3434764 - SAP HANA Disk usage increase during backups

We've noticed that during a full system backup, disk usage is slow to free up, only doing so once the backup is complete. We've seen that disk usage increases during delta-merges and usually frees up quickly. However, this isn't the case during backup execution. 

Under heavy loads, some tables, especially partitioned ones like EDID4, can merge multiple times. This has resulted in disk usage spikes of over 1 TB and even full disk situations. 

The issue we're encountering is that the used disk size increases during delta merges and doesn't free up until the backup is complete. This can sometimes lead to an extra 1 TB of space being used in the DATA area of the index server, potentially causing a full disk situation that we want to avoid.

1. Is this normal/expected behavior?
2. How can we lessen this effect (other than backup housekeeping)?
3. Are there any plans to reduce disk requirements during delta merges on top of backups in future SAP HANA revisions?
4. Is this behavior specific to Backint?

KBA , HAN-DB-BAC , SAP HANA Backup & Recovery , Problem