Release Notes for SAP HANA Cloud

You can now configure a custom maintenance page that is displayed during planned downtime of an application. For more information, see Using an Application Maintenance Page.

It is now possible to update an application to a compatible version without downtime. For more information, see Updating Applications with Zero Downtime.

You can perform a soft shutdown of an application or application process by executing shutdown in two steps - first disable opening of new connections and then stop the application or application process. For more information, see Soft Shutdown.

A new Operator's Guide has been added in the official SAP HANA Cloud documentation. The guide describes how you can perform the most common operator tasks, such as configuring and updating applications. For more information, see Operator’s Guide.

You can restart a single application processes by ID using the restart command in SAP HANA Cloud console client. For more information, see Start and Stop.

An application process can now be identified with a short process ID. By default, the status command is showing only the first 7 characters of the process ID and the full process ID can be listed by using the --show-full-process-id option.  For more information, see Status; Start and Stop.

When you go to SAP HANA Cloud home page (http://hana.ondemand.com), it opens the Cloud Cockpit as a welcome page and does not redirect to the Developer Center any more.

The HTTPS port on localhost is not allowed anymore for loopback connections by the application (calls to https://localhost:8041 are not allowed). For loopback connections, a dedicated HTTP port bound to localhost shall be used. For more information, see Exchanging Data via HTTP Protocol.
The change is necessary for improving platform security.

Dynamic data source lookup allows you to dynamically bind new schemas to an application while it is running. Applications can use an arbitrary number of schemas, since the data sources are not predefined in the web.xml or persistence.xml file. For more information, see Using Dynamic Data Source Lookup.

Persistence Service

The JDBC driver for SAP HANA Database has been updated to version 1.00.49.373159.

The status of an application is now shown also with an icon, which makes it easier to view the current status of the application.

The application and process dashboard now shows your requested and respectively actual runtime versions and alerts you if the version is no longer recommended or expired.

All Cockpit pages that can be reached from the navigation now have stable links and can be bookmarked and shared. The URLs are human-readable and can be also entered manually or be pre-computed, for example for notifications. Browser back and forward also works and makes the interaction more fluent.

Increment for the Cloud Connector with version 2.0.1 containing first fixes has been released.

For more information how to use the Connectivity Service 2.0, see Using Connectivity Service 2.0 Beta.

SAP Cloud Connector 1.3.1 has been released with the following enhancements:

• A system certificate can now be deleted again
• An HTTPS server addressed by an internal host can now use wildcard certificates
• The system certificate is now immediately exchanged in the tunnel runtime after updating it
• Bugfix for the following issue: larger RFC request data streams could be interrupted and caused an exception in the JCo based cloud application.

New version 1.12.7 of SAPUI5 has been released.

The persistence service now provides a set of console client commands for handling database schemas. The commands allow you to create, bind, unbind, and delete schemas, and ultimately share schemas between applications and run applications on more than one database at the same time.

For more information, see Database Schemas.

Deploy Service

Using the console client you can list all application processes which are started for an application, get the status of a single application process and stop a single application process.

For more information, see Start and Stop.

The remote access servlet no longer needs to be deployed directly with the application in order to access the application’s database schema. Instead, simply bind the remote access servlet to the application’s schema using the new database schema functionality (beta) and then unbind it when remote access is no longer required. 

For more information, see Enabling Remote Database Access.

The SAP HANA Cloud connectivity service is released in version 2.0 as Beta and can now be used on trial landscape hanatrial.ondemand.com. The new version of the service is now based on standards like Web Sockets and consists of the SAP HANA Cloud connector 2.0 which can be downloaded from the SAP HANA Cloud tools page.  

For more information about how to use the Connectivity Service 2.0, see Using Connectivity Service 2.0 Beta.

You can now filter by ID in the member management of the cockpit.

You can also see all database schemas created within an account. Each schema is listed with its name and the database type and version.

The HTTPS port on localhost will not be allowed anymore for loopback connections by the application (i.e. calls to https://localhost:8041 will not be allowed). For loopback connections, a dedicated HTTP port bound to localhost shall be used.

For more information, see Exchanging Data via HTTP Protocol.

The change will be enabled with the SAP HANA Cloud release planned for August 29th, 2013.

Optimized deploy operations via console client when deploying applications with big sizes. The total deployment time may be reduced with up to 50% and varies depending on the archive size and client network.

SAP Development Tools for Eclipse Software Site

https://tools.hana.ondemand.com provides a new software site for the Eclipse Kepler release train. All Cloud Tools are available for Kepler.

Loggers configuration is now persisted on both local runtime and SAP HANA Cloud level. Logger level settings are kept and restored on a server restart, so you do not need to set them over again when restart or redeploy your application.

For more information, see Managing Application Logs from the Eclipse IDE.

The Java 6 runtime of the HANA Cloud Platform was updated from 1.6.026 to 1.6.043. The new Java Runtime will be provisioned for the applications after a restart. The update includes multiple corrections for bugs and security issues.

For more information, see the official Java SE 6 release notes page. The Java updates are cumulative and 1.6.043 includes all patches since 1.6.026.

