Home > Workload Solutions > SAP > Archive > SC Series Storage Configuration Best Practices for SAP HANA TDI > Introduction
SAP HANA is an in-memory data platform that can be deployed on-premises or in the cloud. Organizations use the SAP HANA platform to analyze large volumes of data and develop and deploy applications in real time. The SAP HANA database is at the core of this real-time data platform.
SAP HANA combines SAP software components that are optimized on proven hardware from SAP partners. Two models are available for on-premises deployment, as the following figure shows.
An SAP HANA appliance includes integrated storage, compute, and network components by default. The appliance is certified by SAP, built by one of the SAP HANA hardware partners, and shipped to customers with all of its software components preinstalled, including the operating systems and SAP HANA software.
Customers using the SAP HANA appliance model have experienced the following limitations:
The SAP HANA servers in a TDI model must be certified by SAP HANA and meet the SAP HANA requirements. However, customers can share the network and storage components, including arrays, in their environments and also integrate SAP HANA seamlessly into existing data center operations such as disaster recovery, data protection, monitoring, and management, and reduce the time-to-value, costs, and risk of an overall SAP HANA adoption.