SAS Institute. The Power to Know

Add an OLE database connection using ArcCatalog

Because SAS and ArcGIS exchange data using an OLE protocol, each SAS library is treated as an OLE database. Therefore, to exchange data you must first add an OLE database connection to ArcGIS's list of database connections. Use ArcCatalog to do one of the following:

A list of SAS OLE DB connections that you define in ArcCatalog is presented to you in ArcMap, and you can choose one of these connections when you add data from, or export data to, a SAS data set.

Connect to a local SAS server

From within ArcCatalog do the following:

  1. Double-click Add OLE DB Connection.
  2. Select SAS IOM Data Provider 9.x from the Provider tab of the Data Link Properties window.
  3. Select the Connection tab and specify _local_ in the Data Source field.
    This specifies that the SAS libraries are on the same machine as ArcCatalog.
  4. Click OK to add an OLE DB Connection.odc entry to your Add Data window.
    Note: The default name for an OLE connection is OLE DB Connection.odc. Additional connections are identified by number, for example, OLE DB Connection(2).odc.
  5. Right-click OLE DB Connection.odc and select Connect from the pop-up menu.
Connect to an OLE Database

Connect to a remote SAS server

When you connect to a remote SAS server, SAS Bridge for ESRI makes a request to an Object Spawner on the server. The Object Spawner starts a SAS Object Server that listens for further requests from the SAS Bridge for ESRI.
To connect to a remote SAS server using ArcCatalog:

  1. Double-click Add OLE DB Connection.

  2. Select SAS IOM Data Provider 9.x from the Provider tab of the Data Link Properties window.
    Note: To connect to a remote SAS server, a SAS IOM Data Provider must already be running. If you cannot connect to the remote SAS server, contact your system administrator for assistance.

  3. Select the Connection tab and specify any name (other than _local_ ) in the Data Source field.
    The name appears on the Attribute Export dialog in ArcMap.

  4. Type your user ID and password.

  5. Identify your SAS server, making sure that the SAS Protocol is ProtocolBridge.Your system administrator should provide you with the necessary information. A list of SAS OLE DB connections that you define in ArcCatalog is presented to you, and you can choose one of these connections when you add data from, or export data to, a SAS data set.


  6. Click OK to add an OLE DB Connection entry to your catalog.
    Note: The default name for an OLE connection is OLE DB Connection.odc. Additional connections are identified by number, for example, OLE DB Connection(2).odc. You can rename a connection to something more easily recognizable by right-clicking on the name and selecting Rename.

  7. Right-click OLE DB Connection.odc and select Connect from the pop-up menu.
Connect to a remote SAS database