Glossary: Glossary

Glossary

access control template: a reusable named authorization pattern that you can apply to multiple resources. An access control template consists of a list of users and groups and indicates, for each user or group, whether permissions are granted or denied. Short form: ACT.
Application Response Measurement: the name of an application programming interface that was developed by an industry partnership and which is used to monitor the availability and performance of software applications. ARM monitors the application tasks that are important to a particular business. Short form: ARM.
ARM: See Application Response Measurement.
authentication: the process of verifying the identity of a person or process within the guidelines of a specific authorization policy.
authentication provider: a software component that is used for identifying and authenticating users. For example, an LDAP server or the host operating system can provide authentication.
authorization: the process of determining which users have which permissions for which resources. The outcome of the authorization process is an authorization decision that either permits or denies a specific action on a specific resource, based on the requesting user's identity and group memberships.
capability: an application feature that is under role-based management. Typically, a capability corresponds to a menu item or button. For example, a Report Creation capability might correspond to a New Report menu item in a reporting application. Capabilities are assigned to roles.
client-side pooling: a configuration in which the client application maintains a collection of reusable workspace server processes. See also puddle.
credentials: the user ID and password for an account that exists in some authentication provider.
cube: a logical set of data that is organized and structured in a hierarchical, multidimensional arrangement. A cube is a directory structure, not a single file. A cube includes measures, and it can have numerous dimensions and levels of data.
data mart: a collection of data that is optimized for a specialized set of users who have a finite set of questions and reports.
data warehouse: a collection of data that is extracted from one or more sources for the purpose of query, reporting, and analysis. In contrast to a data mart, a data warehouse is better suited for storing large amounts of data that originates in other corporate applications or which is extracted from external data sources such as public databases.
database management system: a software application that enables you to create and manipulate data that is stored in the form of databases. Short form: DBMS. See also relational database management system.
database server: a server that provides relational database services to a client. Oracle, DB/2 and Teradata are examples of relational databases.
encryption: the act or process of converting data to a form that only the intended recipient can read or use.
HTTP: See HyperText Transfer Protocol.
HyperText Transfer Protocol: a protocol for transferring data to the Internet. HTTP provides a way for servers and Web clients to communicate. It is based on the TCP/IP protocol. Short form: HTTP.
identity: See metadata identity.
information map: a collection of data items and filters that provides a user-friendly view of a data source. When you use an information map to query data for business needs, you do not have to understand the structure of the underlying data source or know how to program in a query language.
Integrated Object Model: the set of distributed object interfaces that make SAS software features available to client applications when SAS is executed as an object server. Short form: IOM.
Integrated Object Model server: a SAS object server that is launched in order to fulfill client requests for IOM services. Short form: IOM server.
Integrated Windows authentication: a Microsoft technology that facilitates use of authentication protocols such as Kerberos. In the SAS implementation, all participating components must be in the same Windows domain or in domains that trust each other.
internal account: a SAS account that you can create as part of a user definition. Internal accounts are intended for metadata administrators and some service identities; these accounts are not intended for regular users.
IOM: See Integrated Object Model.
IOM server: See Integrated Object Model server.
Java Development Kit: a software development environment that is available from Sun Microsystems, Inc. The JDK includes a Java Runtime Environment (JRE), a compiler, a debugger, and other tools for developing Java applets and applications. Short form: JDK.
Java RMI: See remote method invocation.
Java Virtual Machine: a program that interprets Java programming code so that the code can be executed by the operating system on a computer. The JVM can run on either the client or the server. The JVM is the main software component that makes Java programs portable across platforms. A JVM is included with JDKs and JREs from Sun Microsystems, as well as with most Web browsers. Short form: JVM.
JVM: See Java Virtual Machine.
LDAP: See Lightweight Directory Access Protocol.
Lightweight Directory Access Protocol: a protocol that is used for accessing directories or folders. LDAP is based on the X.500 standard, but it is simpler and, unlike X.500, it supports TCP/IP. Short form: LDAP.
load balancing: for IOM bridge connections, a program that runs in the object spawner and that uses an algorithm to distribute work across object server processes on the same or separate machines in a cluster.
logical server: in the SAS Metadata Server, the second-level object in the metadata for SAS servers. A logical server specifies one or more of a particular type of server component, such as one or more SAS Workspace Servers.
metadata: data about data. For example, metadata typically describes resources that are shared by multiple applications within an organization. These resources can include software, servers, data sources, network connections, and so on. Metadata can also be used to define application users and to manage users' access to resources. Maintaining metadata in a central location is more efficient than specifying and maintaining the same information separately for each application.
metadata identity: a metadata object that represents an individual user or a group of users in a SAS metadata environment. Each individual and group that accesses secured resources on a SAS Metadata Server should have a unique metadata identity within that server.
