Top 38 Sap Hana Administration Interview Questions You Must Prepare 19.Mar.2024

The SAP HANA studio runs on the Eclipse platform 3.6.

We can use the SAP HANA studio on the following platforms:

Microsoft Windows x32 and x64 versions of: Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server SLES 11: x86 64-bit version

Note : For Mac OS, HANA studio is available but there is no HANA client for that.

A Sap Hana database user is protected in the first place with a password. However, a password is very often required at the command line in order to connect and execute a batch or an SQL script. The username and password are then visible to anyone. In order to avoid that situation, it is possible to create a special key in relation to a particular user. Username and password are then invisible via the use of that key.

The very first task it perform is selecting the type of tables which are to be stored in the HANA. The selection of Meta data is also the responsibility of the modeling studio. All the data services for entering the data from warehouse or other location are handled by it. It simply manages the ERP instances connections. The entire data services can be used for modeling only through the modeling studio. Any sort of other modeling in the SAP HANA itself is handled by the studio. Moreover the tasks associated with the encoding are also managed and controlled by the modeling studio.

Java JRE 1.6 or 1.7 must be installed to run the SAP HANA studio. The Java runtime must be specified in the PATH variable. Make sure to choose the correct Java variant for installation of SAP HANA studio:

32-bit installation, choose a 32-bit Java variant.

For a 64-bit installation, choose a 64-bit Java variant.

Many times the users have to deal with the information that is not relevant with any task. Generally, it can cause slow data processing speeds and can affect accuracy and reliability upto a high extent. The users are free to temporary stop the replication and this can avoid the problem of storing any unwanted information or data in the system. To disable replication temporarily, the users just have to stop the schema related jobs in the system. 

Schema mapping is done when the physical schema in the target system is not the same as the physical schema in the source system. As mentioned earlier, suppose we are moving components from Development System (DEV) to Production System (PROD).

The tables in DEV reside in DEV_SCHEMA and the same tables reside in PROD system in PROD_SCHEMA schema. If an attribute view is transported from DEV to PROD, it will not work because the schema name is referenced in the definition of attribute view. In order for the promoted objects to work in PROD, schema mapping needs to be set up in the target system.

Normalization is nothing but the process that is adopted for the purpose or removing the redundant data from the database. This is generally done by splitting the table into different sections. This actually makes sure of integrity. On the other side, the de-normalization is the process of considering the redundant data so that all the queries which are complex can be enhanced in terms of overall performance. 

In order to load data from external sources to SAP HANA we need to establish a connection with the server. To connect, we need to provide details of Business Objects Data Services repository and ODBC drivers. Once the connection is established, we can import the tables definition and then load data into table definition.

  1. The SAP HANA studio is an Eclipse-based development and administration tool for working with HANA.
  2. It enables technical users to manage the SAP HANA database, to create and manage user authorizations, to create new or modify existing models of data etc.
  3. It is a client tool, which can be used to access local or remote HANA system.

  1. By data managing the users are free to derive results that can be considered for the long run
  2. A lot of difficulties related to data can be avoided easily
  3. The data can be managed in sections and can be accessed easily
  4. Well managed data is useful in designing reports, preparing documents and assisting various departments in other tasks.

Delivery unit (DU) is a container used by the Life Cycle Manager (LCM) to transport repository objects between the SAP HANA systems.

The name of Delivery Unit must contain only capital letters (A-Z), digits (0-9) and underscores (_).

  • Attribute View act as Master data context, which provides Text or Description for Key/Non-key field.
  • Attribute View can be reuse in Analytic View and Calculation View.
  • Attributes View is used to select a subset of columns and rows from a database table.
  • Attributes (fields) can be calculated from multiple table fields.
  • There is no measure and aggregation option.

If the queries in the SQL are simple, the users are free to retrieve a very large sum of data very easily from the system. Another good thing about SQL is it is very easy to learn and implement. There is a vast support available for SQL and all the queries can be addressed reliably. Using SQL, the database can be managed very easily and in fact without considering a large amount of coding.

