Glossary: Glossary

Glossary

access method: See communications access method.
authentication: the process of verifying the identity of a person or process within the guidelines of a specific security policy.
autoexec file: a file that contains SAS statements that are executed automatically when SAS is invoked. The autoexec file can be used to specify some of the SAS system options, as well as to assign librefs and filerefs to data sources that are used frequently. See also fileref and libref.
client: a SAS session that receives services, data, or other resources from a specified server. The server can run on the same computer as the client or on a different computer (across a network). See also server, SAS/CONNECT server, SAS/CONNECT client, SAS/SHARE client, and SAS/SHARE server.
client authentication: See authentication.
command file: a file that contains operating system commands to be executed in sequence.
communications access method: an interface between SAS and the network protocol or interface that is used to connect two operating environments. Depending on the operating environments, SAS/SHARE and SAS/CONNECT use either the TCP/IP or XMS communications access method. See also TCP/IP and Cross-Memory Services.
Cross-Memory Services: a cross-task communication interface that is part of z/OS. XMS is used by programs that run within a single z/OS operating environment. XMS is also the name of the SAS communications access method that uses XMS for client/server communication. Short form: XMS.
data set: See SAS data set.
descriptor information: information about the contents and attributes of a SAS data set. For example, the descriptor information includes the data types and lengths of the variables, as well as which engine was used to create the data. SAS creates and maintains descriptor information within every SAS data set.
DNS: See Domain Name System.
domain name resolution: in a TCP/IP network, the process of converting a server name to an IP address. See also Domain Name System.
domain name resolver: in a TCP/IP network, client software that uses one or more domain name servers to convert a server name to an IP address or vice versa. See also domain name server and domain name resolution.
domain name server: an Internet server program that converts domain names to IP addresses. See also Domain Name System and TCP/IP.
Domain Name System: a distributed database system on the Internet that maps domain names to IP addresses. The Domain Name System also provides information about which TCP/IP services are available to the server host, the location of the domain name servers in the network, and other information about server hosts and networks. Short form: DNS. See also domain name server and TCP/IP.
encryption: the act of transforming intelligible data (plaintext) into an unintelligible form (ciphertext) by means of a mathematical process.
external file: a file that is created and maintained by a host operating system or by another vendor's software application. SAS can read data from and route output to external files. External files can contain raw data, SAS programming statements, procedure output, or output that was created by the PUT statement. A SAS data set is not an external file. See also fileref.
fileref: a name that is temporarily assigned to an external file or to an aggregate storage location such as a directory or a folder. The fileref identifies the file or the storage location to SAS. See also libref.
firewall: a controlled gateway between two networks. A firewall limits external client connections to a set of restricted ports on one or more computers that is inside the firewall. Web servers and other network applications can also use firewalls to limit access to servers. SAS/CONNECT permits TCP/IP connections between clients outside a firewall to spawners that run on servers inside a firewall. See also socket inheritance, port, and SAS/CONNECT spawner.
Internet Protocol Version 4: a protocol that specifies the format for network addresses for all computers that are connected to the Internet. This protocol, which is the predecessor of Internet Protocol Version 6, uses dot-decimal notation to represent 32-bit address spaces. An example of an Internet Protocol Version 4 address is 10.23.2.3. Short form: IPv4. See also IP address and Internet Protocol Version 6.
Internet Protocol Version 6: 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. See also IP address and Internet Protocol Version 4.
IP address: a unique network address that is assigned to each computer that is connected to the Internet. The IP address can be specified in either of two formats: Internet Protocol Version 4 (IPv4) or Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6). The IPv4 format consists of four parts in dot-decimal notation, as in 123.456.789.0. The IPv6 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. See also Internet Protocol Version 4 and Internet Protocol Version 6.
IPv4: See Internet Protocol Version 4.
IPv6: See Internet Protocol Version 6.
libref: a name that is temporarily associated with a SAS library. The complete name of a SAS file consists of two words, separated by a period. The libref, which is the first word, indicates the library. The second word is the name of the specific SAS file. For example, in VLIB.NEWBDAY, the libref VLIB tells SAS which library contains the file NEWBDAY. You assign a libref with a LIBNAME statement or with an operating system command.
name resolution: See domain name resolution.
name resolver: See domain name resolver.
name server: See domain name server.
operating environment: a computer, or a logical partition of a computer, and the resources (such as an operating system and other software and hardware) that are available to the computer or partition.
port: in a network, a communications endpoint that is specified by a unique number and a service name. The port number and the associated service name are configured in a services file (/etc/services on UNIX). A port enables a SAS client to access a SAS/CONNECT spawner, an MP CONNECT pipe, a SAS/SHARE server, or a firewall server. See also SASESOCK engine, pipeline parallelism, firewall, SAS/SHARE server, and services file.
Remote Library Services: a feature of SAS/SHARE and SAS/CONNECT software that enables you to read, write, and update remote data as if it were stored on the client. RLS can be used to access SAS data sets on computers that have different architectures. RLS also provides read-only access to some types of SAS catalog entries on computers that have different architectures. Short form: RLS.
return code: a numeric value that indicates whether a request was successful. A return code can also indicate a specific error or warning.
RLS: See Remote Library Services.
SAS data file: a type of SAS data set that contains data values as well as descriptor information that is associated with the data. The descriptor information includes information such as the data types and lengths of the variables, as well as the name of the engine that was used to create the data. See also SAS data set.
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. See also descriptor information.
SAS library: a collection of one or more files that are recognized by SAS and that are referenced and stored as a unit. Each file is a member of the library.