metadata LIBNAME engine: the SAS engine that processes and augments data that is identified by metadata. The metadata engine retrieves information about a target SAS data library from metadata objects in a specified metadata repository.
metadata object: a set of attributes that describe a table, a server, a user, or another resource on a network. The specific attributes that a metadata object includes vary depending on which metadata model is being used.
metadata server: a server that provides metadata management services to one or more client applications. A SAS Metadata Server is an example.
middle tier: in a SAS business intelligence system, the architectural layer in which Web applications and related services execute. The middle tier receives user requests, applies business logic and business rules, interacts with processing servers and data servers, and returns information to users.
multidimensional database: another term for cube. Short form: MDDB. See also cube.
object spawner: a program that instantiates object servers that are using an IOM bridge connection. The object spawner listens for incoming client requests for IOM services. When the spawner receives a request from a new client, it launches an instance of an IOM server to fulfill the request. Depending on which incoming TCP/IP port the request was made on, the spawner either invokes the administrator interface or processes a request for a UUID (Universal Unique Identifier).
OLAP: See online analytical processing.
OLAP schema: a group of cubes. A cube is assigned to an OLAP schema when it is created, and an OLAP schema is assigned to a SAS OLAP Server when the server is defined in the metadata. A SAS OLAP Server can access only the cubes that are in its assigned OLAP schema.
online analytical processing: a software technology that enables users to dynamically analyze data that is stored in multidimensional database (MDDB) tables. Short form: OLAP.
parallel I/O: a method of input and output that takes advantage of multiple CPUs and multiple controllers, with multiple disks per controller to read or write data in independent threads.
parallel processing: a method of processing that uses multiple CPUs to process independent threads of an application's computations. See also threading.
permission: the type of access that a user or group has to a resource. The permission defines what the user or group can do with the resource. Examples of permissions are ReadMetadata and WriteMetadata.
plug-in: a file that modifies, enhances, or extends the capabilities of an application program. The application program must be designed to accept plug-ins, and the plug-ins must meet design criteria specified by the developers of the application program. In SAS Management Console, a plug-in is a JAR file that is installed in the SAS Management Console directory to provide a specific administrative function. The plug-ins enable users to customize SAS Management Console to include only the functions that are needed.
puddle: a group of servers that are started and run using the same login credentials. Each puddle can also allow a group of clients to access the servers. See also client-side pooling.
relational database management system: a database management system that organizes and accesses data according to relationships between data items. The main characteristic of a relational database management system is the two-dimensional table. Examples of relational database management systems are DB2, Oracle, SYBASE, and Microsoft SQL Server.
remote method invocation: a Java programming feature that provides for remote communication between programs by enabling an object that is running in one Java Virtual Machine (JVM) to invoke methods on an object that is running in another JVM, possibly on a different host. Short form: RMI. See also Java Virtual Machine.
RMI: See remote method invocation.
role: a set of capabilities. In some applications, certain actions are available only to users or groups that have a particular role.
SAS Application Server: in the SAS Intelligence Platform, a logical entity that represents the SAS server tier. This logical entity contains specific servers (for example, a SAS Workspace Server and a SAS Stored Process Server) that execute SAS code. A SAS Application Server has relationships with other metadata objects. For example, a SAS library can be assigned to a SAS Application Server. When a client application needs to access that library, the client submits code to the SAS Application Server to which the library is assigned.
SAS Content Server: a server that stores digital content (such as documents, reports, and images) that is created and used by SAS client applications. To interact with the server, clients use WebDAV-based protocols for access, versioning, collaboration, security, and searching.
SAS data set: a file whose contents are in one of the native SAS file formats. There are two types of SAS data sets: SAS data files and SAS data views. SAS data files contain data values in addition to descriptor information that is associated with the data. SAS data views contain only the descriptor information plus other information that is required for retrieving data values from other SAS data sets or from files whose contents are in other software vendors' file formats. See also descriptor information.
SAS Foundation Services: a set of core infrastructure services that programmers can use in developing distributed applications that are integrated with the SAS platform. These services provide basic underlying functions that are common to many applications. These functions include making client connections to SAS application servers, dynamic service discovery, user authentication, profile management, session context management, metadata and content repository access, activity logging, event management, information publishing, and stored process execution. See also service.
SAS Information Map: See information map.
SAS Management Console: a Java application that provides a single user interface for performing SAS administrative tasks.
SAS Metadata Repository: one or more files that store metadata about application elements. Users connect to a SAS Metadata Server and use the SAS Open Metadata Interface to read metadata from or write metadata to one or more SAS Metadata Repositories. The metadata types in a SAS Metadata Repository are defined by the SAS Metadata Model.
SAS Metadata Server: a multi-user server that enables users to read metadata from or write metadata to one or more SAS Metadata Repositories. The SAS Metadata Server uses the Integrated Object Model (IOM), which is provided with SAS Integration Technologies, to communicate with clients and with other servers.
