Sizing Guide CUSTOMER

Document Version: 1.0 – 2016-02-09

Sizing SAP HANA Smart Data Access, Version 1.0

Disclaimer

Some components of this product are based on Java™. Any code change in these components may cause
unpredictable and severe malfunctions and is therefore expressly prohibited, as is any decompilation of these
components.

Documentation in the SAP Service Marketplace

You can find this documentation at the following address: http://service.sap.com/sizing.

Caution
<Put your caution here>

Example
<Put your example here>

Note
<Put your note here>

Recommendation
<Put your recommendation here>

Syntax
<Put your syntax here>

CUSTOMER Sizing SAP HANA Smart Data Access, Version 1.0

2 © 2016 SAP SE. All rights reserved. Disclaimer
Typographic Conventions

Type Style Description

Example Words or characters quoted from the screen. These include field names, screen titles,
pushbuttons labels, menu names, menu paths, and menu options.
Textual cross-references to other documents.

Example Emphasized words or expressions.

EXAMPLE Technical names of system objects. These include report names, program names,
transaction codes, table names, and key concepts of a programming language when
they are surrounded by body text, for example, SELECT and INCLUDE.

Example Output on the screen. This includes file and directory names and their paths,
messages, names of variables and parameters, source text, and names of installation,
upgrade and database tools.

Example Exact user entry. These are words or characters that you enter in the system exactly as
they appear in the documentation.

<Example> Variable user entry. Angle brackets indicate that you replace these words and
characters with appropriate entries to make entries in the system.

EXAMPLE Keys on the keyboard, for example, F 2 or E N T E R .

Sizing SAP HANA Smart Data Access, Version 1.0 CUSTOMER

Typographic Conventions © 2016 SAP SE. All rights reserved. 3
Document History

Version Date Change

1.0 2016-02-09 First version of SAP HANA Smart Data Access sizing documentation

CUSTOMER Sizing SAP HANA Smart Data Access, Version 1.0

4 © 2016 SAP SE. All rights reserved. Document History
Table of Contents

1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 6
1.1 Functions of SAP HANA Smart Data Access ................................................................................6
1.2 SAP HANA Smart Data Access Terminology ...............................................................................6
1.3 Architecture of SAP HANA Smart Data Access ........................................................................... 7
1.4 Factors that Influence the Performance .......................................................................................8

2 Sizing Fundamentals and Terminology ............................................................................... 10

3 Initial Sizing for SAP HANA Smart Data Access ...................................................................11

4 Final Remarks .................................................................................................................... 12

5 Comments and Feedback .................................................................................................. 13

Sizing SAP HANA Smart Data Access, Version 1.0 CUSTOMER

Table of Contents © 2016 SAP SE. All rights reserved. 5
1 Introduction

SAP HANA Smart Data Access provides a cost-efficient, easy-to-deploy solution to get real-time data visibility
across fragmented data sources. SAP HANA Smart Data Access allows you to access remote data as if the data
was stored in local tables in SAP HANA, without copying the data into SAP HANA.

1.1 Functions of SAP HANA Smart Data Access

The ability to federate data into SAP HANA provides both operational and cost benefits, as well as supports the
development and deployment of next-generation analytical applications which require the ability to access,
synthesize, and integrate data from multiple systems in real-time regardless of where the data is located or what
systems are generating it.

Specifically, in SAP HANA, you can leverage Smart Data Access to create virtual tables which point to remote
tables in different data sources. Customers can then write SQL queries in SAP HANA, which could operate on
virtual tables. The SAP HANA query processor optimizes these queries, and executes the relevant part of the
query in the target database, returns the results of the query to SAP HANA, and completes the operation.

1.2 SAP HANA Smart Data Access Terminology

SAP HANA Smart Data Access User

A user of SAP HANA Smart Data Access is a database user who has credentials to access a remote source via
SAP HANA Smart Data Access. Access can be granted via a single technical user credential or by secondary SAP
HANA user-specific credentials.

