In this chapter we will explain:
You can upgrade from any revision to any newer revision, making maintenance very straightforward.
Updates are strictly backward compatible. Incompatible changes may be considered due to legal or security reasons but follow a strict exception approval process.
Bug fixes and performance improvements come regularly
Every bug every found is included into continuous regression testing
Revisions and Support Packages:
In the context of the SAP HANA platform, corrections are shipped in the form of Revisions and Support Packages of the product’s components.
The term “Revision” refers to packages containing fixes for the SAP HANA core components (SAP HANA Database, Studio, Clients, AFLs, SDA, and HWCC tool).
There are 4 types of revisions in SAP HANA:
- SAP HANA Revision - The difference between Support Package Stack, Support Packages and Revisions
- SAP HANA Release Strategy - SAP HANA product availability and maintenance strategy
- SAP HANA Maintenance Revision - What are SAP HANA Maintenance Revisions?
- SAP HANA Datacenter Service Point - What is the SAP HANA Datacenter Service Point?
You can upgrade from any revision to any newer revision, making maintenance very straightforward.
Updates are strictly backward compatible. Incompatible changes may be considered due to legal or security reasons but follow a strict exception approval process.
Bug fixes and performance improvements come regularly
Every bug every found is included into continuous regression testing
Revisions and Support Packages:
In the context of the SAP HANA platform, corrections are shipped in the form of Revisions and Support Packages of the product’s components.
The term “Revision” refers to packages containing fixes for the SAP HANA core components (SAP HANA Database, Studio, Clients, AFLs, SDA, and HWCC tool).
There are 4 types of revisions in SAP HANA:
1. SAP HANA Support Package Stack (SPS) - Every half year
Every six month new features and capabilities are introduced in form of SAP HANA Support Package Stack (SPS). Updates are cumulative and strictly downward compatible.
2. SAP HANA Support Package (SP) Revisions - Every three month
SAP HANA Support Package (SP) represents the individual software corrections and updates available for SAP HANA and is released every three month .
HANA SPS 08 was released on May,2014
The revision no is always the double digit starting from the SPS number. For example the revision number of SPS 07 is 70 or higher; revision number of SPS 08 is 80 or higher.
3. SAP Production System Verified HANA Revisions
SAP Production System Verified HANA Revisions outlines certain revisions which have been running in production enterprise applications at SAP before they are released to customers.
These revisions are planned approx. 3 month after release of last SPS and intended to allow better planning of maintenance windows for production environments running on SAP HANA.
4. SAP HANA Maintenance Revision – Every two weeks
SAP HANA Maintenance Revisions contain only major bug fixes found in key SAP HANA scenarios.
The availability of maintenance revisions ends with availability of SAP production system verified revision, approx. 3 month after the release of successor SPS. From this date, customer must adopt the regular SP revisions to receive further fixes.
Customers can opt to maintain their SAP HANA system with the latest SAP HANA Revision or to remain temporarily on the SAP HANA Maintenance Revisions stream.
What does SAP HANA Maintenance Revision offer?
- Only provides fixes for major bugs concerning critical
- functionality in key SAP HANA scenarios (Business Suite on SAP HANA, BW on SAP HANA, SAP HANA Data Marts)
- Only provides fixes for production systems, or endangered go lives within the next 3 weeks
- Only provides fixes for bugs with non-existing workaround
- Only provides fixes with minor code dependencies and code changes or impact
What does HANA Maintenance Revision does NOT offer?
- No performance improvements, no features, no metadata changes
- Anything which prevents an update to a later standard SP revision
SAP HANA Datacenter Service Point
The newly introduced SAP HANA Datacenter Service Point provides SAP HANA customers with more guidance as to when - and on the basis of which Revision – they should schedule their SAP HANA maintenance stack.
- As most customers have to schedule their maintenance window between quarterly end closings, the SAP HANA Datacenter (DC) Service Point has been defined to lie between the SAP HANA SPs, i.e. at the end of March and at the end of September.
- As proof of SAP’s commitment to the quality of its software, the Revisions referenced by the DC service point will also run in production enterprise applications at SAP for at least two weeks before they are officially released, thus guaranteeing our customers even more predictability in terms of performance and reliability.
- The SAP HANA Datacenter Service Points is a point in time - at the end of March and at the end of September - intended to allow better planning of SAP stack maintenance for production environments running on SAP HANA.
Conclusion:
- Leveraging the availability of SAP HANA Maintenance Revisions, customers can opt to either keep an older SAP HANA Support Package Stack (SPS) running for around three months after the release of a new SPS, or to directly adopt the new SPS upon release, depending on their individual and unique needs for when to adopt new features and capabilities of SAP HANA.
- Customers can further plan their SAP maintenance stack in accordance with clearly defined SAP HANA Datacenter Service Points at the end of March and at the end of September; based on a Revision which has become much more mature, as it has been available for over three months and has also been running in production enterprise systems at SAP.
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