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Monitoring the Activity of SAS Servers

Using SAS Management Console to Monitor SAS Servers

About SAS Management Console's Server Management Features

You can use SAS Management Console to monitor the activity of SAS servers, including the metadata server, object spawners, OLAP servers, pooled workspace servers, stored process servers, table servers, and workspace servers. You can view the following kinds of information:

This information is displayed on tabs in SAS Management Console, as shown in the following example:

[Server monitoring in SAS Management Console]

You can also use the server management features to dynamically change logging levels and some server properties.

Summary of Steps for Using SAS Management Console Server Monitoring

To use the server management features of SAS Management Console, follow the procedures that are described in these topics:

  1. Obtain the Appropriate User Credentials, and Clear Cached Credentials (If Necessary)

  2. Use SAS Management Console to Connect to Servers and Display Server Monitoring Information

  3. Use the Server Manager Tabs to Obtain Monitoring Information and to Adjust Logging Levels (If Needed)

  4. Return Logging to Normal Levels, Disconnect from the Servers, and Stop Displaying Log Messages

Obtain the Appropriate User Credentials, and Clear Cached Credentials (If Necessary)

To perform server monitoring in SAS Management Console, you must have the appropriate user credentials. To determine what credentials are required for each group of tasks, see Who Can Do What in the Server Manager Plug-in.

If you attempt to connect to a server or spawner and you are denied access, make sure you have the appropriate credentials. After your credentials are updated, be sure to clear the credentials cache before you try to connect again. To clear the credentials cache, click File [arrow] Clear Credentials Cache in SAS Management Console.

Use SAS Management Console to Connect to Servers and Display Server Monitoring Information

To monitor an instance of a server or spawner, you must establish a connection. Follow these steps:

  1. Log on to SAS Management Console as a user with the appropriate credentials (see Who Can Do What in the Server Manager Plug-in.

  2. On the Plug-ins tab, expand the Server Manager node and the application server node (for example, SASApp or SASMeta).

  3. Expand the node for the logical server that you want to monitor.

    The instances of that server that have been defined are displayed in the server tree. When you highlight a server instance in the tree, the right pane displays the available connections, as well as the port and the host machine for each connection.

  4. To connect to the metadata server, an OLAP server, or a table server and display monitoring information:

    1. In the Server Manager tree, right-click the server instance that you want to monitor.

    2. Click Connect.

      The following server monitoring tabs become active: Clients, Options, Loggers, and Log. For OLAP servers and table servers, a Sessions tab also appears.

      Note:   If some tabs are disabled, then you need additional user credentials. See Who Can Do What in the Server Manager Plug-in.  [cautionend]

      To use the information on the tabs, see Use the Server Manager Tabs to Obtain Monitoring Information and to Adjust Logging Levels (If Needed).

  5. To connect to a workspace server, pooled workspace server, or stored process server and display monitoring information, follow these steps:

    1. In the Server Manager tree, expand the node for the server instance that you want to monitor.

      The server's available connections are displayed in the server tree and in the right pane.

    2. In the Server Manager tree, highlight a connection and click Connect.

      For each process that is active for that connection, the right pane displays the process ID, the process owner, and the port, as shown in this example:

      [Process tab in SAS Management Console ]

    3. In the Server Manager tree, expand the node for the connection that you are working with.

      The active processes for the connection are displayed in the tree.

    4. In the Server Manager tree, highlight the process that you want to monitor, as shown in this example:

      [Process selected in Server Manager tree]

      The following server monitoring tabs become active: Clients, Options, and Loggers. For stored process servers, the Sessions and Log tabs also become active.

      Note:   If some tabs are disabled, then you need additional user credentials. See Who Can Do What in the Server Manager Plug-in.  [cautionend]

      To use the information on the tabs, see Use the Server Manager Tabs to Obtain Monitoring Information and to Adjust Logging Levels (If Needed).

