How I Handle SAP HANA Database Restore and Track Its Progress

Restoring a SAP HANA database isn’t just about clicking “recover” and walking away — it’s a process I monitor closely, especially during critical system recovery or migration. Here’s how I typically approach it.

🧰 Step-by-Step: How I Perform the Restore

When I need to restore a HANA tenant or system database, I usually:

• Log into SAP HANA Studio or Cockpit using the SYSTEM user.

• Right-click on the database (either SYSTEMDB or tenant) and choose “Recover”.

• Select the appropriate backup image from the catalog — either file-based or Backint.

• Choose the restore type (complete recovery, point-in-time, etc.).

• Confirm and start the recovery process.

I always make sure the target instance is in a ready state and that the backup catalog is accessible before initiating anything.

📊 How I Monitor Restore Progress

SAP HANA doesn’t show a flashy progress bar during restore — so I rely on log files and trace directories to track what’s happening behind the scenes.

Here’s what I do:

• Navigate to the trace directory:

  Code

  /hana/shared/<SID>/HDB<instance>/hostname/trace/
  

• Look for the file named backup.log — this is where all restore activity is recorded.

• Use commands like:

  bash

  more backup.log | grep 'RECOVERY'
  

  to filter entries related to the restore process.

In the log, I can see entries like:

Code

RECOVERY progress of service: indexserver, volume: 3, 31% 59/189
RECOVERY progress of service: indexserver, volume: 3, 34% 65/189

These tell me exactly how far along the restore is — both in percentage and data blocks.

⏱️ How I Check Restore Duration

To calculate how long the restore took:

• I look for the start and end timestamps in the same backup.log file.

• For example:

  Code

  #####START OF THE RECOVERY##### 2025-09-15T11:32:16
  #####END OF RECOVERY##### 2025-09-15T17:48:10
  

• From this, I know the restore took just over 6 hours.

This helps me estimate future restore windows and plan downtime more accurately.