Skip to main content

Unlock the Power of SAP HANA Performance Optimization: A Comprehensive Guide for SAP Basis Administrators [Part 1 : Introduction ]

In the dynamic world of SAP environments, efficient performance management is crucial to ensure smooth operations and optimal user experience. SAP Basis administrators play a critical role in investigating and optimizing long-running processes within the SAP HANA database. In this comprehensive guide, we provide step-by-step instructions to help SAP Basis administrators tackle performance bottlenecks and maximize system efficiency.


Step 1: Identify the Process ID and Improve SAP HANA Performance

The SM66 transaction in SAP provides a comprehensive overview of system work processes. By analyzing the "Elapsed Time" column, administrators can identify long-running transactions that may be impacting system performance. By investigating the root causes of these issues and taking appropriate optimization measures, system performance

Learn how to leverage transaction codes like ST03N and STAD to identify the process ID associated with long-running processes. By following this initial step, SAP Basis administrators gain valuable insights into system performance and can take proactive measures to optimize SAP HANA performance.

Read More on ST03N

Read More on STAD

Step 2: Open SAP HANA Studio for Advanced Performance Monitoring

Discover how to use transaction code HDBStudio to launch SAP HANA Studio and connect to the relevant SAP HANA database. This powerful tool provides deep visibility into database performance, enabling administrators to diagnose and address performance issues effectively.

Step 3: Access the Process Overview and Enhance Database Performance

Navigate to the "Performance" perspective within SAP HANA Studio or use transaction code ST04 to access the SAP HANA Performance Monitor. Gain a comprehensive overview of active processes in the database, empowering administrators to pinpoint long-running processes and improve database performance.



Step 4: Filter the Process List and Optimize SAP HANA Efficiency Apply filters to focus specifically on the long-running process using search fields or execute SQL queries. We provide sample SQL queries, including SELECT statements, to help administrators streamline their analysis and quickly identify performance bottlenecks.

Step 5: Analyze Process Details for Effective Performance Tuning Select the relevant process entry and delve into the Process Details section. Evaluate crucial metrics such as CPU usage, memory consumption, execution time, and SQL statements executed. Gain actionable insights to optimize performance and ensure efficient SAP HANA operations.

Step 6: View SQL Statements and Enhance Database Performance Expand the "SQL Statements" section within Process Details to examine specific SQL statements executed by the process. We provide SQL query examples to retrieve detailed information about executed SQL statements, empowering administrators to fine-tune queries for optimal performance.

Step 7: Check for Locks and Optimize SAP HANA Throughput Identify any locks held by the process or instances where it is waiting for other processes to release locks. Leverage transaction code DB02 to further analyze database locks and optimize SAP HANA throughput.

Step 8: Analyze Execution Plans for Efficient Performance Tuning Gain insights into the execution plans of specific SQL statements by right-clicking on the statement and selecting "Explain Plan". Execute SQL queries to understand the steps involved in executing SQL statements and identify potential performance issues. Leverage this information to fine-tune queries and improve overall system performance.

Step 9: Monitor Resource Usage and Optimize SAP HANA Scalability Monitor CPU and memory usage within the Process Details section. Use transaction codes ST06 and ST03 to track disk I/O, network utilization, and memory usage. Analyze these metrics to optimize resource allocation, enhance scalability, and ensure efficient SAP HANA operations.

Step 10: Take Action for Continuous Optimization Implement appropriate measures based on the analysis of process details, SQL statements, locks, and resource utilization. Collaborate with database administrators (DBAs) if necessary to resolve performance issues, fine-tune SQL statements, adjust system configurations, and ensure ongoing optimization for a robust SAP environment.

Deep dive in HANA queries

Conclusion: Optimizing SAP HANA performance is a critical task for SAP Basis administrators, and this step-by-step guide equips them with the necessary tools and techniques. By identifying long-running processes, analyzing SQL statements, monitoring resource usage, and taking proactive actions, administrators can enhance system performance, elevate user experience, and maximize productivity. Stay proactive, monitor regularly, and leverage the power of SAP tools to keep your SAP environment running at its peak.

