Setting up Change Management :: SAS(R) 9.3 Intelligence Platform: Desktop Application Administration Guide

Overview of Change Management

The change management feature enables a team of SAS Data Integration Studio users to work simultaneously with a set of related metadata and avoid overwriting each other's changes. With change management, most users are restricted from adding or updating the metadata in a change-managed folder in the Folders tree. Authorized users, however, can add new metadata objects and check them in to the change-managed folder. They can also check out metadata objects from the change-managed folder in order to update them. The objects are locked so that no one else can update them as long as the objects are checked out. When the users are ready, they check in the objects to the change-managed folder, and the lock is released.

If a user is authorized to work in a change-managed folder, a Checkouts tree is added to his or her desktop in SAS Data Integration Studio. The Checkouts tree displays metadata in the user's project repository, which is an individual work area or play pen. Typically, each user has his or her own project repository. If more than one user were to connect to the same project repository, the users might overwrite each other's changes.

To set up change management, follow these steps:

Register SAS Data Integration Studio users on the metadata server if they are not registered already. For more information, see Administering SAS Management Console .
(Optional) Create a custom group and add the SAS Data Integration Studio users who are working with change management as members of this group. For example, you could create a group called Change Management Group. For more information, see Administering SAS Management Console . Creating this custom group makes it easier to specify metadata permissions for the change-managed folder. You can specify permissions for the change management group rather than individual users.
Create a change-managed folder in the Folders tree. For more information, see the next section.
Create a folder structure for project repositories on the file system.
Create a project repository for each user who works in the change-managed folder.
Have each user create a connection profile, connect to the metadata server, and select his or her project repository. To verify that change management is working, you might want to have each user check out a metadata object and check it back in. For more information about these tasks, see Administering Connection Profiles for Desktop Applications .

Create a Change-Managed Folder in the Folders Tree

Follow these steps to add a new folder in the Folders tree. Specify a special set of metadata permissions for that folder. This task is easier if you have already created a custom group and added the SAS Data Integration Studio users who work with change management as members of this group.

In SAS Management Console, right-click a parent folder in the Folders tree, such as SAS Folders, and select New Folder.
Specify a name for the new folder and click Finish to add the folder to the Folders tree.
Right-click the new folder and select Properties.
In the properties window, click the Authorization tab.
For users or groups who should not be authorized to work in the new folder, grant ReadMetadata permission, and deny other permissions.
For users or groups who should be authorized to work in the new folder, grant ReadMetadata and CheckInMetadata permissions, and deny other permissions.
The standard set of privileges that enable you to work in a change-managed folder do not enable you to perform administrative tasks such as the following:
- deploy a job for scheduling
- deploy a job as a stored process
- create a Web service from a stored process
- clear a project repository that you do not own
For administrators who need to perform these tasks, grant WriteMetadata and WriteMemberMetadata permissions.
When you are finished specifying permissions, click OK to save your changes to the Authorization tab.

You have now created a change-managed folder in the Folders tree.

Create a Folder Structure for Project Repositories on the File System

On the computer where the SAS Metadata Server is installed, create a folder structure for project repositories on the file system.

Each sub-folder under Projects contains the project repository for a user who is working with change management in SAS Data Integration Studio.

To create a folder structure for project repositories on the file system, follow these steps:

On the computer where the SAS Metadata Server is installed, go to the folder SAS-installation-directory\Lev1\SASMeta\MetadataServer\MetadataRepositories.
In the MetadataRepositories folder, a folder for the foundation repository is displayed. On the same level as the foundation folder, add a new folder called Projects.
Under the Projects folder, create a folder for each user who works with change management in SAS Data Integration Studio.

You are now ready to create project repositories for each user.

Create a Project Repository for Each User

Repeat these steps for each user who works in a change-managed folder. It is assumed that you have registered these users and have created an appropriate folder structure for project repositories.

In SAS Management Console, expand the Metadata Manager folder, and then expand the Active Server folder.
Right-click the Project Repositories folder and select New Project Repository.
In the Create New Project Repository Wizard, select a SAS Data Integration Studio user who works in a change-managed folder. Click Next.
Enter a name and an optional description of the project repository. Click Next.
Specify the full physical path to a project repository folder. Typically you make no other changes. Click Next.
On the last page of the wizard, click Finish.

An icon that represents the new repository is displayed under the Project Repositories folder.

After you create a project repository for a user, ask that user to create a connection profile. Use that profile to connect to a SAS Metadata Server, and select his or her project repository. You might have each user check out a metadata object and check it back in. This verifies that change management is operational.