Organizations running scale‑up or scale‑out SAP HANA TDI often provision storage manually through storage GUIs or CLI tools. Different storage models require different tools and workflows, which is time‑consuming and prone to human error. In scale‑out SAP HANA deployments, this challenge grows further because storage must be configured individually for multiple HANA nodes, leading to significant manual work and extended setup time.
SAP HANA tailored data center integration (TDI) each installation is customized by assembling hardware, operating system, and hypervisor (optional) from SAP-certified components. SAP HANA Tailored Data Center Integration- Overview has the details about SAP HANA TDI Phase 5 and the TDI overview.
To address the complexity of storage provisioning in these environments, Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform 360 (VSP 360) enables you to provision SAP HANA TDI Enterprise Storage easily for any certified combination of Hitachi storage systems and Hitachi Advanced Servers. In this article, we’ll walk through how VSP 360 helps you provision storage for SAP HANA systems much faster, reducing manual effort, eliminating configuration errors, and avoiding constant context-switching between multiple tools and screens. Provisioning storage for SAP HANA TDI environments becomes quicker, simpler, and more consistent using Hitachi VSP 360.
In today’s rapidly evolving IT landscape, agility and reliability are more important for mission‑critical platforms like SAP HANA. Organizations adopting the SAP HANA TDI model depend on infrastructure that can deliver consistent performance, flexibility, and seamless scalability.
The document outlines the full workflow for configuring storage for any SAP HANA certified storage, including prerequisites, architectural considerations, and best‑practice recommendations for SAP HANA.
We will use VSP 360, VSP One Block 20 and one Hitachi advanced server in this document to show the process of provisioning storage for an SAP HANA TDI system.
VSP 360 Overview
VSP 360 provides unified data management to seamlessly configure, monitor, and safeguard the VSP One data infrastructure. Through integrated configuration, analytics, and automation workflows, VSP 360 simplifies administration and optimizes data services across the storage environment.
VSP 360 requires:
- VMware vSphere ESXi, Microsoft Hyper‑V Manager, or KVM (for VSP One management software)
- Minimum of 34 vCPUs, 12 GiB RAM, and 100 GiB of free disk space on the hypervisor for the appliance
- Network connectivity between VSP 360 and your Hitachi Advanced Server‑based SAP HANA hosts via your chosen protocol
For more details about setting up the VSP 360 environment, refer to the official documentation:
To verify supported Hitachi storage for VSP 360, see the VSP 360 product compatibility guide:
- VSP 360 Product Compatibility Guide:
Product Compatibility Guide
Benefits of Using VSP 360 vs Storage Navigator, Ops Center
- VSP 360 provides one interface to manage full VSP One portfolio (block, file, object, SDS).
- It simplifies setup, administration, and maintenance of storage resources, reducing the complexity of managing storage systems.
- It provides native AIOps observability with predictive insights.
- Modern Clear Sight integrated directly into the platform
- Designed to support IT teams even with limited storage expertise
Recommended Storage Layout for SAP HANA TDI
Before provisioning storage for SAP HANA TDI, it’s important to understand SAP’s storage requirements for any SAP HANA system.
In general, SAP HANA systems require the following file systems:
- OS volume – Operating system and base software
- /hana/shared – Shared binaries, configuration, client tools
- /hana/log – Transaction redo logs used for crash recovery
- /hana/data – Persistent column store and row store data written during HANA save points
Exact sizing depends on your HANA server memory and CPU configuration. Detailed SAP HANA sizing guidance is available at Sizing SAP HANA.
Always refer to the Hitachi Product Compatibility Guide for supported SAP HANA‑certified configurations:
Below is an example of minimum storage sizing for an SAP HANA system, using a 1 TB memory server as a reference for provisioning storage using VSP One Block 20 and VSP 360.
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File System
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Minimum Sizing Formula
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OS
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As per your company policy
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/hana/shared
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Single node (scale-up) size = MIN (1 × RAM; 1 TB)
Multi node (scale-out) size = 1 × RAM of worker per 4 worker nodes
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/hana/log
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Systems with equal or less than 512 GB memory size = ½ × RAM Systems with greater than 512 GB memory size = 512 GB
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/hana/data
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1 × RAM for each HANA Node
Multi node (scale-out) - Size = 1 × RAM of worker per worker nodes
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Provisioning Storage for SAP HANA TDI using VSP 360
You can visualize the storage provisioning process for SAP HANA TDI as a guided workflow in VSP 360 with backend automation and policy‑driven configuration built in. Workflow for storage provisioning using VSP 360 is as following:
In this example, we use VSP One Block 24 as a representative storage for a TDI scale‑up configuration. The same overall workflow applies to other Hitachi‑supported storage models and any supported Hitachi Advanced Servers. However other storage model might have different disk and pool layout. Always refer to latest reference architecture for respective server and storage configuration.
For a list of SAP‑certified Hitachi servers and storage, see:
Steps to provision storage using VSP 360
1. Log In to VSP 360
Access the VSP 360 UI using a web browser:
https://<VSP_360_IP>
Make sure the storage system has been onboarded to VSP 360. For a detailed end‑to‑end guide, always refer to the official documentation:
VSP 360 Documentation
Once storage is onboarded, proceed with pool and volume configuration.
