and inexpensive read-intensive (RI) drives for read operations, the SC
Series delivers the industry’s first all-flash solution at the price of disk storage. In addition,
cooler data can be moved to more cost-effective storage such as SAS or NL-SAS spindle
drives.
Flash-aware sub-LUN tiering
The storage virtualization and intelligence features work seamlessly across a wide range
of applications and storage media types. The foundation on which the fluid data
architecture is built enables the quick addition of new technologies. While traditional data
progression algorithms run only once each day to optimize RAID levels and data tiering,
flash-optimized data progression can move data across tiers throughout the day. For
example, data that has recently been frozen in a replay (such as a snapshot) is now readonly and a good candidate to be moved to a RI tier of storage. This process happens in
the background with little to no impact to the host. Moving the data to a RAID level and to
storage media that has exceptional read I/O performance characteristics significantly
reduces the cost of storing the read-only data. For example, data can be moved to spaceefficient RAID 5 and inexpensive RI solid-state drives (SSDs).
The following figure shows the progression of data between tiers.
Figure 3. Data progression on SC Series arrays
Policy-based data management: Storage profiles
Storage profiles are a tiering policy feature of the SC Series storage platform. When a
storage profile is assigned to a volume, the volume inherits the tiering attributes that are
defined in the storage profile. For example, a flash-optimized storage profile directs all
write operations to high-performance Tier 1 storage―write-intensive (WI) SSDs in
RAID 10. On-demand data progression automatically converts replay and RI data to RAID
5 and places it on Tier 2 RI flash storage that has exceptional read performance
characteristics. A cost-optimized storage profile enables the administrator to create a
volume for applications such as backup and archive, as well as for low-priority
applications. The storage profiles feature radically simplifies tiering management by
enabling you to assign flash storage to the most active data while retaining the flexibility of
storing cold data in a more cost-effective tier.
Technology overview
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Dell EMC SC Series Storage Configuration Best Practices for SAP HANA TDI
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SAP HANA database
SC series array thin methods
Volume provisioning, snapshots, clones, and replication are thin by default. Space is
automatically allocated to servers on a just-enough and just-in-time basis, eliminating the
need for manual provisioning and avoiding wasteful overprovisioning.
In addition to platform efficiency resulting from auto-tiering, RAID tiering, and thin
methods, SC Series arrays also offer comprehensive data reduction with intelligent
deduplication and compression on SSDs in all-flash configurations and on SSDs and
HDDs in hybrid configurations.
The data reduction feature is applied to volumes that auto-tier across media types in a
hybrid array. HDD-only configurations can still use compression, however. For the drive
count requirement of SSDs for the deduplication feature, see the array documentation.
SC Series data reduction is fully integrated with data progression. You select which
volumes you want to reduce, and the SC Series array operating system (SCOS) targets
appropriate data within that volume to maximize cost savings while minimizing the
performance impact.
SC Series array data reduction with the SAP HANA database
The SC Series data reduction feature provides space-saving efficiencies for SAP
environments. However, the raw advantages of applying data reduction to an optimized
SAP HANA database might be highly data-specific. The SAP HANA database uses a
column format for most of the tables. Because the column format is highly compressed,
the additional SC Series data compression service might not have a significant additional
impact in all scenarios. The data reduction rate of the deduplication depends primarily on
the workload of the application running on top of the SAP HANA database.
SAP HANA is an in-memory database. The data is kept in the RAM of one or multiple
SAP HANA worker hosts. All database operations, such as reads, inserts, updates, and
deletes, are performed in the main memory of the host. This feature differentiates SAP
HANA from other traditional databases, where only a part of the data is cached in RAM
and the remaining data resides on disk.
To ensure that you can always restore the SAP HANA database to its most recent
committed state, persistent storage is used to provide a fallback in case of failure. The log
captures all changes by database transactions (redo logs), and data and undo log
information is automatically saved to disk at regular savepoints.
Scale-up compared to scale-out
As SAP-certified enterprise storage for SAP HANA, SC Series arrays can be used for
both single-host (scale-up) and multihost (scale-out) SAP HANA systems in TDI
deployments.
In single-host environments, the database must fit into the RAM of a single server. Singlehost environments are preferred for online transaction processing (OLTP)-type workloads
such as SAP Business Suite on SAP HANA.
In multihost environments, the database tables are distributed across the RAM of multiple
servers. Multihost environments use worker hosts and standby hosts. A worker host
Technology overview
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Dell EMC SC Series Storage Configuration Best Practices for SAP HANA TDI
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File system
Default path
Description
Root
/
Root partition
Installation path
/hana/shared
Mount directory, which is used for shared files between
all hosts in an SAP HANA system
Note: This directory must be accessible to each of the
servers in the SAP HANA scale-out system.
System instance
/usr/sap
Path to the local SAP system instance directories
Data volume
/hana/data/<
SID>
Default path to the data directory, which depends on
the system ID of the SAP HANA host
Log volume
/hana/log/<S
ID>
Default path to the log directory, which depends on the
system ID of the SAP HANA host
accepts and processes database requests and is an active component. A standby host
waits for a worker host to fail so that it can take over the worker host role. This process is
called host auto-failover. A standby has all database services running, but it has no data
in RAM.
Because the in-memory capacity in these deployments can be high, scale-out SAP HANA
clusters are perfectly suited for online analytical processing (OLAP)-type workloads with
very large data sets, such as SAP Business Warehouse (BW) on SAP HANA.
SAP HANA file systems
The following table describes the required file system structure of an SAP HANA setup.
For more information, see the SAP HANA Server Installation and Update Guide on the
SAP Help Portal.
Table 1. SAP HANA file system structure
SAP HANA persistence
SAP HANA uses disk storage to maintain the persistence of the in-memory data on disk.
SAP HANA persistence prevents a loss of data in the event of a power outage and
enables host auto-failover. For these purposes, each SAP HANA worker host (scale-out)
or single host (scale-up) requires two file systems on disk storage—one for data files and
one for log files.
SAP HANA persists in-memory data by using savepoints. Each SAP HANA service has its
own savepoints. The data belonging to a savepoint represents a consistent state of the
data on disk and remains so until the next savepoint operation has been completed.