SAP App Designer 0.9.3 is now in beta/trial shipment. SAP App Designer is available for selected Beta customers with restricted functionality (SAP Fiori extensibility scenario). Free trial access will be announced once available.

Remote Database Access

The Remote Database Access Tool (beta) now provides

a SAP HANA studio integration feature that allows you to remotely access the SAP HANA database. To use this feature, you require a local installation of the SAP HANA studio, available for download from https://hanadeveditionsapicl.hana.ondemand.com/hanadevedition/, and a SAP HANA studio remote access plugin, which is contained in the SDK 2.x add-ons directory. For more information, see Connecting to the Remote SAP HANA Database.

The Destinations editor in the cockpit, applicable on application level, is extended with the following features:

• You can upload custom 'key store' and 'trust store' (*.jks) files for HTTPS in the cases of client authentication;
• You can export destination files;
• You can import destination files in a more convenient way.

For more information, see Configuring Destinations from the Cockpit.

Applications are now able to make loopback requests to localhost on HTTP port 9001.

You can now unlock unlimited strength cryptography in SAP JVM for your SAP HANA Cloud application.

For more information, see Using Strong Encryption in Applications.

Cockpit: Monitoring

Average Response Time (for the last minute) and Used Memory Heap are now available as new metrics in the process dashboard of SAP HANA Cloud cockpit.

RFC (JCo) destinations can be created, edited and uploaded using the Destinations editor in the cockpit.

For more information, see Configuring Destinations from the Cockpit.

RFC (JCo) destinations can be created, edited and uploaded using the Eclipse Tools.

For more information, see Configuring Destinations from the Eclipse IDE.

You can now test Gateway as a Service (GWaaS) with your developer account on hanatrial.ondemand.com.

GWaaS is a solution that allows you to consume data from an SAP Business Suite backend system in SAP HANA Cloud. It establishes a connection between SAP Business Suite data and target clients, platforms, and programming framework. Gateway as a Service exposes business data and business logic as OData services on SAP HANA Cloud, thereby enabling customers to run user-centric applications on SAP HANA Cloud.

Keystore Service

The Keystore service, now available in Beta state, provides a repository for cryptographic keys and certificates to the applications hosted on SAP HANA Cloud platform. By using the Keystore service, the applications could easily retrieve keystores and use them in various cryptographic operations such as signing and verifying of digital signatures, encrypting and decrypting messages, and performing SSL communication.

For more information, see Keys and Certificates.

RFC protocol is now supported:

• A dedicated JCo version is now part of the SAP HANA Cloud runtime for Java and the latest corresponding SDK (1.29.18).

        A tutorial in the SAP HANA Cloud documentation describes how to   build   an application that accesses an on-premise ABAP system via RFC.

• SAP Cloud Connector 1.3.0 has been released with the following enhancements:
  • Configuration of host mappings for the RFC protocol
  • Configuration of function modules as resources in case of RFC
  • SNC configuration for secure communication with ABAP backends when using RFC
  • Support for Host-Header: Host-Header now contains the virtual host as used in the cloud. Thus, an on-premise HTTP application can create URLs pointing to other resources on the same server correctly.

By using SAP HANA Cloud SDK for Java EE 6 Web Profile, customers and partners can now develop applications that utilize the Java EE 6 WebProfile APIsand deploy such applications on the production landscape hana.ondemand.com.

Persistence Service

SAP HANA Cloud SDK for Java EE 6 Web Profile supports applications that bring their own JPA provider and use it instead of the one provided by the platform. For example, an application can bring in its WEB-INF/lib folder a particular version of EclipseLink and use it. In this case, the application will work with its own JPA provider standalone hence it cannot rely on JPA container logic.

https://tools.hana.ondemand.comhas grown from an “SAP HANA Cloud Tools” software site to a general “SAP Development Tools for Eclipse” software site. It now provides Eclipse tools for additional development scenarios like ABAP Development Tools for SAP NetWeaver and SAP NetWeaver Gateway Productivity Accelerator.

The representation of the SDK, SAP JVM and Cloud Connector downloads on the Cloud toolstab page has been improved as follows:

• old SDK versions are hidden
• file names describe runtime type
• file size is shown.

Document Service

The default protocol has been switched from AtomPub to JSON for better performance and less bandwidth consumption. No application changes are required.

The cockpit has a new look, new simplified navigation and offers more content at https://account.hana.ondemand.com/cockpitand

https://account.hanatrial.ondemand.com/cockpit.

For more information, see SAP HANA Cloud Cockpit.

Cockpit: Monitoring

It is possible to view the current state of the metrics for your applications.

For more information see Applications -> Application Dashboard section.

It is now possible to configure and import HTTP and Mail Destinations on application level from the cockpit.
For more information see Configuring Destinations from the Cockpit.

• The com.sap.core.connectivity.api.http.HttpDestination class has been extended by a new getURI() method.

        For more information, see Destination API.

• The documentation of the connectivity service has been restructured and improved.

        For more information, see Consuming SAP HANA Cloud Connectivity Service

Stronger password policy has been enforced for the platform management tools like the cockpit.

