SAP s/4 hana interview questions

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SAP s/4 hana interview questions
What do you understand by SAP HANA?
Ans. SAP HANA is an in-memory database that encompasses special software and hardware components used for a centralized ERP system and business application development.
It uses real-time data processing/computing engine which fetches data directly from the in-memory (main memory/RAM) speeding up the data retrieval operations.
Q.2 Why is SAP HANA unique?
Ans. SAP HANA proves to be a unique tool for users in many ways. The reasons for uniqueness are:
SAP HANA is the first technology ever to be used for both OLTP and OLAP application processing.
It provides query processing environment for structured as well as unstructured data. That is, for both relational database (tables) and less structured (texts, graphs) respectively.
The multi-core processing engines of the SAP HANA system process data parallelly. The parallel processing is done within different columns of the same database. Using a columnar database, the system optimizes data structure and eases storing large data by compressing it.
Explore the core features of SAP HANA that makes it unique
Q.3 What are the components comprising SAP HANA technology?
Ans. SAP HANA is a technology that is a collection of different tools and technologies that work in tandem to bring it in existence. There are four technologies which collectively make SAPA HANA:
SAP HANA DB: It is the core in-memory database which is central to the functioning of SAP HANA.
SAP HANA Studio: It has the modeling tools for data handling and management.
SAP HANA Appliance: It is the Vendor hardware in which we install SAP HANA software.
SAP HANA Application Cloud: It is the cloud-based infrastructure ensuring the functioning of appliances.
Q.4 Which platforms SAP HANA supports?
Ans. SAP HANA supports various platforms:
Microsoft Windows Vista, 7, 8, Server 2008 (32-bit)
Microsoft Windows 7, 8, 10, Server 2008 / R2 (64-bit)
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) 11 (64-bit)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 6 (64-bit)
Mac OS X Mavericks (10.9)
Q.5 What do you understand from in-memory computing? What is its significance in SAP HANA?
Ans. In the in-memory computing, a huge amount of data as the information is stored in the Random-Access Memory (RAM) instead of external storage disks. This technology replaces the traditional way of storing data in disks and uses relational database management methods to fetch and process the data. In-memory computing technology is much cheaper and faster than the traditional database system.
Applications in SAP HANA are developed in close association with the database and there is close to no data movement involved from the database to the system. SAP HANA keeps a primary copy of the data ready in in-memory storage which results in data access and processing for ad-hoc reporting, analysis of data in real-time, and quick query response. Also, it reduces data complexity, data redundancy, data footprint, hardware and IT costs.
Understand the concept of SAP HANA In-memory Computing in detail
Q.6 What are the main components of the SAP HANA environment?
Ans. The primary components of the SAP HANA environment are:
In-memory computing engine: This is a component residing within the Index Server. It has got several sub-components such as Planning Engine, Session Management, Disk Storage, Request Processing and Execution Control, Relational Engine, etc.
Database: This has raw data residing in the ERP database which is sent to the HANA database. Replication Agent (in ERP DB) and Replication Server (in the computing engine) provisions this data movement. This component provides log-based data provisioning.
SAP Business Objects BI 4: This component includes tools like SBO BI Information Designer tool, Data Services Designer, Data Services Server, and Data servers, etc. We use the components for job-based data provisioning. They design and implement a job on data and store the reports created in the form of a result. Therefore, it also acts as a repository.
SAP HANA Studio: This is a user interfacing platform which an Eclipse-based tool where we can manage, administer and manipulate data. We can work on several views like Attribute, Analytic, and Calculation.
Clients: These are miscellaneous reporting tools which we can connect to the computing engine by utilizing specific drivers. We can design and share reports by utilizing these tools and client applications.
Note: This question is very important for your SAP HANA interview. Prepare it nicely.
Q.7 What is the function of a Replication server?
Ans. The replication server is responsible for managing the replication of table data as well as metadata from the data source.
Q.8 What is a persistence layer?
