Glossary

authentication

See client authentication.

authentication domain

a SAS internal category that pairs logins with the servers for which they are valid. For example, an Oracle server and the SAS copies of Oracle credentials might all be classified as belonging to an OracleAuth authentication domain.

browser

See Web browser.

client authentication

the process of verifying the identity of a person or process for security purposes.

cluster

a group of computers that participate in load balancing. Each computer in the cluster runs an object spawner that handles client requests for connections.

component

a self-contained, reusable programming object that provides some type of service to other components in an object-oriented programming environment.

connection profile

a client-side definition of where a metadata server is located. The definition includes a computer name and a port number. In addition, the connection profile can also contain user connection information.

credentials

the user ID and password for an account that exists in some authentication provider.

daemon

a process that starts and waits either for a request to perform work or for an occurrence of a particular event. After the daemon receives the request or detects the occurrence, it performs the appropriate action. If nothing else is in its queue, the daemon then returns to its wait state.

data set

See SAS data set.

data warehouse

a collection of data that is extracted from one or more sources for the purpose of query, reporting, and analysis. Data warehouses are generally used for storing large amounts of data that originates in other corporate applications or that is extracted from external data sources.

database management system

a software application that enables you to create and manipulate data that is stored in the form of databases. Short form: DBMS.

database server

a server that provides relational database services to a client. Oracle, DB/2 and Teradata are examples of relational databases.

DBMS

See database management system.

deploy

to install an instance of operational SAS software and related components. The deployment process often includes configuration and testing as well.

domain

a database of users that has been set up by an administrator by using a specific authentication provider such as LDAP or the host operating system. The domain name should be unique within your enterprise. For example, you should not have a Windows domain and a UNIX domain that are both named "SALES".

encryption

the act or process of converting data to a form that is unintelligible except to the intended recipients.

Extensible Markup Language

See XML.

foundation services

See SAS Foundation Services.

identity

See metadata identity.

Integrated Windows authentication

a Microsoft technology that facilitates use of authentication protocols such as Kerberos. In the SAS implementation, all participating components must be in the same Windows domain or in domains that trust each other.

Internet Protocol Version 6

See IPv6.

IPv6

a protocol that specifies the format for network addresses for all computers that are connected to the Internet. This protocol, which is the successor of Internet Protocol Version 4, uses hexadecimal notation to represent 128-bit address spaces. The format can consist of up to eight groups of four hexadecimal characters, delimited by colons, as in FE80:0000:0000:0000:0202:B3FF:FE1E:8329. As an alternative, a group of consecutive zeros could be replaced with two colons, as in FE80::0202:B3FF:FE1E:8329. Short form: IPv6

IWA

See Integrated Windows authentication.

JAR file

a Java Archive file. The JAR file format is used for aggregating many files into one file. JAR files have the file extension .jar.

Java

a set of technologies for creating software programs in both stand-alone environments and networked environments, and for running those programs safely. Java is an Oracle Corporation trademark.

Java Database Connectivity

See JDBC.

Java Development Kit

See JDK.

JDBC

a standard interface for accessing SQL databases. JDBC provides uniform access to a wide range of relational databases. It also provides a common base on which higher-level tools and interfaces can be built. Short form: JDBC.

JDK

a software development environment that is available from Oracle Corporation. The JDK includes a Java Runtime Environment (JRE), a compiler, a debugger, and other tools for developing Java applets and applications. Short form: JDK.

job

a collection of SAS tasks that can create output.

load balancing

for IOM bridge connections, a program that runs in the object spawner and that uses an algorithm to distribute work across object server processes on the same or separate machines in a cluster.

localhost

the keyword that is used to specify the machine on which a program is executing. If a client specifies localhost as the server address, the client connects to a server that runs on the same machine.

login

a SAS copy of information about an external account. Each login includes a user ID and belongs to one SAS user or group. Most logins do not include a password.

metadata identity

a metadata object that represents an individual user or a group of users in a SAS metadata environment. Each individual and group that accesses secured resources on a SAS Metadata Server should have a unique metadata identity within that server.

metadata object

a set of attributes that describe a table, a server, a user, or another resource on a network. The specific attributes that a metadata object includes vary depending on which metadata model is being used.

middle tier

in a SAS business intelligence system, the architectural layer in which Web applications and related services execute. The middle tier receives user requests, applies business logic and business rules, interacts with processing servers and data servers, and returns information to users.

