at times. It might drive you crazy, but once you know the drill and once you have the right head start, you will see that it can, in fact, be fun (this is not sarcastic, I am serious).
Increasingly, I came to realize that many SAS administrators do not have the luxury of getting training. Often, they, are on their own and must figure things out by themselves. Talking to many advanced SAS admins throughout the years, they found that the most challenging part of becoming an admin was actually knowing how, and where, to get started.
An admin needs to understand the entire SAS environment. If the software that is licensed is not set up and not used properly, it pretty much defeats the purpose.
Once you have finished this book, you will be ready to go!
What the book will and won’t cover:
Some specific topics this book covers (and does not cover) include:
SAS 9.4 administration in a single- or multi-machine metadata server environment.
SAS SAS Viya administration is not covered. You can read up on SAS Viya administration here:SAS Viya 3.4 Administration: Orientationhttps://go.documentation.sas.com/?cdcId=calcdc&cdcVersion=3.4&docsetId=calchkcfg&docsetTarget=n00004saschecklist0000config.htm&locale=en
Other SAS 9 versions might be called out in between, but this book is about SAS 9.4.
This book applies to Windows, Linux and UNIX platforms. Mainframe administration will not be covered.
Product additions (SAS Grid, SAS Visual Analytics, etc.) and solutions (such as SAS Marketing Automation for example) are not part of this book. Even though additional products and solutions are not covered, here comes the kicker: even though you might have SAS solutions or, SAS Grid, or maybe SAS Visual Analytics, you still must know how to administer the underlying SAS system. So, no matter what, you are not getting around learning the basics of SAS administration.
Finally, there are a lot of useful links included in this book – not so useful if you have the print version! So all these links can be found in a pdf on my author page to save on typing!
And off we go ... Happy reading!
Chapter 2: Let the Admin Fun Begin: SAS 9.4 Architecture
SAS Tiers: The three plus one SAS Tiers in a metadata-managed environment
About the Workspace Server, Stored Process Server and all other SAS Servers
SAS Web Application Server and SAS Web Server (http server)
Introduction
The starting point for SAS administration is the architecture: what are the components of a SAS deployment, how does it look? With a good understanding of the SAS architecture, you’ll be able to tackle the responsibilities and tasks that come with SAS administration. Understanding the architecture means you know where to look if you need to make any changes, troubleshoot, and the like.
The best way to explain the SAS 9.4 environment architecture is an analogy to the architecture of a house. Envision the following:
You buy a piece of land (infrastructure/hardware). You want to build a new house (software) on your land. How do you build your house (install your software)? You need an architect (an admin). Sometimes there is one architect, sometimes there are more than one (one admin vs many admins). Once you decide on the shape, storage, levels, house color etc. first thing the home builders do is lay down a foundation (SAS metadata server). On top of that, the walls are built for either a one-story or multiple-story house (distributed or non-distributed SAS environment).
Once the house is built and is move-in ready, you have bedrooms, guest room, kid’s room, office, kitchen, bathroom, etc., each of which has a different purpose (a different “task”). The different floors, the different rooms, are your SAS servers, each of which fulfills different tasks, different needs - a different purpose.
Last but not least, think about the different objects in these rooms: toys, towels, beds, plates, glasses, toothbrushes etc. All these objects can be compared with data sources: SAS data sets, DBMS, Hadoop etc. Knowing what is in each room helps find what you are looking for. Same with SAS architecture: if you know and understand the architecture, you know where to look.
Now, your house is completed, and you have moved in. You’re done. Right?
Very wrong. After you move in to this great new home, you must maintain it to keep it great, clean and beautiful. Think about it: You must wash the windows, change the air filters, check the air conditioner at least twice a year, do dishes, vacuum, etc.– some of the tasks more frequently than others. Same concept with SAS: once it is installed, you must maintain it to keep it clean, healthy and good looking. So, lets apply the house analogy to SAS.
Let’s start with the different install flavors (single house versus townhouse, single story versus multiple stories). SAS can be installed either as a SAS Foundation install or as a metadata managed install.
| Note: In this book, we will focus on metadata managed deployments only! |
SAS Foundation is your basic install, think Base SAS. A metadata managed install is the SAS 9 Intelligence Platform, with much more than Base SAS. You might have SAS Visual Analytics, Grid, SAS solutions, SAS Add-In for Microsoft Office, etc. With SAS Foundation, your users work on their personal machines, or use Remote Desktop or Citrix. A SAS Foundation install does not involve a centrally metadata managed system. In a metadata managed install, your users work on the dedicated SAS server.
The two different SAS deployments can be installed on physical or virtual machines.
| Note: For every SAS solution, every Grid install, SAS Visual Analytics (and more), the SAS Platform administration applies. Even though Grid, VA and SAS solutions have additional, product-specific administration tasks: EVERY PRODUCT IS BASED ON SAS 9.4 PLATFORM ADMINISTRATION! |
Let’s