Note: This SAS Note applies only to SAS^® 9.3 Metadata Servers.

There might be occasions when the SAS^® Metadata Server becomes unresponsive. The first resource for recovery are the steps documented in What to Do If the Metadata Server Is Unresponsive in the SAS(R) 9.3 Intelligence Platform: System Administration Guide. If those restart and troubleshooting procedures are unsuccessful, then proceed with the recovery steps that are described here.

Note: The following procedure assumes that you have a usable backup of your SAS Metadata Server.

Note: Make sure that you have the appropriate user credentials. You must have full operating system access to the SAS Metadata Server start-up directory (typically SAS-configuration-directory/Lev1/SASMeta/MetadataServer) and its subdirectories. On UNIX and z/OS systems, the SAS Installer (sas) user has the required access. On Windows systems, the user can be added to the Windows Administrators group to provide the required access.

Overview of Procedure

• Prepare for the recovery as described in the section titled Step 1: Prepare to Perform the Recovery.
• If you are able to start the SAS Metadata Server after finishing Step 1: Prepare to Perform the Recovery, skip to Step 2b: Use SAS^® Management Console to Recover the Metadata Repositories and the Repository Manager.
• If you cannot start the SAS Metadata Server after finishing Step 1: Prepare to Perform the Recovery, then your SAS Metadata Server configuration files or backup history files might be corrupted. Recover the files as described in Step 2a: Manually Recover Metadata Server Configuration Files. Then proceed to Step 2b: Use SAS Management Console to Recover the SAS^® Metadata Repositories and the Repository Manager.

Step 1: Prepare to Perform the Recovery

1. Make sure that the SAS Metadata Server is stopped.
    
2. Open the SAS Metadata Server start-up directory, and use operating system commands to make copies of the following subdirectories and files:

   (Caution: Do not skip this backup step. The copies that you make will be needed if you request assistance from SAS Technical Support.)

   • all of the files in the MetadataServer directory
   • the rposmgr directory and its contents
   • the MetadataRepositories directory and its contents
3. After you have completed the copies in the previous step, use operating system commands to delete the following:
   • the subdirectories and files in rposmgr. (Do not delete the directory.)
   • the subdirectories and files in MetadataRepositories. (Do not delete the directory.)
4. Make sure that the start-up directory contains the following subdirectories: Logs, rposmgr, Backups, and MetadataRepositories. If these directories do not exist, then create them.
5. The user who recovers the SAS Metadata Server must be specified as an unrestricted administrative user in the adminUsers.txt file and be recognized as a user of the server's operating environment.

   Note: Users whose IDs end in "saspw" (for example, sasadm@saspw) are internal users that are recognized only by the SAS Metadata Server. Internal users cannot recover the server using the steps in this procedure.

   To define an external unrestricted user, complete the following steps:

   1. Use a text editor to open the file adminUsers.txt (located in the metadata server start-up directory).
   2. Add a line to the file using the following format: *user-ID. Make sure that the asterisk is placed in the first column. In Windows environments, the ID must be qualified (for example: *domain\user-ID).
6. Start the SAS Metadata Server. See Operating Your Servers in the SAS(R) 9.3 Intelligence Platform: System Administration Guide.
    
7. If you are able to start the SAS Metadata Server, skip to Step 2b: Use SAS Management Console to Recover the Metadata Repositories and the Repository Manager.

   If you cannot start the SAS Metadata Server, then review the SAS Metadata Server log to determine the cause of the problem. If you cannot resolve the issue and restart the SAS Metadata Server, then your server configuration files or backup history files might be corrupted. Recover the files as described in Step 2a: Manually Recover Metadata Server Configuration Files, and then proceed to Step 2b: Use SAS Management Console to Recover the Metadata Repositories and the Repository Manager.

Step 2a: Manually Recover SAS Metadata Server Configuration Files and Backup History

Note: Follow this procedure only if you were unable to start the server after finishing Step 1: Prepare to Perform the Recovery.

1. Open the SAS Metadata Server start-up directory, and use operating system commands to delete the following:
   • any subdirectories and files that are present in rposmgr. (Do not delete the directory.)
   • any subdirectories and files that are present in MetadataRepositories. (Do not delete the directory.)
2. Locate the directory that contains the most recent SAS Metadata Server backup.

   The server's backup facility names backup directories based on the date and time that the backup was started. For example, a directory called 2011-06-06T01_00_01-04_00 contains files from a backup that was started just after 1:00 a.m. on June 6, 2011.

   The backup directory should contain the following:

   • a subdirectory for each SAS Metadata Repository
   • a subdirectory called ConfigurationFiles
   • the following files: MetadataServerBackupManifest.xml and MetadataServerJournal.dat.
3. Copy the contents of the ConfigurationFiles subdirectory of the backup directory (for example, 2011-06-06T01_00_01-04_00/ConfigurationFiles) to the SAS Metadata Server start up directory (typically SAS-configuration-directory/Lev1/SASMeta/MetadataServer). Copy the files only, not the ConfigurationFiles subdirectory.
    
4. Copy the MetadataServerBackupManifest.xml file from the backup directory (for example, 2011-06-06T01_00_01-04_00) to the SAS Metadata Server start-up directory.

