EARLY ANNOUNCEMENT: SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 is coming!

If you’ve participated in the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 beta program then you know there are big changes coming with this newest release. You’ll hear more about that in a few weeks but TODAY I’m going to give you a sneak peek at feature enhancements you’ll see in SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15.

Anyone who’s ever heard me talk about SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications knows that I just go on about why it’s the leading Linux platform for SAP HANA-based solutions. Over the last 8 years or so, we’ve come up with some innovative ways to reduce downtime, optimize performance and make it easier to deploy and manage SAP systems. This new version is no exception. Here is what will be new when the product is available in mid-July.

Reducing downtime of critical operations

• Non-Volatile Dual In-line Memory Module (NV-DIMM) support for disk-less databases paves the way for instant database recovery after system reboots.
• Support for up to 512 TB virtual address space enables support for SAP HANA databases that are greater than 32 TB on IBM Power Systems. Larger databases reduce the frequency of re-starts due to memory fragmentation.
• Relax and Recover (ReaR) for ppc64le provides an open-source disaster recovery solution for SAP HANA on IBM Power Systems that is similar to the AIX mksysb This means that ReaR is now available for all supported SAP HANA platforms.
• Operations Pre/Post-scripts gives system administrators the flexibility to adapt SAP HANA system failover and recovery to their own HA scenarios and tools.
• New SAP HANA System Replication (SAPHanaSR) agent service provider calls enable faster takeovers after being notified about service changes, for example, a problem with the index server, rather than waiting for the entire landscape to report an error.

Maintaining the high performance of SAP systems

• Workload Memory Protection is a new feature that replaces Page Cache Management in prior releases. This feature is based on open source cgroup and provides a more scalable solution to protect the memory where SAP applications store data for fast access from Linux kernel memory management.
• Configurable TCP connection sharing improves communications throughput on platforms with a high NFS load.

Reducing the time and effort to deploy SAP landscapes

• Immediately start SAP configuration (sapconf) package changes rather than rebooting after each manual update saves time during system set-up.
• System role enables easier installation with customized scenarios specifically for SAP environments. This includes the Installation Wizard option, special partition recommendations, Microsoft Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) enablement and Base, Gnome Basic and SAP Server Pattern installation.

If you’re at the SAP SAPPHIRE + ASUG conference in Orlando this week, be sure to come by SUSE booth #859. We’ll be happy to talk to you about the upcoming SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 and everything else we and our partners have to offer today for your SAP systems.

If you’re not going to be there, you can follow me on Twitter @MichaelDTabron and our corporate handle @SUSE with the hashtag #SAPPHIRENOW.