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dvankempen
Product and Topic Expert
Product and Topic Expert










DISCLAIMER

Sample questions are .,. SAMPLE QUESTIONS!

Yes, that's right. Just sample questions, folks.

Not real exam questions. Just sample questions.

SAP Certified Technology Associate - SAP HANA 2.0 SPS04








For the most recent edition of this post (SPS 05), see

In this blog, you will find some personal suggestions about how to get certified as SAP Certified Technology Associate - SAP HANA 2.0 SPS 04.

This exam is available as of December 2019.

For the blog posts about the other SAP HANA 2.0 SPS 04 exams, see

For the blog post about the SAP Press Certification Success Guide, see




About the Exam


In a previous blog post we discussed what you need to know for the C_HANATEC_16 exam.

In this blog post, we will take a look at the the sample questions.

Sample Questions


SPOILER ALERT!!!!









Before proceeding, first try the sample questions yourself. As the saying goes, we learn most from our own mistakes!

>>> Take the Sample Exam <<<<

Of course, no point memorising the material as the questions below are not included in the real exam. What does help is to know where you can find this documented and to assess how familiar you are with the material.

On the exam page, there is a View more link to the sample questions. This opens a sample exam is very similar to the real thing. The sample exam has 10 questions. When you submit the exam you will get feedback about how many questions you got right. For the ones you got wrong, the right answer is provided.

The sample exam does not provide information about WHY an answer is right or wrong. In this blog we will comment upon the sample questions (and answers).




Question


SAP HANA system replication is configured and active between two SAP HANA systems.

After which action must you perform manual steps to synchronize the systems?

  • A restart of the primary system

  • A restart of the secondary system

  • An upgrade of the secondary system

  • An upgrade of the primary system


====

Correct Answer: An upgrade of the primary system

Explanation


One of the general prerequisites for system replication configuration is that during an upgrade of the system replication landscape, the software version of the current secondary system must be equal or newer to the version of the current primary system. This makes sense logically. New releases are often backwards compatible (to some extent). In our scenario, after upgrading the secondary system, system replication automatically resumes.

As documented in the SAP HANA Administration Guide, Updating SAP HANA Systems with SAP HANA System Replication:

If for some reason you have to stop and restart the primary or the secondary, once the systems are available they will automatically try to get in sync again. There are no manual steps necessary.

Only in case of Near Zero Downtime Upgrades, we need to manually register the original primary as secondary after the upgrade. For this, see Use SAP HANA System Replication for Near Zero Downtime Upgrades

Commentary


Note the format of question: a short statement, short question, short answers. This is typical for the exam questions. You will not be tested for your command of the English language. The questions are phrased as simple as possible.

As illustrated, this is a radio button question. If only a single answer is correct, you can only provide a single answer. The format of the questions and answers is not intended to trick you.


Note also how the answers are constructed: you have to chose between either restart and upgrade, and between primary and secondary.

A good strategy often is to eliminate less plausible answers. With system replication, the secondary system receives its updates from the primary system. This is minimal knowledge about system replication you are expected to know. Hence, one might assume that most operations on the secondary are processed automatically. Both restart and upgrade concern planned maintenance but the first one would be more common. By elimination alone, answer (4) would be the most plausible one.

Question


You create a new user by copying an existing user.

Which predelivered role of the existing user is automatically granted to the new user?

  • Runtime

  • Modeling

  • Repository

  • Monitoring


====

Correct Answer: Repository

Explanation


As documented in the SAP HANA Administration Guide, Copy a User Based on SAP HANA Repository Roles:

Copying a user allows you to create a new user with the same repository roles as the source user automatically granted.


Commentary


Again, short question, short answers, and radio buttons allowing only a single answer.

This question may have been retired from the exam because of ambiguity. The documentation uses the term predefined and a more accurate phrasing would have been: Which kind of predefined role of the existing user is automatically granted to the new user? Also, the copy user procedure requires SAP HANA studio which like the Repository is deprecated as of SPS 02 (2018).

Predefined database catalog roles include Monitoring and Modeling but not Runtime (or Repository).

Predefined SAP HANA Repository roles are recognisable by their specific format: sap.hana.xs.admin.roles::<role_name>

Either way, should you be a bit rusty on predefined roles, see


Question


The data storage of your productive SAP HANA instance crashed, and you need to recover the database. The log storage is still intact. You have a full data backup that is 9 hours old and an incremental backup that is 4 hours old.

To which point in time can you recover to minimize the data loss?

  • The latest log backup

  • The last full data backup

  • The latest incremental backup

  • The last commited transaction


===

Correct answer:

  • The last committed transaction


Explanation


As documented in the SAP HANA Administration Guide, Data Area is Unusable (Disaster Recovery):

if the data area is unusable, and all data changes since the last complete data backup are still available in the log backups and log area, you can still recover the data from committed transactions that was in the memory at the time of the failure. No committed data is lost.

