Starting the Windows Spawner

Syntax: Starting the Windows Spawner

Here is the syntax for the command to start the Windows spawner:
SPAWNER <options>

Options for the Windows Spawner

Here are the options that can be specified with the spawner command. For a list of the Encryption options that can also be specified on the Windows spawner, see SAS System Options for Encryption in Encryption in SAS.
-AUTHSERVER domain-or-server
specifies the location of the user authentication database. You can specify the name of either a Windows domain or a Windows server where the database resides.
Instead of specifying a single domain in the -AUTHSERVER option, you can bypass this option and specify the domain name in the form domain\user-ID when you provide your user ID to the Windows environment. For example:
signon user="apex\bass" password=time2go;
The domain name APEX identifies the location of the user authentication database. The user ID BASS and the password TIME2GO are verified against the user ID-and-password database of the specified domain.
-DELETE
calls the Service Control Manager to remove the SAS Job Spawner Windows service, which was previously installed and started by using the -INSTALL option. If multiple instances of the spawner service are running, you can specify which instance to delete by using the -INSTANCE option. You do not need to specify the -INSTANCE option to reference the first instance of the spawner.
If you used the -NAME option with the -INSTALL option to install a spawner, you can use the -NAME option with the -DELETE option to identify the spawner to be deleted.
spawner -delete -name "Glenn's spawner"
-DESCRIPTION “spawner-service-description”
specifies the description that you assign to the spawner that is installed and started as a Windows service. The DESCRIPTION option is valid only when installing the spawner using the INSTALL option on the SPAWNER command. The description can be viewed with the services applet in Windows. A specified spawner description cannot exceed 256 characters and must be enclosed in quotation marks if it contains one or more spaces.
The following example shows how to use the INSTALL, NAME, and DESCRIPTION options on the SPAWNER command to install a spawner named “SAS spawner 5” and specify a description, which will be displayed in the Services Control Manager Window:
spawner -install -name "SAS spawner 5" -description "A SAS process that listens for requests to spawn SAS/Connect servers"
-HELP
prints a list of valid parameters.
-INSTALL
causes an instance of a spawner to be installed as a Windows service. Each spawner instance is assigned a name, by default, in the following form:
SAS Job Spawner #xx
xx can range from 2 to 99. For example, if three instances of the spawner are installed, they are named, by default:
  • SAS Job Spawner
  • SAS Job Spawner #2
  • SAS Job Spawner #3
After the spawner is installed, unless the -NOSECURITY option is specified, the spawner will run secured.
You can install each instance of the spawner by using the following command:
C:\SAS> SPAWNER -install 
Instead of accepting a default name for a spawner service, you can assign a specific name to a spawner service by using the -NAME option.
You can start the spawner service by using either the NET START command or the services applet, or by rebooting the machine that the spawner runs on.
-INSTALLDEPENDENCIES “service- name
specifies the Windows service that must be started before the spawner service starts.
-INSTANCE xx
identifies the instance of the spawner service to be deleted by using the -DELETE option, where xx represents values from 2 to 99. If only the first instance of a spawner service (named SAS Job Spawner) is running and you want to delete it, you do not need to specify the instance. If you want to delete any instance other than the first one that was installed, you can either specify the instance or use -NAME to specify the spawner.
For example, if three instances of the spawner are running and you want to delete only the second instance, use the following command:
spawner -delete  -instance 2
To delete a specific spawner that was installed by using the -NAME option, use the following command:
spawner -delete -name "Glenn's spawner"
-LOGCONFIGLOC file-specification
specifies the location of the XML configuration file that is used to initialize the SAS logging facility. The configuration file contains the pattern layout for the messages that are generated and automatically directed to an output device, such as a console or a log. Relevant log data for the Windows spawner might include the date and time, the log level, the thread ID, and the logger.
