Cloud-proof
Foundation
With the HANA Enterprise Cloud announcement at the beginning of May, SAP is continuing the further implementation of its Cloud strategy, while also promoting increased HANA penetration. Suse supports the SAP HANA Enterprise Cloud, with its sophisticated platform incorporating several components.
The aim of SAP HANA Enterprise Cloud is to provide the Business Suite, Business Warehouse and innovative applications in HANA on the cloud as a Managed Service. This is based on the HANA Cloud platform architecture, which comprises several technical building blocks. A total of three SUSE modules therefore support the SAP HANA Enterprise Cloud: SLES for SAP, the SUSE Manager, and the SUSE Openstack Cloud. All three elements work together and perform essential tasks. The following is a technical look at the HANA Enterprise Cloud behind the scenes, with relevance to the SUSE modules used.
Operational
reliability is the aim
The SUSE Cloud platform for SAP HANA is the Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications Priority. It has the task of ensuring operational reliability of the SAP system. The components that contribute to this: a cluster toolbox, extended lifecycle of Service Packs, antivirus, operating system, a performance optimizer, and a web-based management interface. Support access to the SAP Solution Manager is also ensured.
The integration of the SAP HANA infrastructure into an existing IT landscape is performed by the SUSE Manager management software. This manages and controls SAP HANA systems and provides them with a high degree of automation. It can also be used to set up different software channels; or various staging methods can be implemented for roll-out implementations. It also enables the automated execution of Service Pack upgrades.
In addition to the technical automation there is one more important point for the SAP Basis - and this relates to compliance within IT governance. SUSE Manager reporting provides auditing in compliance with audit guidelines. As a plus point, this greatly simplifies the burden of proof of the SAP Basis in IT governance issues.
Complete
platform
The SUSE OpenStack Cloud is suitable as a further module for an additional level of automation in the SAP HANA Enterprise Cloud. This virtually implements an abstraction layer at network level. In this context, the SUSE Openstack Cloud automatically includes the hardware components of a network in its management. The generated HANA VMs are automatically generated, orchestrated, managed, and deleted again by the SUSE Openstack Cloud. In other words, the SUSE Openstack Cloud takes on the complete lifecycle management of a HANA VM.
This means that SUSE delivers no more, but also no less: a complete SAP HANA Enterprise Cloud platform.
SAP project
Titanium
The SAP project Titanium, which was launched a little over two years ago, allows the distribution of software from SAP in a standardized virtual appliance format in the public and private SAP cloud. The innovative approach of the distribution of SAP virtual appliances in the cloud offers the option to directly tap the potential of pre-assembled and pre-configured SAP solutions. Fact: The SUSE Linux platform contributes to this added value - and was the first platform to be made available in the Titanium project.
In the SAP Private Cloud, the Landscape Virtual Manager (LVM) is the interface for application virtualization. There is also a close development history with the SUSE Linux platform, on which the adaptive computing approach was first developed.
Overall, it is now becoming exciting to see how the approaches of the SAP HANA Enterprise Cloud, the Titanium project with the SAP Appliance Factory and LVM will grow together in the future. One thing we can already say today: The SUSE Linux platform with SLES for SAP Applications Priority plays a significant and central role.