  1. Using the columnar data storage approach, the workload in SAP HANA is divided vertically.
  2. The columnar approach allows linear searching and aggregation of data rather than two-dimensional data structure.
  3. If more than one column is to be processed, each task is assigned to diverse processor.
  4. Operations on one column are then collimated by column divisions processed by different processors.

Restricted users are those users who access HANA system with some applications and they don’t have SQL privileges on HANA system. When these users are created they don’t have any access initially.

OLAP Engine :

  • This engine will be called in the backend whenever we run any queries on Analytic Views in SAP HANA.
  • If there are no additional calculations performed like calculated columns, restricted measures and counters, then everything will be processed in OLAP Engine.
  • OLAP Engine acts as join engine for those Attribute Views used in Analytic Views, without any calculated columns
  • All the join engine work will be converted into ‘BwPopJoin’ which is part of OLAP Engine.
  • If there are any calculations present, to be performed then Calculation engine will be used along with OLAP Engine.

It is basically an approach that has been categorized as triggered one i.e. users need not to worry about the overall impact of performance on the source system. The users can simply make sure of filtering, as well as transformation of the data even if the size is bulky. In addition to this, real-time data replication can also be assured by the users.  It is possible for the users to simply make sure of multiple source systems to only one system based on HANA. The reverse action is also possible. 

All the database transactions can be co-ordinated simply with the transaction manager and the users are free to keep a close eye on the closed as well as on the running transactions. The transactions are notified to the users when they are rolled backed or when they are committed. This makes sure of the smooth running of the storage engines.

  1. Temporary License key
  2. Permanent License Key

Temporary License key:

  • Temporary License keys are automatically installed when you install the HANA database.
  • These keys are valid only for 90 days and you should request permanent license keys from SAP market place before expiry of this 90 days period after installation.

Permanent License Key:

  • Permanent License keys are valid till the predefine expiration date.
  • License keys specify amount of memory licensed to target HANA installation.

Managing the data is very important. In the present time, data plays an excellent role in the success of almost every business. Data helps in decision making, collaborations, start new ventures, tackling competition, improving quality and so on. There are a large number of other reasons as well that are mandatory for the business to get it done in a right manner. Thus management of data is important.

  • Join engine is used to create attribute view
  • This engine is used when we execute any Attribute View in HANA or run native SQL on more than one table with join condition.
  • If there are any calculations involved either in Attribute View or in native SQL then Join Engine will use Calculation Engine for calculations or fetch the result.

Calculation View with Star Join :

  • It does not allow base column tables, Attribute Views or Analytic views to add at data foundation.
  • All Dimension tables must be changed to Dimension Calculation views to use in Star Join.
  • All Fact tables can be added and can use default nodes in Calculation View.

Different types of nodes, they are:

Join: This node is used to join two source objects and pass the result to the next node. The join types can be inner, left outer, right outer and text join.Note: We can only add two source objects to a join node.

Union: This is used to perform union all operation between multiple sources. The source can be n number of objects.

Projection: This is used to select columns, filter the data and create additional columns before we use it in next nodes like a union, aggregation and rank.

Aggregation: This is used to perform aggregation on specific columns based on the selected attributes.

Rank: This is the exact replacement for RANK function in SQL. We can define the partition and order by clause based on the requirement.

There are 3 types of schemas:

  1. User Defined Schema
  2. System Defined Schema
  3. SLT Derived Schema

User Defined Schema : These are created by user (DBA or System Administrator

SLT Derived Schema : When SLT is configured, it creates schema in HANA system. All the tables replicated into HANA system are contained in this schema

System Defined Schema : These schemas are delivered with the SAP HANA database and contain    HANA system information. There are system schemas like _SYS_BIC, _SYS_BI, _SYS_REPO,_SYS_STATISTICS etc.

A database schema is a way to logically group objects such as tables, views, stored procedures etc.

Modeler : used for creating various types of views and analytical privileges.

