SAP HANA & SQL Optimization – Assessment
Part I: Multiple Choice (30 questions)
Choose the best answer:
1. Which SAP HANA alert indicates column store unloads due to high memory?
A) Alert 12
B) Alert 40
C) Alert 55
D) Alert 44
2. What tool helps visualize SQL execution plans in HANA?
A) HANA Cockpit
B) PlanViz / SQL Analyzer
C) hdbcons
D) NIPING
3. Greedy Join Pruning: which join type is NOT valid for pruning?
A) Left
B) Inner
C) Both
D) Referential
4. Which view shows a user’s effective privileges?
A) M_USERS
B) EFFECTIVE_PRIVILEGES
C) USER_PRIVS
D) ROLE_ASSIGN
5. High OS-level CPU but low HANA CPU usage likely means:
A) HANA process issue
B) External process load
C) License breach
D) Disk full
6. Which mechanism helps with multi-version cleanup in HANA?
A) Delta Merge
B) MVCC undo cleanup
C) CTE optimization
D) Greedy pruning
7. Which root cause often explains slow updates/inserts?
A) Invalid license
B) Transactional lock-waits
C) Memory leak
D) Join pruning
8. What is recommended if row-store fragmentation exceeds 30% and >10 GB allocated?
A) Create a CTE
B) Redistribute table
C) Run PlanViz
D) Increase CPU
9. The Support Log Assistant scans files to:
A) Merge delta store
B) Create roles
C) Address known issues
D) Enable pruning
10. Which is NOT part of performance troubleshooting?
A) Memory
B) CPU
C) Query design
D) CSS theming
Part II: True/False (10 questions)
1. Subqueries always outperform CTEs in SAP HANA.
2. SAP HANA is exclusively in-memory, so disk I/O is irrelevant.
3. Delta Merge issues can cause SQL runtime to increase over time.
4. Inner joins can be pruned with Greedy Pruning enabled.
5. Using CTEs makes queries always faster than nested subqueries.
6. EFFECTIVE_PRIVILEGES view shows indirect and direct grants.
7. Alerts don’t cover every performance problem.
8. Transparent Huge Pages setting affects memory management.
9. Cross-node slow down might originate from poor network latency.
10. Support Log Assistant is integrated in SQL Analyzer.
Part III: Essay Questions (10 questions)
1. Explain the role of the SAP HANA Cockpit (or Studio) and tools like PlanViz/SQL Analyzer in
diagnosing SQL performance bottlenecks.
2. Describe memory-related performance issues in SAP HANA, including alerts, page-store
unloads, fragmentation, and recommended remedies.
3. Outline how CPU-related bottlenecks (e.g. thread contention, OS vs HANA usage) are
identified and mitigated.
4. Discuss issues arising from disk I/O in an in-memory system, and how savepoints, log replay or
snapshot problems can slow performance.
5. Define Greedy Join Pruning: when it’s safe, how it differs from traditional pruning, and
prerequisites.
6. Compare nested subqueries vs joins or CTEs in HANA: performance implications, readability,
optimization behavior.
7. Explain handling transactional problems: blocking transactions, long-lived cursors, MVCC, and
impact on SQL runtime.
8. Detail license and authorization issues that can degrade performance or block access,
including common alert codes.
9. Summarize the use of Support Log Assistant and SAP Notes in resolving recurring
performance issues.
10. Provide a case study: identify symptoms (e.g. slow query, memory spike), diagnostic steps
using HANA tools, root causes and resolution plan.
Answer Key
Part I: Multiple Choice
1. C
2. B
3. A
4. B
5. B
6. B
7. B
8. B
9. C
10. D
Part II: True/False
1. False
2. False
3. True
4. True
5. False
6. True
7. True
8. True
9. True
10. False