SAS system option: an option that affects the processing of an entire SAS program or interactive SAS session from the time the option is specified until it is changed. Examples of items that are controlled by SAS system options include the appearance of SAS output, the handling of some files that are used by SAS, the use of system variables, the processing of observations in SAS data sets, features of SAS initialization, and the way SAS interacts with your host operating environment.
SAS/CONNECT client: a SAS/CONNECT session that acts as a client. The user that runs a SAS/CONNECT client requests services from a SAS/CONNECT server that can run on a remote single-processor machine or on a local or remote multi-processor machine. The following services are supported: Remote Library Services, which enables access to SAS files; Compute Services, which uses fast processing resources; and Data Transfer Services, which enables the upload or download of selected data for processing. See also client, server, and SAS/CONNECT server.
SAS/CONNECT server: a SAS/CONNECT session that acts as a server. The SAS/CONNECT server runs a SAS session on a computer that receives requests for services from a SAS/CONNECT client. The server can run on a remote, single-processor computer or on a local or remote SMP computer. SAS/CONNECT servers provide Remote Library Services (for accessing SAS files), Compute Services (for rapid computational processing), and Data Transfer Services (for uploading and downloading selected data). See also client, server, SAS/CONNECT client, and symmetric multiprocessing.
SAS/CONNECT spawner: a program that runs on a remote computer and that listens for SAS/CONNECT client requests for connection to the remote computer. When the spawner program receives a request, it invokes a SAS session on the remote computer.
SAS/SECURE: an add-on product that uses the RC2, RC4, DES, and TripleDES encryption algorithms. SAS/SECURE requires a license, and it must be installed on each computer that runs a client and a server that will use the encryption algorithms. SAS/SECURE provides a high level of security.
SAS/SHARE client: a SAS/SHARE session that acts as a client. The user who runs a SAS/SHARE client accesses data on a SAS/SHARE server through Remote Library Services (RLS). See also client, server, SAS/SHARE server, and Remote Library Services.
SAS/SHARE server: the result of an execution of the SERVER procedure. The SERVER procedure 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. See also client, server, and SAS/SHARE client.
SASProprietary algorithm: a fixed encoding algorithm that is included with Base SAS software. The SASProprietary algorithm requires no additional SAS product licenses. It provides a medium level of security.
script: an external file that contains SAS script statements. The script file is stored on a client and provides instructions for establishing and terminating a SAS/CONNECT session. Script files are executed by the SIGNON and SIGNOFF commands. See also external file.
script statement: a special kind of SAS statement that was developed for use in scripts for SAS/CONNECT software. Script statements are used only in scripts.
Security Support Provider Interface: a built-in security provider for Microsoft Windows computers. In a network, SSPI transfers user context information from a user's client computer to the server. This enables users who are members of a trusted domain to be authenticated automatically. Short form: SSPI. See also user context.
server: a SAS session that delivers services, data, or other resources to a requesting client. The server can run on the same computer as the client or on a different computer (across a network). See also SAS/CONNECT server, SAS/SHARE server, SAS/CONNECT client, SAS/SHARE client, and server.
services file: a file that contains a list of service names and the TCP/IP ports that are mapped to those services. The services file is stored on both the SAS client and the SAS server. The UNIX services file is located in /etc/services. A service can be specified for any of the following: a SAS/CONNECT spawner, a SAS/SHARE server, an MP CONNECT pipe, and a firewall server. See also port and firewall.
simulated logon: a commonly used method of client authentication that is available in all operating environments. In a simulated logon, the client provides a user ID and password that are checked by the server.
SMP: See symmetric multiprocessing.
socket: the endpoint of a connection in a TCP/IP network. A socket is the combination of a TCP port and an IP address. By analogy, a socket is like a telephone to which a telephone number has been assigned. The TCP port is like a telephone number, and the IP address is like the location of the telephone. See also port, services file, socket inheritance, and IP address.
socket inheritance: the mechanism by which a SAS/CONNECT server that is running a spawner uses a single firewall socket (or port) for SAS/CONNECT server-to-client communications. Socket inheritance increases the security of private networks by limiting the number of ports that are used for connections through a firewall. See also SAS/CONNECT spawner, port, and firewall.
spawner: See SAS/CONNECT spawner.
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer): a protocol that provides network security and privacy. SSL uses encryption algorithms RC2, RC4, DES, TripleDES, and AES. SSL provides a high level of security. It was developed by Netscape Communications.
SSPI: See Security Support Provider Interface.
symmetric multiprocessing: a hardware and software architecture that can improve the speed of I/O and processing. An SMP machine has multiple CPUs and a thread-enabled operating system. An SMP machine is usually configured with multiple controllers and with multiple disk drives per controller. Short form: SMP.
system option: See SAS system option.
TCP/IP: an abbreviation for a pair of networking protocols. Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is a standard protocol for transferring information on local area networks such as Ethernets. TCP ensures that process-to-process information is delivered in the appropriate order. Internet Protocol (IP) is a protocol for managing connections between operating environments. IP routes information through the network to a particular operating environment and fragments and reassembles information in transfers.
TLS: See Transport Layer Security.
Transport Layer Security: the successor to Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) V3.0. The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) adopted SSL V3.0 as the de facto standard, made some modifications, and renamed it TLS. TLS is virtually SSLV3.1. Short form: TLS. See also Secure Sockets Layer.
user context: the identifying credentials of the client who is attempting to access a secured server. These credentials include the user ID, the password, and file access permissions. Users can use their own user context or a different user context when accessing a server. A different user context (such as for a system administrator) does not belong to the user but can be granted to the user for access to specific files. See also Security Support Provider Interface.
user rights: a set of privileges that are assigned to each user of a client computer and to a server computer in a Windows domain. Setting the appropriate user rights on the server computer enables users to connect to a secure server.
XMS: See Cross-Memory Services.

Top of Page