Commentary


Perfect exam question that tests your understanding of SAP HANA database backup and recovery concepts, a topic well documented in the SAP HANA administration guide.

Question


You install an SAP HANA database and SAP NetWeaver AS ABAP 7.5 on one productive system.

Which of the following installation requirements are mandatory?

Note: There are 2 correct answers to this question.

  • The disk resources for the SAP NetWeaver AS ABAP system and the SAP HANA database must be the same.

  • The instance number for the SAP NetWeaver AS ABAP system and the SAP HANA database must be the same.

  • The memory resources for the SAP NetWeaver AS ABAP system and the SAP HANA database must be added.

  • The System ID (SID) for the SAP NetWeaver AS ABAP system and the SAP HANA database must be different.


====

Correct answers:

  • The memory resources for the SAP NetWeaver AS ABAP system and the SAP HANA database must be added

  • The System ID (SID) for the SAP NetWeaver AS ABAP system and the SAP HANA database must be different.


Explanation


As documented in SAP Note 1953429 - SAP HANA and SAP NetWeaver AS ABAP on one Server

Additive sizing (…) Additional memory resources for the SAP NetWeaver system need to be available on the HANA host. The same is true for the CPU and disk space requirements and Separate SIDs required for both systems.

Commentary


This question tests your understanding of SAP HANA architecture, which like SAP NetWeaver application server (AS) ABAP uses a system identifier (SID) and instance number.

On a multiple host SAP HANA system each host needs to be configured with the same SID. When installing multiple SAP HANA systems on a single host, a different SID is required. The same principle applies when combining SAP HANA with SAP NetWeaver AS ABAP.


Question


You plan to migrate a non-SAP database to SAP HANA using the database migration option (DMO) of the Software Update Manager.
Which processes can you adjust in the advanced mode to speed up the migration?

Note: There are 2 correct answers to this question.

  • TP

  • SQL

  • SAPup

  • R3trans


===

Correct answers:

  • SQL

  • R3trans


Explanation


ABAP, SQL, R3rans and R3load processes are configurable. See illustration.


SAPup is the executable (process) that performs the SUM tasks but it is not adjustable in advanced mode to speed up the migration.

TP is a calculated value and not configurable.

Commentary


To answer this question correctly you need to be familiar with the Data Migration Option (DMO) of the Software Update Manager (SUM). This is one of the topic areas of the C_HANATEC exam and covered in the 2-days training course HA250 Database Migration using DMO - SAP HANA 2.0. This is where the SAP HANA and the SAP NetWeaver learning tracks (or journeys, if you prefer) cross and for SAP HANA administrator without any SAP Basis background probably one of the most challenging parts of the exam.

Question


SQL statements are rejected by the Workload Admission Control application, and you need to investigate the reason.

Which parameters do you adjust to manage the event log?

Note: There are 2 correct answers to this question.

  • queue_wait_time_threshold

  • record_limit

  • queue_timeout

  • max_queue_size


Correct answers:

  • queue_wait_time_threshold

  • record_limit


Explanation


These system parameters are documented in the SAP HANA Administration Guide: Configuring Admission Control

System parameters max_queue_size and queue_timeout configure queue management.



Commentary


To answer this question correctly you need to be quite familiar with the configuration of the Admission Control feature of Workload Management.

We can use the SAP HANA cockpit Workload Admission Control Settings app, section Admission control log management, to configure the threshold and log records but for the corresponding system parameters we would need to consult the Administration Guide.



Question


What do you need to size before you install SAP HANA in a tailored data center integration (TDI) scenario?

Note: There are 3 correct answers to this question.

  • Input/output operations per second (IOPS)

  • Network throughput

  • Persistent storage

  • SAP Application Performance Standard (SAPS)

  • Main memory


====

Correct answers:

  • Persistent storage

  • SAP Application Performance Standard (SAPS)

  • Main memory


Explanation


Sizing is documented in the SAP HANA Master Guide which contains a section about Memory Sizing and CPU Sizing. In addition, the guide mentions:

With TDI phase 5, which was introduced in 2017, the SAPS requirements for the specific customer workload are used to determine the type and number of the processors required.

Commentary


This question may have been retired from the exam because of ambiguity: What do you need to size? Memory, CPU, Disk. How do we perform sizing? By comparing SAPS, IOPS, etc. The Quicksizer contains a tab for Disk I/O referencing IOPS.

Either way, you need to be familiar with the sizing topic for the exam. The link to the Master Guide references a number of SAP Notes you might want to take a look at. For more information about the TDI program, see


SAP Quicksizer for SAP HANA

Question


Where is the name server running in a multitenant database container system?

