Managing Data and Catalogs for Servers on Multiple Machines

Overview of Managing Data and Catalogs for Servers on Multiple Machines

After placing load-balanced servers on multiple machines, you need to ensure that the new server can access the data, and possibly format catalogs, that the original server was working with. For example, suppose that your original server was using a library of SAS data sets and that the metadata object that represents the library contains the path C:\SAS\configuration-directory\SASApp\Data. Your new server will not be able to access this library at its original location. One possible solution to this problem is to move a copy of the data to the new server and place it at the location that is stored in the library metadata object. However, this strategy might introduce data-synchronization problems. A preferable solution is to make sure that both servers can access a single copy of the data by providing a network path to the library.

Update SAS Libraries

As mentioned previously, when you scale your system, you need to update any SAS libraries that are being referenced with a local path. To update the definition of a library on a Windows machine that currently contains the path C:\SAS\configuration-directory\SASApp\Data, follow these steps:
  1. In SAS Management Console, expand the Data Library Manager and the SAS Libraries folder so that you see the icon that represents your SAS library.
  2. Right-click the library and select Properties from the pop-up menu that appears. A properties dialog box appears.
  3. In the properties dialog box, select the Options tab.
  4. Deselect the path that is currently selected by highlighting it in the Selected items list and clicking the left-arrow button.
  5. Create a new path, and select it, by following these steps:
    1. Click the New button to bring up the New Path Specification dialog box.
    2. In the Name text box, enter the Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path to the library"for example, \\D1234\SAS\Config\Lev1\SASApp\Data. (Different machines on the LAN can use this same path to access the library.)
    3. Click OK.
  6. Click OK in the properties dialog box.

Update References to User-Defined Formats

Like SAS data sets, existing user-defined format catalogs might be available only to servers that run on your original SAS server host. It is common for a server to look for such catalogs in the configuration directory on the original server host in the directory configuration-directory\SASApp\SASEnvironment\SASFormats. It is also possible to specify the location of the catalog in a configuration file, as explained in Connecting to Common Data Sources in SAS Intelligence Platform: Data Administration Guide. However, the path recorded in such a file is often a local path.
One solution to this problem is to replicate the catalog on all server hosts, but this can be less than ideal if the catalog is subject to change. A better solution is to specify the location of the catalog in configuration-directory\SASApp\sasv9.cfg and to make sure that the path to catalog is a network path. For example, you might change 
-set fmtlib1 "C:\SAS\configuration-directory\SASApp\Data\orformat"
-fmtsearch (fmtlib1.orionfmt)
to: 
-set fmtlib1 "\\D1234\SAS\configuration-directory\SASApp\Data\orformat"
-fmtsearch (fmtlib1.orionfmt)

Access Data in Database Management Systems

If your new workspace or stored-process server needs to access data in a database management system (DBMS), then you might need to do some administrative work on the new server host before such access is possible. For example, you might need to:
  • install a SAS/ACCESS product
  • install database client software
  • install a database driver
  • configure a data source name
The simplest way to explain this is that you need to repeat whatever steps you took on the original SAS server host on the newly added server.
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