During a savepoint operation, the SAP HANA database flushes all changed data from
memory to the data volumes. Redo log entries are written to the log volumes for all
changes to persistent data. In the case of a database restart (after a crash, for example),
the data from the last completed savepoint can be read from the data volumes, and the
redo log entries that were written to the log volumes since the last savepoint can be
replayed.
SAP HANA I/O patterns
The SAP HANA persistent file systems have different I/O patterns. For more information,
see SAP HANA Storage Requirements. During normal operations, the SAP HANA
workload is predominantly WI.
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Data file system
Access to the data file system is primarily random, with various block sizes ranging in size
from 4 KB to 64 MB. The data is written asynchronously with parallel I/O to the data file
system. During normal operations, most of the data file system I/O operations are writes.
Data is read from the data file system only during a database restart, high availability (HA)
failover, or column store table load.
Log file system
All changes in the database are captured in the redo log on the log file system. The log
file is written with sequential I/O, with block sizes ranging from 4 KB to 1 MB.
Because data is written synchronously to the log file system on commits, a low latency for
I/O to the storage device is important, especially for the smaller 4 KB and 16 KB block
sizes.
During normal database operations, most I/O operations of the log file system are writes.
Data is only read from the log file system during a database restart, HA failover, or log
backup or database recovery.
SAP HANA I/Os can be optimized for specific storage environments. For a description of
the specific optimization that is required for the SC Series arrays, see Optimizing file I/Os
after SAP HANA installation on page 30.
Virtual environments
Customers have the option to run SAP HANA on the VMware vSphere virtualized
infrastructure. Some restrictions apply, however, such as the maximum RAM size of an
SAP HANA node. See the relevant SAP OSS notes and follow VMware best practices to
deploy SAP HANA on vSphere.
For the SAP HANA persistence on SC Series arrays, all physical configuration
recommendations in this guide also apply to virtual environments. Also, consider the
following recommendations:
SAP HANA persistence in a virtual environment—Add the data and log LUN
for a virtual SAP HANA host to the VMware ESXi host and create a VMware
Virtual Machine File System (VMFS) datastore for each LUN. You can then
create one virtual disk per VMFS datastore and add it as the data or log LUN to
the SAP HANA virtual machine (VM). See VMware best practices for an
optimized virtual SCSI adapter.
vSphere Multipathing—An SAP HANA VM does not use Linux Device Mapper
Multipath within the VM. The data and log LUNs are visible as a single device,
so /dev/sdb and the XFS file system, for example, must be created on that
single device.
Storage design for SC Series arrays for SAP HANA
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Dell EMC SC Series Storage Configuration Best Practices for SAP HANA TDI
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Overview
SAN connectivity overview
Storage design for SC Series arrays for SAP HANA
SAP HANA production systems in TDI environments must meet the SAP key performance
indicators (KPIs). The following topics in this section provide configuration recommendations
for SAP HANA production systems that are deployed on SC Series all-flash and hybrid
storage arrays:
SAN connectivity overview
SC Series built-in virtualization
SC Series scalability
Capacity requirements
This section describes general considerations that apply when you connect SAP HANA to
SC Series arrays.
Host connectivity
The SAP HANA nodes connect to the SC Series arrays through an FC SAN. SAN
components require, at a minimum, 8 Gb/s link speed, and the SAN topology must follow
best practices for redundant components and links.
SAN considerations
The SAN connectivity, which includes host bus adapters (HBAs), SAN ports, switches,
and array front-end ports, requires careful planning. The SC Series technology provides
multiple options for front-end connectivity through on-board ports directly on SC Series
controllers and also on optional I/O modules whose configuration must match between
storage processors (SPs). FC I/O module ports use 16 Gb small form-factor pluggables
(SFPs). We recommend 16 Gb FC for the best performance. All FC ports can negotiate to
lower speeds.
The SAP HANA KPIs for TDI deployments require a maximum bandwidth of 400 MB/s per
SAP HANA node. If, for example, ten nodes are connected in a SAN to an SC Series
array, a total bandwidth of 4,000 MB/s is required. Assuming a 16 Gb/s front-end port
provides approximately 1,500 MB/s bandwidth, we recommend at least six dedicated 16
Gb/s front-end ports to support ten SAP HANA nodes—three on each storage controller
(3 x 1,500 MB/s = 4,500 MB/s) to facilitate HA, load balancing, and continued connectivity
in the event of SP failure.
While this bandwidth requirement applies only in the unlikely event that all nodes
simultaneously demand all available bandwidth, SAP HANA certification criteria require
that the storage arrays sustain this peak workload.
This requirement does not only affect the storage front-end configuration. In the example
of ten nodes, the complete path through the SAN network must also be configured to
support the required bandwidth.
HBA ports
Each HBA port (initiator) creates a path for I/Os between the host and the SAN switch,
which then continues to the SC Series storage. If a host uses only a single HBA port, it
has a single I/O path that serves all I/Os. Such a design is not advisable. A single path
Storage design for SC Series arrays for SAP HANA
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Dell EMC SC Series Storage Configuration Best Practices for SAP HANA TDI
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SC Series builtin virtualization
does not provide HA and risks a potential bottleneck during high I/O activity due to the
lack of additional ports for load balancing.
A better design provides each SAP HANA server with at least two HBA ports, preferably
on two separate HBAs. The additional ports provide more connectivity and enable native
Linux DM-Multipathing (DM-MPIO) to load balance and fail over across HBA paths.
SC Series storage controller connectivity for the SAP HANA persistence
The SC Series is a block array with simultaneous multiprotocols (iSCSI + FC or iSCSI +
SAS) that are supported differently as front-end network protocols depending on the SC
model. SC Series arrays use FC for SAP HANA persistence (data and log).
The number of available PCI slots varies among SC Series models as I/O modules. FC16 and FC-32 HBA availability also varies among different SC Series arrays.
Each SAP HANA node must connect to a minimum of two FC ports on each storage
controller. For illustration purposes, the following figure shows the recommended FC port
connectivity on an FC HBA on each SC7020 controller.
Figure 4. Back panel of SC7020 array
Note: SC5020 and SCv3020 arrays have one PCI-E slot, which can be used for FC, iSCSI, or
SAS I/O cards. SC9000 and SC7020 models have more PCI-E slots for scalability on storage
array front-end and back-end I/O cards.
