SAS/CONNECT Client Tasks

Task List

Specify TCP/IP as the communications access method.
Specify encryption of client/server data transfers (optional).
Sign on to the server.

Specifying TCP/IP as the Communications Access Method

TCP/IP is the default communications access method for all the SAS supported operating environments, except z/OS. Therefore, you do not have to explicitly specify the default.

If you choose to explicitly specify TCP/IP, you can use the following syntax:

OPTIONS COMAMID=access-method-ID;

COMAMID is an acronym for Communications Access Method Identification. access-method-ID identifies the method used by the client to communicate with the server. TCP (short for TCP/IP, which is an abbreviation for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) is an example of an access-method-ID. You can set this option in an OPTIONS statement, in a SAS start-up command, or in a SAS configuration file.

Example:

options comamid=tcp;

Encrypting Data in Client/Server Transfers

If network security is available and is configured at the client, you can specify SAS options to encrypt all data that is transferred between a client and a server. In the following example, the NETENCRYPTALGORITHM= option specifies the RC4 encryption algorithm.

options netencryptalgorithm=rc4;

For details about encryption services, see the Encryption in SAS, located in the Base SAS Help and Documentation.

Choosing a Method to Use to Sign On

Based on your operating environment, you can use one of the following methods to sign on:

a spawner
a Telnet daemon

Signing On Using a Spawner

Task List

Ensure that the spawner is running on the server.
Specify the server and an optional service.
Specify the sign-on script (if you are signing on using a script), or specify a user ID and password (if you are signing on without a script).
Sign on to the server through the spawner.

Ensuring That the Spawner Is Running on the Server

Before you can access the spawner, the spawner program must be running on the server. For information about the spawner that you are connecting to, see SAS/CONNECT Spawners.

Note: The system administrator for the computer that the spawner runs on must start the spawner. The spawner program on the server cannot be started by the client.

Specifying the Server and the Spawner Service

The name of the server can be specified in an OPTIONS statement:

OPTIONS REMOTE=node-name[.service-name | .port-number ];

You can also specify it directly in the SIGNON statement or command:

SIGNON node-name[.service-name | .port-number];

node-name is based on the server that you are connecting to. node-name must be a valid SAS name that is 1 to 8 characters in length and is either of the following:

the short computer name of the server that you are connecting to. This name must be defined in the HOSTS file in the client operating environment or in your Domain Name Server (DNS).
a macro variable that contains either the IP address or the name of the server that you are connecting to. For more information, see About TCP/IP Internet Protocol (IP) Addressing.

Here is the process for evaluating node-name:

If node-name is a macro variable, the value of the macro variable is passed to the operating environment's getnameinfo() function.
If node-name is not a macro variable or the value of the macro variable does not produce a valid value, node-name is passed to the getnameinfo() function.
If getnameinfo() fails to resolve node-name, an error message is returned and the sign-on fails.

Note: The order in which the getnameinfo() function calls the DNS or searches the HOSTS file to resolve node-name varies based on the operating environment implementation.

You specify service-name when connecting to a server that runs a spawner program that is listening on a port other than the Telnet port. If the spawner was started using the -SERVICE spawner option, you must specify an explicit service-name. The value of service-name and the value of the -SERVICE spawner option must be identical. Alternatively, you can specify the explicit port number that is associated with service-name.

Example 1:

In the following example, REMHOST is the name of the node that the spawner is running on. PORT1 is the name of the service that is defined at the client. The client service PORT1 must be assigned to the same port that the spawner is listening on.

signon remhost.port1;

Example 2:

In the following example, the macro variable REMHOST is assigned to the fully qualified name of the computer that the server runs on. This server has a spawner running that is listening on port 5050. The server session that is specified in the SIGNON statement uses the node-name REMHOST and the port number 5050.

%let remhost=pc.rem.us.com;signon remhost.5050;

You can also assign a specific port number by including the port number in the definition of the macro variable. For example:

%let remhost=pc.rem.us.com 5050;signon remhost;

Specifying a Sign-On Script or a User ID and Password

You can use a sign-on script to sign on to the spawner, or you can sign on to a spawner without a script. If you do not use a sign-on script and if the spawner is running secured, you must supply a user ID and password to sign on to the spawner.

Note: If you connect to a spawner, you can sign on by using a script unless the spawner is started using the -NOSCRIPT option. If the -NOSCRIPT option is set, you cannot use a script. If there is no script, you do not assign the fileref RLINK in a FILENAME statement. For information about the spawner that you are connecting to, see SAS/CONNECT Spawners.

Specifying a Sign-On Script

If you are signing on by using a script, you must specify the script that you want to use. The script file is executed by the SIGNON statement or command. By default, the script prompts for user ID and password.

To use one of the sample script files that are supplied with SAS/CONNECT for signing on and signing off, assign the default fileref RLINK to the appropriate script file. The script is based on the server that you are connecting to. The sample scripts are installed at this location:

prefix.CTMISC

To specify a script, use the FILENAME statement. For example:

FILENAME RLINK 'prefix.CTMISC/script-name';

script-name specifies the appropriate script file for the server.

The following table lists the scripts that are supplied in SAS software.

SAS/CONNECT Sign-on Scripts for Using TCP/IP under z/OS

Server	Script Name
TSO under OS/390	`tcptso.scr`
TSO under z/OS, SAS 9 or later	`tcptso9.scr`
z/OS (without TSO)	`tcpmvs.scr`
z/OS (using full-screen 3270 Telnet protocol)	`tcptso32.scr`
OpenVMS	`tcpvms.scr`
UNIX	`tcpunix.scr`
Windows	`tcpwin.scr`

Specifying a User ID and Password

If you are signing on to the spawner without using a script and the spawner is running secured, you must submit the SIGNON statement and provide a user ID and a password in order to log on to the server. For example:

SIGNON USER=user-ID | _PROMPT_ [ PASSWORD=password | _PROMPT_ ];

Signing On Using the Spawner

To start SAS, sign on to the server by using the spawner.

In the following example, a client connects to a UNIX server through a spawner without using a script file. In the SIGNON statement, RMTHOST.SPAWNER specifies the node RMTHOST and the service SPAWNER. This server specification presumes that a spawner is running on the node RMTHOST, and that the spawner was started with the service SPAWNER. Specifying USER=_PROMPT_ causes a logon dialog box to appear so that a user ID and a password can be provided.

options comamid=tcp;
signon rmthost.spawner user=_prompt_;

Signing On Using a Telnet Daemon

Task List

Specify the server.
Specify a sign-on script.
Sign on to the server session.

Specifying the Server

The name of the server can be specified in an OPTIONS statement:

OPTIONS REMOTE=node-name;

You can also specify it directly in the SIGNON statement or command:

SIGNON node-name;

Specifying a Sign-On Script

Signing On to the Server Session

In the following example, you specify the statements at a z/OS client to use the TCP/IP access method to connect to a server. The FILENAME statement identifies the script file that you use to sign on to the server. The script file contains a prompt for a user ID and a password that are valid on the server. The COMAMID= option specifies the TCP/IP communications access method for connecting to the server RMTNODE, which is specified in the REMOTE= option.

filename rlink 'prefix.CTMISC/tcptso.scr';
options comamid=tcp remote=rmtnode;
signon;