SAS OLAP Server: a SAS server that provides access to multidimensional data. The data is queried using the multidimensional expressions (MDX) language.
SAS Open Metadata Architecture: a general-purpose metadata management facility that provides metadata services to SAS applications. The SAS Open Metadata Architecture enables applications to exchange metadata, which makes it easier for these applications to work together.
SAS Stored Process: a SAS program that is stored in a central location and that can be executed from the SAS Information Delivery Portal at the user's request. When a stored process is executed, it creates a report that includes the most current data that is available. Stored processes can display input forms that enable users to customize the contents of reports.
SAS Stored Process Server: a SAS IOM server that is launched in order to fulfill client requests for SAS Stored Processes. See also IOM server.
SAS Table Server: a data access server that supports the capabilities provided by SAS Shared Services for the SAS BI Dashboard, SAS Web Report Studio, and other SAS solutions.
SAS token authentication: a process in which the metadata server generates and verifies SAS identity tokens to provide single sign-on to other SAS servers. Each token is a single-use, proprietary software representation of an identity.
SAS Web Infrastructure Platform: a collection of middle-tier services and applications that provide infrastructure and integration features that are shared by SAS Web applications and other HTTP clients.
SAS Workspace Server: a SAS IOM server that is launched in order to fulfill client requests for IOM workspaces. See also IOM server and workspace.
SAS/CONNECT server: a server that provides SAS/CONNECT services to a client. When SAS Data Integration Studio generates code for a job, it uses SAS/CONNECT software to submit code to remote computers. SAS Data Integration Studio can also use SAS/CONNECT software for interactive access to remote libraries.
SAS/SHARE server: the result of an execution of the SERVER procedure, which is part of SAS/SHARE software. A server runs in a separate SAS session that services users' SAS sessions by controlling and executing input and output requests to one or more SAS libraries.
SASProprietary algorithm: a fixed encoding algorithm that is included with Base SAS software. The SASProprietary algorithm requires no additional SAS product licenses. It provides a medium level of security.
server-side pooling: a configuration in which a SAS object spawner maintains a collection of reusable workspace server processes that are available for clients. The usage of servers in this pool is governed by the authorization rules that are set on the servers in the SAS metadata.
service: one or more application components that an authorized user or application can call at any time to provide results that conform to a published specification. For example, network services transmit data or provide conversion of data in a network, database services provide for the storage and retrieval of data in a database, and Web services interact with each other on the World Wide Web. See also SAS Foundation Services.
single sign-on: an authentication model that enables users to access a variety of computing resources without being repeatedly prompted for their user IDs and passwords. For example, single sign-on can enable a user to access SAS servers that run on different platforms without interactively providing the user's ID and password for each platform. Single sign-on can also enable someone who is using one application to launch other applications based on the authentication that was performed when the user initially logged on.
SMP: See symmetric multiprocessing.
SPD Server: a SAS Scalable Performance Data Server. An SPD Server restructures data in order to enable multiple threads, running in parallel, to read and write massive amounts of data efficiently.
stored process: See SAS Stored Process.
Structured Query Language: a standardized, high-level query language that is used in relational database management systems to create and manipulate database management system objects. Short form: SQL.
symmetric multiprocessing: a hardware and software architecture that can improve the speed of I/O and processing. An SMP machine has multiple CPUs and a thread-enabled operating system. An SMP machine is usually configured with multiple controllers and with multiple disk drives per controller. Short form: SMP.
theme: a collection of specifications (for example, colors, fonts, and font styles) and graphics that control the appearance of an application.
thread: a single path of execution of a process that runs on a core on a CPU.
thread-enabled operating system: an operating system that can coordinate symmetric access by multiple CPUs to a shared main memory space. This coordinated access enables threads from the same process to share data very efficiently.
threading: a high-performance technology for either data processing or data I/O in which a task is divided into threads that are executed concurrently on multiple cores on one or more CPUs.
transformation: in SAS Data Integration Studio, a metadata object that specifies how to extract data, transform data, or load data into data stores. Each transformation that you specify in a process flow diagram generates or retrieves SAS code. You can specify user-written code in the metadata for any transformation in a process flow diagram.
Web application: an application that is accessed via a Web browser over a network such as the Internet or an intranet. SAS Web applications are Java Enterprise Edition (JEE) applications that are delivered via Web application archive (WAR) files. The applications can depend on Java and non-Java Web technologies.
Web authentication: a configuration in which users of Web applications and Web services are verified at the Web perimeter and the metadata server trusts that verification.
Web browser: a software application that is used to present Web content. To accomplish this task, the browser submits URL (Uniform Resource Locator) requests to a Web server and handles any results that the request generates.
Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning: a set of extensions to the HTTP protocol that enables users to collaboratively edit and manage files on remote Web servers. Short form: WebDAV.
WebDAV: See Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning.

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