migrate

to populate a new deployment of SAS software with the content, data, or metadata (or a combination of these) from an existing deployment. Migrating might include upgrading to a new software release, converting data or metadata, or other changes to ensure compatibility.

object

an entity that can be manipulated by the commands of a programming language. In object-oriented programming, an object is a compilation of attributes (object elements) and behaviors (methods) that describe an entity. Unlike simple data types that are single pieces of information (e.g. int=10), objects are complex and must be constructed.

object spawner

a program that instantiates object servers that are using an IOM bridge connection. The object spawner listens for incoming client requests for IOM services. When the spawner receives a request from a new client, it launches an instance of an IOM server to fulfill the request. Depending on which incoming TCP/IP port the request was made on, the spawner either invokes the administrator interface or processes a request for a UUID (Universal Unique Identifier).

planned deployment

a method of installing and configuring a SAS business intelligence system. This method requires a deployment plan that contains information about the different hosts that are included in the system and the software and SAS servers that are to be deployed on each host. The deployment plan then serves as input to the SAS Deployment Wizard.

pre-installation checklist

a checklist that enumerates the tasks a customer must perform before installing the business intelligence platform. The primary task is to create a set of operating system user accounts on the metadata server host.

SAS Application Server

a logical entity that represents the SAS server tier, which in turn comprises servers that execute code for particular tasks and metadata objects.

SAS authentication

a form of authentication in which the target SAS server is responsible for requesting or performing the authentication check. SAS servers usually meet this responsibility by asking another component (such as the server's host operating system, an LDAP provider, or the SAS Metadata Server) to perform the check. In a few cases (such as SAS internal authentication to the metadata server), the SAS server performs the check for itself. A configuration in which a SAS server trusts that another component has pre-authenticated users (for example, Web authentication) is not part of SAS authentication.

SAS configuration directory

the location where configuration information for a SAS deployment is stored. The configuration directory contains configuration files, logs, scripts, repository files, and other items for the SAS software that is installed on the machine.

SAS data set

a file whose contents are in one of the native SAS file formats. There are two types of SAS data sets: SAS data files and SAS data views. SAS data files contain data values in addition to descriptor information that is associated with the data. SAS data views contain only the descriptor information plus other information that is required for retrieving data values from other SAS data sets or from files whose contents are in other software vendors' file formats.

SAS Deployment Manager

a cross-platform utility that manages SAS deployments. The SAS Deployment Manager supports functions such as updating passwords for your SAS deployment, rebuilding SAS Web applications, and removing configurations.

SAS Deployment Wizard

a cross-platform utility that installs and initially configures many SAS products. Using a SAS installation data file and, when appropriate, a deployment plan for its initial input, the wizard prompts the customer for other necessary input at the start of the session, so that there is no need to monitor the entire deployment.

SAS Foundation Services

a set of core infrastructure services that programmers can use in developing distributed applications that are integrated with the SAS platform. These services provide basic underlying functions that are common to many applications. These functions include making client connections to SAS application servers, dynamic service discovery, user authentication, profile management, session context management, metadata and content repository access, activity logging, event management, information publishing, and stored process execution.

SAS installation data file

See SID file.

SAS installation directory

the location where your SAS software is installed. This location is the parent directory to the installation directories of all SAS products. The SAS installation directory is also referred to as SAS Home in the SAS Deployment Wizard.

SAS IOM workspace

in the IOM object hierarchy for a SAS Workspace Server, an object that represents a single session in SAS.

SAS Management Console

a Java application that provides a single user interface for performing SAS administrative tasks.

SAS Metadata Server

a multi-user server that enables users to read metadata from or write metadata to one or more SAS Metadata Repositories.

SAS OLAP Server

a SAS server that provides access to multidimensional data. The data is queried using the multidimensional expressions (MDX) language.

SAS Pooled Workspace Server

a SAS Workspace Server that is configured to use server-side pooling. In this configuration, the SAS object spawner maintains a collection of workspace server processes that are available for clients.

SAS Software Depot

a file system that consists of a collection of SAS installation files that represents one or more orders. The depot is organized in a specific format that is meaningful to the SAS Deployment Wizard, which is the tool that is used to install and initially configure SAS. The depot contains the SAS Deployment Wizard executable, one or more deployment plans, a SAS installation data file, order data, and product data.

SAS Stored Process Server

a SAS IOM server that is launched in order to fulfill client requests for SAS Stored Processes.

SAS Workspace Server

a SAS IOM server that is launched in order to fulfill client requests for IOM workspaces.

