News: SAP HANA: Not The Only In-Memory Game In Town

SAP HANA is not the only option for those looking for an in-memory database platform. Big rivals such as Microsoft and Oracle offers similar tech.

source: http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/software-platforms/sap-hana-not-the-only-in-memory-game-in-town/a/d-id/1320595 

In the world of in-memory computing, SAP's HANA has the big name, but it's not the only game in town. Other databases can do all or part of their work in memory, though the definitions can get a little fuzzy around the edges of the market.

 Let's be clear: Whenever the phrase "in-memory computing" comes up, the more accurate phrase might be "in-memory database."

Compact applications running against limited data sets aren't a big problem. When the application sits on top of an enterprise database, that's when the data's location starts to matter in a most significant way. Microsoft's SQL Server 2014 provides in-memory computing … sort of.

Redmond is careful not to call what they do in-memory computing, referring to it as "In-Memory OLTP." (OLTP is on-line transaction processing.)

According to a page on the MSDN website, "In-Memory OLTP is a memory-optimized database engine integrated into the SQL Server engine, optimized for OLTP." What this means is that you can define part of the application data as being specifically for transactions -- typically, the high-speed, intensive reads and writes that come with market segments like retail and banking.

The defined parts of the database are kept in memory, where they benefit from low latency and high overall performance. On a regular basis, though, the transaction records will be rolled into a portion of the database that's reserved for analysis -- analysis that is typically performed through pre-defined reports run on a scheduled basis.

There are many possibilities for organizations looking for in-memory options for database applications. Oracle in-memory database, available with Oracle Database 12c, takes an approach much more like that of SAP's HANA. It is, according to Oracle, designed to run both OLTP and OLAP (on-line analytics procession) from the same database. From the database application perspective this is important because it boosts performance and capabilities in two critical ways. First, the single-database approach eliminates the need to move data from one database (or part of a database) to another before analysis can be performed. Since the data movement is generally a performance-sapping process run at times when the OLTP needs are smaller, this means that queries can be made and reports run at any time, rather than on the next business day after database been moved. Next, because the OLTP and OLAP databases are the same, queries can be run against the entire data set at any time.

The ability to perform these "ad-hoc queries" has long been a holy grail of application designers -- and the top of data base administrators' nightmare lists.

There are other in-memory databases, as well. According to Wikipedia, there are 47 different in-memory databases currently available.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_in-memory_databases

Data Provisioning

There are many ways to propagate data in SAP HANA:

1. SLT (SAP Landscape Transformation) -- trigger based replication
2. SAP DS (SAP Data Services) -- ETL based replication
3. SAP RS (SAP Sybase Replication Server) -- log based replication
4. DXC (Direct Extractor Connection) -- is Business Content data source in SAP BW.
   DXC generally applies more to SAP BW on SAP HANA than to SAP HANA as a data warehouse for analytics.

SAP Landscape Transformation

SLT / Trigger-based replication is the primary data-provisioning mechanism for SAP source system, for ex: SAP ERP. Some notes for SLT:

• SLT Requires the installation of an SLT Replication Server.
• Both data and metadata from tables can be replicated to SAP HANA with this technology.
• The SLT Replication Server record any changes to a set of designated tables inside the source system and makes them available for a pull into the SAP HANA database.
•  The SLT Replication Server intercept the changes to the table in the application layer when transaction are executed in SAP ERP by detecting the triggers that are sent to the database to update tables, making this solution database independent on the SAP ERP side.
• The replication of data to SAP HANA can be set up according to a schedule or as a continuous, near real-time feed.
• You can filter data within a table and set which field should come accross to SAP HANA
• The SLT Replication Server is an ABAP-based technology that leverages serveral proven existing system landscape optimization technologies from SAP, which are now updated to work for SAP HANA
• The SLT Replication Server can also be used for non-SAP sources that meet some basic database criteria that enable the SLT Replication Server to capture the changes in the source system.

SAP Data Services

Data Modelling in SAP HANA

Using Information Composer and SAP HANA Studio, we can create data modelling in SAP HANA.


SAP HANA Information Composer

SAP HANA Information Composer is intended for power user and authors. This application allows users to access the data in the SAP HANA in-memory database and model their own reporting objects based on existing information views in SAP HANA(Information view is the overall term for a reusable view created in SAP HANA). In addition, it's possible for users to upload their own data (ex: from spreadsheets). Load this data into SAP HANA, and combine it with existing information views to create new information views directly in Information Composer.

The objects and views that can be modeled in Information Composer can equally well be created in SAP HANA Studio. In contrast to Studio, however, Information Composer offers the basic modelling capabilities of Studio in a web-based tool that is much easier to use. This tool can thus be used by non IT to build data models that can serve as data sources for new reports in SAP BusinessObjects BI or elsewhere.