To achieve full I/O performance for SAP HANA production deployments, implement the
following FC port requirements for an SC Series array:
Dedicate FC ports to SAP HANA and do not share them with non-SAP HANA
applications.
Distribute FC ports from a host or FC switch to all FC ports on both storage
controllers.
Balance FC ports that are used for SAP HANA across all available FC HBAs.
Use 16 Gb/s FC ports (recommended). 10 Gb/s iSCSI has not been validated
for SAP HANA.
Dell EMC integrated automated tiered storage into the fluid data architecture of SC Series
storage. This approach enables organizations to move data dynamically, intelligently, and
efficiently among multiple storage tiers and RAID levels. All write transactions and
frequently accessed data are placed on high-performance drives with performance-
Storage design for SC Series arrays for SAP HANA
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Dell EMC SC Series Storage Configuration Best Practices for SAP HANA TDI
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optimized RAID levels, while less frequently accessed data cascades to more costeffective drives and lower-overhead RAID levels.
A virtualized (or pooled) storage environment provides an ideal foundation for tiered
storage. With a virtualized environment, there are no constraints on where data can reside
because the data is not confined to conventional disk groups. Data can be moved without
limitation to a tier with a particular drive type or performance level, or to a particular RAID
level within a storage tier, depending on business needs.
The SC Series Storage Center feature virtualizes storage by grouping disks into pools of
storage called storage types, which hold small chunks of data known as pages. Blocklevel storage is allocated for use by defining volumes and mapping them to servers. The
storage type and storage profile that are associated with the volume determine how a
volume uses storage. For more information, see the latest Dell Storage Manager
Administrator’s Guide.
For more information about the Dell EMC-recommended settings, see Configuring SC
Series array storage for SAP HANA using Dell EMC DSM Client on page 19.
Storage types
A storage type is a pool of storage with a single data page size and specified redundancy
levels. The Storage Center assesses the disks that are available in a disk folder and
presents the applicable storage type options. We recommend:
A default data page size of 2 MB, which is appropriate for most applications
Two storage tiers each for SAP HANA log and data volumes
Tier 1—WI SSDs with RAID 10 single-redundant or redundant. A starter SAP
HANA scale-out configuration with four WI SSDs can support up to three SAP
HANA nodes. Two additional WI SSDs are required for every three new SAP
HANA nodes.
Tier 2—RI SSDs (or SAS 10 K RPM drives in a nonproduction SAP HANA and
hybrid storage configuration) with RAID 5-9 (that is, striped across nine drives).
We recommend nine RI SSDs for every three SAP HANA worker nodes in an
all-flash storage configuration. Sizing should be in accordance with your SAP
HANA scale-out configuration. See Capacity requirements on page 16 for more
information.
Redundancy levels provide fault tolerance for a drive failure.
Note: Be sure to add sufficient SSD counts for the SC Series deduplication and compression
feature if it is required for your solution.
Storage profiles
Storage profiles control how the array Storage Center manages volume data. The
selected storage profile for a volume dictates which disk tier accepts initial writes as well
as how data progression moves data between tiers to balance performance and cost. The
storage type determines the available storage profiles.
Predefined storage profiles are the most effective way to manage data in the Storage
Center.
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Model
Number of SAP HANA
worker nodes
Dedicated 16 GB/s FC ports
per storage controller/array
SCv3020
6
3/6
SC5020F
12
4/8
SC7020F
18
6/12
SC9000
24
8/16
SC Series scalability
SAP HANA persistence for production installations
For SAP HANA production installations, we recommend using flash drives for the SAP
HANA persistence (data and log volumes) to meet the SAP HANA KPIs.
Flash devices provide benefits for SAP HANA production installations as follows:
Sub-millisecond latencies for small block sizes on the log volume
Reduced SAP HANA startup times when data is read from the data volume into
memory
Reduced SAP HANA host auto-failover times in scale-out deployments when a
standby node takes over the data from a failed worker node
Reduced SAP HANA backup times when the backup process needs to read
the data from the data volume
SAP HANA persistence for SAP HANA nonproduction installations on SC Series hybrid models
Although the SAP performance KPIs do not apply to SAP HANA nonproduction
installations, those installations are still critical components in an overall SAP landscape.
For SAP HANA nonproduction installations, we recommend using the SAS drives on the
SC Series hybrid models in Tier 3 storage.
Use the guidelines in the following table to estimate the initial number of SAP HANA
production nodes that can be connected to the SC Series arrays. These guidelines are
based on our performance tests on an SC5020F and SCv3020 Series model using the
SAP hwcct tool. We ran the tests without competing workloads.
Table 2. Scalability of SC Series models for SAP HANA production systems
Note: We determined the scalability of other SC Series array models by extrapolating from the
SC5020F and SCv3020 Series test results using the performance characteristics of the other
models.
The number of nodes that are listed in Table 2 are an initial guideline to help you
determine the number of SAP HANA worker nodes that can be connected to an array for
an existing or planned SAP HANA production environment. The actual number of
production nodes that can be connected in a customer environment might be higher or
lower, depending on the workload. Use the SAP HANA hwcct tool with scenario HANAHWC-ES 1.1 to validate the SAP HANA performance and determine the maximum
number of SAP HANA hosts on a specific storage array.
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Capacity requirements
We recommend running regular SAP HANA health checks to verify the performance of
the underlying storage environment. The following documents describe SAP HANA
configuration mini-checks:
SAP Note 1969700: SQL statement collection for SAP HANA
SAP Note 1999930: SAP HANA I/O Analysis
Access to these documents requires an SAP username and password.
Every SAP HANA node requires storage devices and capacity for the following:
Operating system boot image
SAP HANA installation (/hana/shared)
SAP HANA persistence (data and log)
Backup
Note: The formulas for capacity sizing in SAP HANA Storage Requirements are subject to change
by SAP. Always check the latest version of the white paper for updates before you determine
capacity requirements.
Operating system boot image
The overall capacity calculation for the SAP HANA installation must include the required
capacity for the operating system when the SAP HANA nodes boot from a volume on an
SC Series model, that is, when they boot from the SAN.
