Comparing SAP migration procedures to SAP HANA database

You may wonder which migration technology to use for your project targeting SAP HANA database – this blog provides some aspects to consider.

The general statement is: use DMO if possible.

For the migration from non-HANA to SAP HANA, two approaches are possible:

1. Database Migration Option (DMO) of Software Update Manager (SUM)
2. Heterogenous System Copy of Software Provisioning Manager

To be precise, DMO is the combination of SAP-software-update with the migration, so we have to discuss the option “DMO without System Update”.

Note: If the goal is to migrate and update a source system, DMO is the preferred choice anyhow, as it combines both activities in one downtime.

A simple comparison of these two approaches is listed below:

In the following, for the sake of simplicity, we use the abbreviation DMO for either “DMO with System Update” or “DMO without System Update”.

General recommendation: DMO

In general, DMO is the recommended procedure for a migration to SAP HANA. DMO has its own intelligent logic to split big tables, and does not require to work on the control files (for the R3load export / import). For a long time, DMO was an inplace procedure in the sense that the Application Server host does not change. Meanwhile even DMO allows to change the App Server host, with the scenario “DMO with System Move” (see blog). The two DMO scenarios can be combined, so DMO may move the App Server host without the need to update the SAP software. And finally the migration of DMO works with R3load pairs running on the same host, the App Server on which the SUM was started. This allows to use the pipe mode, instead of the file mode which is used by the Heterogenous System Copy (see blog). The pipe mode works without compression of files and requires less resources on the App Server. (This is different for “DMO with System Move”: here, the file mode is used as well).

Reasons to use the Heterogenous System Copy

In some cases, it may still be necessary to use the Software Provisioning Manager with the Heterogenous System Copy.  One example is that you require to change the System-ID during the migration procedure.

Additional Considerations:

• A certified consultant is required to use the Heterogenous System Copy of the Software Provisioning Manager, and a database migration check by SAP is required prior to the migration of the productive system
• Heterogenous System Copy requires a change of the App Server host, so additional hardware is required.
• DMO creates a shadow system even for the scenario DMO without System Update, so the uptime processing is longer – but this is not relevant for downtime considerations.

Conclusion:

The general recommendation for the migration to SAP HANA is to use DMO with or without System Update. The Heterogenous System Copy is a reasonable alternative, but is more complex, and requires a certified consultant.

Stefan Jakobi, Product Manager Software Provisioning Manager, SAP SE
Boris Rubarth, Product Manager Software Update Manager (SUM), SAP SE