Connecting SAP HANA 1.0 to MS SQL Server 2012 for Data Provisioning

There are several Data Provisioning techniques available within SAP HANA. These are "Smart Data Access" (SDA) and "Smart Data Integration" (SDI). Also available is the Hadoop Integration. This Document will cover the connectivity between SAP HANA 1.0 and MS SQL Server 2012 for SDA and SDI.

In the nature of things it is quite tricky to connect a Linux based Application (In our case SAP HANA 1.0) to a Microsoft Windows based Application (In our case MS SQL Server 2012). The official Documentation guides you to the right direction. But, as so often, it tells only half the truth. This Document will show you the rest of the required Information.

1. Prequel
Please find here some Information before we start. These Information are Resources, Guides, Links, etc.

1.1 Exclusion
This Documents excludes the process of installing and configuring SAP HANA and MS SQL Server 2012. Please consult the official documentation for the correct process.

How to Configure SAP HANA RDL (River Definition Language)

1. Introduction

SAP River is a new development language and environment for developing a complete SAP HANA backend application, describing the data model, the business logic and access control within a single, coherent and integrated program specification.
Developing an application using RDL has several key benefits over traditional technologies and development models:

1. Easier and faster development and maintenance:
1. Declarative, focusing on application intent
2. Expressive language constructs
3. Flexible code specification, enabling easier separation of concerns and iterative refinement of application code.
4. Smaller bill of materials – coherency across different layers and components of the application.
2. Easily leveraging HANA’s power, while remaining agnostic to underlying technology containers (XS, SQLScript).
1. Can leverage any underlying supported runtime container, without compromising on running time optimization.
2. Application execution improves together with the underlying technology, transparently; taking advantage of new capabilities.
3. Open to legacy and extension code, in all supported containers.

To enable RDL for HANA developer in HANA, as SAP HANA administrator you have to complete below installation and configuration.