Every SAP HANA node requires approximately 100 GB capacity for the operating system,
including space for the /usr/sap/ directory. When booting from a SAN, follow the best
practices in the Dell Compellent Storage Center and Boot from SAN with FCoE Best
Practices Guide.
SAP HANA installation (/hana/shared)
For installation of the SAP HANA binaries, as well as the configuration files, traces, and
logs, every SAP HANA node requires access to a file system that is mounted under the
local mount point, /hana/shared. An SAP HANA scale-out cluster requires a single
shared file system, which must be mounted on every node. Most SAP HANA installations
use an NFS file system for the single shared file system. The file system you choose
depends on your infrastructure and requirements. The options are:
NFS-server-based shared file system
NAS system, such as the Dell EMC Unity system, Dell EMC VMAX embedded
NAS (eNAS), or Dell EMC Isilon system, which can be used to provide an NFS
share for the SAP HANA shared file system
The SC Series array uses block storage, which can be used to create a shared file system
using a cluster file system such as General Parallel File System (GPFS) or Oracle Cluster
File System 2 (OCFS2) on top of the block LUNs. SUSE provides OCFS2 capabilities with
the HA package (a SUSE license is required). The HA package is also part of the SUSE
Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) for SAP applications distribution that is used by most of
the SAP HANA appliance vendors.
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Single node (scale-up):
Size
installation(single-node)
= MIN(1 x RAM; 1 TB)
Multinode (scale-out):
Size
installation(scale-out)
= 1 x RAM_of_worker per 4 worker nodes
SAP HANA persistence (data and log)
The SAP HANA in-memory database requires disk storage to:
Maintain the persistence of the in-memory data on disk to prevent a data loss
due to a power outage and to allow a host auto-failover, where a standby SAP
HANA host takes over the in-memory data of a failed worker host in scale-out
installations
Log information about data changes (redo log)
Every SAP HANA node (scale-up) or worker node (scale-out) requires two disk volumes
to save the in-memory database on disk (data) and to keep a redo log (log). The size of
these volumes depends on the anticipated total memory requirement of the database and
the RAM size of the node. To help you prepare the disk sizing, SAP provides references
to tools and documents in SAP HANA Storage Requirements. Version 2.10 (February
2017) of the document provides the following formulas to calculate the size of the data
volume.
Option 1—If an application-specific sizing program can be used:
Size
= 1.2x anticipated net disk space for data
data
In this formula, net disk space for data is the anticipated total memory requirement
of the database plus an additional 20 percent free space. If the database is
distributed across multiple nodes in a scale-out cluster, divide the net disk space by
the number of SAP HANA worker nodes in the cluster. For example, if the net disk
space is 2 TB and the scale-out cluster consists of four worker nodes, then every
node must be assigned a 616 GB data volume (2 TB / 4 = 512 GB x 1.2 = 616 GB).
If the net disk space is unknown at the time of the storage sizing, we recommend
using the RAM size of the node plus 20 percent free space for a capacity
calculation of the data file system.
Option 2—If no application-specific sizing program is available, the
recommended size of the data volume of an SAP HANA system is equal to the
total memory required for that system:
Size
= 1 x RAM
data
The size of the log volume depends on the RAM size of the node. SAP HANA
Storage Requirements provides the following formulas to calculate the minimum
size of the log volume:
[systems ≤ 512GB ] Size
[systems > 512GB ] Size
= 1/2 x RAM
redolog
redolog(min)
= 512 GB
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Backup
SAP HANA supports backup to a file system or to SAP-certified third-party tools. Dell
EMC supports data protection strategies for SAP HANA backup using Dell EMC Data
Domain systems and Dell EMC NetWorker software. Although it is possible to back up an
SAP HANA database to a file system on a SC Series all-flash or hybrid array, we do not
recommend backing up the SAP HANA database to the storage array where the primary
persistence resides. If you plan to back up SAP HANA to a NFS file system on a different
storage array, see SAP HANA Storage Requirements for details about sizing the backup
file system. The capacity depends on not only the data size and the frequency of change
operations in the database but also the backup generations kept on disk.
Switch zoning configuration
Configure switch zoning so that each host can detect all virtual ports on all storage arrays.
For detailed zoning best practices, see the documentation for your fabric switch and
storage array.
Qlogic HBA driver settings
To avoid any impact to SAP HANA operation, configure the HBA driver settings to
process controller failover in dual-controller configurations. To do this, add the following
required entry to the /etc/modprobe.conf.local file:
options qla2xxx qlport_down_retry=5
Storage array controller setup
For information about setting up SC Series storage arrays, see the Dell EMC support
documentation for your array.
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Overview
Creating storage types
Configuring SC Series array storage for SAP HANA using Dell EMC DSM Client
This section provides instructions for configuring SC Series array storage by completing
the following tasks:
Create storage types.
Configure FC ports in a fault domain.
Create a storage profile and a snapshot profile.
Create the SAP HANA hosts.
Create SAP HANA volumes and map the volumes to the SAP HANA nodes.
Use Dell EMC Unisphere or Dell Storage Manager (DSM) Client to perform these tasks.
The following figure shows the DSM Client for SC Series UI.
Figure 5. Dell Storage Manager Client interface
DSM Virtual Appliance
The DSM Virtual Appliance is packaged as a VM that builds, packages, and delivers DSM
to customers as a VMware OVA that is built on CentOS and has the same capabilities as
the Windows-based solution.
The storage type sets and maintains the redundancy level when drives are added to the
system or moved to a different folder. You can configure a storage type when you initialize
an SC Series array and then reconfigure it later.
To reconfigure a storage type, follow these steps:
1. In the DSM Client, right-click Storage Types and select Modify Tier
Redundancy.
The following dialog box appears.
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Creating fault domains
Figure 6. Modify Tier Redundancy dialog box
2. We recommend two storage tiers for this solution:
WI SSDs as Tier 1 storage
RI SSDs or 10 K RPM SAS drives as Tier 2 or Tier 3 storage, as appropriate
Specify Redundant for the two storage tiers.
Note: Redundant and dual-redundant options are supported as SC Series tier redundancy. We
recommend the redundant option for both the storage tiers.
