Promoting SAS BI Dashboard Content

Tools for Promoting Metadata Objects

SAS BI Dashboard 4.31 supports partial promotion of dashboard objects and data. For information about the promotion tools and how to perform promotion, see SAS Intelligence Platform: System Administration Guide.

Key Aspects of Promoting SAS BI Dashboard Content

Using the Export SAS Package and Import SAS Package wizards provided by the SAS Intelligence Platform, you can promote individual metadata objects or groups of objects in SAS BI Dashboard 4.31 from one server to another or within the same metadata server.
You cannot promote between different versions of SAS BI Dashboard. For example, promoting individual metadata objects or groups of objects between SAS BI Dashboard 4.2 and SAS BI Dashboard 4.31 is not supported.
Here are some key aspects of promoting dashboard content associated with SAS BI Dashboard 4.31:
  • Dashboard objects can be promoted on the same metadata server.
  • In previous versions of SAS BI Dashboard, dependent objects were not included in the same package and they had to be manually imported before importing the dashboard objects. Beginning with SAS BI Dashboard 4.31, dependent objects such as tables, cubes, information maps, stored processes, and reports are promoted. Unlike previous versions of SAS BI Dashboard, there is no need to manually import these dependent objects. Dependent objects are included in the same package.
  • There is no requirement that objects from the source location must be imported to the same identical folder structure on the target server.
  • When you promote a dashboard, it is recommended that you promote all of the dashboard objects together. These objects include the dashboard (.dcx), indicator (.idx), indicator data (.imx), and range (.rdx).
  • The copy, paste, and paste special functions are not supported for dashboard objects. As a workaround, you could use the Save As feature in the dashboard designer to save the components to the new SAS folder location. This task applies to each object that you want to move to a different location. Then, you would modify the properties of any object that uses the dashboard so that it points to the new location.
  • When you import a SAS Package, the host name and port number that was specified for a stored process in the first environment can be different from the host name and port number in the destination environment. If an imported SAS Package contains custom graph indicators that use a stored process, the stored process might not render and display because the URLs are not updated with the host name and port number. After importing that SAS Package to the destination environment, update the URL of the stored process in that environment by manually specifying the host name and port number of the first host. If the host name and port number are identical in both environments, skip this step.
  • Stored processes referenced by dashboard indicators are not included in the SAS Package during the export process. You should manually export the stored processes.