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Migration

Best Practices Migration with PROC MIGRATE

This collection of topics guides you through many typical migration tasks, such as installing SAS, migrating files, tuning the operating environment for optimal performance, validating the target environment, and introducing your organization's personnel and business processes to the target installation.

These instructions are like a superset from the combined knowledge of many individuals in development and customer support teams at SAS. The tips and suggestions come from real-world experiences with migration projects similar to your own; their value and validity can be trusted. Warnings and best practices appear throughout the instructions, but you can consider the information presented here, as a whole, to be a "best-practices migration."

The migration is grouped into five major phases. The phases are presented in chronological order. In other words, it is best to complete the phases in this order. Within each phase is a series of steps, also presented in a suggested chronological order. You can customize the steps to fit the particulars of your site.

1. Create Backups and Benchmarks
   1. Create an active or restorable backup image
   2. Design a validation plan and create benchmarks
2. Install SAS
   1. Set up the target operating environment
   2. Run the source software in the target environment
   3. Install SAS 9 and run SAS IQ
   4. Customize the installation
   5. Run SAS OQ
3. Migrate Files
   1. Update SAS programs and custom SAS applications
   2. Migrate data to SAS 9 format
4. Tune for Performance
5. Go Live

Many technical details are available in drill-down discussion and in links to other SAS online documentation.

Be sure to browse the topics in Planning Your Migration before you begin the migration, even if you are a single-desktop site. The information can answer many questions and improve your migration experience.

Terminology

source installation

the current installation of SAS, before you upgrade to the new release. Also, the operating environment from which you move or copy a SAS file.

target installation

the new installation. Also, the operating environment to which you move or copy a SAS file.

migrate a SAS site

to upgrade the software and implement it among the people who use it. You might also upgrade the computer hardware as part of the migration.

migrate a SAS file

to change a file to SAS 9 format while you copy from source to target installation.

move a file

to move or copy a file from source installation to target installation without migrating to SAS 9 format, which means you might encounter cross-release compatibility problems.

custom SAS application

a software application that customizes SAS to process data for a specific and regular use, such as for payroll, inventory, or billing. A custom application typically combines SAS analytics with a graphic user interface.