SAP HANA Database User

A user of the SAP HANA Database is a user who has permission to access the database. All SAP HANA Smart
Data Access users are by definition SAP HANA Database users.

Application User
In the context of this documentation an application user is a user who accesses an application built on SAP HANA.
Application users may leverage data accessed via SAP HANA Smart Data Access via the application.

Virtual Table
Also known as a federated table, a virtual table is a mapping of a table in SAP HANA to a remote object in a remote
data system. Virtual tables do not contain data, and contain only the metadata relevant to the remote source.

CUSTOMER Sizing SAP HANA Smart Data Access, Version 1.0

6 © 2016 SAP SE. All rights reserved. Introduction
Local Access
Local Access refers to the act of accessing the local SAP HANA system, and does not require permissions or
access to a remote system.

Remote Access
Remote access refers to the act of accessing a system outside of the local SAP HANA system such as SAP ASE,
SAP IQ or Teradata Database, among others.

1.3 Architecture of SAP HANA Smart Data Access

SAP HANA Smart Data Access is based on local virtual tables that map to an existing object at the remote source
site. The communication between SAP HANA and a remote data source is based on the ODBC protocol and data
sources are accessed through a data source adapter.

Each data source adapter implements the specificity of each data source in terms of connectivity, capabilities and
query language. The data source adapter allows the SAP HANA query processing to access federated data
without knowledge of specific data sources. It also provides common services like connection management and
SQL execution.

The definition of a virtual table is similar to a regular relational SAP HANA table and its metadata is stored in the
local system catalog. Data from a virtual table is dynamically retrieved on a per-query basis. Remote table data
types and column definitions are used to create the virtual table in SAP HANA. The remote table’s lifecycle
(structure and contents) is totally independent from the SAP HANA database, e.g. its metadata or data can be
updated without notification to the SAP HANA system.

Figure 1 showcases the SAP HANA Smart Data Access architecture and how it fits in to the broader system
environment.

Sizing SAP HANA Smart Data Access, Version 1.0 CUSTOMER

Introduction © 2016 SAP SE. All rights reserved. 7
Figure 1: SAP HANA Smart Data Access architecture

As virtual tables do not contain data, and contain only the metadata relevant to the remote source, they do not
add to the SAP HANA table size. Joins in SAP HANA which operate on the virtual tables, do require the creation of
internal table structures, and contribute to the workspace size. The SAP HANA Query Optimizer minimizes the
workspace size for the internal table structures needed for query processing. As such, the amount of additional
memory used in HANA depends on the exact nature of the query issued. Monitoring tools are provided in SAP
HANA Studio and Cockpit to monitor the exact amount of memory used per query.

1.4 Factors that Influence the Performance

Data Volume
Consider the data volume that will be accessed via SAP HANA Smart Data Access. This will have an impact on the
speed of the query as the data from the remote source will be transferred via an ODBC connection into SAP
HANA. It is particularly relevant to keep data volume in mind when accessing data from Hadoop.

Network Connection Performance

The speed of the network connection to the remote source will have a direct impact on the SAP HANA Smart Data
Access query speed. Please make sure that your network can accommodate the volumes of data you would like to
transfer.

CUSTOMER Sizing SAP HANA Smart Data Access, Version 1.0

8 © 2016 SAP SE. All rights reserved. Introduction
Query Type
The amount of work that is pushed down to the remote source as well as the number of tables that are accessed
will have an influence on the speed of query execution. The SAP HANA Query Optimizer knows whether certain
operations can be shipped to a remote server/data source and has the ability to consider this in its costing. The
optimizer is able to generate valid plans in cases where HANA specific features cannot be used and can leverage
functional compensation.

Sizing SAP HANA Smart Data Access, Version 1.0 CUSTOMER

Introduction © 2016 SAP SE. All rights reserved. 9
2 Sizing Fundamentals and Terminology

SAP provides general sizing information on the SAP Service Marketplace. For the purpose of this guide, we
assume that you are familiar with sizing fundamentals. You can find more information at service.sap.com/sizing
→ Sizing Guidelines → Presentations and Articles.
This section explains the most important sizing terms, as these terms are used extensively in this document.