SAP HANA Development: Used for programming applications for creating development objects to access or update data models such as Server-side Java script or HTML files.

Administration : Used to monitor the system and change settings.

Debug: Used to debug code such as SQLScript (.procedure files) or Server-side Java script (.xsjs files).

It is a controller that can be deployed for various reasons and purposes. It simply makes sure of creating logging tables and triggers the same in the system.  The synonyms can also be created with the help of master controller. Also, the new entries in the administration tables can be made with the help of this approach. The whole table can also be loaded with this approach.

SAP HANA Graphical Calculation View (Created by SAP HANA Studio Graphical editor).

SAP HANA Script-based calculations Views (Created by SQL Scripts by SAP HANA Studio).

Attribute views, Analytical views, Calculation views, Analytical privileges, Procedures, Decision tables, Process Visibility Scenario.

They are all the same thing, and 1.0 SP03 is touted to be the final name which should go into Ramp Up (beta) in Q4 201@This allows any SAP Net Weaver BW 7.3 Data Warehouse to be migrated into a HANA appliance. HANA 1.0 SP03 specifically also accelerates BW calculations and planning, which means even more performance gains can be attained.

Yes, this is totally right. However, it largely depends on the way a users is handling this approach. Basically, data management is a complex approach and there are a lot of tasks which are actually very critical. Managing the database without an effective tool is a big challenge. If an organization can consider a powerful tool like SAP HANA, a lot of tasks can be made simply and a ton of favorable outcomes can be derived simply.

It is actually an important later in SAP HANA which plays a very important role. Actually, HANA has a computing engine built inside and the users have to utilize the data directly without taking any backup. The same can create an issue during powerful failure and thus it is necessary to keep a backup of the same. This layer comes as a savior and it make sure no loss of data during such a situation.

SQL Engine which is also known as SQL Parser/interface is used for all sorts of SQL statements generated by frontend application via different different clients and also for native sql run at database level.

From SAP HANA SP7, we have an option for Calculation Views in ‘Properties’ section, where we have an option to choose calculation view to run in ‘SQL Engine’. Advantage of this option is that, instead of moving data between multiple engines HANA executes the entire script in SQL Engine to get the final result.

Sap Hana is a young database with interesting features of SAP HANA. First of all Sap Hana is an in-memory database. It is accessible for administration via various channels. Directly from the Server, It is not the most convenient method but you can use hdbsql to manage databases. With the web-based interface Hana cockpit, you can browse and manage sap hana environments. The Client Hana Studio is the complete tool to administer Sap Hana but it has to be physically installed and therefore is dependent on the client hardware.

Following are the properties of SAP HANA Analytic View :

  • Analytic Views are used to perform complex calculations and Aggregate functions like Sum, Count, Min, Max, Etc.
  • Analytic Views are designed to run Start schema queries.
  • Each Analytic View has one Fact table surrounded by multiple dimension tables. Fact table contains primary key for each Dim table and measures.
  • Analytic Views are similar to Info Objects and Info sets of SAP BW.

Yes. We can call all the views (attribute, analytic and calculation view) inside a calculation view.

Note: Calculation views are composite views and can be used to combine other views.

It can consume other Analytical, Attribute, other Calculation Views & tables.

It can perform complex calculations not possible with other views.

Catalog: This contains RDBMS objects like schemas, tables, views, procedures, etc.

you can open SQL editor and design database objects.

Content tab: This is used to maintain design time repository. You can create new packages and design Information views in HANA system. Various views can be created under content tab to meet business requirement and to perform analytical reports on the top of the Modeling views.

  • HANA supports both type of data store in database.
  • Row store is used when you need to use Select statement and no aggregations are performed.
  • Column store is used to perform aggregations and HANA Modeling is supported only on Column based tables.

  • Support Complex Calculation.
  • Support OLTP and OLAP models.
  • Support Client handling, language, currency conversion.
  • Support Union, Projection, Aggregation, Rank, etc.