   Note: The preceding steps will prevent the selected backup (and any backups that were taken subsequent to that backup) from appearing in the list of available backups (even though the backups are present in the file system). Backups that are not recorded in backup history are not subject to deletion based on the retention period. To reclaim disk space, you will need to manually delete the backup files after you are certain that they are no longer needed.

5. Use a text editor to open the adminUsers.txt file (located in the SAS Metadata Server start-up directory). Add an external user (that is, a user that is recognized as a user of the server's operating environment) to the file using the following format: *user-ID. Make sure that the asterisk is placed in the first column. In Windows environments, the ID must be qualified (for example: *domain\user-ID).
6. Start the SAS Metadata Server. See Operating Your Servers in the SAS(R) 9.3 Intelligence Platform: System Administration Guide.
7. Recover the SAS Metadata Repository data sets and Repository Manager as described in Step 2b: Use SAS Management Console to Recover the Metadata Repositories and the Repository Manager.

Step 2b: Use SAS Management Console to Recover the Metadata Repositories and the Repository Manager

1. Log on to SAS Management Console with the external user ID that you specified in step 5 in Step 1: Prepare to Perform the Recovery or step 5 in Step 2a: Manually Recover Metadata Server Configuration Files.

   If warning messages appear, respond as follows:

   Message	Response
   Connection Warning: "Connecting to a server that is paused for administration."	OK
   No Repositories Found: "No Repositories are present on the requested server. Would you like to add or register a repository now?"	No
   Error: "The connection to the SAS Metadata Server was broken."	OK

   When SAS Management Console opens, make sure that the correct domain and user ID appears in the lower right portion of the window.

2. On the Plug-ins tab, open Environment Manager ► Metadata Manager ► Metadata Utilities ► Server Backup.
    
3. In the Backup History panel, locate the backup from which you want to recover. If the backup is listed there, right-click the backup entry and select Recover from This Backup.

   If the backup does not appear in backup history, then right-click the Server Backup node on the Plug-ins tab, and select Recover from Alternate Location. (You will need to use this method if you followed the procedure in Step 2a: Manually Recover Metadata Server Configuration Files.)

4. Complete the recovery as described in Recovering the SAS Metadata Server in the SAS(R) 9.3 Intelligence Platform: System Administration Guide.

   To restore the maximum amount of SAS Metadata, use the Roll forward transactions option. If the SAS Metadata Server log indicates that the SAS Metadata Server was corrupted by a SAS Metadata transaction, then be sure to roll forward to a point in time prior to the problem transaction.

5. When the recovery process is complete, it is recommended that you use the Analyze and Repair Metadata tool before giving users access to the server.

   The Analyze and Repair tool is located in the Metadata Manager in SAS Management Console. When running this tool after a recovery, you must close SAS Management Console and then log on to it again. To use the tool, see Analyzing and Repairing Metadata in the SAS(R) 9.3 Intelligence Platform: System Administration Guide.

6. If you added an external unrestricted user to adminUsers.txt for purposes of the recovery (see step 5 in Step 1: Prepare to Perform the Recovery or step 5 in Step 2a: Manually Recover Metadata Server Configuration Files), you might want to delete that user from the file (or restore adminUsers.txt from a backup). You must then restart the SAS Metadata Server to apply the change.

Operating System and Release Information

Product Family	Product	System	Product Release		SAS Release
			Reported	Fixed*	Reported	Fixed*
SAS System	SAS Metadata Server	z/OS	9.3		9.3 TS1M0
		Microsoft® Windows® for x64	9.3		9.3 TS1M0
		Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition	9.3		9.3 TS1M0
		Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition	9.3		9.3 TS1M0
		Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition	9.3		9.3 TS1M0
		Microsoft Windows Server 2003 for x64	9.3		9.3 TS1M0
		Microsoft Windows Server 2008	9.3		9.3 TS1M0
		Microsoft Windows Server 2008 for x64	9.3		9.3 TS1M0
		Microsoft Windows XP Professional	9.3		9.3 TS1M0
		Windows 7 Enterprise 32 bit	9.3		9.3 TS1M0
		Windows 7 Enterprise x64	9.3		9.3 TS1M0
		Windows 7 Home Premium 32 bit	9.3		9.3 TS1M0
		Windows 7 Home Premium x64	9.3		9.3 TS1M0
		Windows 7 Professional 32 bit	9.3		9.3 TS1M0
		Windows 7 Professional x64	9.3		9.3 TS1M0
		Windows 7 Ultimate 32 bit	9.3		9.3 TS1M0
		Windows 7 Ultimate x64	9.3		9.3 TS1M0
		Windows Vista	9.3		9.3 TS1M0
		Windows Vista for x64	9.3		9.3 TS1M0
		64-bit Enabled AIX	9.3		9.3 TS1M0
		64-bit Enabled HP-UX	9.3		9.3 TS1M0
		64-bit Enabled Solaris	9.3		9.3 TS1M0
		HP-UX IPF	9.3		9.3 TS1M0
		Linux	9.3		9.3 TS1M0
		Linux for x64	9.3		9.3 TS1M0
		Solaris for x64	9.3		9.3 TS1M0

* 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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Recovering an Unresponsive SAS® Metadata Server 9.3

Type:	Usage Note
Priority:
Topic:	System Administration ==> Servers ==> Metadata

Date Modified:	2012-02-14 10:07:20
Date Created:	2011-07-05 09:30:55