S/4HANA 2023 — User Guide

What is the S/4HANA 2023 Cockpit?

The S/4HANA 2023 Management Cockpit is a web-based dashboard for monitoring and operating the SAP S/4HANA IDES demonstration environment hosted on sapidess4.fivetran-internal-sales.com.

From a single page you can:

• View server details, HANA version, and tenant information
• Monitor disk space with visual progress bars
• Check the live status of the SAP Application Server and both HANA database instances
• Trigger on-demand HANA backups via BACKINT to Google Cloud Storage
• Start and stop SAP and HANA services with safety controls
• Access links to SSO, HANA Cockpit, Web IDE, GCP console, and all business process docs

Server Details

The Server Details card displays static and dynamic information about the SAP server:

Click the Refresh button at the top right of the section to re-query the HANA version, OS, and tenant name from the live server.

Understanding the Status Section

The Status section contains three cards that show the real-time state of the system components. Click Check Status to query all three at once.

Status Indicators

Each card displays a colored dot and status text:

For HANA cards, the status also shows the tenant name and the last successful backup date (e.g., "April 09, 2026").

HANA Backup Architecture

HANA backups use Google Cloud's SAP Agent Backint — not disk-based snapshots. The Backint agent streams data directly from HANA to a Google Cloud Storage bucket.

FIV Tenant (Main S/4HANA Database)

The FIV tenant holds all S/4HANA application data. Backups are scheduled automatically and can also be triggered manually.

FIV Scheduled Backup

FIV data backups are scheduled by the HANA Cockpit:

• Schedule: Every Saturday at 09:33 server time (PDT)
• Comment: "FIV Saturday Scheduled backup"
• Catalog and log backups also use Backint (continuous log backup, immediate mode)
• The cockpit page shows the last backup and next backup in Amsterdam and LA timezones with a live countdown
• Manual backup via the Backup Now button triggers BACKUP DATA USING BACKINT

PIT Tenant (HANA Cockpit SYSTEMDB)

The PIT instance hosts the HANA Cockpit and Web IDE. Its backups are triggered manually.

Backups are triggered manually via the cockpit page Backup Now button, which runs BACKUP DATA USING BACKINT on SYSTEMDB port 39613.

Key HANA global.ini Backup Settings

The following settings in global.ini control the Backint integration for the FIV tenant:

GCS Bucket Structure

The gs://sap-hana-backint/ bucket contains backups for all SAP systems:

Additional directories in the bucket store kernel packages, host agent binaries, and archive files.

On-Demand Backup Workflow

Both HANA cards (FIV and PIT) include backup controls:

1. Click Backup Now on the desired HANA card (FIV or PIT/Cockpit).
2. A confirmation dialog appears: "Start an immediate BACKINT backup for tenant FIV?". Click OK.
3. The button changes to "Running..." and a live timer starts counting (e.g., Backup running: 02:34).
4. The backup runs in the background on the server. You can navigate away — the timer is purely local.
5. Click Refresh to check progress. When the backup completes, the timer disappears and the last backup date updates.

Overview

SAP HANA on this system uses Google Cloud Agent for SAP (google_cloud_sap_agent backint) to stream data, log, and catalog backups directly to the GCS bucket gs://sap-hana-backint/. Backups are gzip-compressed by the agent. Log and catalog backups run automatically every minute; full data backups are scheduled weekly (Saturday 09:33 America/Los_Angeles).

Architecture

hdbsql → BACKUP DATA USING BACKINT ('...')
  → HANA calls hdbbackint (symlink)
    → backint wrapper (bash: google_cloud_sap_agent backint "$@")
      → reads parameters.json (bucket, SA key, compress)
        → uploads to gs://sap-hana-backint/<TENANT>/...

Configuration Files

GCS Bucket Layout

Bucket: gs://sap-hana-backint/ (shared across all HANA systems, tenant-prefixed)

parameters.json

{
  "bucket": "sap-hana-backint",
  "compress": true,
  "service_account_key": "/usr/sap/FIV/home/internal-sales-4b50698e74ec.json",
  "log_to_cloud": true
}

global.ini [backup] settings

[backup]
data_backup_parameter_file = /usr/sap/FIV/SYS/global/hdb/opt/backint/backint-gcs/parameters.json
parallel_data_backup_backint_channels = 4
catalog_backup_parameter_file = /usr/sap/FIV/SYS/global/hdb/opt/backint/backint-gcs/parameters.json
log_backup_parameter_file = /usr/sap/FIV/SYS/global/hdb/opt/backint/backint-gcs/parameters.json
log_backup_using_backint = true
catalog_backup_using_backint = true

