Installation, Updates & Lifecycle Management

You ran saptune solution apply HANA on SLES but a later saptune solution verify HANA shows the tuning isn't active. What step is most likely missing?

A colleague provisions HANA data and log volumes on ext4 because 'it's the standard Linux filesystem.' Why is that a problem, and what should they use?

Your HANA temporary license is about to expire. You request a permanent key — do you need to schedule a restart, and what's the consequence of missing the window?

You need to run hdblcm on a freshly provisioned, headless HANA host. Which of its three interfaces is the safe default, and why not the GUI?

Which directories must be excluded from real-time virus scanning on an SAP HANA system?

You need to add a node to a running HANA system. Should you run the hdblcm from the installation medium or the resident one, and why does it matter?

Automatic NUMA balancing moves processes nearer the memory they access — generally a good thing. Why does SAP HANA require it OFF, and what value confirms it?

Post-install hardening: you want to deactivate the SAP HANA SYSTEM user. What must you do FIRST, and what's the trap if you don't?

hdblcm is a wrapper around tools like hdbinst and hdbaddhost. Why shouldn't you call those underlying tools directly, and which two do install vs. add a host?

In a multitarget HANA system replication setup (e.g. A→B and A→C→D), which systems do you upgrade first, and why not the primary?

How do you verify that downloaded SAP HANA installation media is authentic (signed by SAP), not merely intact?

You need to check or change scale-out host role assignments (MASTER, WORKER, STANDBY). Which .ini file's landscape section holds them — and not global.ini?

Updating a single-container HANA to 2.0 SPS 01 converts it to MDC. After conversion, where does the OLD SYSTEM user end up, and what new user appears?

You want to run an unattended (batch-mode) hdblcm install/update. Which of the three interfaces can do it — and which two cannot?

In a near-zero-downtime HANA system replication upgrade, do you upgrade the primary or the secondary first, and what unusual version state does HANA tolerate during it?

Why must specific /tmp lock and socket files be excluded from systemd-tmpfiles cleanup on a HANA host, and where do the exclusions go?

KSM (kernel samepage merging) saves memory by deduplicating identical pages — tempting on a virtualized host. Why disable it for SAP HANA anyway?

During an NZDT upgrade of the OLD primary, why is the --hdbupd_server_nostart option important, and what happens if you omit it?

After a HANA update, what happens to HANA content on the tenant databases, and how do you confirm it's progressing rather than re-doing it manually?

You receive a HANA system preinstalled by a hardware partner. Which two secure-store master keys must you change at handover, and why isn't a password reset enough?

Which two Linux kernel parameters does SAP HANA require in /etc/sysctl.d/sap.conf, and what are their values?

You set a hdblcm parameter both in a parameter file and interactively, and they differ. Which value wins?

Which resource limits must be raised for SAP HANA OS users in /etc/security/limits.d/99-sap.conf, and to what?

How long is SAP HANA 2.0 SPS 05 supported after RTC, and why can't you generalize that to other SPS levels?

On RHEL, getenforce returns Enforcing before a HANA install. What must you do, and why isn't editing the config file enough on its own?

You're choosing between a standard revision and a maintenance revision for a HANA SPS. Which one do you take for a critical bug with no workaround, and how do they differ in lifecycle?

When sizing usable HANA memory, how much does HANA reserve for the OS by default, and what additional fixed reserve reduces net capacity?

Before upgrading HANA you need to confirm the target release runs on your OS/DB and is still in maintenance. Which SAP resource answers that, and what's the catch for add-ons?

Which global.ini section/parameters define HANA data and log volume paths, and why are data and log deliberately placed on separate physical storage?

Which environment variable must point to the SAP HANA client libraries on Linux, macOS, AIX, and HP-UX?

Which tuned profile prepares RHEL for SAP HANA, and what service step is easy to skip when activating it?

On HANA 2.0 you need to validate that storage/network meets SAP's KPIs. Which tool do you use, and which older tool does it replace?

In the optimized/flexible two-phase HANA update, what does the uptime preparation phase actually do, and what's deferred to downtime?

Why would you set HANA's global_allocation_limit, where does the parameter live, and what's the SQL to set it?

What exactly does uninstalling HANA via the lifecycle manager remove, and can you undo it?

For centralized HANA lifecycle tasks across nodes, what are the two --remote_execution options, and which one avoids needing ROOT credentials?

Among the three HANA cockpit 2.0 install options, which lets you administer a system while it's offline (restarts, recovery), and what's the cost of that choice?

Before a HANA revision update, which SAP Note must you check, and why can't you assume every higher revision is a valid target?

Transparent Huge Pages reduce TLB footprint and usually help big-memory apps. Why disable THP for SAP HANA, and what value confirms it?

You want to assess the stability/performance impact of a hardware or config change before applying it to production. Which HANA feature fits, and what's its main advantage over manual testing?

In HANA's release cycle, how does an SPS differ from a revision in cadence and scope, and which one can you upgrade independently?

SAP guarantees HANA updates are 'upward-compatible.' What does that actually promise — and what does it NOT protect you from?

A HANA client needs LDAP authentication or client-side encryption but it isn't working. Which library is the likely missing prerequisite?

sapconf vs saptune for OS tuning: which does SAP prefer for HANA, and what's the constraint on running both?

A HANA installation is failing and the default logs aren't detailed enough. What do you enable for a detailed installer trace, and where are the standard logs?

In an NZDT HANA upgrade, what is the SRTAKEOVER hdbuserstore key for, and what's the timing/placement requirement that's easy to get wrong?

Which HANA versions can cockpit 2.0 manage, and what should you do with the COCKPIT_ADMIN user it creates?

What's the current SAP swap-space recommendation for a HANA server, and why is the familiar 2× RAM rule wrong here?

In HANA's recommended filesystem layout, what are the default paths for the installation, data, and log volumes?

Three users are created during a HANA install (<sid>adm, sapadm, SYSTEM). Which one do you use to start/stop the DB, and what are the other two for?

What's the deprecation status of SAP HANA Studio, and which three things can it no longer configure (forcing you to SQL)?

How is HANA's kernel.shmall computed, and what RAM threshold changes the formula?

Do you need a license key for the SAP HANA cockpit, and where does a license actually become required?