Comments

You might find these interesting

How to properly Start/Stop SAP system through command line ?

Starting/stopping an SAP system is not a critical task, but the method that most of us follow to achieve this is sometimes wrong. A common mistake that most of the SAP admins do is, making use of the 'startsap' and 'stopsap' commands for starting/stopping the system.  These commands got deprecated in 2015 because the scripts were not being maintained anymore and SAP recommends not to use them as many people have faced errors while executing those scripts. For more info and the bugs in scripts, you can check the sap note 809477.  These scripts are not available in kernel version 7.73 and later. So if these are not the correct commands, then how to start/stop the sap system?  In this post, we will see how to do it in the correct way. SAP SYSTEM VS INSTANCE In SAP, an instance is a group of resources such as memory, work processes and so on, usually in support of a single application server or database server with...

sapstartsrv is not started or sapcontrol is not working

 What is sapstartsrv ? The SAP start service runs on every computer where an instance of an SAP system is started. It is implemented as a service on Windows, and as a daemon on UNIX. The process is called  sapstartsrv.exe   on Windows, and   sapstartsrv   on UNIX platforms. The SAP start service provides the following functions for monitoring SAP systems, instances, and processes. Starting and stopping Monitoring the runtime state Reading logs, traces, and configuration files Technical information, such as network ports, active sessions, thread lists, etc. These services are provided on SAPControl SOAP Web Service, and used by SAP monitoring tools (SAP Management Console,  SAP NetWeaver  Administrator, etc.). For more understanding use this link : https://help.sap.com/doc/saphelp_nw73ehp1/7.31.19/enUS/b3/903925c34a45e28a2861b59c3c5623/content.htm?no_cache=true How to check if it is working or not ? In case of linux , you can simply ps -ef | grep s...

HANA System Replication - Prerequisites & Setup

Hey Folks! Welcome back to Hana high availability blog series. In our last blog we checked out operation & replication modes in hana system replication. If you haven't gone though that blog, you can checkout  this link In this blog we will be talking about the prerequisites of hana replication and it's setup. So let's get started. When we plan to setup hana system replication, we need to make sure that all prerequisite steps have been followed. Let's have a look at these prerequisites. HANA System Replication Prerequisites: Primary & secondary systems should be up & running HDB version of secondary should be greater than or equal to Primary database sever But, for Active/Active(read enabled config), HDB version should be same on both sites. System configuration/ini files should be identical on both sides Replication happe...

HANA hdbuserstore

The hdbuserstore (hana secure user store) is a tool which comes as an executable with the SAP Hana Client package. This secure user store allows you to store SAP HANA connection information, including user passwords, securely on clients. With the help of secure store, the client applications can connect to SAP HANA without the user having to enter host name or logon credentials. You can also use the secure store to configure failover support for application servers in a 3-tier scenario (for example, SAP Business Warehouse) by storing a list of all the hosts that the application server can connect to. To access the system using secure store, there are two connect options: (1)key and (2)virtualHostName. key is the hdbuserstore key that you use to connect to SAP HANA, while virtualHostName specifies the virtual host name. This option allows you to change where the hdbuserstore searches for the data and key files. Note...

ST03N : The chapter for all BASIS Admins

This blog is targeted to BASIS ADMINS Transaction for workload analysis statistical data changed over time are monitored using transaction code ST03 , now ST03N (from SAP R/3 4.6C) . With SAP Web AS 6.4 the transaction ST03 is available again. From time to time ST03 and ST03N has seen many changes but later in SAP NW7.0 ST03N has reworked in detail specially processing time is now shown in separate column. Main Use of ST03N  is to get detailed information on performance of any ABAP based SAP system. Workload monitor analyzes the statistical data originally collected by kernel. You can compare or analyze the performance of a single application server or multiple application server. Using this you start checking from the entire system and finding your way to that one application server and narrowing down to exact issue. By Default :- You see data of current day as default view , you can change the default view. Source of the image : sap-perf.ca Let's discuss the WORKLO...