If your password is not complex enough or has not been changed in the last 6 months, you will be asked to change it at the first login via a browser.

The self-registration process for SAP HANA Cloud developer accounts has been simplified. Developers can now register via https://account.hana.ondemand.com.

• You can now configure Mail destinations in the Eclipse Connectivity Editor.

        For more information, see Configuring Destinations from the Eclipse IDE.

• Changes in the Eclipse Connectivity Editor on a SAP HANA Cloud local runtime do not require restart of the local runtime anymore.

The SAP JVM  7, a JDK 7 compatible Java Virtual Machine, is now available for the Mac OS X platform as a separate download from the Tools page -> Additional Software section. It can be used for running a local server for SAP HANA Cloud.

For more information see, Java Virtual Machine and Installing the SAP JVM.

Sending and fetching e-mail is now available for productive usage in customer and partner accounts.

For more information, see Sending and Fetching E-Mail.

Connectivity Service: E-Mail

Support for e-mail protocols has been merged into the connectivity service.

For more information see SAP HANA Cloud Connectivity Service.

You can now also install the SAP HANA Cloud Tools for Java directly from the Eclipse Marketplace.

For more information, see this blog.

Information about getting started with SAP HANA Cloud has been added to the Eclipse Welcome screen. This information is visible after the installation of SAP HANA Cloud Tools for Java.

SAP NetWeaver Cloud is now part of SAP HANA Cloud. All sites, documentation and tools have been rebranded.

For more information, see http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-39315.

Remote Database Access

The Remote Database Access Tool, available as a beta version, is delivered as part of the beta SDK 2.x in the new add-ons directory. It allows you to remotely access your application’s database schema and tables on the SAP HANA Cloud platform, investigate and repair application data, and create, drop, and modify database objects. It is currently available for SAP MaxDB only.

For more information, see Remote Database Access.

New version 1.10 of UI Development Toolkit for HTML5 (SAPUI5) has been released.

For more information, see SAPUI5 detailed release notes.

Downloading and installing SAP HANA Cloud Tools for Java from the Tools Update Site  does not require a log-in anymore. The license click-through for downloading the SDK has been simplified.

The support for Indigo version of Eclipse has entered the end of maintenance. The Indigo update site is still operational but no updates will be made. We recommend that you use Juno Service Release 2.

A new feature for testing the identity federation and single sign-on scenarios end-to-end has been introduced. With the test local identity provider (IdP), you can now establish trust to an easy-to-use test IdP running on your local machine.

For more information, see Using a Local Test Identity Provider.

Identity Federation

You can now upload your identity provider metadata as an XML file in the SAP NetWeaver Cloud Cockpit.

For more information, see Using a Custom Identity Provider.

SAP NetWeaver Cloud Mail Service now supports fetching mail via IMAP and POP3 protocols from an internet accessible mail provider.

For more information, see Using the Mail Service.

SAP NetWeaver Cloud Connectivity Service now supports destinations on account level. The destinations on account level are visible for all applications of a given account and thus it is possible to centrally create and maintain shared destinations. 

For more information, see Connectivity Destinations Overview.

An application no longer needs an authenticated user for accessing the Document Service. This allows for public or unauthenticated use cases as well.

For more information, seeDocument Service Concepts-> User Management section.

Mail Service

Sending mail is no longer restricted to certain mail providers. The SMTP standard ports 465 (SMTPS) and 587 (SMTP+STARTTLS) are open for outgoing connections.

For more information, see Using the Mail Service.

When viewing logs in Eclipse, you can switch between the log files of different servers directly from the Server Logs view.

For more information, see Managing Application Logs from the Eclipse IDE.

Mail Service

The underlying javax.mail API has been upgraded from version 1.4.1 to 1.4.5 for the Beta SDK 2.x

For more information, see Mail Service API.

You can now change the log level of multiple loggers simultaneously.

For more information, see Viewing Logs and Setting Log Levels from the Eclipse IDE.

SAP Cloud Connector

SAP Cloud Connector (SCC) 1.2.0 has been released with the following enhancements:

• An automatic check for landscape host and proxy (if existing) that shows whether a connection to the Cloud is possible. The result appears on the Home tab.
• A manual connectivity check for all exposed systems, which shows whether the backend is reachable from SCC.
• A process monitor that shows the status of all SCC processes and provides a restart option for the different process groups.

You can download SAP Cloud Connector via the SAP NetWeaver Cloud update site -> Additional Software tab.

Sample Application “Paul the Octopus”

“Paul the Octopus” is a sample Web application that provides a complete example of all platform services of SAP NetWeaver Cloud, synchronously working together. The application code samples are provided and explained in details in a community blog.

For more information, see:

Community blog: Get Ready for Your Paul Position

Documentation: Running Sample Applications.

The SAP HANA database is now available for use on the nwtrial.ondemand.com landscape. The default database type to be used (the SAP HANA database or SAP MaxDB) can be selected when you register for a developer account. For more information, see Signing Up for an Account.

The issue with deploying to the Cloud when your IDE is behind a proxy requiring basic authentication has been resolved.

For more information, see this thread.