Deployment Tester Overview :: SAS(R) 9.3 Intelligence Platform: System Administration Guide, Second Edition

What Is the Deployment Tester?

The Deployment Tester is a diagnostic tool used for assessing a SAS deployment. After an installation or upgrade, you can use the Deployment Tester to ensure that your SAS software and critical server components have been installed and configured correctly. After making changes to your SAS deployment or to the underlying hardware or operating environment, you can use the Deployment Tester to ensure that SAS components are still in working order. The Deployment Tester is also useful for ongoing monitoring of the health of your deployment, as well as for troubleshooting when problems occur.

The Deployment Tester consists of the following components:

the Deployment Tester server. This server is installed on each server-tier machine in a SAS deployment and on each middle-tier machine that is running Remote Services.
the Deployment Tester plug-in for SAS Management Console, which enables you to run deployment tests interactively from a single interface. You can also view test results and manage test result files from the plug-in.
the Deployment Tester batch client, which enables you to run deployment tests from a command line or on a scheduled basis. The batch client is installed on each machine where Foundation SAS is installed.
the following test suites:
- the SAS Installation Qualification Tool (SAS IQ) test suite, which demonstrates that your SAS software has been installed and maintained according to specifications. SAS IQ is also delivered as stand-alone application that can be run independently of the Deployment Tester.
- the SAS Operational Qualification Tool (SAS OQ) test suite, which demonstrates that your Base SAS software is operational. SAS OQ is also delivered as stand-alone application that can be run independently of the Deployment Tester.
- suites to test the functionality of SAS OLAP Servers, SAS Stored Process Servers, SAS Content Servers, and Remote Services
- suites to check SAS licenses and their expiration dates on SAS Pooled Workspace Server and SAS Workspace Server host machines

You can use SAS OQ to create additional tests for your SAS software, and additional test suites are available for download. As tests are developed by SAS or by your organization, you can add them to the Deployment Tester.

When to Use the Deployment Tester

The validation tools that are described in Checking the Status of Servers are useful when you want to perform a quick check of your SAS servers. The Deployment Tester supplements the validation tools by providing more extensive testing. As a best practice, you should use the Deployment Tester at the following times to ensure that your SAS deployment is functional and operational:

after you have used the SAS Deployment Wizard to install new software, to upgrade your SAS software, or to configure a new SAS Application Server component
after you have made any type of change to the configuration of Remote Services, the SAS Content Server, the SAS Framework Data Server, or a SAS Application Server component
after you have used SAS Deployment Manager to uninstall SAS software, to remove an existing configuration, to update host name references, or to apply a hot fix
after you have promoted server metadata from one metadata repository to another
after you have used the SAS Migration Utility to migrate your SAS content from one SAS 9.3 deployment to another
after you have recovered metadata repository files from a backup

When your site experiences a problem with the operation of SAS software, you can use the Deployment Tester as a troubleshooting tool to help identify the cause. If necessary, you can save the test results and send them to SAS Technical Support for troubleshooting assistance.

Using the Deployment Tester on a Regularly Scheduled Basis

You might want to run the Deployment Tester on a regular schedule (for example, daily or once a week) to check the health of your system. This feature can be helpful in complying with regulatory policies. To run tests on a scheduled basis, use the batch client. See Using the Deployment Tester Batch Client.