Sizing
Sizing means determining the hardware requirements of an SAP application, such as network bandwidth, physical
memory, CPU processing power, and I/O capacity. The size of the hardware and database is influenced by both
business aspects and technological aspects. This means that the number of users using the various application
components and the data load they put on the server must be taken into account.

Benchmarking
Sizing information can be determined using SAP Standard Application Benchmarks (www.sap.com/benchmark).
Released for technology partners, benchmarks provide basic sizing recommendations to customers by placing a
substantial load upon a system during the testing of new hardware, system software components, and relational
database management systems (RDBMS). All performance data relevant to the system, user, and business
applications are monitored during a benchmark run and can be used to compare platforms.

SAPS
The SAP Application Performance Standard (SAPS) is a hardware-independent unit that describes the
performance of a system configuration in the SAP environment. It is derived from the Sales and Distribution (SD)
Benchmark, where 100 SAPS is defined as the computing power to handle 2,000 fully business processed order
line items per hour. (For more information about SAPS, see www.sap.com/benchmark → Measuring in SAPS).

Initial Sizing
Initial sizing refers to the sizing approach that provides statements about platform-independent requirements of
the hardware resources necessary for representative, standard delivery SAP applications. The initial sizing
guidelines assume optimal system parameter settings, standard business scenarios, and so on.

Expert Sizing
This term refers to a sizing exercise where customer-specific data is being analyzed and used to put more detail
on the sizing result. The main objective is to determine the resource consumption of customized content and
applications (not SAP standard delivery) by comprehensive measurements. More information can be found here.

Configuration and System Landscaping

Hardware resource and optimal system configuration greatly depend on the requirements of the customer-
specific project. This includes the implementation of distribution, security, and high availability solutions by
different approaches using various third-party tools. In the case of high availability through redundant resources,
for example, the final resource requirements must be adjusted accordingly.
There are “best practices” which may be valid for a specific combination of operating system and database. To
provide guidance, SAP created NetWeaver configuration guides (service.sap.com/instguides → SAP NetWeaver).

CUSTOMER Sizing SAP HANA Smart Data Access, Version 1.0

10 © 2016 SAP SE. All rights reserved. Sizing Fundamentals and Terminology
3 Initial Sizing for SAP HANA Smart Data
Access

When determining the amount of memory required for SAP HANA Smart Data Access, there are a few different
factors that customers need to take into account. It is helpful for customers to understand the uncompressed table
sizes for all accessed tables in remote systems as a starting point. SAP HANA Smart Data Access will only bring a
fraction of the uncompressed table sizes from remote sources into HANA at any one time. SAP HANA Smart Data
Access is an ad-hoc access and the aim is not to copy from the remote source and keep it locally.

In order to determine the memory required for SAP HANA Smart Data Access a few basic factors need to be known:

Variable Symbol

The number of concurrent SAP HANA Smart Data Access users U

The number of remote queries per user (Note: most often there is just one remote Q
query per user)

The total expected virtual table result set per remote query S

Once these factors are known, there is a simple formula to calculate how much memory is required for SAP HANA
Smart Data Access:

SAP HANA Smart Data Access Memory Size = U*Q*S

An example to illustrate:

The Nani Cement Company would like to leverage the power of SAP HANA Smart Data Access for
reporting. They have 1000 users total using SAP HANA, however only 50 leveraging SAP HANA Smart
Data Access concurrently. There is one remote query per user at a time. The total expected virtual table
result set per remote query is approximately 10 MB.