3. Select a data page size of 2 MB for the storage type (recommended).
We recommend two fault domains for failover purposes. Each domain contains FC ports
from both SC Series controllers that are connecting each FC switch. The number of
required FC ports depends on the size of your SAP HANA landscape.
For illustration purposes, the following figure shows the top fault domain that is configured
to contain a total of four FC ports from both SC Series controllers.
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Creating storage profiles
Figure 7. Edit Fault Domain Settings dialog box
The settings in our example are as follows:
Top Fault Domain
Name: Top
Notes: To Connect to Top FC Switch
Select ports:
Top Controller: Port 1 and port 3
Bottom Controller: Port 1 and port 3
Bottom Fault Domain
Name: Bottom
Notes: To Connect to Bottom FC Switch
Select ports:
Top Controller: Port 2 and port 4
Bottom Controller: Port 2 and port 4
Create a profile for HANA Vol as follows:
1. Click the Storage tab.
2. From a Storage Center, click Create Storage Profile.
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Configuring snapshot profiles
Figure 8. Edit Storage Profile dialog box
3. In the Edit Storage Profile dialog box, enter or select the following details:
General
Name: Profile for HANA Vol
Data Writes
Write Tier: Tier 1
Write RAID Type: Mirrored (RAID 10)
Snapshot Data
Tier 1 Snapshot RAID Type: Parity (RAID 5 / RAID 6)
Tier 2 Snapshot RAID Type: Parity (RAID 5 / RAID 6)
Tier 3 Snapshot RAID Type: Parity (RAID 5 / RAID 6)
4. Click OK to proceed.
To configure snapshot profiles, follow these steps:
1. Click Create Snapshot Profile to start a snapshot profile for the storage array.
2. In the Edit Snapshot Profile dialog box, enter or select the following details:
Name: Replay Profile for HANA Vol
Snapshot Creation Method: Standard
3. Click + Add Rule, and create a schedule for the snapshot profile―for example:
Name: Daily at 7:00 PM
Frequency: Daily
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Configuring a data progression schedule and cache settings
Configuring other storage settings
Expiration: 3 Days
You can configure a data progression schedule and a write/read cache setting in the
Storage Center. We recommend enabling Read Cache and disabling Write Cache for an
SC Series array for an SAP HANA landscape. Follow these steps:
1. Click the Storage tab.
2. In the Edit Storage Center Settings dialog box, specify Cache and Data
Progression settings―for example:
Cache:
Enable/Select: Read Cache Enabled
Deselect/Disable: Write Cache Enabled
Data Progression:
Set Data Progression Start Time: 12:00AM
Max Run Time: Unlimited
These selections are for illustration purposes. Use settings that are appropriate to
your business requirements.
You can also edit the Storage Center settings to configure or reconfigure settings such as
Data Reduction Profile, Quality of Service Profiles & Control, and Distributed
Sparing, as shown in the following figure.
Figure 9. Preferences settings in Edit Storage Center Settings dialog box
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Creating a host and volume
We recommend creating a Volumes folder for volumes used on SAP HANA nodes and
then creating a Servers folder and Server Cluster folder, as shown in the following
figure.
Figure 10. Creating a host and volumes
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Setting up multipath I/O
Accessing SC Series storage from the SAP HANA nodes
Enable native Linux DM-MPIO to access the block devices from SAP HANA nodes:
1. Create the multipath.conf configuration file.
The following example of a multipath.conf configuration file is for an eight-
node SAP HANA solution. (The nodes are worker nodes.) Use the SC Series
DSM Client UI to find the World Wide Identifiers (WWIDs).
defaults {
user_friendly_names yes
find_multipaths yes
rr_min_io 10
no_path_retry fail
}
blacklist {
}
multipaths {
multipath {
wwid 36000d31000ec99000000000000000016
alias sapmnt
}
multipath {
wwid 36000d31000ec99000000000000000012
alias logvol1
}
multipath {
wwid 36000d31000ec99000000000000000013
alias logvol2
}
multipath {
wwid 36000d31000ec99000000000000000014
alias logvol3
}
multipath {
wwid 36000d31000ec99000000000000000015
alias logvol4
}
multipath {
wwid 36000d31000ec99000000000000000017
alias logvol5
}
multipath {
wwid 36000d31000ec99000000000000000018
alias logvol6
}
multipath {
wwid 36000d31000ec99000000000000000019
alias logvol7
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multipath {
multipath {
multipath {
multipath {
multipath {
multipath {
multipath {
multipath {
multipath {
devices {
device {
vendor "COMPELNT"
product "Compellent Vol"
features 0
no_path_retry fail
}
}
}
wwid 36000d31000ec9900000000000000001a
alias logvol8
}
wwid 36000d31000ec9900000000000000000e
alias datavol1
}
wwid 36000d31000ec9900000000000000000f
alias datavol2
}
wwid 36000d31000ec99000000000000000010
alias datavol3
}
wwid 36000d31000ec99000000000000000011
alias datavol4
}
wwid 36000d31000ec9900000000000000001b
alias datavol5
}
wwid 36000d31000ec9900000000000000001c
alias datavol6
}
wwid 36000d31000ec9900000000000000001d
alias datavol7
}
wwid 36000d31000ec9900000000000000001e
alias datavol8
}
}
2. To activate settings and rescan new devices, restart the daemon by running the
following command:
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service multipathd restart
The volumes are now visible on each host.
