SAS Metadata Server

About the SAS Metadata Server

The SAS Metadata Server is a multi-user server that enables users to read metadata from and write metadata to one or more SAS Metadata Repositories. This server is a centralized resource for storing, managing, and delivering metadata for all SAS applications across the enterprise.

About the Metadata in the SAS Metadata Repository

Here are examples of the types of metadata objects that can be stored in the SAS Metadata Repository:
  • users
  • groups of users
  • data libraries
  • tables
  • jobs
  • cubes
  • documents
  • information maps
  • reports
  • stored processes
  • dashboards
  • analytical models
  • SAS Workspace Servers
  • SAS Pooled Workspace Servers
  • SAS Stored Process Servers
  • SAS OLAP Servers
A metadata object is a set of attributes that describe a resource. Here are some examples:
  • When a user creates a report in SAS Web Report Studio, a metadata object is created to describe the new report.
  • When a user creates a data warehouse in SAS Data Integration Studio, a metadata object is created to describe each table included in the warehouse.
  • When a system administrator defines a new instance of a SAS server, a metadata object is created to describe the server.
The specific attributes that a metadata object includes vary depending on the resource that is being described. For example, a table object can include attributes for the table's name and description, path specification, host type, and associated SAS Application Server.
The SAS Metadata Server uses the SAS Open Metadata Architecture, which provide common metadata services to SAS and other applications. Third parties can access metadata in the SAS Metadata Server by using an application programming interface (API) that is supplied by SAS. SAS Metadata Bridges are available to support metadata exchange with a variety of sources, including the Common Warehouse Metadata Model (CWM).

How the Metadata Server Controls System Access

The SAS Metadata Server plays an important role in the security of the SAS Intelligence Platform. It controls system access in the following ways:
SAS identities
For accountability, we recommend that you create an individual SAS identity for each person who uses the SAS environment. These identities enable you to make access distinctions and audit individual actions in the metadata layer. The identities also provide personal folders for each user. The metadata server maintains its own copy of each user ID for the purpose of establishing a SAS identity.
access controls
You can define metadata-based access controls that supplement protections provided by the host environment and other systems. The metadata-based controls enable you to manage access to OLAP data, to relational data (depending on the method by which the data is accessed), and to almost any metadata object (for example, reports, data definitions, information maps, jobs, stored processes, and server definitions).
roles
You can assign users and groups to roles that determine whether they can use application features such as menu items, plug-ins, and buttons. Roles are designed to make application functionality available to the appropriate types of users. For example, role memberships determine whether a user can see the Server Manager plug-in (in SAS Management Console), compare data (in SAS Enterprise Guide), or directly open an information map (in SAS Web Report Studio). Applications that support roles include the SAS Add-In for Microsoft Office, SAS Enterprise Guide, SAS Forecast Studio, SAS Management Console, and SAS Web Report Studio.
For more information about security in the SAS Intelligence Platform, see Security Overview.

How Metadata Is Created and Administered

Metadata can be loaded to the SAS Metadata Server in several ways:
  • The configuration process for the SAS Intelligence Platform automatically creates and stores metadata objects for the resources, such as servers, that are part of your initial installation.
  • SAS Metadata Bridges enable you to import metadata from a variety of sources, including market-leading design tool and repository vendors and the Common Warehouse Metamodel (CWM).
  • When users create content such as reports, information maps, and data warehouses with the SAS Intelligence Platform applications, these applications create and store metadata objects describing the content.
  • System administrators use the SAS Management Console client application to directly create metadata for system resources such as servers, users, and user groups.
System administrators also use SAS Management Console for general metadata administration tasks, including backing up the metadata server, creating new repositories, promoting metadata objects, and maintaining authorization information and access rules for all types of resources.

How Business Metadata Is Organized

A hierarchical folder structure is used to organize metadata for business intelligence content such as libraries, tables, jobs, cubes, information maps, and reports. The folder structure includes personal folders for individual users and a folder for shared data. Within this overall structure, you can create a customized folder structure that meets the information management, data sharing, and security requirements of your organization.
The Folders tab of SAS Management Console displays all SAS folders that the user has permission to view. Most other client applications display SAS folders only if they contain content that is relevant to the application, subject to the user's permissions. Import and export wizards in SAS Management Console, SAS Data Integration Studio, and SAS OLAP Cube Studio enable you to easily move or promote content from one part of the SAS Folders tree to another, or from a test environment to a production environment.
For more information about the SAS Metadata Server, see the SAS Intelligence Platform: System Administration Guide.
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