Information composer has two main functions: the UPLOAD function and the COMPOSE function. The UPLOAD function allows you to load data from your PC to Information Composer and, after cleansing and clasifying the data, to the SAP HANA database itself. The COMPOSE function allows you to use two sources of data from SAP HANA combine with UPLOAD.

SAP HANA Studio

SAP HANA Studio is the central SAP HAAN developer tool for defining the tables that will hold your data, setting up data provisioning on SAP HANA, and modeling data into views. The basic modeling capabilities in Studio comprise attribute views, analytic views, and calculation views. Advance capabilities is filtering, variables, custom calculations, and currency conversion.

I will discover more detail about SAP HANA Studio basic like Attribute View, Analytic View and Calculation view in next post.

Developer Tools for SAP HANA

Since SAP HANA is fundamentally a database platform that can support any type of applications, there are developer tools for native SAP HANA applications. These tools are intended for the IT commutity thats has a strong understanding of what it takes to build applications.

The benefit of these tools is that you can start with a whiteboard and design any application with virtually no restrictions. Example: own planning tool, web frontend application, new reporting portal, mini mobile application.

UI Development Toolkit for HTML5 (SAPUI5)

This is a tool to build custom user interfaces that can be deployed on a web server and made to look any way you want. This tool is not for power users or end user, but for IT.

SAPUI5 is javascript OpenAJax Supported library for developing Internet Applications. The targeted rich Internet Application (RIA) is basically a web application that can perform most of the same features as desktop applications.

RIA application that have a smaller memory footprint, load faster, can be secured, can be less battery drain, and require minimal plug-ins and installed support software on the user's phone, tablet, or laptop.

SAPUI5 is also the basis for a set of applications known as SAP Fiori.


SAP HANA Extended Application Services (XS)

SAP also provides SAP HANA Extended Application Services to develop additional native SAP HANA applications. The tool is a new prespective in SAP HANA Studio called HANA DEVELOPMENT, and it is a tool that currently is only available to approved customers and SAP partners.

A mayor benefit of SAP HANA XS is that it does not require another application server. The application simply becomes native to SAP HANA and doesn't need another piece of hardware or application server software; in another words, you build and run your application on the SAP HANA platform. The database is SAP HANA with its column and row stores and, at application runtime, your application runs on SAP HANA XS.

When you are design the application, you can use the SAP HANA web-based development workbench (SAP HANA Web IDE). This tool can create a complete application without installing anything on your desktop.

SAP HANA Live

SAP HANA Live is a solutions for real-time reporting on SAP Business Suite on SAP HANA. The solution is based on SAP HANA calculation views.

From a data modeling prespective, the calculation views work together as a virtual data model (VDM), which joins master data tables and transactional data inside the SAP Business Suite. You can modify these views in SAP HANA Studio and also extend them as needed.

SAP HANA Cloud Platform

SAP has created an SAP HANA Cloud Platform Cookpit that unifies accounts and system access for custom development on SAP HANA Cloud Platform.


SAP River

SAP River is a new development platform based on SAP HANA. The idea behind SAP River is to provide a rapid application development (RAD) tool to build application even faster. The new development language used is called the River Development Language (RDL) which can be used to create and express views, associations, actions, and entities in SAP River - you can model the application you want and let SAP River built it for you. This includes entity relationship, stored procedures, OData Services, and database tables. All you will have to do is to create the user interface (UI).

Finding the right SAP BI Tool for Data Discovery and Analysis on SAP HANA

Current options include:
Analysis for Office
Analysis for OLAP
BI Widgets
Explorer
Live Office
Lumira
Predictive Analysis
 
Based on the SAP BI Roadmap and SAP portfolio simplication, there are only two SAP BI tools left that you should consider for Data Discovery and Analysis on SAP HANA.
 
Analysis for Office

Fulfills self-service ad-hoc analysis and data mashup schenario within Microsoft Excel.
Embed BI data into Microsoft Power Point.
Replaces the BEx Analyzer.
Connects to SAP HANA information Models via an ODBC layer.
Provides easy drag and drop functionalities.
Enables easy insertion of multiple data sources.

Lumira

  

One of  the newest BI tools offers to discover and analyze data.

Enables data access and visualization throught a selft-service tool.

Connets directly to SAP HANA Information Models for real-time data anlysis.

SAP Lumira Desktop enables connections to different data sources to merge and manipulate data, and create a new dataset which can be used for visualizations.

Lumira Desktop also provides full capabilities of acquiring data, enriching data, building visualizations, exploring data and different sharing options.

Publishes a dataset as a new Information Model to SAP HANA and uses the power of SAP HANA for further purposes.

Provides a great way to do the initial exploration and get a deep data understanding.

Offers different versions for business requirement: Lumira Desktop, Lumira Server, Lumira Cloud, and an AddOn for the SAP Business Intelligence Platform (BIP) to view Lumira content on the SAP BIP.