The file-specification that defines the location of the XML configuration file must be a valid filename or a path and filename for your operating environment. If the path contains spaces, enclose the file-specification in quotation marks.
Here is an example of the command to invoke the SAS logging facility:
spawner -logconfigloc  winspawnerlog.xml
Note: If –LOGCONFIGLOC is specified, spawner messages are routed to the App.Connect.JobSpawner logger. State messages are routed to the root logger.
For details about the SAS logging facility, see SAS Logging: Configuration and Programming Reference.
-LOGEVENTS
When specified, this option causes the SAS/CONNECT spawner to write events to the Windows event log. These events describe when a SAS/CONNECT server process starts, when a SAS/CONNECT server process ends, and when a SAS/CONNECT server process fails to start. Examples of each of these log event messages are shown in the table below.
Event
Message That Is Displayed
SAS/CONNECT server process starts
Child process created, command line 
was "c:\Program Files\SAS\sas.exe -dmr", 
process id is 12345
SAS/CONNECT server process ends
Child process ended, process id 
is 12345
SAS/CONNECT server process fails to start
Child process creation failed, 
Command line was 
"c:\Program Files\SAS\sas.exe -dmr", 
Error number=2, Error message is 
"File not found"
-NAME “spawner-service-name”
specifies the name that you assign to the spawner that is installed and started as a service. A specified name overrides the default name that is automatically assigned when the -INSTALL option is used.
A specified spawner name cannot exceed 80 alphanumeric characters. A name string that includes one or more spaces must be enclosed in quotation marks.
The following example shows how to install an explicitly named spawner as a service:
spawner -install -name "Glenn's spawner"
The following example shows how to start an explicitly named Windows spawner by using the NET START command:
net start "Glenn's spawner"
-NOCLEARTEXT
prevents sign-ons from clients that do not support user ID and password encryption. This option prevents clients that are running older releases (prior to SAS 6.09E and SAS 6.11 TS040, which do not support user ID and password encryption) from signing on to the spawner program. However, the default permits both encrypted and plaintext user IDs and passwords.
-NOINHERITANCE
disables socket inheritance. Socket inheritance allows SAS/CONNECT servers to use the socket connection that is established between the SAS/CONNECT client and the spawner. Socket inheritance saves resources and is easier to configure when clients connect to a server that is within a firewall. Socket inheritance is enabled by default.
-NOSSPI
prevents the automatic authentication of clients that are members of trusted domains.
If the client and the server run under Windows and if the client does not supply a user ID and password to the server, SSPI (Security Support Provider Interface) is automatically used to perform client authentication.
However, if you specify the -NOSSPI option, SSPI is not used, and the client must specify a unique user ID and password to access the server. When -NOSSPI is specified, it is recommended that you use the -SECURITY option. For information about SSPI, see Data Security for SAS/CONNECT or SAS/SHARE Servers.
-NOSCRIPT
prevents sign-on from clients that use scripts, and allows sign-on only from clients that do not use scripts.
-NOSCRIPT can be useful if you want to limit SAS start-up commands to the use of the -SASCMD option. Specifying -NOSCRIPT restricts clients from specifying additional options in SAS start-up commands or script files. When -NOSCRIPT is specified, -SASCMD must also be specified.
-XMLCONFIGFILE “fully-qualified-path
specifies a fully qualified path to the configuration file in XML format that contains the information necessary to connect to a SAS Metadata Server. A path that includes one or more spaces must be enclosed in quotation marks. For details about creating the configuration file, see the Base SAS Help for the Metadata Server Connections window.
If -XMLCONFIGFILE is used, -SASSPAWNERCN must also be used.
Alias:-OMRCONFIGFILE
-SASCMD
specifies the SAS command or a command file that invokes SAS when a client attempts to connect to a server.
Use the -SASCMD option in order to do the following:
  • invoke SAS from a directory that is not the default location
