SAP HANA Technical Documentation

A question I've been getting quite often is “where can I learn more about SAP HANA”.

There are the free online courses provided at the SAP HANA Academy, but most of the times this question relates to "reading material to answer a specific question".

I’ve compiled a list of documents organized by topic, to make it easier to find those answers. All these documents are publicly available, but I believe that organizing them like this helps getting to what we want faster.

So, here is my recommended reading list for SAP HANA Infrastructure Architects and Technologists, with the documents I've been going through over the last months.

I’ll keep this list updated (adding new links or updating links that become obsolete) as I myself go through what is new to keep myself up to date on the latest developments from SAP. Note though that SAP themselves update most of the links at http://scn.sap.com/community/hana-in-memory, so when you check those links you’ll most likely keep finding updated versions of those documents adjusted to the latest release of SAP HANA.

Updated: 2017-09-21

NOTE: as a lot of links changed due to SCN contents being moved to other locations, I will progressively update the links for the documents on this list. Be patient as it will take me some time. :)
 

SAP Whitepapers:

• SAP HANA Technical Overview Whitepaper: http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-60354 (general overview of what is SAP HANA) 
• SAP HANA System Landscape Guide: http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-60282 (explains the lifecycle management challenges of HANA) 
• SAP HANA Storage Requirements Whitepaper: http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-62595 (explains the storage requirements of HANA)
• SAP HANA High Availability Whitepaper: http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-60334 (explains the HA capabilities of HANA) 
• SAP HANA Scalability Guide: http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-60340 (explains the multiple perspectives regarding scaling SAP HANA) 
• HANA Memory Usage Explained: https://www.sap.com/documents/2016/08/205c8299-867c-0010-82c7-eda71af511fa.html (explains the memory usage of SAP HANA in detail) UPDATED January 2017 for HANA SPS12+ 
• SAP HANA Guidelines for Being Virtualized with VMware: http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-60312 (SAP's recommendations for running SAP HANA virtualized) 
• SAP HANA Security Overview Whitepaper: http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-60371  (Overview of the security features of SAP HANA) 
• SAP Business Suite Powered by HANA - IT Management Fact Book: http://hana.sap.com/content/dam/website/saphana/en_us/PDFs/suiteonhanafactbooks/29546_GB_28576_SoH_12Fundamentals_en.pdf  (states TDI as the best option for customer running SAP Business Suite on HANA)  
• SAP Business Suite Powered by HANA - Fundamentals Fact Book : http://hana.sap.com/content/dam/website/saphana/en_us/PDFs/suiteonhanafactbooks/29546_GB_28576_SoH_12Fundamentals_en.pdf (explains the benefits of running SAP Business suite on HANA, as well as the key innovations included on the most current version of the software) 
• SAP HANA Performance Whitepaper: http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-60352 (exposes tests done and the performance achieved in SAP HANA defending its unique performance related capabilities)
• HANA Network Requirements Whitepaper: http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-63221 (this is an essential read for proper Network Integration of SAP HANA systems)
• Network Recommendations for SAP HANA System Replication: http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-56044

SAP Presentations:

• SAP HANA Architecture and Landscape Options: http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-60251 
• SAP HANA in Datacenters Overview SPS8 version: http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-60341 
• SAP HANA in Datacenters Overview SPS10 version: http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-68122 
• SAP HANA in Datacenters Overview Jan 2017 version: https://assets.cdn.sap.com/sapcom/docs/2017/02/d4cbb865-a67c-0010-82c7-eda71af511fa.pdf
• SAP HANA Tailored Datacenter Integration Overview: http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-63140 
• SAP HANA Backup and Recovery Overview: http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-62435 
• SAP HANA Virtualized Overview and Roadmap: http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-60329 
• SAP HANA Studio Overview:  http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-60363
• The New SAP HANA Economics: http://blogs.saphana.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/New-Economics-of-SAP-Business-Suite-powered-by-SAP-HANA_.pdf (PPT supporting that TDI and Virtalization are the way to reduce SAP HANA TCO as opposed to the appliance model) 
• Hasso Platner' presentation on S/4 HANA at SAPPHIRE Orlando 2015: http://hana.sap.com/content/dam/website/saphana/en_us/S4%20HANA/Final_Launch_S4HANA_Plattner.pdf  

Presentations on what's new:

o   Exhaustive list of all "What's new on SP7" resources: http://www.saphana.com/community/blogs/blog/2013/12/03/whats-new-in-sap-hana-sps07  
o   Exhaustive list of all "What's New" on SAP HANA SPS09: https://blogs.saphana.com/2014/10/21/what-is-new-in-sap-hana-sps-09/
 o   Exhaustive list of all "What's New" on SAP HANA SPS11: https://blogs.saphana.com/2015/12/07/whats-new-in-sap-hana-sps11/

FAQ:

• SAP HANA Tailored Datacenter Integration FAQ: https://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-62942 (is regularly updated and includes responses to typical TDI questions)
• SAP HANA Operations Expert Summit FAQ: http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-60276 (is regularly updated and includes responses to typical operations and general HANA official information questions)
• SAP S/4 HANA FAQ: http://scn.sap.com/community/business-suite/faq  
• Current Status of Support for SAP HANA on VMware: http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-60470 

