What is SAP S4 Hana

SAP HANA (High-Performance Analytic Appliance) is an In-Memory Database that uses technology based on column-based, row-based, and object-based database technology. It can be deployed on-premise and cloud.

SAP S4 Hana uses In-Memory computing to write, read and store the data in RAM, rather than processing on normal disk drives. When compared to normal databases on disk drives, Hana can process the data 10,000 faster. For example – the generation of reports with 1 billion files on a traditional database, took more than 60+ minutes. Where In-memory computing SAP Hana database, it will take just 10-20 seconds to generate the reports with 1 Billion files.

In Simple terms, SAP Hana is a Digital core with –

  • Combination of Hardware and Software Technology
  • In Memory Computing Database
  • Application Development Platform

Why SAP S/4 Hana

  • SAP Hana Database keeps all the data in the main system memory (RAM) and improves query performance faster than other databases as both OLTP and OLAP use the same database i.e. SAP Hana database.
  • SAP Hana Database is the heart of SAP’s In-Memory technology that helps customers to improve their operational efficiency with speed and flexibility.
  • In-Memory computing is referred to as data that is loaded and stored in main memory or RAM during booting itself.
  • Real-time data replication.
  • Includes tools for data modeling, data and life cycle management, security, operation, etc.

Technology Used in SAP Hana

  1. TREX Engine – TREX (Text Retrieval and Extraction) is responsible for the In-Memory computing capabilities of SAP Hana. TREX engine enables read capability in the Hana system.
  2. RDBMS Functionality – RDBMS Relational Database Management System functionality has the ability to store, write and retrieve data. P*Time is a lightweight, Online Transaction Processing in-memory RDBMS system that provides an In-Memory backbone to the SAP Hana software. RDBMS enables write capability in the Hana system.
  3. MaxDB – MaxDB has the capability of Backup from In memory constantly. It helps as backup layers to SAP Hana.

By using these three technologies, SAP company has developed a high-speed technology memory database system that is called as HANA System.

Components of SAP Hana

The important components of SAP Hana that offered by SAP are as follows

  1. Hana DB
  2. Hana Studio
  3. Hana Appliance
  4. Hana Application Cloud

Advantages of SAP Hana

  • Using the SAP Hana platform, enable to make a smarter decision faster with real-time data reports
  • Process high volumes of transactional data on a real-time basis.
  • Accelerates key business processes with rapid analysis and reporting
  • Invent new business models and processes by leveraging innovative solutions
  • Hana uses column-oriented storage
  • SAP Hana uses massively parallel processing
  • Uses Push down mechanism.