  6. To connect to an instance of the object spawner and display monitoring information, follow these steps:

    1. On the Plug-ins tab, expand the Server Manager node and the Object Spawner node.

    2. Right-click the object spawner instance that you want to administer, and click Connect.

      The following server monitoring tabs become active: Clients, Spawned Server Activity, Options, Loggers, and Log.

      Note:   If some tabs are disabled, then you need additional user credentials. See Who Can Do What in the Server Manager Plug-in.  [cautionend]

      To use the information on the tabs, see Use the Server Manager Tabs to Obtain Monitoring Information and to Adjust Logging Levels (If Needed).
Use the Server Manager Tabs to Obtain Monitoring Information and to Adjust Logging Levels (If Needed)


About the Server Manager Tabs

After you have set the Server Manager options and connected to a server or a spawner, as described in the preceding topics, SAS Management Console displays server monitoring information in the right pane in a series of tabs.

Depending on which server component you are monitoring, SAS Management Console might display the following tabs:

Note:   If some tabs are disabled, then you might need to connect to the server (see Use SAS Management Console to Connect to Servers and Display Server Monitoring Information) or you might need additional user credential (see Who Can Do What in the Server Manager Plug-in).  [cautionend]


Use the Clients Tab in the Server Manager

The Clients tab in the Server Manager lists the clients that are or have been connected to the currently selected server component. The tab displays each client's user name, host machine, and entry time, as shown in the following example:

[Clients tab in SAS Management Console]

The Clients tab is displayed for the following server components:


Use the Sessions Tab in the Server Manager

The Sessions tab in the Server Manager lists the sessions that are active on the currently selected server or server process. Depending on your options settings, inactive and terminated sessions might also be displayed, as shown in this example:

[Sessions tab in SAS Management Console]

To specify which types of sessions to display:

  1. Right-click the Server Manager node, and select Options. The Options dialog box appears.

  2. On the Sessions tab of the Options dialog box, select one of the following options:

    Active and Inactive

    to display only active and inactive sessions in the Sessions tab. When sessions terminate, they will be removed from the tab.

    Active, Inactive, and Ended

    to display active, inactive, and terminated sessions in the Sessions tab.

If terminated sessions are displayed, you can remove them by right-clicking the selected server node or process node in the server tree and selecting Refresh.

The Sessions tab is displayed for the following server components:


Use the Spawned Server Activity Tab in the Server Manager

The Spawned Server Activity tab in the Server Manager displays a graph that shows server activity associated with the currently selected object spawner connection. The graph shows how many spawned workspace servers, pooled workspace servers, and stored process servers are active at a given point in time, as shown in the following example:

[untitled graphic]

The graph is updated every 10 seconds. This tab is displayed only for object spawner connections.


Use the Options Tab in the Server Manager

The Options tab displays performance counters and other information fields for the currently selected server or spawner session, as shown in the following example:

[SAS Management Console Options tab for metadata server]

For more information about the performance counters and information fields, see Using the Server Performance Counters and Information Fields.

Some types of properties can be modified in this tab. To change the value of a property, right-click the property entry and click Edit.

The Options tab is displayed for the following server components:


Use the Loggers Tab in the Server Manager, and (If Necessary) Change Logging Levels for Individual Loggers

The Loggers tab in the Server Manager displays the loggers that are in use for the selected server component, as shown in the following example:

[Loggers tab in SAS Management Console]

For each logger that is associated with the server component, this tab shows the logging level that is in effect. If <Inherited> appears in the third column, then the logging level is not set explicitly for the logger; instead, the level is inherited from a parent logger. If you want to see which logging level is in effect through inheritance, then right-click the entry and select Properties.

The logging levels that are in effect at server start-up are based on the server's logging configuration file. In most cases, there is no need to change the logging levels. However, SAS Technical Support might request that you change a logging level temporarily to assist in problem resolution. For example, you might be requested to increase the level for the object spawner's App logger.

