How I Kill SAP HANA Sessions When Things Get Stuck

There was a time when our SAP HANA system started lagging badly — CPU usage spiked, memory was maxed out, and users were getting frustrated. After digging into the performance dashboard, I found a few long-running sessions hogging resources. That’s when I learned how to properly terminate them.

🛠️ Method 1: Using SQL Command Line (hdbsql)

This is my go-to method when I’m working directly on the server. I use the following command to cancel a session:

sql

ALTER SYSTEM CANCEL SESSION '<connection_id>';

You just need the connection ID of the session you want to kill. It’s fast and works well for most cases.

🧪 Method 2: SAP HANA Studio

If I’m using the graphical interface, I go to:

• Performance → Sessions

• Right-click on the session that’s causing trouble

• Select Cancel Session

It’s intuitive and gives you a clear view of what each session is doing.

🧭 Method 3: SAP GUI via DBACOCKPIT

In some setups, I use transaction code DBACOCKPIT:

• Navigate to Performance → Threads

• Find the problematic thread

• Click Cancel Threads

This method is useful if you’re working from SAP GUI and want to avoid command-line tools.

🧱 Method 4: Using hdbcons (Advanced)

For deeper control, I sometimes use:

bash

hdbcons 'connection c <conn_id>'

This is more technical and usually reserved for system administrators who need to dig into the internals.