3. To show that each device has four paths to the array, run the following command:
dellhana1:/ # multipath -ll
datavol1 (36000d31000ec99000000000000000011) dm-12
COMPELNT,Compellent Vol
size=1.6T features='1 queue_if_no_path' hwhandler='0' wp=rw
`-+- policy='service-time 0' prio=1 status=active
|- 19:0:0:4 sdd 8:48 active ready running
|- 19:0:2:4 sdu 65:64 active ready running
|- 20:0:0:4 sdal 66:80 active ready running
`- 20:0:2:4 sdbc 67:96 active ready running
logvol1 (36000d31000ec99000000000000000015) dm-10
COMPELNT,Compellent Vol
size=512G features='1 queue_if_no_path' hwhandler='0' wp=rw
`-+- policy='service-time 0' prio=1 status=active
|- 19:0:0:8 sdf 8:80 active ready running
|- 19:0:2:8 sdw 65:96 active ready running
|- 20:0:0:8 sdan 66:112 active ready running
`- 20:0:2:8 sdbe 67:128 active ready running
datavol2 (36000d31000ec99000000000000000010) dm-21
COMPELNT,Compellent Vol
size=1.6T features='1 queue_if_no_path' hwhandler='0' wp=rw
`-+- policy='service-time 0' prio=1 status=active
|- 19:0:1:3 sdl 8:176 active ready running
|- 19:0:3:3 sdac 65:192 active ready running
|- 20:0:1:3 sdat 66:208 active ready running
`- 20:0:3:3 sdbk 67:224 active ready running
logvol2 (36000d31000ec99000000000000000014) dm-17
COMPELNT,Compellent Vol
size=512G features='1 queue_if_no_path' hwhandler='0' wp=rw
`-+- policy='service-time 0' prio=1 status=active
|- 19:0:1:7 sdn 8:208 active ready running
|- 19:0:3:7 sdae 65:224 active ready running
|- 20:0:1:7 sdav 66:240 active ready running
`- 20:0:3:7 sdbm 68:0 active ready running
datavol3 (36000d31000ec9900000000000000000f) dm-8
COMPELNT,Compellent Vol
size=1.6T features='1 queue_if_no_path' hwhandler='0' wp=rw
`-+- policy='service-time 0' prio=1 status=active
|- 19:0:0:2 sdc 8:32 active ready running
|- 19:0:2:2 sdt 65:48 active ready running
|- 20:0:0:2 sdak 66:64 active ready running
`- 20:0:2:2 sdbb 67:80 active ready running
logvol3 (36000d31000ec99000000000000000013) dm-11
COMPELNT,Compellent Vol
size=512G features='1 queue_if_no_path' hwhandler='0' wp=rw
`-+- policy='service-time 0' prio=1 status=active
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Mounting SAP HANA data and log volumes
|- 19:0:0:6 sde 8:64 active ready running
|- 19:0:2:6 sdv 65:80 active ready running
|- 20:0:0:6 sdam 66:96 active ready running
`- 20:0:2:6 sdbd 67:112 active ready running
datavol4 (36000d31000ec9900000000000000000e) dm-16
COMPELNT,Compellent Vol
size=1.6T features='1 queue_if_no_path' hwhandler='0' wp=rw
`-+- policy='service-time 0' prio=1 status=active
|- 19:0:1:1 sdk 8:160 active ready running
|- 19:0:3:1 sdab 65:176 active ready running
|- 20:0:1:1 sdas 66:192 active ready running
`- 20:0:3:1 sdbj 67:208 active ready running
logvol4 (36000d31000ec99000000000000000012) dm-20
COMPELNT,Compellent Vol
size=512G features='1 queue_if_no_path' hwhandler='0' wp=rw
`-+- policy='service-time 0' prio=1 status=active
|- 19:0:1:5 sdm 8:192 active ready running
|- 19:0:3:5 sdad 65:208 active ready running
|- 20:0:1:5 sdau 66:224 active ready running
`- 20:0:3:5 sdbl 67:240 active ready running
sapmnt (36000d31000ec99000000000000000016) dm-24
COMPELNT,Compellent Vol
size=8.0T features='1 queue_if_no_path' hwhandler='0' wp=rw
`-+- policy='service-time 0' prio=1 status=active
|- 19:0:1:9 sdo 8:224 active ready running
|- 19:0:3:9 sdaf 65:240 active ready running
|- 20:0:1:9 sdaw 67:0 active ready running
`- 20:0:3:9 sdbn 68:16 active ready running
The XFS file system provides the best performance for both SAP HANA data and log
block devices. To format a block device with the XFS file system, run the following
command on the SAP HANA node:
mkfs.xfs /dev/mapper/DataVol1
mkfs.xfs /dev/mapper/LogVol1
Note: Run this command for all block devices.
If for any reason you must expand a file system, run the xfs_growfs command on the
Linux host after you expand the volume on the Compellent storage.
Use the XFS file system for all data and log volumes. The SAP HANA Storage Connector
API does not support partitioned devices, so the volumes must be unpartitioned.
For information about how to install and configure the SAP HANA environment, see the
SAP HANA Server Installation and Update Guide.
In an SAP HANA scale-out environment with worker and standby nodes, the SAP HANA
storage connector for FC (fcClient) mounts and unmounts the devices to the SAP HANA
nodes. In addition to mounting the devices, the storage connector writes SCSI-3
persistent reservations (PRs) to the devices using the Linux sg_persist command. This
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SAP HANA global.ini file
operation, which is called I/O fencing, ensures that only one SAP HANA worker host has
access to a set of data and log devices at a given time.
The storage connector API is controlled in the storage section of the SAP HANA
global.ini file. The storage section of the file contains entries for the block devices
with optional mount options. Run the multipath –ll command on the SAP HANA
hosts to determine the aliases of the partition entries.
[communication]
listeninterface = .internal
[persistence]
basepath_datavolumes = /hana/data/HAN
basepath_logvolumes = /hana/log/HAN
use_mountpoint = yes
[storage]
ha_provider = hdb_ha.fcClient
partition_*_*__mountoptions = -t xfs
partition_*_*__prtype = 5
partition_1_data__alias = DataVol1
partition_1_log__alias = LogVol1
partition_2_data__alias = DataVol2
partition_2_log__alias = LogVol2
partition_3_data__alias = DataVol3
partition_3_log__alias = LogVol3
[trace]
ha_fcclient = info
For information about the SAP HANA storage connector and how to configure the
global.ini file, see the SAP HANA Administration Guide and the SAP HANA Server
Installation and Update Guide on the SAP Help Portal.
Note: SAP HANA can only be installed on certified server hardware. The installation must be
performed by a certified HANA expert.
