Memory hook: Supportability before size; dependencies before cutover.
Must remember
- Inventory SAP components, database versions, operating systems, interfaces and business downtime limits. Size from SAP-supported guidance and workload measurements, including memory, SAPS, throughput and growth.
- Choose a supported migration path: move existing infrastructure, combine a platform/database migration, or transform toward HANA. Homogeneous copy and heterogeneous conversion have different tooling, validation and outage requirements.
- Plan subscriptions, quotas, licensing, support plans, region capacity and total cost before scheduling migration. A large VM that exists in Azure is not automatically certified for the intended SAP workload.
- Build landing zones with management groups, subscriptions, resource groups, Policy, RBAC, identity and network ownership. Separate SAP application authorization from Azure control-plane access.
- RISE with SAP changes operational responsibilities and network/identity integration boundaries. Confirm who owns connectivity, backups, monitoring and change approvals; plan integration with customer-managed Azure services and data archiving.
- Rehearse copy, conversion, cutover and fallback. Validate business transactions, interfaces, jobs and performance, not merely that the SAP login screen opens.
Choose under exam pressure
| Requirement | Choice and reason |
|---|---|
| Minimal change is required during a move | Evaluate a supported lift-and-shift path with a tested outage window. |
| RISE must exchange data with customer services | Design explicit network, identity and responsibility boundaries. |
Traps
- Azure certification for one SAP configuration does not imply every OS/database combination is supported.
- Cloud administrator access does not replace SAP application permissions.
Active recall
1. What determines SAP target sizing?
Supported sizing guidance plus measured workload, growth, memory and I/O requirements.
2. Why check quotas early?
Required VM capacity may be blocked even if the migration design is technically valid.
3. What belongs in a migration rehearsal?
Copy/conversion, interface validation, downtime measurement, cutover and fallback.
4. Why document RISE responsibilities?
Managed service boundaries determine who can configure, monitor and recover each component.
5. What proves migration success?
Correct business transactions and integrations at acceptable performance, with recovery evidence.