Ans. The persistence layer is mainly responsible for processing data backups periodically and storing it permanently. This is known as “Savepoints” and by default, the savepoint frequency is in every 5 minutes. The data stores as log volumes and data volumes.
Q.9 What are the architectural components of SAP HANA?
Ans. The SAP HANA system consists of different components which together makes its system architecture.
Index server: The Index Server is the main server in SAP HANA. It has the data storage and processing engine. Queries in different languages like SQL and MDX are received in the index server. Then, the queries are processed by different components and servers within it. Index server also manages the transactions and authentications. It also has a component that manages transaction logs and selectively stores data.
In addition, the index server is further divided into smaller components like relational data engine, session manager, authorization management, planning engine, calc engine, and persistence layer.
Name server: Name server maintains the information of the topology or landscape of SAP HANA system environment. It contains information related to the name and location of the HANA components. This server manages and monitors the topology of all the distributed servers or nodes. It increases the processing time by decreasing the re-indexing process as it keeps the information on what data stores in which server.
Pre-processor server: Pre-processor server is a text analyzing server which processes textual data. The service provided by this component is used during text search. Whenever a request initiates, this server processes textual data and provides it to the user.
SAP HANA Studio Repository: The repository stores information related to the newly released updates. We can update the old version to the latest ones with the help of this.
XS Engine: It facilitates communication between the external applications (Java and HTML based) and SAP HANA system via HTTP/HTTPS in a web browser. The XS Engine converts the system’s state from the persistence model stored in the database into the consumption model for clients.
Note: Questions related to SAP HANA architecture are very crucial for your interview preparation.
Q.10 What is the most important component in SAP HANA architecture?
Ans The Index Server is the most important component of SAP HANA architecture. It has the data storage (having the actual data) component and a processing engine. Queries in different languages like SQL and MDX are received in the index server. These queries are processed by different components and servers within the index server.
Q.11 Name the components of an index server.
Ans There are six main components of an index server:
Relational data engine
Connection and Session manager
Authorization manager
Planning engine
Calc engine
Persistence layer
Q.12 What is sizing in SAP HANA?
Ans. Sizing in SAP HANA refers to determining the hardware requirements for specific SAP HANA installation requirements. Hardware components important for sizing point of view are CPU, memory (RAM) and hard disk. The most crucial task in sizing is to estimate the size of the server best suited for the business user’s requirements.
In SAP HANA, we can perform sizing in three ways:
Using Quick Sizer tool
Using DB script
Using ABAP report
Q.13 What are row and column storage in SAP HANA?
Ans. Data in the SAP HANA database stores in two ways; row storage, and column storage.
Row storage is the method of storing data in a horizontal fashion. It is similar to how data is stored traditionally in disk databases. However, there is one main difference between the SAP HANA row storage and traditional row storage. That is, in SAP HANA, data is stored in rows in the main memory and in traditional databases, data is stored in rows in the disk storage.
Column storage method stores data in a columnar fashion (linear/ vertical). Data is compressed efficiently in column stores. It improves SAP HANA’s performance by optimizing both the read and write operations on data. Data is stored in the column storage area which is divided into two sections; Main storage and Delta Storage.
Q.14 What are the different perspectives in SAP HANA Studio?
Ans. The SAP HANA Studio contains different perspectives which we can choose to work on. Some commonly used perspectives are:
SAP HANA Administration Console
SAP HANA Modeler
Application Development
Lifecycle Management
SAP HANA Development
ABAP
BW Modeling
Don’t forget to check the complete explanation of SAP HANA studio
Q.15 What is SAP HANA System Monitor?
Ans. Using the system monitor in SAP HANA Studio, we can administer and monitor the system’s health and availability of SAP HANA components. Also, using the system monitor, we can access the system’s details and configurations and the services offered by different SAP HANA components.
We can monitor several aspects through the SAP HANA system monitor such as the alerts, disk space, log disks, trace disk, data disk, memory, performance, volume, etc. Thus, it is convenient to manage individual aspects, tasks, and components.

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