Key Features of SLES for SAP Applications

Ensure compliance with HA/DR requirements to reduce downtime with the flexibility to configure and deploy a choice of multiple HA/DR scenarios for SAP S/4HANA and NetWeaver-based applications with SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension (included), supporting the latest enqueue failover and recovery options, Relax and Recover (ReaR) on x86-64 and ppc64le server platforms, and early recognition of primary system failures

Reduce SAP HANA recovery time and eliminate manual operations with SAP HANA High Availability Resource Agents that enhance the SAP HANA System Replication capabilities by automating the process of switching from a failing primary system to a secondary system and handling the fencing to be sure the primary system does not become active again with STONITH.

Eliminate downtime for Linux kernel security patches and critical stability problems with an entitlement to SUSE Linux Enterprise Live Patching which is included with cloud pay-as-you-go (PAYG) and on-premises unlimited VMs subscriptions. Based on SUSE-developed open source kGraft technology, administrators have the flexibility to choose which patches to install with support for multiple patches without a system reboot for up to one year from the first patch.

Reduce the number of SAP HANA system reboots due to memory fragmentation with support for large SAP HANA databases greater than 32 TB using a 4-petabyte virtual address space for large, scale-up systems.

Meet government and industry regulatory security requirements with SUSE Linux Enterprise Server as the foundation for SLES for SAP Applications. Common Criteria EAL4+ and FIPS 140-2 certifications validate SUSE’s software supply chain security.

Protect data on remote storage volumes with enhanced encryption management using a built-in key server. Store encryption keys of the SAP filesystem or SAP HANA data storage volumes on a landscape of hundreds or thousands of servers. Each one communicates with the key server to fetch a key or certificate to unlock the volumes automatically, keeping data secure and reducing recovery time after a system restart. The Key Management Interoperability Protocol (KMIP) supports 3rd-party key servers.

Secure SAP HANA systems with a built-in firewall that configures the additional network zones that are required to fully protect the in-memory system from external attacks. The firewall can be configured automatically or with a guided wizard for faster set up.

Adapt SAP HANA system failover/recovery to user-defined scenarios and internal tools with pre-/post-script commands.

Reduce in-memory data load times after system reboots with persistent memory support for for Intel Optane Non-volatile Dual In-line Memory Modules (NVDIMMs) and IBM PowerVM-based Virtual PMEM technologies that are validated by SAP.

Minimize risk and improve SAP system resiliency with the Full System Snapshot and Rollback feature to recover from unexpected errors with a single click.

Proactively identify system issues with advanced monitoring of servers, cloud instances, high availability clusters, and SAP application-specific operational data collected by Prometheus exporters in SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications for graphical display by SUSE Manager (entitlement included) with built-in Grafana visualization or other management tools.

Automatically discover, monitor, and proactively fix SAP high availability system problems with the Trento web-based console included in SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications. Trento automated discovery enables full observability of systems in SAP domain language including on-premises servers, cloud instances, SAP HANA databases, and SAP S/4HANA and NetWeaver applications, and high availability clusters. Compliance-as-code checks identify and display non-critical and critical issues. Administrators can view details of configuration problems with references to relevant SAP Notes and/or product documentation, then choose to execute recommended command-line fixes with a simple copy and paste.

Improve effectiveness of troubleshooting SAP HANA System Replication with tooling to visualize and validate cluster decisions, and replay transitions.

Reduce complexity of clustered SAP HANA upgrades with a wizard that automates managing the cluster to reduce errors when updating the software and then reconnecting the cluster.

Configure systems for real-time availability of SAP data with Workload Memory Protection, which ensures that SAP transactional and analytics data remains in memory, shielding it from Linux kernel memory management.

Quickly resolve SAP system problems with 24 x 7 Priority Support which includes access to updates and technical support. Each Service Pack includes full support for 1.5 years plus limited support for the remaining 3 years that the service pack is available, eliminating the need for Long Term Service Pack Support (LTSS). Customers who purchase subscriptions directly from SUSE or SUSE partners can initiate a support request via regular SAP escalation channels: telephone, web front-end, CSN or SAP Solution Manager. The request will be immediately assigned to the SAP support request system, and SAP will contact SUSE if the request involves the OS. These customers that have a SUSE Customer Center account also have the flexibility to contact SUSE Level 3 Support directly for OS-specific inquiries. For subscriptions included in on-demand (Pay-as-you-Go) cloud instances, customers must resolve support issues through the cloud service provider.

Smoothly transition from SAP landscapes on Windows to SAP S/4HANA on Linux with support for the Microsoft Remote Desktop Protocol environment, enhanced Active Directory integration, and a Linux command guide for Windows users.

Reduce the time and effort for configuring SAP applications on servers using SUSE’s Installation Wizard and configuration packages to meet SAP Notes-based prerequisites for optimal performance and the SAP high availability stack. This includes support for SAP HANA Tailored Datacenter Integration (TDI) on-premises server deployments and multiple database containers. The saptune3 package includes best practices configurations for the OS and high availability clusters, tuned for specific SAP applications, cloud instances by hyperscaler, and server hardware by vendor.

Reduce time to install and configure (especially large) SAP landscapes with consistent, repeatable results Terraform-based configuration scripts and Salt deployment to quickly set up a full SAP S/4HANA software stack including the OS, applications, SAP HANA databases, and monitoring, for single node and clustered configurations on premises or in the cloud. SUSE supports SAP application deployments on all Intel x86-64 and IBM ppc64le processor-based servers. Supported cloud environments include Alibaba Cloud, Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, IBM Cloud, Microsoft Azure, and regional Cloud Service Providers. SUSE delivers optimized pre-configured templates for Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure. Pay-as-you-go (PAYG) instances of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications from all Cloud Service Providers include entitlements to SUSE Linux Enterprise Live Patching and SUSE Manager Lifecycle Management Module.

Avoid delays in new SAP application deployment with pre-deployment checks of the high-availability configurations with the Trento feature of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications. Trento validates that SAP S/4HANA, SAP NetWeaver, and SAP HANA systems are configured correctly based on best practices in SAP Notes. Potential errors are color-coded on the console with warnings for non-critical and critical issues, along with recommended remediation and references to relevant documentation.

Implement SUSE innovations for SAP environments sooner with new and updated features for SAP applications that are independent of the Linux kernel through a dedicated update channel. Every SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications service pack is validated by SAP, typically in 30 to 60 days, for maximum flexibility in supporting the newest features and SAP software versions in production.

Ease the transition to SAP S/4HANA on Linux with features that make it easier for SAP Basis administrators who are used to working with Microsoft Windows Server to be productive working with SAP HANA systems, which only runs on Linux. These features include Microsoft Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) support to provide a familiar desktop environment, Active Directory Integration, which eliminates the need to recreate user-ids and passwords, and a guide for how to execute common Windows administration commands with Linux.

Simplify and standardize setting up SAP environments with System Roles which provides the ability to create customized scenarios including the Installation Wizard option, special partitioning recommendations, Microsoft RDP access enablement and Base, GNOME Basic and SAP Server Pattern installation.

Leverage and contribute to open innovation with open source community-based SUSE-validated packages for SAP applications built using Open Build Service (OBS) and additional software available from SUSE’s Package Hub.