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Optimizing file I/Os after SAP HANA installation
Backing up and recovering the SAP HANA database
SAP HANA 1.0
After the initial SAP HANA installation is complete, set the parameters by using the SAP
HANA hdbparam command as <sid>adm in the Linux shell:
su - <sid>adm
hdbparam –p # lists current parameter setting
hdbparam –-paramset fileio.max_parallel_io_requests[DATA]=256
hdbparam –-paramset fileio.async_read_submit[DATA]=on
hdbparam –-paramset fileio.async_write_submit_blocks[DATA]=all
hdbparam –-paramset fileio.max_parallel_io_requests[LOG]=256
hdbparam –-paramset fileio.async_read_submit[LOG]=on
hdbparam –-paramset fileio.async_write_submit_blocks[LOG]=all
SAP HANA 2.0
Starting with SAP HANA 2.0, the hdbparam command-line tool has been deprecated.
Instead, the parameters are defined as normal parameters in global.ini >[fileio].
Set the parameter as follows in the global.ini file:
max_parallel_io_requests[DATA]=256
max_parallel_io_requests[LOG]=256
Both async_read_submit=on and async_write_submit_blocks=all are set by
default during installation.
For more information, see SAP Note 2399079: Elimination of hdbparam in HANA 2
(access requires an SAP username and password).
Note: The preceding instructions for tuning file I/O parameters are based on SAP HANA 1.0 SPS
11 and SAP HANA 2.0 SPS01. Future SAP HANA versions might allow these parameters to be
set in configuration files. See the latest SAP HANA documentation for more information.
Data Domain deduplication storage systems enable you to redefine SAP backup, archive,
and availability with deduplication and consolidated data protection. Data Domain systems
work seamlessly with a range of backup, archive, and enterprise applications.
Dell EMC’s new generation of midsize and large enterprise Data Domain systems are
powered with flash SSD. For more information, see the Dell EMC Data Domain
Deduplication Storage Systems Spec Sheet. By consolidating backup and archive data on
a Data Domain system, you can reduce storage requirements, making disks cost-effective
for onsite retention and highly efficient for network-based replication to disaster recovery
sites.
Data Domain Boost connection to SAP HANA backup interface
The SAP HANA database provides a backup interface called Backint for SAP HANA. This
backup interface enables third-party backup tools such as Dell EMC Data Domain Boost
for Enterprise Applications (DDBEA) to connect to the backup and recovery capabilities of
the SAP HANA database. Because Backint for SAP HANA is fully integrated into the SAP
HANA database, you can individually configure data and log backups to be created and
recovered using DDBEA.
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A DDBEA backup to a Data Domain system uses the DD Boost feature as follows:
The DD Boost library API enables the backup software to communicate with the
Data Domain system.
The DD Boost distributed segment processing (DSP) component reviews the
data that is already stored on the Data Domain system and sends only unique
data for storage. The DSP component enables the backup data to be
deduplicated on the database or application host to reduce the amount of data
that is transferred over the network. During the restore of a backup to the client,
the Data Domain system converts the stored data to its original nondeduplicated state before sending the data over the network.
Configuring Data Domain for SAP HANA
Configure the Data Domain system as follows:
1. Install the DDBEA software on the operating system of the database host.
2. Manually create the following subdirectory if it does not already exist:
/usr/sap/<SID>/SYS/global/hdb/opt
3. Copy the /opt/ddbda/bin/hdbbackint file to the subdirectory that is
specified in the preceding step.
Alternatively, as shown in the following figure, create a symbolic link that points to
the executable file by using the following command:
/usr/sap/<SID>/SYS/global/hdb/opt/hdbbackint
Figure 11. Creating a symbolic link
4. Modify the parameter settings of the SAP HANA template configuration file
/opt/dpsapps/dbappagent/config/sap_hana_ddbda.utl, as shown in
the following figure.
Figure 12. Modifying the configuration file parameter settings
5. Configure the DDBEA lockbox by running the following command, where
<configuration_file> is the file that you used in step 4:
ddbmadmin –P –Z <configuration_file>
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Note: If you are configuring the multinode cluster, repeat steps 1–5 for all nodes.
6. In SAP HANA Studio, specify the location of the DDBEA configuration file for data
and log backup, as shown in the following figure.
Figure 13. Specifying the DDBDA configuration file location
For more information about configuring DD Boost software with SAP HANA, see the Dell
EMC Data Domain Boost for Enterprise Applications and ProtectPoint Database
Application Agent Installation and Administration Guide.
Backing up the database from SAP HANA Studio
Follow these steps:
1. Log in to SAP HANA Studio and select Backup and Recovery > Back Up
System.
Figure 14. SAP HANA Studio Backup and Recovery menu
2. Select the tenant database.
The Specify Backup Settings dialog box appears.
3. In the Destination Type field, select Backint.
4. Review the backup settings and click Finish to start the backup.
Recovering the database with SAP HANA Studio
To recover the SAP HANA database to the point when you backed it up, follow these
steps:
1. Log in to the SAP HANA Studio, and then select Backup and Recovery.
2. Select the tenant database.
3. Select Recover the database to its most recent state.
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4. Specify a location for the log backups, as shown in the following figure.
Figure 15. Specifying the log backup location
5. In the Select a Backup dialog box, select the point in time to which you want to
restore the database, as shown in the following figure.
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Figure 16. Specifying a recovery point in time
6. Select Third-Party Backup Tool (Backint) as the backup tool.
7. Review the recovery settings, and then click Finish to complete the operation.
Using DDBEA software with Data Domain systems
Using DDBEA software with the Data Domain system provides the following benefits:
Greater throughput because the DD Boost library sends only unique data, rather
than all the data, to the Data Domain system
Significantly reduced network bandwidth requirements because only the unique
data is sent to the Data Domain system over the network
Dell EMC solutions for SAP HANA are single-vendor, comprehensive offerings that
address both database and data protection design and performance. We extensively
tested this solution with the Data Domain system to ensure that customers receive an
optimized and modern solution that accelerates time-to-value and protects their
databases. We performed backup and restore performance benchmarking on a Dell EMC
Ready Solution for a SAP HANA two-node appliance using a Data Domain DD6300
system. We used Dell EMC 14G PowerEdge R940 servers and an SC5020 array to
create an initial database size of approximately 2.7 TB on the SAP HANA two-node
appliance.
The following table shows the result of this backup and restore performance
benchmarking.
