SAP Open Source Innovator

Topics such as Industry 4.0, Internet of Things (IoT) or Big Data (Analytics), which are supported by SAP S/4 Hana, are application-side drivers for the new Business Suite on Hana.

But also a reduced data footprint that S/4 Hana holds out the prospect of, alongside simplified data management and an innovative user interface (Fiori).

Every existing customer will certainly evaluate exactly which business optimization potentials are being used in which granularity or to which extent. E

in retail companies will set priorities differently here than, for example, a classic manufacturing company. It may or may not be a coincidence that the Hana and S/4 Hana existence virtually goes hand in hand with the ever-increasing cloud computing penetration - which, however, opens up great opportunities for SAP existing customers and S/4 Hana adopters and converts.

Above all, new business cases or business models can be implemented more quickly and in a more flexible and cost-effective manner.

Open Source no coincidence

In connection with the increased reliance on Hana and S/4 Hana applications, companies have to deal with changed and partly new SAP IT infrastructure/data center issues along with associated operational process issues.

In terms of the intensity and significance of change, this is in fact similar to the change from host-centric R/2 to client-server-based R/3.

In any case, the switch to Hana-based in-memory computing and its use in (SAP) data centers is a major impetus.

The fact that Hana, Hana on BW, Suite on Hana (SoH) and now S/4 Hana all use the Linux operating system platform is anything but a coincidence.

Through the Linux Lab, which incidentally celebrated its 15th anniversary last year, SAP has steadily pushed the use of open source in conjunction with SAP solutions.

Partner of the first Hana hours

From the earliest hours of Linux Lab, Suse has been an active SAP Linux partner and has been involved as a co-innovation partner since the early Hana developments.

Over time, with Suse Linux Enterprise Server (SLES, current version 12) for SAP, Suse has become the leading open source operating system platform in SAP Classic, with over 70 percent market share in Linux-based systems, and is also considered the first choice for Hana and Hana applications due to its high deployments and existing extensive Hana solution expertise.

Virtually all of the approximately 7,000 Hana deployments worldwide to date (this figure was provided by SAP in July) are running together with Suse SLES (on the available Hana servers from a wide range of manufacturers).

Suse cooperates closely with virtually all SAP partners in the Hana environment. For example, with full-service providers and server suppliers such as Fujitsu as well as with storage specialists such as NetApp or a large number of implementation partners such as B1 Systems, but also with numerous system integrators or hosting partners.

As a partner, Suse has contributed numerous innovative features to the data center readiness of Hana and, of course, also of S/4 Hana, where SAP effectively stipulates Linux as the only operating system to be used.

The topics covered are High Availability, Disaster Recovery/Backup & Recovery, Security & Auditing, and Design & Setup - including OpenStack Cloud and Hana-Hadoop integration.

SLES, OpenStack Cloud, Suse Manager

The fact is that data center, SAP operations and SAP infrastructure managers are required to continuously optimize their IT landscapes. What is becoming increasingly clear, however, is the construction and operation of agile and flexibly usable data centers that are able to react quickly and cost-effectively to the requirements or change demands of the business.

Of course, this is all done with mission-critical IT operations in mind, including SLA compliance, robustness and high availability, security, efficient and easy manageability, and maximum cost efficiency.

For this purpose, Suse provides important infrastructure backbone components on an open source basis or so-called Data Center Building Blocks, which effectively and profitably support the SAP deployment of today and tomorrow - both SAP Classic and SAP S/4 Hana: Suse SLES (for SAP Classic and SAP Hana), Suse OpenStack Cloud and Suse Manager.

With the operating system platform Suse Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications, which has been optimized for SAP applications, users today have a whole range of important features at their fingertips for implementing their Hana deployment as optimally as possible.

For example, support for on-demand balancing of large in-memory workloads; ensuring high performance even in system stress situations; sophisticated technical support for business continuity requirements through built-in Suse Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension and features or templates for rapid start-up of SAP applications.

This provides highly efficient and effective procedures and methods for the rapid deployment of resources for SAP applications with reduced skills and expert knowledge.

For example, physical and virtual environments (heterogeneous clusters) are supported in a practical form. In the case of the Suse HA Extension, for example, Suse has developed a fully automated process with VMware that monitors and controls all processes.

Fail-safe operation

Suse Linux Enterprise Server HA Extension for SAP Applications also includes a so-called fail-safe operation of SAP Hana. This effectively secures or protects both applications and Hana databases (and database instances) against a possible failure.

Here, too, the clustering reference architecture specified by SAP (SAP NetWeaver High Availability Cluster 730 Certification) is met. Another example of the innovative Suse SLES features, namely the provision of a technology developed by Suse: Here, the operation of the Linux kernel does not experience the slightest interruption due to live patching.

Security Hardening for Hana is also taken into account with SLES, which ensures a high degree of hardening of Suse SLES for SAP Applications against attacks or threats from outside.

On the other hand, Security Hardening for Hana can also be used to implement mechanisms that indicate which operating system packages should be available and which can be dispensed with. The key point here: Fewer packages simply represent a smaller attack surface against threats.

