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documentation.suse.com / Guide / Upgrading an SAP HANA cluster
Applies to SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP3

5 Upgrading an SAP HANA cluster

This chapter describes how to upgrade your SAP HANA cluster with the YaST module SUSE HANA Cluster Update. This acts as a wizard and guides you through all the SAP HANA cluster maintenance procedures.

The official SAP HANA documentation describes the so-called Near Zero Downtime Upgrade Process. The YaST module is based on this process and handles the part of the procedure related to the SUSE cluster. Not all steps can be done automatically. Some steps need to be performed manually by the SAP HANA administrator. The YaST module will inform you during the process.

This YaST module is available in the yast2-sap-ha package for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP3 and higher. Currently, the wizard is only prepared to handle the SAP HANA Scale-up Performance Optimized scenario.

The upgrade covers the following tasks:

5.1 Preparing the upgrade

Ensure passwordless SSH access between the two nodes (primary and secondary) for root. Keep in mind, some cloud service providers might not have set up SSH access for the root by default.

  1. Install the yast2-hana-update package on both nodes:

    # zypper install yast2-hana-update

    After the installation, you can find the module SUSE HANA Cluster Update in the YaST Control Center.

  2. On the secondary node, start the YaST Control Center and open the SUSE HANA Cluster Update module.

  3. In the YaST module, review the prerequisites. Make sure to fulfill all of them before continuing with the next step. Keep in mind that the wizard supports only the HANA Scale-up Performance Optimized scenario.

  4. To upgrade the SAP HANA system, select the secondary node.

  5. Select the location of the installation medium.

    Point to the location where the SAP medium is located. If wanted, check Mount an update medium on all hosts and provide the NFS share and path.

    Important
    Important: Differences between SAP HANA version 1.0 and 2.0

    If you are upgrading from SAP HANA version 1.0 to version 2.0, make sure to check This is a HANA 1.0 to HANA 2.0 upgrade.

    The YaST module will copy the PKI SSFS keys from the former secondary node to the former primary node. More information is available through the Help button.

Continue with Section 5.2, “Upgrading your SAP HANA cluster”.

5.2 Upgrading your SAP HANA cluster

  1. Review the update plan generated by the wizard.

    The wizard shows you two steps: automatic and manual. In this automatic step, the wizard puts cluster resources into maintenance mode before it starts with the automatic steps. The manual steps are SAP HANA specific and need to be executed by an SAP HANA administrator. For more information, see the official SAP HANA documentation.

  2. Update the SAP HANA software.

    The wizard executes the automatic actions and waits until the SAP HANA administrator performs the SAP HANA upgrade.

  3. Perform the SAP HANA upgrade.

  4. Review the plan for the primary (remote) node.

    After the SAP HANA upgrade is done, the wizard shows the update plan. When you continue with this step, the wizard turns the primary node into a secondary node to make it ready for the upgrade.

    Keep in mind that this step can take some time.

Continue with Section 5.3, “Finishing the upgrade task”.

5.3 Finishing the upgrade task

  1. Update the former primary node.

    Pay special attention to the --hdbupd_server_nostart option in this step.

  2. Restore the previous state of the cluster.

    By default, the wizard registers the former master as now being secondary on the SAP HANA system replication. If you want to revert the system replication to its original state, click the Reverse button.

  3. Review the update summary.

    You can review the original and current SAP HANA versions and the cluster state.

    Note
    Note: Dealing with intermediate cluster state

    If the wizard is faster than the status update of the cluster resources, the summary shows an intermediate cluster state. The cluster state is UNDEFINED or DEMOTED.

    To overcome this, check the cluster status again with the command SAPHanaSR-showAttr and make sure the former secondary node is now in the state PROMOTED.

Refer to the SUSE blog post https://www.suse.com/c/how-to-upgrade-your-suse-sap-hana-cluster-in-an-easy-way/ for further information.