SAS/EmMonitor is an application for Windows that enables you to monitor a CPU-intensive application running on a remote server. Remote monitoring is support through the NLOPTIONS statement.

On the server side, a FILENAME statement assigns a fileref to a SOCKET-type device that defines the IP address of the client and the port number for listening. The fileref is then specified in the SOCKET= option in the NLOPTIONS statement to control the SAS/EmMonitor application. The following statements show an example of server-side code:

   filename sock socket 'your.pc.address.com:6943';
   
   proc glimmix data=bigdataset;
      class year;
      model y1 = x1 x2 x3 / dist=gamma link=log;
      random x1 x3 / type=rsmooth knotmethod=kdtree(bucket=8)
                     subject=year;
      nloptions tech=nrridg gconv=2.e-5 socket=sock;
   run;

On the client side, the SAS/EmMonitor application is started with the following syntax:

EmMonitor options

The options are as follows:

-p port_number

defines the port number.

-t title

defines the title of the SAS/EmMonitor window.

-k

keeps the monitor alive when the iteration is completed.

The default port number is 6943.

By default, the PC client displays on its Graph tab the objective function of the optimization process as the first Plot Group. The largest absolute gradient can be monitored as the next Plot Group. You can intervene in the optimization process through the Stop Current and Stop All buttons. Signaling the server by clicking these buttons effectively terminates the optimization. In a singly iterative optimization, clicking either of the two buttons halts the optimization process when the signal is received on the server side. The current parameter estimates are accepted, and postoptimization processing is based on these values. Note that this is different from a condition where the usual termination criterion is not met, such as when the maximum number of iterations is exceeded. If an optimization does not meet the termination criterion, no postprocessing occurs.

In doubly iterative processes, the Stop All button terminates the overall optimization process and accepts the current estimates. The Stop Current button stops the current optimization and uses the current parameter estimates to start the next optimization.

The server does not need to be running when you start the SAS/EmMonitor application, and you can start or stop it at any time during the iteration process. You need to remember only the port number.

If you do not start the PC client, or if you close it prematurely, it will have no effect on the server side. In other words, the iteration process will continue until one of the criteria for termination is met.