A loop and SC78 abend might occur in SAS Metadata Server if there is insufficient system memory. The looping condition is caused by a request for memory that is too small for the system to honor. Due to the manner in which SAS software processes ESTAE recovery, the appropriate abend might be suppressed, thus causing the loop to occur.

You should look for the following symptoms if this problem occurs:

• There is a loop in the metadata server.
• The metadata server does not respond to new requests.
• When you cancel the task, the IEF374I message shows that the utilization of memory was at, or very close to, the memory threshold available for the task.

You can take any of the following actions to limit the impact of this problem:

• Increase the REGION for the metadata server.
• Recycle the metadata server periodically. It is critical to remember that the metadata server is an In-Memory Database. When you load metadata into memory it remains resident until the metadata server is recycled. Hence, when you define a large amount of new metadata to the metadata server, it may be necessary to recycle the server periodically. For a metadata server on z/OS there is an upper limit of either 2 GB, or the maximum 31-bit region that is available on the system—whichever is less.
• Tune settings for certain SAS options as follows:

Refer to SAS Note 31641 for related information on other TKMVSENV environment variables that should be considered for tuning the server environment.

Refer to SAS Note 31661 for an enhancement to the TKOPT_CPOOL3= environment variable to reduce memory footprint.

Select the Hot Fix tab in this note to access the hot fix for this issue.

Operating System and Release Information

Product Family	Product	System	SAS Release
			Reported	Fixed*
SAS System	SAS Metadata Server	z/OS	9.1 TS1M3 SP4	9.2 TS2M0

* For software releases that are not yet generally available, the Fixed Release is the software release in which the problem is planned to be fixed.

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A fix for SAS 9.1.3 (9.1 TS1M3) for this issue is available at:

http://www.sas.com/techsup/download/hotfix/e9_sbcs_prod_list.html#030992

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A fix for SAS 9.1.3 (9.1 TS1M3) with Asian Language Support (DBCS) for this issue is available at:

http://www.sas.com/techsup/download/hotfix/e9_dbcs_prod_list.html#030992

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Possible loop in metadata server caused by improper handling of an SC78 abend in metadata server.

Type:	Problem Note
Priority:	high

Date Modified:	2008-04-22 12:26:54
Date Created:	2008-01-22 10:46:11