With this information it is possible to estimate the size of SAP HANA Smart Data Access Memory needed:

SAP HANA Smart Data Access Memory Size = U*Q*S

SAP HANA Smart Data Access Memory Size = (50)(1)(10 MB) ≈ 500 MB

Sizing SAP HANA Smart Data Access, Version 1.0 CUSTOMER

Initial Sizing for SAP HANA Smart Data Access © 2016 SAP SE. All rights reserved. 11
4 Final Remarks

All of the variables used for the initial sizing for SAP HANA Smart Data Access are based on estimations. If a
customer doesn’t know the variables exactly and would like to minimize the risk of an out of memory situation in
SAP HANA due an underestimation of variables used in the Smart Data Access sizing calculation, an alternative is
to simply add the total size of all virtual tables accessed on top of the HANA standard memory size. The clear
disadvantage of this option is that a massive memory oversizing is very likely. The benefit being that HANA will
always have enough workspace, including in peak load situations.

An additional suggestion is for the customer to closely monitor how much data is accessed via SAP HANA Smart
Data Access and how frequently. Depending on the monitoring the customer should also decide if remote data
should be replicated rather than federated.

CUSTOMER Sizing SAP HANA Smart Data Access, Version 1.0

12 © 2016 SAP SE. All rights reserved. Final Remarks
5 Comments and Feedback

Both are very welcome! Please address comments and feedback to:

Aleksandra Aleksic
SAP HANA Product Management
aleks.aleksic@sap.com

Ruediger Karl
SAP HANA Product Management
ruediger.karl@sap.com

Sizing SAP HANA Smart Data Access, Version 1.0 CUSTOMER

Comments and Feedback © 2016 SAP SE. All rights reserved. 13
www.sap.com/contactsap

© 2016 SAP SE. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any
form or for any purpose without the express permission of SAP SE.
The information contained herein may be changed without prior
notice.
Some software products marketed by SAP SE and its distributors
contain proprietary software components of other software
vendors.
Microsoft, Windows, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint are registered
trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
IBM, DB2, DB2 Universal Database, System ads, System i5, System
p, System p5, System x, System z, System z10, System z9, z10, z9,
iSeries, pSeries, xSeries, zSeries, eServer, z/VM, z/OS, i5/OS,
S/390, OS/390, OS/400, AS/400, S/390 Parallel Enterprise
Server, PowerVM, Power Architecture, POWER6+, POWER6,
POWER5+, POWER5, POWER, OpenPower, PowerPC, BatchPipes,
BladeCenter, System Storage, GPFS, HACMP, RETAIN, DB2
Connect, RACF, Redbooks, OS/2, Parallel Sysplex, MVS/ESA, AIX,
Intelligent Miner, WebSphere, Netfinity, Tivoli and Informix are
trademarks or registered trademarks of IBM Corporation.
Linux is the registered trademark of Linus Torvalds in the U.S. and
other countries.
Adobe, the Adobe logo, Acrobat, PostScript, and Reader are either
trademarks or registered trademarks of Adobe Systems
Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries.
Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation.
UNIX, X/Open, OSF/1, and Motif are registered trademarks of the
Open Group.
Citrix, ICA, Program Neighborhood, MetaFrame, WinFrame,
VideoFrame, and MultiWin are trademarks or registered trademarks
of Citrix Systems, Inc.
HTML, XML, XHTML and W3C are trademarks or registered
trademarks of W3C®, World Wide Web Consortium, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology.
Java is a registered trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc.
JavaScript is a registered trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc.,
used under license for technology invented and implemented by
Netscape.
SAP, R/3, xApps, xApp, SAP NetWeaver, Duet, PartnerEdge,
ByDesign, SAP Business ByDesign, and other SAP products and
services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are
trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP SE in Germany and in
several other countries all over the world. All other product and
service names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective
companies. Data contained in this document serves informational
purposes only. National product specifications may vary.
These materials are subject to change without notice. These
materials are provided by SAP SE and its affiliated companies ("SAP
Group") for informational purposes only, without representation or
warranty of any kind, and SAP Group shall not be liable for errors or
omissions with respect to the materials. The only warranties for SAP
Group products and services are those that are set forth in the
express warranty statements accompanying such products and
services, if any. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting
an additional warranty.