Virtual Persistent Memory (vPMEM) with SAP HANA on Power Virtual Server

Recommended workflow for using vPMEM with SAP HANA

The recommended workflow to enable the use of vPMEM with SAP HANA is as follows:

1. Determine the amount of persistent memory required to configure (see Sizing vPMEM for SAP HANA).
2. Create the vPMEM volumes (see Deploy SAP HANA instance on Power Virtual Server with vPMEM).
3. After the virtual machine (VM) is deployed, create vPMEM‑based file systems (see Manual steps to create and remove vPMEM volumes), page 41.
4. Enable SAP HANA to use persistent memory (see Configuring vPMEM usage in existing SAP HANA installations) and Configuring vPMEM usage in new SAP HANA installations, pages 43 and 44.)
5. Verify that SAP HANA is using the vPMEM volumes. (See Verifying the vPMEM setup in the OS).

zypper install ndctl numactl

yum install ndctl numactl

Sizing vPMEM for SAP HANA

The required volume sizes should be determined before configuring vPMEM for SAP HANA. In general, the vPMEM volume should be:

• Large enough to store the main data of the SAP HANA system’s column store.
• Include extra space for growth and delta merge operations.

This ensures optimal performance and prevents capacity issues during normal database operations. SAP Note 2786237 provides tools to help with sizing persistent memory volumes:

• SAP HANA Quick Sizer for new deployments.
• Sizing report for SoH and S/4HANA - SAP Note 1872170
• Sizing report for BWoH and BW/4HANA - SAP Note 2296290
• SQL reports that are included in SAP Note 2786237 for analyzing memory usage in an existing system

The DRAM-to-PMEM ratio restrictions in SAP Note 2786237 do not apply to the Power platform. This is because the physical characteristics of vPMEM, such as latency, are equivalent to the characteristics of standard DRAM. Therefore, vPMEM-to-DRAM ratios can be configured with complete flexibility Power Virtual Server.

On Power Virtual Server, users can configure the vPMEM volume to be between 10% and 90% of the profile memory.

Example: If you are deploying the profile sr2-87*6000 on an E1050 system, the vPMEM memory allocation can range from:

• Minimum: 600 GiB (10% of profile memory)
• Maximum: 5400 GiB (90% of profile memory)

This flexibility allows administrators to optimize memory persistence based on workload requirements and SAP HANA sizing recommendations.

Graphical user interface (GUI)

During virtual machine (VM) deployment, specify the required virtual persistent memory (vPMEM) size and provide all necessary details, including the vPMEM volume.

To create a virtual server instance, follow the steps in Configuring a Power Virtual Server Instance. For vPMEM configuration, the process is similar, with a few more steps as follows:

1. Select a profile for vPMEM.
2. Turn on the toggle to enter the vPMEM device size.
3. Enter a unique name and specify the size in GiB between 10% and 90% of the maximum memory for the selected profile.

After the instance is created, perform the following checks in the Power Virtual Server graphical user interface (GUI) to validate vPMEM configuration:

Verify the profile details

• On the Virtual server instances page, locate the newly created virtual machine in the Private networks list.
• Name, IP address, IP range, and CIDR display on the screen.

Check the vPMEM allocation

• Click the instance name to open the detailed view.
• Go to the Capacity section.
• See the memory split, including:
  • The RAM size (for example, 3000 GiB)
  • The virtual persistent memory allocation is the same size that you configured earlier.

Validate the status

• Ensure that the vPMEM Status is Active.
• The Size column must reflect the correct vPMEM size as configured during instance creation.