SAP application log tables: BALHDR (Application Log: Header Data) and BALDAT (Application Log: Detail Data)

  BALHDR (Application Log: Header Data): Usage : The BALHDR table stores the header information for application logs. It serves as a central repository for managing and organizing log entries. Example Data Stored: The table may contain entries for various system activities, such as error messages, warnings, or information logs generated during SAP transactions or custom programs. Columns Involved: LOGNUMBER: Unique log number assigned to each log entry. OBJECT: Identifies the object associated with the log entry (e.g., a program, transaction, or process). SUBOBJECT: Further categorizes the object. USERNAME: User ID of the person who created the log entry. TIME: Date and time when the log entry was created. ADD_OBJECT: Additional information or details related to the log entry. BALDAT (Application Log: Detail Data): Usage : The BALDAT table contains the detailed data for each log entry, linked to the corresponding entry in the BALHDR table. It stores the specific log details an...

Work Process and Memory Management in SAP

Let’s talk about the entire concepts that are related to memory when we talk about SAP Application. Starting with few basic terminologies, Local Memory :  Local process memory, the operating system keeps the two allocation steps transparent. The operating system does the other tasks, such as reserving physical memory, loading and unloading virtual memory into and out of the main memory. Shared Memory :  If several processes are to access the same memory area, the two allocation steps are not transparent. One object is created that represents the physical memory and can be used by various processes. The processes can map the object fully or partially into the address space. The way this is done varies from platform to platform. Memory mapped files, unnamed mapped files, and shared memory are used.  Extended Memory : SAP extended memory is the core of the SAP memory management system. Each SAP work process has a part reserved in its virtual address space for extended memory...

How to resolve Common Error : Standard Template "sap_sm.xls" missing

Hey everyone, putting forward a common error we usually face when we have “ Excel inplace” functionality enabled in our SAP system. This error occurs when validity of the signature of SAP standard templates expired or were incorrectly delivered via support packages. We can reproduce the error by doing as below.. Click on “spreadsheet” icon after any SAP ALV grid view of data is on screen to make this data to export into excel directly from SAP.

ABAP Dumps Analysis

Ever now and then have you heard about ABAP Dumps, We also have a joke everything in temporary in life except ABAP dumps for SAP Consultants. Lets try to understand ABAP dumps from perspective of a SAP BASIS Consultant. Dumps happen when an ABAP program runs and something goes wrong that cannot be handled by the program We have two broad categories of Dumps , In custom program Dumps and SAP provided program Dumps. Dumps that happen in the customer namespace ranges (i.e. own-developed code) or known as Custom Program , can usually be fixed by the ABAP programmer of your team. Dumps that happen in SAP standard code probably need a fix from SAP. You do not have to be an "ABAPer" in order to resolve ABAP dump issues. The common way to deal with them is to look up in ST22 How to correct the error ? Hints are given for the keywords that may be used to search on the note system. Gather Information about the issue  Go to System > Status and Check the Basis SP level as well as info...

SAP HANA System Replication - Operation Mode & Replication Mode

Hey Folks! Welcome back to Hana high availability blog series. In our last blog we checked out what is hana system replication and how it basically works. If you haven't gone through that blog, you can checkout link In this blog we will be talking about the replication modes and operation modes in hana system replication. So let's get started. When we setup the replication and register the secondary site, we need to decide the operation mode & replication mode we want to choose for replication. For now we won't focus on setting up replication as we'll cover it in our next blogs.  Operation Modes in Hana System Replication: There are three operation modes available in system replication: delta_datashipping, logreplay and logreplay_readaccess. Default operation mode is logreplay. 1. Delta_datashipping: In this operation mode initially one full data shipping is done as part of replication setup and then a delta data shipping takes place occasionally in addition to cont...