Backup Commands

# Full data backup of FIV tenant to GCS
su - fivadm -c 'hdbsql -i 00 -d FIV -u SYSTEM -p <pwd> \
  "BACKUP DATA USING BACKINT ('\''FULL_DATA_FIV_$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)'\'') \
   COMMENT '\''Manual full backup'\''"'

# Backup SYSTEMDB
su - fivadm -c 'hdbsql -i 00 -d SYSTEMDB -u SYSTEM -p <pwd> \
  "BACKUP DATA FOR SYSTEMDB USING BACKINT ('\''SYSTEMDB_$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)'\'') \
   COMMENT '\''SYSTEMDB backup'\''"'

# Check last 5 backups
su - fivadm -c 'hdbsql -i 00 -u SYSTEM -p <pwd> \
  "SELECT TOP 5 BACKUP_ID, ENTRY_TYPE_NAME, STATE_NAME, \
   DESTINATION_TYPE_NAME, SYS_END_TIME, COMMENT \
   FROM M_BACKUP_CATALOG ORDER BY SYS_END_TIME DESC"'

Restore Commands

# Stop tenant before recovery
su - fivadm -c 'hdbsql -i 00 -d SYSTEMDB -u SYSTEM -p <pwd> \
  "ALTER SYSTEM STOP DATABASE FIV"'

# Restore from backint by BACKUP_ID (preferred)
su - fivadm -c 'hdbsql -i 00 -d SYSTEMDB -u SYSTEM -p <pwd> \
  "RECOVER DATA FOR FIV USING BACKUP_ID <backup_id> CLEAR LOG"'

# Restore from backint by prefix
su - fivadm -c 'hdbsql -i 00 -d SYSTEMDB -u SYSTEM -p <pwd> \
  "RECOVER DATA FOR FIV USING BACKINT ('\''FULL_DATA_FIV_20260416'\'') CLEAR LOG"'

# Verify tenant is back
su - fivadm -c 'hdbsql -i 00 -u SYSTEM -p <pwd> \
  "SELECT DATABASE_NAME, ACTIVE_STATUS FROM M_DATABASES"'

Backup Schedule

Weekly full data backup every Saturday 09:33 America/Los_Angeles (server timezone). Automatic log and catalog backups every minute, streaming to GCS via backint.

Agent CLI Commands — Install, Configure, Validate, Diagnose

The Google Cloud Agent for SAP includes helper commands that replace manual symlink/wrapper/parameters.json work. Use these for new system setup and troubleshooting.

installbackint — installs wrapper, hdbbackint symlink, and starter parameters.json to /usr/sap/<SID>/SYS/global/hdb/opt/backint/backint-gcs/:

/usr/bin/google_cloud_sap_agent installbackint
# Or specify SID (lowercase):
/usr/bin/google_cloud_sap_agent installbackint -sid=fiv

configurebackint — safely edit parameters.json:

/usr/bin/google_cloud_sap_agent configurebackint \
  -f="/usr/sap/FIV/SYS/global/hdb/opt/backint/backint-gcs/parameters.json" \
  -bucket="sap-hana-backint"

status -f=backint — validates IAM + config (v3.7+). Run first when troubleshooting:

sudo /usr/bin/google_cloud_sap_agent status \
  -b="/usr/sap/FIV/SYS/global/hdb/opt/backint/backint-gcs/parameters.json" \
  -f="backint"

backint -f=diagnose — end-to-end self-test. Requires 18 GB free disk:

sudo /usr/bin/google_cloud_sap_agent backint \
  -u=FIV \
  -p="/usr/sap/FIV/SYS/global/hdb/opt/backint/backint-gcs/parameters.json" \
  -f=diagnose

parameters.json Full Reference

Our current config uses 4 parameters. The agent supports many more for performance tuning, encryption, retention, and system-copy workflows.

Core

Performance

Compression / Logging / Metrics

Storage / Metadata

Encryption

Retention (v3.7+)

Diagnostics

Multiple Parameter Files (Recommended for Production)

HANA can use separate parameters.json files for data/log/catalog backups, each tuned differently. Our current config uses one shared file — works fine for this scale, but consider splitting for production tuning.

Configure in global.ini:

[backup]
data_backup_parameter_file = /usr/sap/FIV/.../parameters_data.json
log_backup_parameter_file = /usr/sap/FIV/.../parameters_log.json
catalog_backup_parameter_file = /usr/sap/FIV/.../parameters_catalog.json

Download Backint Skill

Full backint expert reference skill (Markdown) — covers architecture, parameters, CLI commands, tuning, and troubleshooting for both S/4HANA and BW/4HANA systems.

