SUPPORT / SAMPLES & SAS NOTES
 

Support

Problem Note 58602: SAS® Metadata Server 9.4 reports an authentication error

DetailsHotfixAboutRate It

SAS Metadata Server reports an authentication error in the following two scenarios.

Scenario 1

SAS Metadata Server 9.4 might fail to start and the log file (SAS-configuration-directory\Lev1\SASMeta\MetadataServer\Logs\SASMeta_MetadataServer_date_nodename_pid.log) reports the following messages at the end of the file:

2016-07-06T14:28:05,223 DEBUG [00000007] :SYSTEM@CASTLESAS1 - Initializing CAS provider 2016-07-06T14:28:05,223 ERROR [00000007] :SYSTEM@CASTLESAS1 - Unable to authenticate due to missing environment variable: CAS_HOST. 2016-07-06T14:28:05,223 ERROR [00000007] :SYSTEM@CASTLESAS1 - Unable to load the authentication provider tkseccas.

The error occurs because the SAS-configuration-directory\Lev1\SASMeta\MetadataServer\adminUsers.txt file contains a user with CAS or cas as the Active Directory/LDAP domain. For example, you might encounter the error if the adminUsers.txt file looks similar to the following:

; This file contains a list of userids that, when connected ; to the SAS Metadata Server, are considered Administrators ; of the server. Administrators have a number of special ; privileges including, but not limited to: ; creating and deleting users ; starting, stopping, and pausing the server ; creating repositories ; ; Each line of this file contains a single UserID entry. ; The entries may be in the following forms: 'userid', ; 'domain\userid', and 'userid@domain'. ; A semicolon at the beginning of a line indicates that the line is ; not to be processed. ; ; *sasadm@saspw *CAS\user-ID

It is important to note that this SAS Metadata Server start-up error might occur during a deployment of SAS® 9.4, because the SAS® Deployment Wizard temporarily updates the adminUsers.txt file with the SAS Installer User account. If this account contains a CAS or cas as the domain, then the deployment might fail.

Scenario 2

A second scenario in which a similar error might occur is when the following two conditions are met:

  • The adminUsers.txt file does NOT contain a user with CAS or cas as the domain. In other words, you use the default adminUsers.txt file. In this case, SAS Metadata Server starts up normally and without error.
  • A logon is attempted from a client application such as SAS® Management Console or SAS® Enterprise Guide® using a user ID with CAS or cas as the domain. Here is an example user ID: cas\user-ID

In this scenario, the error reported to the client application includes this message:

Access denied. Unable to load extension: (tkseccas) Unable to load the authentication provider tkseccas. The application could not log on to the server "myhost.sas.com:8561". The user ID "cas\user-ID" or the password is incorrect.

The error reported to the metadata server log looks similar to the following:

2016-07-13T16:35:45,869 ERROR [00000901] :SYSTEM@MYHOST - Unable to authenticate due to missing environment variable: CAS_HOST. 2016-07-13T16:35:45,869 ERROR [00000901] :SYSTEM@MYHOST - Unable to load the authentication provider tkseccas. 2016-07-13T16:35:45,869 WARN [00000901] :SYSTEM@MYHOST - New client connection (12) rejected from server port 8561 for user cas\user-ID. Peer IP address and port are [::ffff:127.0.0.1]:54645 for APPNAME=SASManagementConsole 904100. 2016-07-13T16:35:45,870 INFO [00000901] :SYSTEM@MYHOST - Client connection 12 closed.

Workaround

The workaround for the issue is to remove the user containing a domain of CAS or cas from the adminUsers.txt file. Then, you must change the name of the Active Directory/LDAP domain to something other than CAS or cas.

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

Post-Installation Instructions

After you install the hot fix, the message "Unable to load the authentication provider tkseccas" no longer occurs. However, the following ERROR message is still logged. This message is expected and can be ignored:

2016-07-15T09:56:20,751 ERROR [00000008] :sas - Unable to authenticate due to missing environment variable: CAS_HOST.


Operating System and Release Information

Product FamilyProductSystemProduct ReleaseSAS Release
ReportedFixed*ReportedFixed*
SAS SystemSAS Metadata ServerMicrosoft® Windows® for x649.49.4_M49.4 TS1M4
Microsoft Windows 8 Enterprise 32-bit9.49.4_M49.4 TS1M4
Microsoft Windows 8 Enterprise x649.49.4_M49.4 TS1M4
Microsoft Windows 8 Pro 32-bit9.49.4_M49.4 TS1M4
Microsoft Windows 8 Pro x649.49.4_M49.4 TS1M4
Microsoft Windows 8.1 Enterprise 32-bit9.49.4_M49.4 TS1M4
Microsoft Windows 8.1 Enterprise x649.49.4_M49.4 TS1M4
Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro 32-bit9.49.4_M49.4 TS1M4
Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro x649.49.4_M49.4 TS1M4
Microsoft Windows 109.49.4_M49.4 TS1M4
Microsoft Windows 95/989.4
Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server9.4
Microsoft Windows 2000 Datacenter Server9.4
Microsoft Windows 2000 Server9.4
Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional9.4
Microsoft Windows NT Workstation9.4
Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition9.4
Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition9.4
Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition9.4
Microsoft Windows Server 2003 for x649.4
Microsoft Windows Server 20089.49.4_M49.4 TS1M4
Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R29.49.4_M49.4 TS1M4
Microsoft Windows Server 2008 for x649.49.4_M49.4 TS1M4
Microsoft Windows Server 2012 Datacenter9.49.4_M49.4 TS1M4
Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter9.49.4_M49.4 TS1M4
Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 Std9.49.4_M49.4 TS1M4
Microsoft Windows Server 2012 Std9.49.4_M49.4 TS1M4
Microsoft Windows XP Professional9.4
Windows 7 Enterprise 32 bit9.49.4_M49.4 TS1M4
Windows 7 Enterprise x649.49.4_M49.4 TS1M4
Windows 7 Home Premium 32 bit9.49.4_M49.4 TS1M4
Windows 7 Home Premium x649.49.4_M49.4 TS1M4
Windows 7 Professional 32 bit9.49.4_M49.4 TS1M4
Windows 7 Professional x649.49.4_M49.4 TS1M4
Windows 7 Ultimate 32 bit9.49.4_M49.4 TS1M4
Windows 7 Ultimate x649.49.4_M49.4 TS1M4
Windows Millennium Edition (Me)9.4
Windows Vista9.4
Windows Vista for x649.4
64-bit Enabled AIX9.49.4_M49.4 TS1M4
64-bit Enabled Solaris9.49.4_M49.4 TS1M4
HP-UX IPF9.49.4_M49.4 TS1M4
Linux for x649.49.4_M49.4 TS1M4
Solaris for x649.49.4_M49.4 TS1M4
* 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.