To change the logging level temporarily for a logger:

  1. Right-click the entry for the logger whose level you want to change, and select Properties.

  2. In the Properties dialog box, select the Assigned radio button. Then select the appropriate level from the drop-down box.

CAUTION:
Excessive logging can degrade performance. You should not use the TRACE and DEBUG logging levels unless you are directed to do so by SAS Technical Support.   [cautionend]

The logging level changes that you enter here have the following effects on logging:

Note:   The logging levels that are set in the default configuration files should be sufficient for most sites. If you need to permanently change logging levels for a component, then you must change the logging configuration file. To maintain system performance, use extreme caution in making these changes.  [cautionend]

The Loggers tab is displayed for the following server components:

For more information, see Administering Logging for SAS Servers in this guide, as well as the SAS Logging: Configuration and Programming Reference.

Use the Log Tab in the Server Manager

The Log tab displays log events for the currently selected server or server process, as shown in the following example:

[Log tab in SAS Management Console]

To display log events on this tab:

  1. Use the Server Manager options to specify a message level or threshold level filter. You can also specify a starting and ending time.

    Note:   These settings filter the events that are already being generated based on the server's logging configuration file and the Loggers tab; they do not generate additional events. If you want to generate additional events, use the Loggers tab to change the level for one or more loggers, or modify the server's logging configuration file.  [cautionend]

    Set the filters as follows:

    1. Right-click the Server Manager node, and select Options. The Options dialog box appears.

    2. Click the Logging tab of the Options dialog box, and specify the following options:

      Message Level

      specifies a specific level of messages that are to be displayed in SAS Management Console.

      Threshold Level

      specifies the lowest level of messages that are to be displayed in SAS Management Console. Messages that have a level equal to or higher than the specified level are displayed in the Log tab.

      Note:   You can specify either a threshold level or a message level, but you cannot specify both.  [cautionend]

      Start Time

      specifies the date and time that log messages are to start appearing in SAS Management Console. Click the date and time icon ( [Date and time icon]), specify a date and time, and then click outside of the dialog box to save your entry.

      If you do not specify a start time, then the message level or threshold level takes effect immediately.

      End Time

      specifies the date and time that log messages are to stop appearing in SAS Management Console. Click the date and time icon ( [untitled graphic]), specify a date and time, and then click outside of the dialog box to save your entry.

      If you do not specify an end time, then the message level or threshold level remains in effect until you change it.

      Click OK in the Options dialog box.

  2. Click View [arrow] Refresh on the menu bar to display the current contents of the message buffer.

  3. Click View [arrow] Refresh again each time you want to see the latest events.

The events that are displayed in this tab depend on the following:

For example, if you specify a threshold level of TRACE in the Server Manager Options, but none of the loggers are set to TRACE in the logging configuration file or on the Loggers tab, then no TRACE events will appear in SAS Management Console. You must first adjust the logging level for the appropriate loggers either in the logging configuration file or the Loggers tab.
CAUTION:
Excessive logging can degrade performance. Therefore, you should not use the TRACE and DEBUG logging levels unless you are directed to do so by SAS Technical Support.   [cautionend]

The Log tab is displayed for the following server components:

For more information, see Administering Logging for SAS Servers in this guide, as well as the SAS Logging: Configuration and Programming Reference.
Return Logging to Normal Levels, Disconnect from the Servers, and Stop Displaying Log Messages

When you are finished monitoring servers, then you should do the following:

  1. If you changed the logging levels using the Loggers tab, then manually reset the loggers to their normal levels (see Use the Loggers Tab in the Server Manager, and (If Necessary) Change Logging Levels for Individual Loggers).

    Note:   You can also reset loggers to their normal levels by restarting the server component.  [cautionend]

  2. Reset the message level, threshold level, or the start and end times in the Server Manager options (see Use the Log Tab in the Server Manager).

  3. Disconnect from any server components that you are connected to.

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