Important Blog Posts:

• SAP Netweaver ABAP and HANA on the same server resources: http://www.saphana.com/community/blogs/blog/2013/12/31/announcement-sap-hana-and-sap-netweaver-as-abap-deployed-on-one-server-is-generally-available   
• List of resources regarding SAP HANA Virtualized with VMware: http://www.saphana.com/community/blogs/blog/2013/11/05/just-a-matter-of-time-sap-hana-virtualized-in-production   
• Blog explaining the rules that apply for you to be able to install HANA on your own: http://www.saphana.com/community/blogs/blog/2013/11/04/now-its-up-to-you-to-perform-the-sap-hana-installation   
• Announcement of relaxed requirements for non-productive systems: https://blogs.saphana.com/2014/08/12/cost-optimized-sap-hana-infrastructure-requirements-for-non-production-usage/
• SAP HANA TDI Overview and latest status: https://blogs.saphana.com/2015/02/18/sap-hana-tailored-data-center-integration-tdi-overview/

SAP Technical Guides:

• SAP HANA Master Guide: http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-60318
• SAP HANA Server Installation & Update Guide: http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-60374
• SAP HANA Administration Guide: http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-60368
• SAP HANA Technical Operations Manual: http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-60369
• SAP HANA Database Client Installation and Update Guide: http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-60373 
• SAP HANA Manual Update Guide: http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-60372 
• SAP HANA Security Guide: http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-60371

Important SAP webpages on SAP HANA Openness:

• SAP HANA Openness main page: http://hana.sap.com/abouthana/hana-features/data-compatibility.html

Other Important SAP Technical References:

• TCP/IP Ports used by SAP Applications: http://wiki.scn.sap.com/wiki/display/TCPIP/Home+of+TCP-IP+Ports 

Relevant VMware Guides and Papers:

• VMware's page on everything about SAP HANA virtualization at SCN: http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-60470 
• Best Practices and Recommendations for Scale-up Deployments of SAP HANA on VMware vShpere: http://www.vmware.com/files/pdf/SAP_HANA_on_vmware_vSphere_best_practices_guide.pdf   
• SAP HANA on VMware vShpere 5.5 Best Practices Resources Guide: http://www.vmware.com/files/pdf/SAP_HANA_on_vMware_vsphere_5.5_best_practices_resource_guide.pdf   
• Other SAP HANA related resources at VMware.com: http://www.vmware.com/business-critical-apps/sap-virtualization/partnership   
• Bob Glodsand's Blog on Productive support for SAP HANA virtualized with vShpere: http://blogs.vmware.com/vsphere/2014/05/sap-hana-now-supported-vmware-vsphere-5-5-production.html   
• VMware VROOM! Blog on SAP HANA Performance: http://blogs.vmware.com/performance/2014/05/virtual-sap-hana-achieves-production-level-performance.html
• VMware Presentation at SAPPHIRE 2015 on the announcement that SAP HANA Scale-out on VMware is now supported in production and is in Controled Availability: https://horizonworkspace.vmware.com/data/shf/nfY6Gui5RQ2KosRLKoH5DQAkZGJjOGExYjktNDNjYi00YzIzLTlkMmUtZmI5NWQwNDBkNTc5AQ==  

Relevant EMC / VCE Guides and Papers:

• EMC positioning and value proposition for SAP HANA: http://www.emc.com/collateral/emc-perspective/h14459-making-sap-hana-mainstream-datacenter-part1.pdf 
• Best Practices for SAP HANA Tailored Datacenter Integration with EMC VNX family: https://community.emc.com/docs/DOC-34450
• Best Practices for SAP HANA Tailored Datacenter Integration with EMC VMAX family: https://community.emc.com/docs/DOC-31467
• SAP HANA Tailored Datacenter Integration on EMC VMAX Storage System and Lenovo System x Servers: https://community.emc.com/docs/DOC-36203
• Storage Configuration  Best Practices for SAP HANA Tailored Datacenter Integration and EMC SCALEIO Converged Infrastructure: http://www.emc.com/collateral/white-papers/h13731-storage-configuration-best-practices-sap-hana.pdf
• Business Continuity Best Practices for SAP HANA Tailored Datacenter Integration with EMC Symmetrix VMAX: https://community.emc.com/docs/DOC-35692 
• Business Continuity Best Practices for SAP HANA Tailored Datacenre Integration with EMC VNX Systems, MirrorView and SnapView: http://www.emc.com/collateral/white-papers/h13955-vnx-storage-mirrorview-snapview.pdf
• Whitepaper on leveraging VCE vBlock Systems for SAP HANA Tailored Datacenter Integration: http://www.vce.com/asset/documents/sap-hana-tdi-whitepaper.pdf  
• Other EMC Documentation on SAP HANA TDI: https://community.emc.com/docs/DOC-31784

3rd Party documents of interest:

• Cisco's guide on configuring a system for SAP HANA Virtualized with VMware: http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-55263 
• Automate SAP HANA System Replication with SLES: http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-56278