SAP HANA Cloud Platform – custom application deployment ... lessons learned

Created: Dec 23, 2016

As I have mentioned in a previous post, I finally managed to deploy and run a custom application in SAP HANA Cloud Platform (HCP).

The difficult part for me was not setting up the environment per se, but to solve all the source dependencies and unknowns around the platform’s prerequisites. I found it really challenging to actually find the relevant information on the web, so I decided to write this post to list a set of issues I ran into and how I managed to solve them. Some of the items might not be surprising and for some these will be self-evident, but at least for me these were Aha! moments. I have to add that I am not a real Java expert (I am much more familiar with the Microsoft development ecosystem), so please ignore my ignorance around this technology stack.

SAP HANA Cloud Platform - custom application deployment

Created: Dec 21, 2016

I am very excited that I managed to deploy and execute my first application on SAP HANA Cloud Platform (https://hcp.sap.com/ (original URL https://hcp.sap.com/)) today. It uses the native in-memory database and application services.

The base application source code was generated using Ciber Momentum Engineer (https://momentum.ciber.com/) and then customized to fit their platform-as-a-service environment.

I have to admit that this was not quite straight forward and I had to go through a significant amount of trial & error before I finally managed to deploy the application itself without any issues and exceptions being thrown. It also took quite a while until the database automatically got populated with all the business entities or rather tables. There are quite a lot of dependencies and restrictions that you have to know and be aware of; i.e. things like

The next break-down is about to happen (soon)

Created: Jul 27, 2016

Banking Briefing

I just recently did a talk on application modernization for attendees from the financial services industry. The discussions we had afterwards were quite interesting and I enjoyed the sharing of ideas and potential solutions.

Interestingly enough, on my flight back home, I read an article in one of the biggest German newspapers. The title of this article was (more or less) “The next break-down is about to happen soon”. The content basically is all about digital transformation in the banking industry and how constantly evolving customer demand and expectation is the reason why these huge financial institutions are struggling to cope with these requirements. The root cause seems to be too many and over-aged applications in their IT landscape. The article mentions that an average (German) bank has about 1,200 (!) IT applications deployed and in production.

Application Modernization and containers

Created: Jul 13, 2016

I have just recently watched the keynote sessions of the current dockercon'16. It’s been very interesting and eye-opening. You can still watch the recordings here: https://2016.dockercon.com/ (original URL https://2016.dockercon.com/).

I do use Docker for some internal infrastructure deployments. It enables me to efficiently use a broad set of different application servers that form a deployment scenario for a complete solution.

One of the key themes I heard from the Docker conference are the topics around application modernization. This is quite interesting since one wouldn’t connect Docker with transformations of business applications to modern environments. I do think that the major theme of Docker makes sense and it is a viable approach to modernizing business applications. At least it helps to migrate these applications from one platform to another.

DevOps in the Enterprise

Created: Jul 07, 2016

DevOps is one of the key topics currently in the world of IT. However, it is also relevant for businesses and enterprises. We are living in a very disruptive economy nowadays and every company needs to have a plan in place on how to deal with such disruption. This applies to companies in each and every industry.

There is a lot of buzz going on and every giant software vendor proposes its own methodology around DevOps. Basically, it comes down to delivering faster, with better agility and continuous productivity gains while improving delivered quality.

Microsoft Azure Active Directory and Multi-Factor Authentication

Created: May 10, 2015

Since I have been using Microsoft Azure Active Directory (AAD) for my newly AAD domain joined machine, I thought it would be a good idea to enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) to my account. I really do care a lot about my (virtual) identity ?.

So, I was able to domain join my machine and get everything up and running on my Windows 10 machine. However, two things then happened:

1. My Windows Phone 8.1 told me that my Office 365 (O365) account cannot sync my mail, etc. anymore and it needs my attention. I thought “no big deal … just let it configure again and add my 2nd factor to it and done”. As a matter of fact, this does not seem to work right now, the phone tries for a couple of minutes and then says that something went wrong and it cannot activate my account anymore.

Windows 10 and Microsoft Azure Active Directory

Created: May 08, 2015

I have been using Windows 10 for quite a while now … actually from the very first moment Microsoft released their first public preview late in 2014. I absolutely like the look and feel and how the user experience evolved from Windows 8.1. I think it is a much more intuitive way to use your computer for work and play. I am using it on a tablet and it works great with touch, but also mouse and keyboard.

Microsoft and Oracle announce enterprise partnership

Created: Jun 25, 2013

Microsoft Corp. and Oracle Corp. yesterday announced a partnership that will enable customers to run Oracle software on Windows Server Hyper-V and in Windows Azure. Customers will be able to deploy Oracle software — including Java, Oracle Database and Oracle WebLogic Server — on Windows Server Hyper-V or in Windows Azure and receive full support from Oracle. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

For additional information:

Microsoft Press Release at https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/Press/2013/Jun13/06-24WSNewsPR.aspx

Windows 8 Upgrade ... it's so easy!

Created: Nov 05, 2012

Today I decided to upgrade my home computer to Windows 8 Pro. One thing you have to know is that this is a very critical system for us at home. It runs the entertainment system and most importantly feeds our TV system (XBox 360) in the living room. I was specifically nervous about the fact that the TV signal for the Media Center comes from a powerline connected devolo dLAN TV Sat PC device (that actually sits on the top floor of our house). Not much Windows 8 support information was given by devolo, but the Windows 8 upgrade assistant did say that there was a newer Version of the driver available (also I couldn’t find any Information on the web).

Cliplets: still and dynamic images

Created: Nov 01, 2012

If you are as addicted as I am with looking at Bing’s totally awesome photographs, there is now a way to actually create your own piece of art. Microsoft Research provides a nice little interactive app that gives users the power to create “Cliplets” – a type of imagery that sits between stills and video, including imagery such as video textures and “cinemagraphs”. The app provides a simple, yet expressive way to mix static and dynamic elements from a video clip.