SAP on Azure: The Big Picture
Understand the SAP and Microsoft partnership, explore deployment options from IaaS VMs to RISE with SAP, learn about the retired HANA Large Instances, and discover which operating systems and SAP solutions are certified for Azure.
Why SAP on Azure?
🏗️ Raj leans back in his chair. “We have been running SAP ECC on-premises for fifteen years. The hardware refresh is coming, and our PM Deepak says we either invest in new servers or move to the cloud. But why Azure specifically for SAP?”
☁️ Mei smiles. “Great question. SAP and Microsoft have a deep co-engineering partnership that goes back decades. Azure is not just ‘another cloud that happens to run Linux VMs.’ Microsoft and SAP jointly certify specific VM configurations, co-develop integration points, and run a shared support model where you open one ticket and both companies collaborate on the fix.”
Think of it like choosing a car mechanic.
Any mechanic can change your oil. But if you drive a specialty vehicle, you want a mechanic who is factory-certified, has the diagnostic tools, and can call the manufacturer directly when something unusual happens. Azure is the factory-certified mechanic for SAP — they built parts of the garage together, they share the diagnostic tools, and they pick up the phone for each other when you have an issue.
Key partnership highlights you should know for the exam:
- Joint certification — SAP tests and approves specific Azure VM sizes for production HANA workloads (documented in SAP Note 1928533)
- Co-developed tools — Azure Monitor for SAP solutions, Azure Center for SAP solutions, and the SAP deployment automation framework
- Unified support — Microsoft and SAP have a joint support agreement so you do not get bounced between vendors
- SAP runs on Azure — SAP migrated its own business-critical systems to Azure, including S/4HANA
Exam tip: The partnership matters
Expect questions that test whether you understand what the partnership provides versus what you still need to handle yourself. For example, joint support covers platform issues but not custom ABAP code problems — those are still on your SAP Basis team.
Three ways to run SAP on Azure
Not every SAP workload lands on Azure the same way. The deployment model you choose depends on database size, control requirements, and whether you want to manage infrastructure yourself or let SAP handle it.
| Aspect | IaaS VMs | HANA Large Instances (HLI) — RETIRED | RISE with SAP |
|---|---|---|---|
| What is it | Standard Azure virtual machines running SAP | Bare-metal servers in Azure datacenters (retired Dec 31, 2025) | SAP-managed cloud service running on Azure infrastructure |
| Who manages infrastructure | You (customer) | Was shared — Microsoft managed hardware, you managed OS and HANA | SAP manages everything through the application layer |
| Typical use case | All SAP workloads: ECC, S/4HANA, BW, Solution Manager | Retired — migration off HLI to Azure VMs only | Organizations wanting SAP as a managed service with SLA |
| Max HANA memory | Up to 12 TB (Mv2-series), higher with newer Msv3/Mdsv3 | Was up to 24 TB (no longer available for new deployments) | Depends on SAP contract tier |
| Networking | Full Azure VNet integration | Was connected to Azure VNet via ExpressRoute circuit | Private Link or VNet peering into your Azure environment |
| Exam relevance | Heavily tested — this is the primary model | Know it existed, why it was retired, and HLI-to-VM migration | Understand shared responsibility and connectivity options |
🏗️ Raj counts on his fingers. “Our HANA database will be about 2 TB after migration. So IaaS VMs are the right fit.”
☁️ Mei nods. “Exactly. HLI used to be an option for the very largest deployments, but it was retired at the end of 2025. Azure VMs now cover all practical HANA sizes. And RISE with SAP is a fundamentally different operating model — SAP runs the show, and you consume it as a service. For PrecisionSteel, IaaS VMs give you the most control and flexibility.”