2. Create Storage Pool
To provision storage for VSP One Block 20 we need to create pool directly, parity group creation is handled automatically in backend by VSP One Block Administrator as part of pool creation workflow.
When we are using any other Hitachi storage as VSP G/H/E model storage you need to create parity groups first and then pools for Volume/LUN creation.
To create a Pool, click on Storage then Pools. Once you click on Pools, click on Plus (+) icon. It will Launch VSP One Block 20 storage login screen. Enter your login credentials if asked and create the pool by entering the required information.
3. Create Volumes
Create individual LUNs for each SAP HANA system. Once Pool is created from above steps, create required volumes. For more details on SAP HANA sizing follow Sizing SAP HANA official SAP documentation.
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- OS
- HANA_SHARED
- HANA_LOG
- HANA_DATA
4. Map volumes to Host Groups
Add WWPNs (FC) of HANA host to Server while adding server to VSP 360. Once all WWNs are added to VSP 360 map all required volumes to these hosts into VSP 360 to respective ports. Once all volumes are added to server confirm visibility from SAP HANA host side.
Select the Host mode option 94 and 109 while assigning volumes to server.
Host Mode Option 94 — Mandatory for direct connection between Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform and the Emulex Lpe31002 HBA to work. Without setting up Host Mode Option 94, SAN storage cannot be identified from the Emulex HBA.
Host Mode Option 109 — Fixes the SAN boot issue where sometimes the system cannot find the boot LUN after a reboot. Host Group ID must be 00 for SAN Boot.
Make sure boot Lun ID is 0, else you will face issue with server boot.
5. Verify Host Visibility and Proceed with SAP HANA Installation
After the volumes are mapped:
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- From the SAP HANA host, verify that all LUNs are visible and correctly sized.
- Partition and create the required file systems for:
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- OS
- /hana/shared
- /hana/log
- /hana/data
3. Continue with the OS installation and SAP HANA installation following SAP official guides.
When the storage is visible on the server side and validated, the environment is ready for operating system and SAP HANA deployment.
Product description
These products are used with VSP 360 for storage provisioning.
VSP One Block
Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform One Block simplifies data management while enabling enterprises to reliability and sustainability meet initiatives to fuel growth and innovation.
Dynamic Carbon Reduction optimizes energy usage by switching CPUs to ECO mode during low activity. Adaptive Data Reduction (ADR) is always on, enhancing efficiency and reducing the overall CO2 footprint.
Thin Image Advanced (TIA) integrates with major snapshot ecosystems, supporting business continuity and defending against threats. CyberArk Privileged Access Manager plugins enhance block storage system security by prioritizing data confidentiality, ensuring compliance, and actively defending against security threats.
Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform One Block includes the following dedicated models:
- VSP One Block 24 – 256 GB Cache + SW Advanced Data Reduction (ADR) + 24 cores
- VSP One Block 26 – 768 GB Cache + 2x Compression Accelerator Module (CAM) + 24 cores
- VSP One Block 28 – 1 TB Cache + 4x CAM + 64 cores
All models support Fibre Channel, iSCSI, and NVMe TCP connectivity. The new capabilities reduce complexity: data reduction is always on, Dynamic Drive Protection removes complicated RAID setup, and Dynamic Carbon Reduction delivers real-world reduction in power consumption. In addition, the models are FIPS compliant.
In short, Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform One Block combines simplicity, sustainability, and robust security features to optimize system management, energy efficiency, and data protection.
SAP HANA
SAP HANA converges database and application platform capabilities in-memory to transform transactions, analytics, text analysis, predictive and spatial processing so businesses can operate in real-time. This combines database, data processing, and application platform capabilities in a single in-memory platform. Also, the platform provides libraries for predictive, planning, text processing, spatial, and business analytics — all on the same architecture.
This architecture comes from leading hardware partners of SAP, including Hitachi Vantara.
By eliminating the divide between transactions and analytics, SAP HANA allows you to answer any business question anywhere in real time.
As an SAP customer, you can download more information, including the following:
This is the central starting point for the technical implementation of SAP HANA. Use this guide for basic concepts and for planning.
- SAP HANA Server Installation and Update Guide
This guide provides an overview of how to install and update an SAP HANA system with the SAP HANA lifecycle management tools.
- SAP HANA Administration Guide
This guide explains how to configure, manage, maintain, and optimize your SAP HANA installation using SAP HANA administration tools.
SAP HANA hardware directory provides information about SAP HANA appliances certified by SAP hardware partners.
Operating system choices
Scale‑up and scale‑out configurations of Hitachi solutions for the SAP HANA platform can run on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications see SAP Note 1944799 and Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) for SAP Applications SAP Note 2009879. S-Suer credential is required.
Configuration changes must follow SAP and OS vendor guidelines. Non‑compliant changes can cause significant performance or stability issues.
Conclusion
Provisioning storage for SAP HANA TDI using VSP One Block 20 for SAP certified Hitachi Storage is faster, simpler, and more reliable using Hitachi VSP 360 guided workflows. VSP 360 removes complexity and reduce the chance of mistakes from enterprise storage operations.
The combination of VSP 360 + VSP One Block 20 delivers exceptional performance and operational efficiency with solid foundation for SAP HANA TDI deployments.
References
#VSP360