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SPD Server

The Scalable Performance Data Server (SPD Server) is a client/server, multi-user data server designed to optimize storage and to speed the processing of large SAS data sets. SPD Server does this by parallelizing many of the SAS I/O functions such as WHERE processing and INDEX creation over multiple data partitions in the same way that the SPD Engine works. However, SPD Server extends parallel capabilities to include GROUP BY processing and SQL passthru. SPD Server requires an SMP machine and is designed to use all resources available on the machine to achieve maximum scalability. The maximum benefit with SPD Server is gained when it is run on a machine with:

• multiple cpus
• multiple I/O channels
• multiple disks
• large amount of data to be partitioned

In addition to parallel processing capabilities, SPD Server also provides security features including userid/password validation and ACL file security. It also provides backup and recovery facilities.

In order to use SPD Server you must invoke two sessions on the server machine: one to run a name server and one to run the actual data server. When a client connects to SPD Server through the use of a libname statement, a proxy SAS session (spdsbase) is automatically started to process all client requests. SPD Server 4 supports server sessions on HP-UX, Solaris, AIX, Compaq's Digital Unix, and Windows NT. The client applications can execute in sessions on the same or different machines. The client applications connect to the server using syntax on the libname statement. Therefore, once the server environment has been initiated, code modifications are limited to the libname statement(s) in the client application.

SPD Server was initially released in conjunction with Release 6.12 of the SAS System. SPD Server provides a high performance data store of very large SAS data sets. Therefore, it is particularly suited as part of a data warehousing solution where the SAS system is being used to construct, manage and analyze enterprise-wide datamarts.

For more information about the SPD Server product, click here.

We at SAS have created the Scalability Community to make you aware of the connectivity and scalability features and enhancements that you can leverage for your SAS installation. The success of this community depends on you. Send electronic mail to scalability@sas.com with your comments, requirements, and suggestions.