SAS/CONNECT server

a server that provides SAS/CONNECT services to a client. When SAS Data Integration Studio generates code for a job, it uses SAS/CONNECT software to submit code to remote computers. SAS Data Integration Studio can also use SAS/CONNECT software for interactive access to remote libraries.

SAS/SHARE server

the result of an execution of the SERVER procedure, which is part of SAS/SHARE software. A server runs in a separate SAS session that services users' SAS sessions by controlling and executing input and output requests to one or more SAS libraries.

SASHOME directory

the file location where an instance of SAS software is installed on a computer. The location of the SASHOME directory is established at the initial installation of SAS software by the SAS Deployment Wizard. That location becomes the default installation location for any other SAS software you install on the same machine.

server context

a SAS IOM server concept that describes how SAS Application Servers manage client requests. A SAS Application Server has an awareness (or context) of how it is being used and makes decisions based on that awareness. For example, when a SAS Data Integration Studio client submits code to its SAS Application Server, the server determines what type of code is submitted and directs it to the correct physical server for processing (in this case, a SAS Workspace Server).

service

one or more application components that an authorized user or application can call at any time to provide results that conform to a published specification. For example, network services transmit data or provide conversion of data in a network, database services provide for the storage and retrieval of data in a database, and Web services interact with each other on the World Wide Web.

servlet

a Java program that runs on a Web server. Servlets are a complementary technology to applets, which run in Web browsers. Unlike applet code, servlet code does not have to be downloaded to a Web browser. Instead, servlets send HTML or other appropriate content back to a browser or to another type of Web-based client application.

servlet container

the component of a Web server that manages the lifecycle of servlets, mapping a URL to a particular servlet and ensuring that the URL requester has the correct access rights. All servlet containers must support HTTP as a protocol for requests and responses, but they can also support additional protocols such as HTTPS.

SID file

a control file containing license information that is required in order to install SAS.

single sign-on

an authentication model that enables users to access a variety of computing resources without being repeatedly prompted for their user IDs and passwords. For example, single sign-on can enable a user to access SAS servers that run on different platforms without interactively providing the user's ID and password for each platform. Single sign-on can also enable someone who is using one application to launch other applications based on the authentication that was performed when the user initially logged on.

software order e-mail (SOE)

an e-mail message that is sent to your site that announces the availability of the software and details the order. It also lists the initial installation steps and, for SAS 9.3, contains instructions for using Electronic Software Delivery (ESD), if applicable.

spawner

See object spawner.

SSO

See single sign-on.

trusted user

a privileged service account that can act on behalf of other users on a connection to the metadata server.

unrestricted identity

a user or group that has all capabilities and permissions in the metadata environment due to membership in the META: Unrestricted Users Role (or listing in the adminUsers.txt file with a preceding asterisk).

update mode

an operating state of the SAS Deployment Wizard in which users are required to install software updates before they can perform any other deployment tasks. The SAS Deployment Wizard automatically goes into update mode when it determines that the current SAS order contains new versions or maintenance updates to the deployed products in a given SAS installation directory.

warehouse

See data warehouse.

Web application

an application that is accessed via a Web browser over a network such as the Internet or an intranet. SAS Web applications are Java Enterprise Edition (JEE) applications that are delivered via Web application archive (WAR) files. The applications can depend on Java and non-Java Web technologies.

Web authentication

a configuration in which users of Web applications and Web services are verified at the Web perimeter and the metadata server trusts that verification.

Web browser

a software application that is used to view Web content, and also to download or upload information. The browser submits URL (Uniform Resource Locator) requests to a Web server and then translates the HTML code into a visual display.

Web-distributed authoring and versioning

a set of extensions to the HTTP protocol that enables users to collaboratively edit and manage files on remote Web servers. Short form: WebDAV.

WebDAV

See Web-distributed authoring and versioning.

WebDAV server

an HTTP server that supports the collaborative authoring of documents that are located on the server. The server supports the locking of documents, so that multiple authors cannot make changes to a document at the same time. It also associates metadata with documents in order to facilitate searching. The SAS business intelligence applications use this type of server primarily as a report repository. Common WebDAV servers include the Apache HTTP Server (with its WebDAV modules enabled), Xythos Software's WebFile Server, and Microsoft Corporation's Internet Information Server (IIS).

workspace

See SAS IOM workspace.

XML

a markup language that structures information by tagging it for content, meaning, or use. Structured information contains both content (for example, words or numbers) and an indication of what role the content plays. For example, content in a section heading has a different meaning from content in a database table. Short form: XML.