HANA Large Instances — retired as of December 2025
HANA Large Instances were bare-metal servers colocated in Azure datacenters. They existed because early Azure VMs could not support very large HANA databases. HLI was fully decommissioned on December 31, 2025. Key facts for the exam:
- Were dedicated physical hardware — no hypervisor, no noisy neighbors
- Were connected to Azure VNets through a dedicated ExpressRoute circuit
- Offered configurations up to 24 TB of memory
- Retired because Azure VMs (Mv2, Msv3/Mdsv3) now cover the workloads HLI served
- Any remaining HLI customers must migrate to Azure VMs (covered in the HLI-to-VM migration module)
HLI is retired — but still exam-relevant
HLI was decommissioned on December 31, 2025. For the exam, know that HLI existed, why it was retired (VMs caught up in memory capacity), and how to migrate from HLI to Azure VMs using HSR. Do not recommend HLI for new deployments — it is no longer available. Expect questions focused on VM-based deployments and HLI migration scenarios.
Certified operating systems
SAP on Azure does not run on Windows for the database tier (except SQL Server-based systems). The HANA database requires Linux, and SAP certifies specific distributions.
For SAP HANA on Azure:
- SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) for SAP Applications
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) for SAP Solutions
For SAP application servers (NetWeaver-based):
- SLES, RHEL (same as above)
- Windows Server (for application tier only, with SQL Server or when running on a separate tier from HANA)
- Oracle Linux (for specific Oracle Database scenarios)
🏗️ Raj raises an eyebrow. “We have been a Windows shop forever. Does this mean we need Linux skills?”
☁️ Mei grins. “Welcome to the SAP-on-Azure reality. HANA only runs on Linux. Your app servers can stay on Windows if you are running a distributed architecture, but the database VM will be Linux. Time to make friends with your Linux admin.”
SAP solutions supported on Azure
Azure supports the full breadth of SAP products. For the exam, focus on these core solutions:
- SAP S/4HANA — the next-generation ERP suite, runs exclusively on HANA
- SAP ECC (ERP Central Component) — the classic ERP, can run on HANA, SQL Server, Oracle, or other databases
- SAP BW/4HANA — data warehousing on HANA
- SAP Solution Manager — lifecycle management, monitoring, change management
- SAP BusinessObjects (BOBJ) — reporting and analytics platform
- SAP NetWeaver — the underlying platform for most SAP ABAP and Java applications
What about SAP BTP?
SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) is SAP’s PaaS layer for extensions and integrations. While it can run on Azure, it is managed entirely by SAP and is outside the AZ-120 exam scope. You may see it mentioned in scenarios, but you will not be tested on configuring BTP itself.
Course roadmap: The four exam domains
The AZ-120 exam maps neatly to the lifecycle of an SAP-on-Azure project. Here is the journey:
Domain 1 — Migrate SAP Workloads to Azure (this domain) You are here. This covers the “why” and “how” of getting SAP from on-premises to Azure: assessment, strategy, execution, and validation.
Domain 2 — Design and Implement Infrastructure Once you know you are going to Azure, you need to design the landing zone: VM sizing, networking, storage, and HANA architecture decisions.
Domain 3 — Design and Implement High Availability and Disaster Recovery SAP is business-critical. This domain covers clustering, Pacemaker, HANA System Replication for HA, Azure Site Recovery, and backup strategies.
Domain 4 — Maintain SAP Workloads on Azure Day-2 operations: monitoring with Azure Monitor for SAP, patching, scaling, cost optimization, and the Azure VM extension for SAP.
🏗️ Raj nods slowly. “So it mirrors what we would actually do — figure out the plan, build the infrastructure, make it resilient, then keep it running.”
☁️ Mei pulls up a whiteboard. “Exactly. And this first domain is about everything leading up to and including the migration itself. By the end, you will know how to assess, plan, execute, and validate an SAP migration to Azure.”
Knowledge check
PrecisionSteel Manufacturing has a 2 TB SAP HANA database and wants full control over the OS and database configuration. Which Azure deployment model should Raj recommend?
Yuki is researching OS requirements for PrecisionSteel's HANA deployment. Which operating system can run SAP HANA in production on Azure?
Summary
You now have the big picture of SAP on Azure: the partnership that makes Azure a natural home for SAP, the two active deployment models (IaaS VMs for most workloads and RISE for a managed service approach), the now-retired HLI option, the certified operating systems, and the roadmap for the rest of this study guide.
Next up, we will dig into how to assess your existing SAP landscape and figure out exactly what needs to move, how big it is, and which Azure VM sizes will handle the load.
🎬 Video coming soon