Performance & Operational Notes

• Compression tradeoff: Google recommends leaving compress=false — higher CPU, lower throughput. We use compress=true deliberately for lower GCS cost.
• Parallel data backup channels: Set parallel_data_backup_backint_channels=8 (or 16) in global.ini [backup] instead of parallel_streams in parameters.json for data backups. FIV currently set to 4.
• XML multipart uploads for log/catalog: enable in a dedicated parameters_log.json, not the shared file.
• Lifecycle rule on bucket: Google recommends an AbortIncompleteMultipartUpload lifecycle rule (7 days) on the bucket.
• Database isolation feature: If HANA is deployed with database isolation, extra config is needed. Not applicable here.
• Scale-out deployments: Agent must be installed on every node.

Troubleshooting

Starting Services

Each status card has a green Start button:

A confirmation dialog asks you to confirm before starting. If the service is already running, you will see an informational message instead of starting it again.

Stopping Services

Each status card has a red Stop button. Stopping is a two-step authorization process:

1. Warning dialog — a confirmation message explains the impact (e.g., "All connected users will be disconnected" or "Shut SAP down first before stopping the database").
2. Master password — you must enter the vault master password. If the password is wrong, the operation is rejected.

Recommended Shutdown Sequence

1. Stop SAP — Click "Stop SAP", confirm the warning, enter the master password.
2. Check Status — Click "Check Status" and wait until SAP shows Inactive.
3. Stop HANA FIV — Click "Stop DB" on the HANA Database card.
4. (Optional) Stop HANA PIT — Click "Stop DB" on the Cockpit card if you also want to shut down the DBA Cockpit.

Recommended Startup Sequence

1. Start HANA FIV — Click "Start DB" on the HANA Database card. Wait until status shows Active.
2. (Optional) Start HANA PIT — Click "Start DB" on the Cockpit card.
3. Start SAP — Click "Start SAP". The ABAP stack needs the database to be running first.

Filesystem Monitor

The Disk Space card appears next to Server Details and shows all mounted filesystems with visual progress bars.

Each filesystem row shows: mount point, usage percentage bar, total size, and available space. Click Refresh to update the data.

Key Filesystems to Watch

Available Links

The Links section provides quick access to external tools and documentation:

Business Process Documentation

The lower section of the Links card contains links to all SAP business process workflow documentation:

Credential Management

The cockpit follows a strict no-hardcoded-passwords policy. All credentials are stored in the encrypted vault on the server and retrieved at runtime.

SMTP Configuration

This server is configured to send email via smtp2go relay using Postfix.

Send a test email:

echo "Test" | mailx -s "Test from sapidess4" -r "sapidess4@fivetran-internal-sales.com" recipient@email.com

Common Issues

Architecture

The cockpit page is a static HTML file served by the Python HTTPS server on sapidesecc8 (port 443). All dynamic data comes from API endpoints on the same server:

Overview

The HANA SQL Console provides an interactive query interface directly from the cockpit. Queries are executed on the SAP HANA database via hdbsql on sapidess4.

Available Databases & Users

Features

• Database selector — switch between FIV and SYSTEMDB
• User selector — SYSTEM or SAPHANADB (FIV only)
• Optional schema — sets CURRENT_SCHEMA via -Z flag
• Ctrl+Enter — keyboard shortcut to execute
• Results table — sortable columns with row count and elapsed time
• Copy button — copies results as tab-separated text
• Error display — HANA error messages shown in red box

Example Queries

-- List all databases
SELECT DATABASE_NAME, ACTIVE_STATUS FROM SYS.M_DATABASES

-- Check HANA version
SELECT VERSION FROM SYS.M_DATABASE

-- Top 10 largest tables in FIV
SELECT TOP 10 SCHEMA_NAME, TABLE_NAME, RECORD_COUNT, TABLE_SIZE
FROM SYS.M_CS_TABLES ORDER BY TABLE_SIZE DESC

-- Active connections
SELECT CONNECTION_ID, USER_NAME, CLIENT_IP, CONNECTION_STATUS
FROM SYS.M_CONNECTIONS WHERE CONNECTION_STATUS = 'RUNNING'

-- Memory usage
SELECT HOST, TOTAL_MEMORY_USED_SIZE / 1024 / 1024 / 1024 AS USED_GB,
       ALLOCATION_LIMIT / 1024 / 1024 / 1024 AS LIMIT_GB
FROM SYS.M_HOST_RESOURCE_UTILIZATION