4.3 SAP BW/4HANA Cloud Deployment Steps
SAP provides three options for free trials of SAP BW/4HANA:
In this section, we’ll walk through deploying the SAP BW/4HANA 1.0 Developer Edition on AWS. The estimated cost for AWS for this instance is $1.40 per hour when active or $25.30 per month when suspended—the software cost is a free trial from SAP.
The deployments are available in the SAP Cloud Appliance Library, as shown in Figure 4.2. You can access SAP Cloud Appliance Library at https://cal.sap.com/.
Figure 4.2 SAP Cloud Appliance Library SAP BW/4HANA Options
The deployment guides are updated frequently, so we recommend reviewing the latest documentation before deploying a system from the SAP Cloud Appliance Library.
4.3.1 Setting Up the Cloud Provider Account
The setup described in this section is specific to AWS, but similar steps are required for other providers. The first step is to set up an AWS account if you don’t already have one. SAP recommends using a separate account to set up SAP Cloud Appliance Library instances and not use the root account used for other AWS instances. This example will go through the setup of a separate account.
To set up an account, go to https://aws.amazon.com/ (see Figure 4.3).
The signup process includes quick steps such as adding contact information and billing information; it should only take a few minutes.
Once you’ve completed the signup process, you should be able to launch the management console (see Figure 4.4), from which you can manage your AWS instances and access the learning materials that AWS provides.
Figure 4.3 Creating New AWS Account
Figure 4.4 AWS Management Console
Click Services in the top-left corner (see Figure 4.4) and access the identity and access management (IAM) console, then create a user group so that you can grant only the required access for the SAP Cloud Appliance Library (see Figure 4.5).
Figure 4.5 AWS IAM Console
Your IAM users for SAP Cloud Appliance Library require the following roles (see Figure 4.6):
- AmazonEC2FullAccess
- AmazonVPCFullAccess
- ReadOnlyAccess
- AWSAccountUsageReportAccess
Next, create a user that can be assigned to the user group. Make sure to select the Programmatic Access user option to generate an access and secret key pair (see Figure 4.7).
Figure 4.6 IAM User Group with Required Roles Assigned
Figure 4.7 AWS User Creation
On the next screen, assign the user to the user group and click Next (see Figure 4.8).
Figure 4.8 Assign User to User Group
A screen will show the user and the access key and secret key pair.
Now, you’re ready to deploy an SAP BW/4HANA system from the SAP Cloud Appliance Library.
4.3.2 Selecting Your Deployment
Select the SAP BW/4HANA 1.0 Developer Edition in the SAP Cloud Appliance Library. Once selected, you should see the deployment options (see Figure 4.9).
Figure 4.9 SAP BW/4HANA 1.0 Developer Edition Deployment Options
You’ll see that the deployment uses two VMs on AWS (see Figure 4.9):
- One Linux r3.2xlarge (eight cores, 61 GB memory)
- One SAP frontend m3.xlarge (four cores, 15 GB memory); starting instance
We recommend reviewing the Getting Started guide before continuing, because some steps might change. The Getting Started guide can be found on the main page of the SAP Cloud Appliance Library.
Once you’re ready, click the Create Instance button in the upper-right corner.
Enter the Name and Description and select a Cloud Provider (see Figure 4.10). Here, we’ve selected AWS, but you can also use Azure.
Figure 4.10 Naming Instance and Selecting Cloud Provider
Test the connection by clicking the Test Connection button (see Figure 4.10); you will be able to enter an instance Name and a master Password. Then, click Create in the bottom-right corner (see Figure 4.11).
Figure 4.11 Name Instance and Password
A private key will be generated; download it for later use.
SAP will also display the restrictions that are enforced for the trial version and will note that the setup can take around one hour (see Figure 4.12). If you just created the AWS account, there might be a verification in progress for the account before the instance will be created.
Figure 4.12 Instance Preparation on AWS
4.3.3 Logging On to the Instance
Once your instance has started, you can access it from SAP Cloud Appliance Library using your local SAP GUI, or via the remote desktop VM, which is part of the appliance deployment, using the Connect button at the top right (see Figure 4.13).
Figure 4.13 Connecting to Client 001 via SAP GUI
The user details are all included in the Getting Started guide, and the password is the master password created when setting up the instance.
The remote desktop protocol (RDP) provided with the SAP BW/4HANA 1.0 Developer Edition includes the components in Table 4.5.
| Component | Version |
|---|---|
| SAP GUI for Windows 7.40 | 740.2.5.1110 |
| SAP HANA Studio | 2.3.8 |
| SAP Development Tools for Eclipse: ABAP Development Tools | 2.64.3 |
| SAP Development Tools for Eclipse: BW Modeling Tools | 1.15.1 |
| SAP Development Tools for Eclipse: SAPUI5 Tools | 1.38.7 |
| SAP BusinessObjects Design Studio | 1.6 |
Table 4.5 Components Installed on RDP VM
4.3.4 Managing Instances
The SAP Cloud Appliance Library interface shown in Figure 4.14 provides a few ways to manage your cloud appliance:
-
Connect
Provides easy access to RDP and SAP GUI -
Start
Starts the instance -
Suspend
Stops the instance -
Reboot
Reboots the instance -
Terminate
Stops the instance and discards it -
Backup
Creates a backup of the instance -
Create Solution
Creates a new instance based on the current instance
Figure 4.14 Options for Managing SAP Cloud Appliance Library Instance
It’s also important to note that security is managed for the SAP Cloud Appliance Library instance from the Security section of the page. Only certain ports are open by default when the instance is created (see Figure 4.15). We recommend reviewing this information and closing ports that aren’t used.
Figure 4.15 Ports Opened by Default in the Instance
In addition, you can set up schedules for when the instance will be running, and a default auto-stop feature will stop the instance from running after eight hours. These elements can all be managed from within the Schedule settings (see Figure 4.16).
Figure 4.16 Schedule Options in the Instance
Most of these are basic management options; further options are available from within the AWS console.
4.3.5 Renewing Licenses
The licenses provided with the SAP BW/4HANA system are temporary, but it’s possible to renew the licenses with a MiniSAP license key (see Figure 4.17). This option is described in detail at https://wiki.scn.sap.com/wiki/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=451058309.
Figure 4.17 MiniSAP License Renewal
Renewing the license provides an additional 90 day extension beyond the expiration date.