What's New in SAS Federation Server 4.1

SAS Federation Server delivers a new data masking function as a method of ‘de-identifying’ sensitive information within data sources. The purpose of data masking is to protect the original data by using a functional substitute in situations where the audience is not privileged to access the original data. The primary focus of data masking is to protect data that is classified as personally identifiable information (PII). For additional information, see Data Masking.

SAS Federation Server provides SQL language scripting capabilities to handle administrative needs for start-up and shutdown events. SQL scripts, executed at start-up or shutdown, manage auditing or related event notifications. Administrators can also manage content of in-memory MDS tables to a persistent data store when the server is stopped, as shown in the Example SQL Script.

SAS Federation Server delivers a new API that provides a simple method to access data on SAS Federation Server. The API is implemented as a REST interface that provides direct interaction with SAS Federation Server, including metadata and data queries and SQL submissions. The SQL can include SAS Federation Server administration DDL or queries, DML, and DDL for back-end data sources. With the REST interface, you can perform the following tasks: The API is supported through a Java mid-tier service that communicates with SAS Federation Server through the JDBC driver. This service is delivered as a single WAR file that is deployed as part of the SAS Federation Server Manager installation. The WAR file does not depend on the SAS middle tier or use SAS WIP services.

The API provides examples of all media formats used, with in-line examples for collection objects of known media types. The collection usage indicates the media type that is used. Templated resource values are based on names of resources within the data architecture of SAS Federation Server. Resources might change during operations as data is manipulated. (for example, dropping or adding a table). The API returns a data element by name as it exists at the time of a request, so this information should be considered as requests are processed. This information should also be considered when designing a consuming application. For additional details, see the documentation delivered with the REST interface.