  • specify different SAS start-up command options
  • execute other statements before invoking SAS
The following options are supplied by default when you invoke SAS:
-DMR -COMAMID access-method -NOSPLASH -ICON -NOTERMINAL
An alternate file that can be invoked is a batch file, which is signified by the .BAT extension. Here is an example of a batch file:
cd \sas   
sas.exe %*
The first line changes to the directory where the SAS executable is stored. The second line starts SAS. Add options as needed at this SAS start-up command.
-SASDAEMONSERVICE port-number | service-name
specifies the port or the service that the SAS/CONNECT server uses to notify the spawner that it is ready to receive requests from SAS clients. When socket inheritance is enabled, the SAS client and the SAS/CONNECT server communicate via this port. If you use a service, its name must be configured in the SERVICES file on the computer that the SAS/CONNECT server session runs on.
-SASSPAWNERCN “CONNECT-spawner-object-name
specifies the name of the CONNECT spawner object to use in the SAS Metadata Repository. A name that includes one or more spaces must be enclosed in quotation marks. For details about generating a CONNECT spawner definition for the SAS Metadata Server, see the help for the SAS/CONNECT Spawner server type in the Server Manager of SAS Management Console.
If -SASSPAWNERCN is used, -XMLCONFIGFILE must also be used.
-SECURITY | -NOSECURITY
When the spawner runs as a service and in secured mode, the clients supply their own unique user IDs and passwords in order to connect to a spawner. If the spawner is not running as a service, an unsecured mode is assumed regardless of whether -NOSECURITY is specified. Running without security means that all server sessions will be started by using a common user ID and password.
The person who installs the spawner must have the following user rights in the Windows domain:
  • “Act as part of the operating environment”
  • “Bypass traverse checking” (the default is everyone)
  • “Increase quotas”
  • “Replace a process level token”
  • “Log on locally” (the default is everyone)
All users who connect to the spawner must have the Windows domain user right "log on as a batch job".
CAUTION:
The -SECURITY option is not supported in a spawner invocation from a DOS prompt.
The spawner runs in secured mode, by default, only if the spawner is installed as a service. See -SERVICE port-number | service-name. The -INSTALL option causes the spawner to be installed as a Windows service. For details, see -INSTALL .
-SERVICE port-number | service-name
specifies an alternate port that the spawner uses to listen for incoming requests for connection. The default is the Telnet port.
SERVUSER=user-ID
SERVPASS=password
are used if the spawner is installed as a service (-INSTALL is specified). However, if the spawner is installed as a service and the SSL encryption service is used (-NETENCRYPTALGORITHM=SSL is specified), SERVUSER= and SERVERPASS= must be specified. For details about SSL, see Encryption in SAS, located in the Base SAS Help and Documentation.
In order to obtain a digital certificate from a certificate store, you must specify SERVUSER= and SERVPASS=, which define the user ID and password to be used to start the spawner service.
Specify both the SERVUSER= and the SERVPASS= options.
-SHELL
enables the SAS session that is invoked by the spawner program to create a DOS shell, which is required in order for the server to run X commands.
Without specifying the -SHELL option to the spawner, X command processing is disabled, by default. For details about running X commands from your SAS session, see SAS Companion for Windows.
USERID=user-ID PASSWORD=password
You must specify USERID= and PASSWORD= if the spawner is installed as a service (-INSTALL is specified) and the spawner explicitly runs unsecured (-NOSECURITY is specified).
Because the spawner is running unsecured, clients do not have their own identities authenticated. Instead, all clients that connect to a spawner will use a common user ID and password.
Specify both the USERID= and PASSWORD= options.
For an example of starting the Windows spawner as a service, see Scriptless Sign-on to a Windows Spawner That Runs as a Service.

Encryption Options for the Windows Spawner

You can also use options in the spawner invocation for encrypting SAS client/server data transfers. For information, see SAS System Options for Encryption in Encryption in SAS.For example programs, seeEncryption Technologies: Examples in Encryption in SAS.