Accessing SC Series storage from the SAP HANA nodes
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Dell EMC SC Series Storage Configuration Best Practices for SAP HANA TDI
SC9000, SC7020, SC5020, and SCv3020 Storage Arrays
Validation Guide
Restore
Network out (MB/s)
Restore duration
(min)
Node 1—backup server
CPU usage (%)
Node 2—backup
server CPU
usage (%)
Note
1,873
35
0.77
0.75
2.96 TB of the SAP
HANA full data
backup image.
Does not include
the time required to
load the database
into memory.
Backup
DD Boost
throughput
(MB/s)
Network
throughput
(MB/s)
Postcompression
data (GB)
Backup
duration
(min)
Node 1—
backup
server CPU
usage (%)
Node 2—
backup
server CPU
usage (%)
Total
compression
ratio (x)
SAP HANA
full data
backup
(TB)
First
backup
889
704
2,396.5
56.5
1.4
1.5
1.3
2.77
Second
backup
3,844
183
158.4
14.0
2.8
2.7
21.3
2.87
Third
backup
4,025
117
99.6
13.8
2.8
2.7
36.9
2.96
Table 3. Ready Solution for SAP HANA scale-out appliance backup and restore results
The first complete database backup took longer because we saved a fresh data set to the
DD6300 system. The total compression ratio (TCR) we obtained was only 1.3 (2.396 TB)
compared to the initial 2.77 TB database.
For the second and third backups with 3 to 4 percent of new data, a full data backup of
the database took only a quarter of the time required for the first backup. We also
observed better Data Domain performance, as follows:
DD Boost throughput―Increased by 4 times relative to the first backup
Network throughput ―Was significantly reduced because only new unique
data was sent to the system
Total compression ratio―Was in a range from 21 to 36 times greater for the
second and third backups compared to the original database size, leading to
significant storage savings
For more information about the backup and restore results we obtained, see Dell EMC
SAP HANA Appliance Backup and Restore Performance with Dell EMC Data Domain.
Conclusion
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Dell EMC SC Series Storage Configuration Best Practices for SAP HANA TDI
SC9000, SC7020, SC5020, and SCv3020 Storage Arrays
Validation Guide
Summary
Findings
Conclusion
Using SAP HANA in TDI deployments with Dell EMC SC Series storage arrays provides
many benefits, including reducing hardware and operational costs, lowering risk,
improving availability and performance, and increasing hardware vendor flexibility.
The SC Series arrays are certified by SAP and can be used for SAP HANA installations
on production and nonproduction systems and on scale-up and scale-out systems.
During our tests with SAP HANA on SC Series arrays, we observed the following:
The SAP HANA-HWC-ES 1.1 certification scenario makes higher demands in
terms of disk configuration.
SAP HANA production installations on SC Series systems require SSDs for the
SAP HANA persistence.
Data Domain systems and DDBEA enable you to consolidate SAP HANA backups
and archives with greater network efficiency, reducing your storage protection
footprint through deduplication and compression.
Using SSDs for the SAP HANA persistence provides significant benefits,
including:
Reduced SAP HANA startup and host auto-failover times
Reduced SAP HANA backup and recovery times
No need to consider spindle count because initial array and disk configuration
can be performed based on capacity
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Dell EMC SC Series Storage Configuration Best Practices for SAP HANA TDI
SC9000, SC7020, SC5020, and SCv3020 Storage Arrays
Validation Guide
References
Dell EMC documentation
SAP documentation
References
The following documentation on Dell.com, Dell EMC.com, or Dell EMC Online Support
provides additional relevant information. If you do not have access to a document, contact
your Dell EMC representative.
Dell EMC SC Series product page
SC Series Hybrid Arrays Specification Sheet
SC All-Flash Specification Sheet (SC7020F, SC5020F)
SC Series Expansion Enclosures Specification Sheet
The Architectural Advantages of Dell SC Series Automated Tiered Storage
White Paper
Dell EMC Storage Compatibility Matrix - SC Series, PS Series, and FS Series
SC Series Live Migrate and Live Volume Feature Brief
Platform- and Data-efficient Dell Storage SC Series ESG Lab Review
Always Available Dell Storage SC Series ESG Lab Review
Dell Storage SC Series Secure Data Solutions Feature Brief
Dell EMC Data Domain Boost for Enterprise Applications and ProtectPoint
Database Application Agent Installation and Administration Guide
Dell EMC Data Domain Deduplication Storage Systems Spec Sheet
Dell EMC Data Domain Operating System Administration Guide
Dell Storage Manager 2016 R3 Administrator’s Guide
For SAP Ready Solutions documentation, see Solutions for SAP Info Hub: Technical
Documentation on the Everything SAP at Dell EMC Community forum.
You can find the following SAP HANA documentation on the SAP Help Portal:
SAP HANA Master Guide
SAP HANA Server Installation and Update Guide
SAP HANA Technical Operations Manual
SAP HANA Administration Guide
SAP HANA Storage Requirements
The following resources provide additional relevant information:
SAP HANA Platform
SAP HANA One
SAP HANA product page
SAP HANA TDI - Overview
SAP HANA Tailored Data Center Integration Frequently Asked Questions
References
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Dell EMC SC Series Storage Configuration Best Practices for SAP HANA TDI
SC9000, SC7020, SC5020, and SCv3020 Storage Arrays
Validation Guide
Other documentation
How To Perform System Replication for SAP HANA
Sizing Approaches for SAP HANA–Lessons Learned
Enterprise Storage Architecture–Planning Guide
Elements of a Software Change Management Strategy
SAP Notes
The following documentation requires an SAP username and password:
SAP Note 1943937: Hardware Configuration Check Tool - Central Note
SAP Note 2009879: SAP HANA Guidelines for Red Hat Enterprise Linux
(RHEL) Operating System
SAP Note 1944799: SAP HANA Guidelines for SLES Operating System
Installation
SAP Note 1969700: SQL statement collection for SAP HANA
SAP Note 1999930: SAP HANA I/O Analysis
SAP Note 2399079: Elimination of hdbparam in HANA 2
SAP Note 1788665: SAP HANA running on VMware vSphere VMs
The following Red Hat and SUSE documentation provides additional relevant information:
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for SAP Solutions Sheet
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications product page
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