In the era of big data and diverse information landscapes, enterprises often struggle with accessing and analyzing data spread across multiple heterogeneous systems. SAP HANA Smart Data Access (SDA) is a powerful virtualization technology that addresses this challenge by enabling seamless, real-time access to remote data sources without physically replicating data into SAP HANA.
This article introduces SAP HANA Smart Data Access, its architecture, benefits, and how it integrates within SAP HANA Studio for efficient data modeling and analytics.
SAP HANA Smart Data Access is a data federation technology that allows SAP HANA to query data stored in remote heterogeneous sources as if it were local. Instead of copying or replicating data into SAP HANA, SDA creates virtual tables referencing the external data, enabling real-time access and combined analytics on distributed data.
- Virtual Data Access: Data remains in the source system but is accessible through virtual tables in SAP HANA.
- Heterogeneous Connectivity: Supports various data sources including Hadoop, Oracle, SQL Server, Teradata, and other SAP systems.
- Real-Time Querying: Enables live data access with push-down of query processing to the remote system where possible.
- Unified Data View: Combines data from multiple sources in SAP HANA models, enabling comprehensive analytics.
- Simplified Data Landscape: Reduces need for extensive ETL processes and data duplication.
SDA creates virtual tables in SAP HANA that act as proxies for remote tables. When a query is executed:
- SAP HANA’s query processor decides which parts of the query can be pushed down to the remote system.
- The remote system processes the pushed-down portion and returns results to SAP HANA.
- SAP HANA performs any remaining query operations locally, combining results as needed.
This architecture balances workload between SAP HANA and remote sources, optimizing performance.
SAP HANA Studio, the primary development environment for SAP HANA, offers integrated tools to configure and manage SDA:
- Remote Source Configuration: Define and manage connections to external data systems.
- Virtual Table Creation: Import remote tables as virtual tables within SAP HANA schemas.
- Data Modeling: Use virtual tables within Calculation Views, Attribute Views, and Analytic Views.
- Monitoring: Track the status and performance of SDA connections and queries.
The graphical interface of SAP HANA Studio simplifies the setup and maintenance of SDA landscapes.
- Reduced Data Redundancy: Avoids costly and complex data replication processes.
- Faster Time-to-Insight: Enables immediate data access for analytics without waiting for ETL jobs.
- Flexibility: Easily integrate new data sources without major infrastructure changes.
- Cost Efficiency: Minimizes storage requirements in SAP HANA.
- Improved Data Governance: Data remains controlled within source systems, aligning with security policies.
- Hybrid Data Architectures: Combine on-premise and cloud data sources in unified SAP HANA models.
- Big Data Analytics: Access Hadoop or other big data platforms live for advanced analytics.
- Cross-System Reporting: Integrate data from ERP, CRM, and third-party databases without replication.
- Data Virtualization: Create flexible views combining structured and unstructured data across systems.
- Assess network latency and bandwidth to optimize SDA query performance.
- Push down as much query logic as possible to the remote system to reduce data movement.
- Secure SDA connections using encrypted protocols and proper authentication.
- Regularly monitor SDA connections and update drivers or adapters as needed.
- Design SAP HANA models considering the capabilities and limitations of remote sources.
SAP HANA Smart Data Access empowers organizations to break down data silos and build integrated, real-time analytics across diverse data landscapes without complex replication. Integrated within SAP HANA Studio, SDA offers a streamlined way to manage virtualized data access, enabling faster and more flexible decision-making.
By leveraging SDA, enterprises can harness the full power of SAP HANA’s analytics capabilities while maintaining agility and control over their heterogeneous data environments.