Private cloud for enterprises

A large number of existing SAP customers are certainly considering switching to a private or on-premise cloud in connection with the deployment of SAP S/4 Hana.

The main focus here is on the use of an OpenStack-based IaaS (Infrastructure-as-a-Service) cloud. This development probably also has something to do with the fact that SAP made a clear commitment to OpenStack just over a year ago and - as word must have got around in the SAP community - also implemented its first OpenStack project last year.

Suse was the first Linux distributor to join the OpenStack project, providing the first enterprise product, Suse OpenStack Cloud. As the oldest Linux distribution in the market, QA processes have become part of Suse's DNA.

And that's to maintain or support complex enterprise-level open source projects to make it as easy as possible for customers to deploy and maintain the technology.

And: Suse OpenStack Cloud offers the possibility to implement and operate an on-demand cloud infrastructure, based on OpenStack, for SAP Classic, Hana and S/4 Hana.

The highlight: Suse OpenStack Cloud enables enterprises to bring their existing and new technologies together in the OpenStack cloud by providing a multi-hypervisor approach to the Suse solution. That means support for XEN, KVM, ESX and HyperV.

In addition, Suse OpenStack Cloud is an element that supports the Hana Enterprise Cloud (HEC) - together with SLES for SAP Applications and Suse Manager, which is still described below.

Hana Linux Platform Management

For Hana Linux platform management, Suse provides the system management software Suse Manager, which is based on the open source Spacewalk project.

The system management software includes functions for seamless interaction with SAP's system management tools. Here, Hana user companies benefit from the following key value propositions:

On the one hand, Suse Manager significantly reduces the complexity of Hana environments. And this is because all components and elements of a Hana server infrastructure can only be administered and managed from a central location and on the basis of a sophisticated user interface.

On the other hand, individual environments required for enterprise operations (such as for development, test, integration and production systems) can be managed with pinpoint accuracy and compliance requirements can be mapped.

In addition, Suse Manager stands for the achievement of cost benefits, in particular due to the fact that manual and recurring work is automated.

Management is possible across all Hana systems (Intel-x86 and IBM Power8-based Hana systems), across all hypervisors and also in mixed environments (native and virtualized).

Of course, Suse Manager can automatically take an inventory of the operating system platform with hardware and software information. Software patch statuses are also recorded here (incl. Hana).

And: Configuration changes are automatically detected. Likewise, configurations can be changed via Suse Manager or reset to a defined state in the past.

Cornerstone SAP deployment

Conclusion: Suse, as an open source innovator and SAP co-innovation partner, provides several important cornerstones for the enterprise deployment of SAP Classic and Hana as well as S/4 Hana.

The three Building Blocks Suse SLES, Suse OpenStack Cloud and Suse Manager meet all modern requirements for data center readiness with distinctive functionality optimized for the needs of SAP customers.

In particular, by reducing complexity, minimizing costs and providing reliable and innovative services. SAP customers are thus supported in operating their mission-critical applications efficiently and securely in line with their needs - whether in a private cloud/on-premise cloud or paired in a hybrid cloud with public cloud use.

Rule the Stack - The Winner is ...

The OpenStack Foundation holds an annual OpenStack meeting, a so-called OpenStack Summit. The May meeting in Vancouver attracted around 6,000 participants, a new attendance record.

At these summits, new developments are presented, customer deployments are presented and discussed, or roadmaps/further developments are highlighted. For years, there has also been a competition called "Rule the Stack".

This year, 30 OpenStack protagonists took part. The core point of the Intel-sponsored competition: to set up a functioning OpenStack-based cloud as quickly and as completely as possible.

Suse emerged as the winner for the third time in a row with Suse OpenStack Cloud, relegating the other OpenStack companions to the ranks.

Suse completed the task in just over ten minutes. In 2016, the OpenStack Summit event will take place in the USA in Austin, Texas.

It took SAP partner and hosting partner and service provider FIS-ASP just one day to install its OpenStack Cloud based on Suse OpenStack Cloud.

As Matthias Braun, Head of SAP Delivery, explains, "we are now able to provision or deploy more complex and sophisticated SAP environments to our customers in much less time."

The OpenStack wave rolls

OpenStack is an open source project that is licensed under the Apache license.

Provided are: a dashboard (OpenStack component called Horizon) that supports monitoring of key parameters in the cloud; the network management Quantum, which automates the integration of physical and virtual devices in the network; the block storage Cinder, which provides virtual block storage in the form of virtualized storage media, where the block storage can be attached to virtual machines.

An API interface allows Cinder to connect to Swift object storage so that block storage media can communicate with object storage.

The object storage is responsible for redundant data storage. The Nova compute module, in turn, can manage groups of virtual machines; and the virtualized machines can be distributed across any number of compute nodes.

Likewise, XEN, KVM, HyperV and ESX are supported as hypervisors. Furthermore, the OpenStack Image Service called Glance provides virtual machine images.