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Migration

Peaceful Coexistence: Multiple SAS® Releases

It is possible to run multiple SAS®9 releases simultaneously on the same computer. It is also possible to run SAS 9 on the same computer as SAS 8.2. This topic lists all known issues, to help you avoid any conflicts.

Known Issues for Coexistence

• Data sets and other SAS files: SAS strives wherever possible to support cross-release compatibility.
  • Use the interactive Compatibility Calculator to determine whether you can run your existing SAS files in a newer release without migrating them to the new format (support.sas.com/rnd/migration/planning/files/calculator/).
  • If needed, you can regress a file to a previous version (support.sas.com/rnd/migration/planning/files/regression.html).
  • A few optional SAS file features make files incompatible with earlier releases (support.sas.com/rnd/migration/planning/files/forward.html).
  • It is recommended to not store files from multiple releases in the same library. The file extension remains the same as it has been since SAS 8.2. Therefore you could accidentally overwrite an existing file with the same name that was created under another release. Read about this and other details involved in maintaining files from different releases (support.sas.com/rnd/migration/planning/files/mixed.html).
  • If you make a copy of a data set to test the new release of SAS and the data set is live (that is, continually updated), then you must either update the two data sets concurrently or designate one data set to be frozen and later discarded.
  
  
• Syntax (PROCs, DATA steps, macros, and so forth): You can use SAS or SCL code across multiple releases. However, behavior can change in later releases, and new syntax is introduced that is not supported in earlier releases. Research the known issues for Base SAS and other SAS software (support.sas.com/rnd/migration/planning/files/index.html).
  
  
• Installation and configuration:
  • If you are installing two or more releases, install the previous release first. Otherwise, you might run into problems with the shared files directory.
  • Install multiple releases in separate locations on the machine.
  • Make sure the multiple releases use different TCP/IP port numbers.
  • It is recommended that you use the SAS configuration file (sasv8.cfg or sasv9.cfg) to separate the locations of SASWORK.
  • You can add new orders within one release to a single SAS Software Depot, but do not mix multiple releases in one Software Depot. For example, do not add a SAS 9.3 order to a SAS 9.2 Software Depot.
  • If you are migrating a metadata-based deployment to a new release, use the same installer account and administrative accounts for both deployments to avoid permission issues.
  
  
• Operating environment:
  • Some operating environments are no longer supported in later releases.
  • Updates made to an operating environment for SAS system requirements might conflict with earlier releases, although this has not been reported (support.sas.com/documentation/installcenter/).
  • Running two versions of SAS on a machine might require additional disk space or CPU time.
  
  
• Invoking SAS:
  • You can run multiple versions simultaneously in batch.
  • You can run multiple versions simultaneously in interactive sessions from the SAS windowing environment (aka Display Manager).
  • The SAS command can be set to one or the other release of SAS by the operating environment. This setting might be done by search paths, registry settings, or operating environment conventions. Take care when invoking SAS to ensure that you are getting the release of SAS that you want.
  • Encoded passwords used in the LIBNAME statement and created by the PWENCODE procedure for SAS®9 do not work in SAS 8.2 programs.
  • SAS environment variables can differ between SAS releases. Failure to set the environment can result in errors, including incorrect user-ID authentication with the SAS Metadata Server. A recommended solution is to write a script that sets the environment variables when SAS is invoked. Here is a sample environment-setting program for UNIX, provided by a customer:

    PATH=/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/etc:/usr/sbin:/usr/ucb:/usr/bin/X11:/sbin:$HOME:.
    export SASROOT=/usr/local/sas/sas913
    export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/sas:$SASROOT:$HOME/bin
    

Product-Specific Guidelines

SAS has developed coexistence guidelines for selected products:

• SAS/ACCESS software
  (support.sas.com/rnd/migration/planning/software/access.html)
• SAS Add-In for Microsoft Office
  (support.sas.com/rnd/migration/planning/software/amo.html)
• SAS AppDev Studio
  (support.sas.com/rnd/migration/planning/software/appdev.html)
• SAS BI Dashboard
  (support.sas.com/rnd/migration/planning/software/bidash.html)
• SAS/CONNECT or SAS/SHARE software
  (support.sas.com/rnd/migration/planning/software/shareconnect.html#cam)
• SAS Data Integration Studio
  (support.sas.com/rnd/migration/planning/software/etlstatement.html)
• SAS Enterprise Guide
  (support.sas.com/rnd/migration/planning/software/entguide.html)
• SAS Information Delivery Portal
  (support.sas.com/rnd/migration/planning/software/portal.html)
• SAS Information Map Studio
  (support.sas.com/rnd/migration/planning/software/infomapstudio.html)
• SAS Integration Technologies
  (support.sas.com/rnd/migration/planning/software/inttech.html)
• SAS Intelligence Platform and Business Intelligence
  (support.sas.com/rnd/migration/planning/software/bi.html)
• SAS/IntrNet software
  (support.sas.com/rnd/migration/planning/software/intrnet.html)
• SAS OLAP Cube Studio
  (support.sas.com/rnd/migration/planning/software/olapcubestudio.html)
• SAS OLAP Server
  (support.sas.com/rnd/migration/planning/software/mddb.html)
• SAS/Warehouse Administrator
  (support.sas.com/rnd/migration/planning/software/etlstatement.html)
• SAS Web Parts for Microsoft SharePoint
  (support.sas.com/rnd/migration/planning/software/webpartsshare.html)
• SAS Web Report Studio
  (support.sas.com/rnd/migration/planning/software/wrs.html)

Any new information will be made available from this page. If you encounter problems in your deployment, please contact SAS Technical Support (support.sas.com/ctx/supportform/index.jsp) for assistance.