Connections can be created from transaction LTR in the SLT system. This t-code is a browser-based application. Hence, it will take us to the browser where we have to log in again with the SLT system credentials, as shown in the following screenshot:

After logging in, the Configuration and Monitoring Dashboard for HANA panel will be opened, as shown in the following screenshot. Here, we will have options to create new connections and edit, delete, or check the status of the existing connections.

Now select New to create a connection. In the next step, the type of source system has to be selected, either SAP System or Non-SAP System. An RFC connection exists between the SAP source system and the SLT server, whereas a DB connection exists between the non-SAP and SLT server, as shown in the following screenshot:

In the following screenshot, we can see that when we select Non-SAP System as the source, the drop-down menu changes, indicating the Database System.

The mandatory parameters that have to be given to create a connection with the source system are as follows:

Once a connection is created, we can see all the details and edit the parameters. The following screenshot shows us the number of jobs running and their connection status:

These parameters can be changed; we can edit a number of jobs and other options as shown in the following screenshot:

Each connection will have a unique Mass Transfer ID. In the screenshot, the Mass Transfer ID is 093.

For each connection, jobs will be scheduled in the SLT server. This can be monitored from t-code SM37. Different jobs will be scheduled in the background up on creating a connection. They are given as follows:

For each connection created, a unique mass transfer ID will be created. In our example, it is 093. All the background jobs will have this mass transfer ID in the job name, as shown in the following screenshot:

These are the steps to create a connection with the source system and monitor the status. Now let's see how to load data into SAP HANA using SAP HANA Studio.

From Quick Launch in SAP HANA Studio, select Data Provisioning. Now we will see the available connections in Select Source System and the corresponding schema in the Target Schema Configured list, as shown in the following screenshot. From the available connections, select a connection where data has to be loaded into SAP HANA.

Here we have five options—Load…, Replicate…, Stop Replication…, Suspend…, and Resume…. Each action has its own prominence. This is as explained as follows:

When an application table is replicated, logging tables and database triggers are automatically created on the source system side. After the table is replicated for the first time, DB triggers read any change in these application tables and immediately store the changes in the logging tables. After data is written to the target system, the data in the logging tables is cleared.

Read modules take data from the logging tables and pass the data as requested by the control module. The placement of read modules depends on the source system. If the source system is SAP, then read modules will be installed on the SAP system itself. If the source system is a non-SAP system, read modules will be installed on the SLT server. Read modules also take care of the declustering of the table classes into a transparent format.

The control modules that reside on the SLT Replication Server instance manage the replication process and initiate data replication through the read modules in the source system to the SAP HANA system. Control modules ensure mapping between the SAP HANA database structure and the structure of the source system. Field conversion or migration abilities are only provided by the control modules, for example, the requirement may be to have data fields as strings. This can be achieved with the help of control modules. The data replication process is managed by these modules. The data load frequency can be set, whether it has to be a real-time load or a periodic load that is based on a time interval. All these features are included in these modules. After reading data from the read module, the control module takes care of all the intermediate activities, such as field conversions and load frequency, and then the data is passed to the write module. Then, the the control module activates the triggers of the write module.

The main purpose of a write module is to write data to the SAP HANA system through a DB connection. This module also offers flexibility to switch from single operation (that is, insert or update or delete) to the array operations.