Command-line interface (CLI)

Run the following command in the command line:

ibmcloud pi instance sap create vpmem-isv-e1050
--image SLES15-SP6-SAP
--key-name Permanent-VPC-VM-Key
--subnets "ISV-Net2"
--deployment-target 'f141b265-7325-45e9-8c1f-9ee3a2d7c082,host'
--profile-id sr2-87x6000
--vpmem-volumes "vpmem-e1050  3000"

See a sample output of the command:

ibmcloud pi instance sap create vpmem-isv-e1050 --image SLES15-SP6-SAP --key-name Permanent-VPC-VM-Key --subnets 'ISV-Net2' --deployment-target 'f1412b65-7235-4e59-8c1f-9ee3a2d7c082,host' --profile-id sr2-87x6000 --vpmem-volumes 'vpmem-e1050 3000'
Creating SAP instance vpmem-isv-e1050 under account ##### from account as user user@in.ibm.com...
SAP Instance vpmem-isv-e1050 Created.

ID: bcc3cb38-a086-4df6-81f6-19fad585c7d9
CRN: crn:v1:staging:public:power-iaas:####:a/1d2d5e521b50472b8fda58ebf7f3d:9e666885-b237-4e49-8f6f-ef4b8c4398c7:pvm-instance:bcc3cb38-a086-4df6-81f6-19fad585c7d9
Name: e1050
Creation Date: 2025-01-01T00:00:00.000Z
Last Update: 2025-01-01T00:00:00.000Z
CPU Cores: 87
Memory: 3000
Processor Type: Dedicated
Preferred Processor Compatibility Mode: POWER10
Preferred Processor Compatibility Mode: POWER10
System Type: e1050
Subnets: abc10/ba0-6f2e-4f44-9995-5a678114449a
Boot Disk Size: 100
Volumes: -
Storage Type: tier3
Image: SLES15-SP6-SAP
Status: BUILDING
Placement Group: None
Storage Pool Affinity: General-Flash-86
Deployment Type: None
Address: Internal Address: Mac Address:
Profile ID: sr2-87x6000
SAP Profile Link: /p/cloud/v1/cloud-instances/4a5db4b434d483b9c7e48790245641/sap/sr2-87x6000

To list VM details along with vPMEM device details, run the following command:

ibmcloud pi instance get vpmem-isv-e1050

See a sample output of the command:

Getting instance vpmem-isv-e1050 under account IBM Account as user user@in.ibm.com...

ID: 73e1ed53-d6ee-471d-ad65-d18151814810
Name: vpmem-isv-e1050
CRN: crn:v1:staging:public:power-iaas:####:a/27bfc5ab5def7f83d:966688f5-3237-4ef9-8f6f-ef648b4398c7:pvm-instance:73e1ed53-d6ee-471d-ad65-d18151814810
Creation Date: 2025-12-12T16:13:39.000Z
Last Update: 2025-12-12T16:13:39.000Z
CPU Cores: 87
Memory: 3000
Processor Type: Dedicated
Preferred Processor Compatibility Mode: POWER10
Effective Processor Compatibility Mode: POWER10
System Type: e1050
Subnets: 61b9e2c0-4f44-9995-50bf814f4404
Boot Disk Size: 100
Volumes: c1b9f3f2-92f9-4f99-a9f7-5f8f144f4404
Storage Type: tier3
Image: SLES15-SP6-SAP
Status: ACTIVE
Placement Group: None
Storage Pool Affinity: General-Flash-86
Deployment Type: None
Network: Internal Address: XX.XX.XX.XX, Mac Address: XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX
Health Reason: -
Health Status: OK
Profile ID: sr2-87x6000
SAP Profile Link: /p/cloud/v1/cloud-instances/966688f5-3237-4ef9-8f6f-ef648b4398c7/sap/sr2-87x6000

Max Cores: 87
Assigned: 87
Min: 87

vPMEM Volumes:
ID: 994e8b9b-5837-4d43-a0bc-17efb0ca841c
Name: vpmem-e1050
CRN: crn:v1:staging:public:power-iaas:####:a/27bfc5ab5def7f83d:966688f5-3237-4ef9-8f6f-ef648b4398c7:pvm-volume:994e8b9b-5837-4d43-a0bc-17efb0ca841c
Creation Date: 2025-12-12T16:14:29.000Z
Last Update: 2025-12-12T16:14:29.000Z
PVM Instance ID: 73e1ed53-d6ee-471d-ad65-d18151814810
Size: 3000
Status: ACTIVE