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Tutorial: Use Azure CLI to create infrastructure for a distributed highly available (HA) SAP system with Azure Center for SAP solutions with customized resource names

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Azure Center for SAP solutions enables you to deploy and manage SAP systems on Azure. After you deploy infrastructure and install SAP software with Azure Center for SAP solutions, you can use its visualization, management and monitoring capabilities through the Virtual Instance for SAP solutions

Introduction

The Azure CLI is used to create and manage Azure resources from the command line or in scripts.

This tutorial shows you how to use Azure CLI to deploy infrastructure for an SAP system with highly available (HA) Three-tier Distributed architecture. You also see how to customize resource names for the Azure infrastructure that gets deployed. See the following steps:

  • Complete the pre-requisites
  • Understand the SAP SKUs available for your deployment type
  • Check for recommended SKUs for SAPS and Memory requirements for your SAP system
  • Create json configuration file with custom resource names
  • Deploy infrastructure for your SAP system

Prerequisites

  • An Azure subscription.

  • If you're using Azure Center for SAP solutions for the first time, Register the Microsoft.Workloads Resource Provider on the subscription in which you're deploying the SAP system:

    az provider register --namespace 'Microsoft.Workloads'

  • An Azure account with Azure Center for SAP solutions administrator and Managed Identity Operator role access to the subscriptions and resource groups in which you create the Virtual Instance for SAP solutions (VIS) resource.

  • A User-assigned managed identity which has Azure Center for SAP solutions service role access on the Subscription or at least all resource groups (Compute, Network,Storage). If you wish to install SAP Software through the Azure Center for SAP solutions, also provide Reader and Data Access role to the identity on SAP bits storage account where you would store the SAP Media.

  • A network set up for your infrastructure deployment.

  • Availability of minimum 4 cores of either Standard_D4ds_v4 or Standard_E4s_v3, SKUS which will be used during Infrastructure deployment and Software Installation

  • Review the quotas for your Azure subscription. If the quotas are low, you might need to create a support request before creating your infrastructure deployment. Otherwise, you might experience deployment failures or an Insufficient quota error.

  • Note the SAP Application Performance Standard (SAPS) and database memory size that you need to allow Azure Center for SAP solutions to size your SAP system. If you're not sure, you can also select the VMs. There are:

    • A single or cluster of ASCS VMs, which make up a single ASCS instance in the VIS.
    • A single or cluster of Database VMs, which make up a single Database instance in the VIS.
    • A single Application Server VM, which makes up a single Application instance in the VIS. Depending on the number of Application Servers being deployed or registered, there can be multiple application instances.

Azure Cloud Shell

Azure hosts Azure Cloud Shell, an interactive shell environment that you can use through your browser. You can use either Bash or PowerShell with Cloud Shell to work with Azure services. You can use the Cloud Shell preinstalled commands to run the code in this article, without having to install anything on your local environment.

To start Azure Cloud Shell:

Option Example/Link
Select Try It in the upper-right corner of a code or command block. Selecting Try It doesn't automatically copy the code or command to Cloud Shell. Screenshot that shows an example of Try It for Azure Cloud Shell.
Go to https://shell.azure.com, or select the Launch Cloud Shell button to open Cloud Shell in your browser. Button to launch Azure Cloud Shell.
Select the Cloud Shell button on the menu bar at the upper right in the Azure portal. Screenshot that shows the Cloud Shell button in the Azure portal

To use Azure Cloud Shell:

  1. Start Cloud Shell.

  2. Select the Copy button on a code block (or command block) to copy the code or command.

  3. Paste the code or command into the Cloud Shell session by selecting Ctrl+Shift+V on Windows and Linux, or by selecting Cmd+Shift+V on macOS.

  4. Select Enter to run the code or command.

Understand the SAP certified Azure SKUs available for your deployment type

Use az workloads sap-supported-sku to get a list of SKUs supported for your SAP system deployment type from Azure Center for SAP solutions

az workloads sap-supported-sku --app-location "eastus" --database-type "HANA" --deployment-type "ThreeTier" --environment "Prod" --high-availability-type "AvailabilitySet" --sap-product "S4HANA" --location "eastus"

You can use any of these SKUs recommended for App tier and Database tier when deploying infrastructure in the later steps. Or you can use the recommended SKUs by Azure Center for SAP solutions in the next step.

Use az workloads sap-sizing-recommendation to get SAP system sizing recommendations by providing SAPS input for application tier and memory required for database tier

az workloads sap-sizing-recommendation --app-location "eastus" --database-type "HANA" --db-memory 1024 --deployment-type "ThreeTier" --environment "Prod" --high-availability-type "AvailabilitySet" --sap-product "S4HANA" --saps 75000 --location "eastus2" --db-scale-method ScaleUp

Create json configuration file with custom resource names

  • Prepare a json file with the configuration (payload) to use for the deployment of SAP system infrastructure. You can make edits in this sample payload or use the examples listed in the Rest API documentation for Azure Center for SAP solutions
  • In this json file, provide the custom resource names for the infrastructure that is deployed for your SAP system
  • The parameters available for customization are:
    • VM Name
    • Host Name
    • Network interface name
    • OS Disk Name
    • Load Balancer Name
    • Frontend IP Configuration Names
    • Backend Pool Names
    • Health Probe Names
    • Data Disk Names: default, hanaData or hana/data, hanaLog or hana/log, usrSap or usr/sap, hanaShared or hana/shared, backup
    • Shared Storage Account Name
    • Shared Storage Account Private End Point Name

You can download the sample payload and replace the resource names and any other parameter as needed

Deploy infrastructure for your SAP system

Use az workloads sap-virtual-instance create to deploy infrastructure for your SAP system with Three tier HA architecture.

az workloads sap-virtual-instance create -g <Resource Group Name> -n <VIS Name> --environment NonProd --sap-product s4hana --configuration <Payload file path> --identity "{type:UserAssigned,userAssignedIdentities:{<Managed_Identity_ResourceID>:{}}}"

This will deploy your SAP system and the Virtual instance for SAP solutions (VIS) resource representing your SAP system in Azure.

Cleanup

If you no longer wish to use the VIS resource, you can delete it by using az workloads sap-virtual-instance delete

az workloads sap-virtual-instance delete -g <Resource_Group_Name> -n <VIS Name>

This command will only delete the VIS and other resources created by Azure Center for SAP solutions. This will not delete the deployed infrastructure like VMs, Disks etc.

Next steps

In this tutorial, you deployed infrastructure in Azure for an SAP system using Azure Center for SAP solutions. You used custom resource names for the infrastructure. Continue to the next article to learn how to install SAP software on the infrastructure deployed.

Install SAP software