  • SYSTEMDB

  • Each tenant

  • Standby node

  • Master node


===

Correct answer: SYSTEMDB

Explanation


As documented in the SAP HANA Administration Guide, Server Components of the SAP HANA Database:

The name server, which runs in the system database only, owns the information about the topology of the SAP HANA system, including knowledge of the tenant databases that exist in the system.

Commentary


This question may have been retired from the exam because of ambiguity in the usage of terms and terminology. It is also a tricky one as we find two concepts mixed: tenant databases and multiple host systems.

Let's first start with the concepts:

  • The name server is an operating system process (hdbnameserver) which provides a database service called nameserver (no space) for the system database. For tenant databases this service is provided by the indexserver service (OS proces hdbindexserver).

  • On a multiple host system, the name server on the first three hosts gets the master role. On all subsequent hosts the name server gets the slave role (in todays terminology leading and subordinate). There can only be one active master name server. In case a multiple host system contains a standby host, the name server on this host automatically gets the master role (but not the "active" one).


Multitenant database container (MDC) system is the original term for what is now documented as "tenant databases" (as of SPS 01, 2017). You may still find the old term referenced in SAP Support Knowledge Base Articles (KBA) and elsewhere. Do not let this confuse you. It means the same thing.

Now for some hairsplitting: where is the name server running? The service or the operating system process? The operating system process hdbnameserver runs on an operating system (host). When it is up and running, we have a nameserver service and a system database but is the service running "in the database" or is it he other way around?

On a multiple host system, the name server runs on each host including the standby host. But is the host with the actual master name server the same as the "master node"? Is a node the same as a host? Again, ambiguity: the term node in the SAP HANA documentation is mostly used in the context of SAP HANA extension nodes and NUMA nodes but sometimes also as synonym for "host" in multiple host systems (e.g. when describing table placement rules or HA/DR Provider hook methods).

To review multiple host, extension node, and tenant database concepts, see the SAP HANA Administration Guide:


Question


Which tools do you use to delete diagnosis files?

Note: There are 2 correct answers to this question.

  • SAP HANA cleaner

  • SAP HANA Web-based Development Workbench

  • SAP HANA cockpit

  • SAP HANA database explorer


===

Correct answers:

  • SAP HANA cleaner

  • SAP HANA Web-based Development Workbench


Explanation


The correct answer to this question may come as a surprise as we cannot use the regular SAP HANA 2.0 tools to delete diagnosis files.

For SAP HANA 2.0, only a SQL interface is provided, see for example:

Commentary


This question may have been retired from the exam because it references an undocumented and a deprecated tool. In the past, we would typically have used the SAP HANA studio for this kind of housekeeping but the same functionality is also available in the XS (classic) application SAP HANA Web-based Development Workbench. As both tools are deprecated since the SPS 02 release, references are unlikely to appear on the exam.

SAP HANA cleaner is not referenced in the SAP HANA documentation but it does exist and concerns a Python script developed by an SAP Support employee documented in a How-To SAP Note (and mentioned in the SAP HANA training manual).

If you have never heard of this tool, see article 2399996 - How-To: Configuring automatic SAP HANA Cleanup with SAP HANACleaner.



Question


Assume your current partitioning plan of SAP HANA is NOT optimal.

Which option of the Manage Table Distribution tool do you use to evaluate if a partitioned table needs to be repartitioned?

  • Check the number of partitions

  • Balance table distribution

  • Redistribute tables after adding host(s)

  • Check the correct location of tables and partitions


===

Correct answer: Check the number of partitions

Explanation


As documented in the SAP HANA Administration Guide, Generate and Execute a Table Redistribution Plan:

Check the number of partitions: This option evaluates whether or not partitioned tables need to be repartitioned.

 


Commentary


Note the uppercase NOT. As a rule, all statements are positive. To avoid any misreading, negative statements are highlighted with uppercase.

This question may have been retired from the exam because the Manage Table Distribution app was renamed in SPS 04 to Table Redistribution Plan Generator. The redistribution plan goals are similar, however so the question is still a good one. It is also a difficult one actually, as all the answers are valid options.

To answer this question correctly, you will need to be familiar with multiple host SAP HANA systems, table partitions and table placement.

Because the question does not specify that host(s) were just added, answer Redistribute tables after adding host(s) is the least likely.

Both Balance table distribution and Check the correct location of tables and partitions concern table placement (as specified in the TABLE_PLACEMENT table) and not partitioning per se. This leaves Check the number of partitions as best remaining candidate.


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Over the years, for the SAP HANA Academy, SAP’s Partner Innovation Lab, and à titre personnel, I have written a little over 300 posts here for the SAP Community. Some articles only reached a few readers. Others attracted quite a few more.

For your reading pleasure and convenience, here is a curated list of posts which somehow managed to pass the 10k-view mile stone and, as sign of current interest, still tickle the counters each month.