Review Library Access in SAS Enterprise Guide

When you create a library using SAS Management Console, the library is defined on the SAS Metadata Server, and the library assignment is shared across SAS servers. In SAS Enterprise Guide, access to registered libraries is determined in part by the method that is used to assign those libraries.

To ensure appropriate library access for each SAS Enterprise Guide client, follow these steps:

Start SAS Enterprise Guide and select ToolsSAS Enterprise Guide Explorer.
In the left pane, expand Servers and select a SAS Application Server such as SASApp.
After you connect to the server, expand the Libraries node to display the libraries that are registered in metadata. Libraries with a white library icon are not pre-assigned to a server in a server initialization command. Libraries that are pre-assigned, such as Work, have a yellow library icon.
Right-click one of the libraries that you can access from that client, and select Properties.
If the library is pre-assigned, review the library's path and LIBNAME statement options, and then click Close.
If the library is not pre-assigned, the Library Properties dialog box appears. Select Assignment.
Review the library assignment method based on the access requirements of the SAS Enterprise Guide client and the access controls on the registered libraries. The library assignment methods are defined as follows:

SAS Enterprise Guide

assigns the library based on the engine and LIBNAME statement options that are defined on the SAS Metadata Server. When you choose this library assignment method, SAS Enterprise Guide ignores table and column metadata access control (Read, Write, Create, Delete).

Use this library access method when the client requires Write access to the library, and when the tables in the library are not subject to access control. If Write access to a registered library is not required, use Metadata Library Engine.

Write access to registered libraries should be closely monitored because the SAS code that is generated by SAS Enterprise Guide does not automatically synchronize metadata. Changes to columns are written into the physical table, but are not written into the table metadata.

Note that you can edit the code that is generated by SAS Enterprise Guide to include the METALIB procedure, which can be used to update table metadata.

SAS Server

assigns the library by merging the library definition from the current SAS server with the library metadata that is stored on the SAS Metadata Server. Metadata access control for tables and columns is not enforced. The library is assumed to be pre-assigned on the SAS server using an AUTOEXEC or the METAAUTOINIT process that runs when the server is initialized.

Use this library access method to assign a library consistently across clients. The clients include SAS Enterprise Guide, the SAS Add-In for Microsoft Office, and the SAS Stored Process Server.

When you create a new library using SAS Enterprise Guide and select SAS Server as the library assignment method, the new library is not registered on the SAS Metadata Server. Use SAS Management Console to register these libraries.

Metadata Library Engine

assigns the library using the metadata LIBNAME engine. By default, the library is Read-Only. You cannot add or create new tables, and SAS Enterprise Guide displays registered tables only. Use this library assignment method to protect the referential integrity of the table metadata. This method is recommended for OLAP cube libraries.

To enable Write access at the library level and enforce metadata access control at the table and column level, deselect the check box labeled Show only tables with metadata definitions. With this library access method, SAS Enterprise Guide displays all of the tables in the library, including any tables that are not registered.

Note that when you create a new library and specify the Metadata Library Engine, the library is automatically registered on the SAS Metadata Server.
If the assignment method for the selected library does not meet the needs of the SAS Enterprise Guide client, use SAS Management Console. SAS Management Console is used to change the library assignment, create new libraries, or change access permissions.
At a minimum, make sure that you review the assignment methods for all of the registered libraries that require Write access from SAS Enterprise Guide clients.
It might be necessary to ask SAS Enterprise Guide users to contact you before they change a library assignment method.

Note that the library assignment methods that you select in SAS Enterprise Guide also apply to the SAS Add-In for Microsoft Office. For more information about the SAS Add-In for Microsoft Office, see Administering the SAS Add-In for Microsoft Office.

For information about metadata access control, see the "Authorization Model" chapter of the SAS Intelligence Platform: Security Administration Guide.

For information about pre-assigned libraries, see the "Assigning Libraries" chapter in the SAS Intelligence Platform: Data Administration Guide.