Communications Access Methods for SAS/CONNECT and SAS/SHARE Software

SHARE

System Administrator, Network Administrator, Applications Programmer, or User

To use the NetBIOS access method with a Windows host for SAS/CONNECT and SAS/SHARE, perform these tasks:

Verify that you have met all your site and software requirements.
Verify that you know how to set options in SAS software.
Set the desired SAS/CONNECT and SAS/SHARE options.

System and Software Requirements for SAS/CONNECT and SAS/SHARE

Ensure that the following conditions have been met:

The NetBIOS application program interface (API) has been installed at both the local and remote hosts.
SAS software is installed on both the local and remote hosts.

Windows NT and Windows 95 Requirements

To use the NetBIOS access method with Windows NT and Windows 95, install the IBM compatible NetBIOS API that is included with Windows.

When configuring NetBIOS on a host, the system administrator binds the NetBIOS interface to a lower-level protocol, which is sometimes called the wire protocol. Examples of wire protocols are NETBEUI, IPX SPX, or TCP/IP. The wire protocol to which NetBIOS is bound is based on the type of network that your site uses. The IBM compatible NetBIOS interface is bound to a network that is running the NETBEUI wire protocol. The Novell compatible NetBIOS interface is bound to a network that is running the IPX/SPX wire protocol.

Windows 32s Requirements

To use the NetBIOS access method with Windows 32s, install the Windows interface to the IBM compatible NetBIOS that is loaded into DOS. Then, you should be able to use software from any vendor that supplies a NetBIOS product. The following two packages have been verified by SAS Institute:

the IBM LAN Support Program
the Novell Netware Requestor for DOS.

Setting SAS Options and Variables

You may need to set specific options to establish the connections that you want with SAS/CONNECT and SAS/SHARE when using the NetBIOS communications access method.

Consult with your network administrator to determine what options must be set and what values to assign to them.

You may specify an option in any of the following forms:

in an OPTIONS statement in a SAS session or in an AUTOEXEC file:
OPTIONS SET=variable-name value;
Example:
```
options set=vqmlinks 1;
```
in a SAS configuration file or at SAS invocation:
-SET variable-name value
Example:
```
-set vqmlinks 1
```
as a SAS macro variable:
%LET variable-name=value;
Example:
```
%let vqmlinks=1;
```
as a DOS operating system environment variable:
SET variable-name=value
Example:
```
set vqmlinks=1
```

Values for these options may contain up to eight characters, consisting of alphanumeric characters, the percent sign (%), the dollar sign ($), the pound sign (#), the at sign (@), and the underscore (_).

If you set multiple forms of the same option, here is the order of precedence that is followed:

SAS macro variable

OPTIONS statement

AUTOEXEC file

SAS invocation

SAS configuration file

DOS environment variable.

Setting Security for SAS/CONNECT and SAS/SHARE

Note: In the Windows environment, SAS/SHARE server security is supported on the Windows NT platform only. [cautionend]

For SAS/CONNECT, you must supply identifying information to sign on without a script to a remote host running a spawner program. A SAS/SHARE server, running secured, requires identification from each connecting client. The next sections outline the alternatives for specifying security information for SAS/CONNECT and SAS/SHARE.

USER= and PASSWORD= Options in Selected Statements

In Version 8, you provide client identification to a SAS/CONNECT remote host or a SAS/SHARE server using the USER= and PASSWORD= options. These options are valid in the following statements:

SIGNON

RSUBMIT

LIBNAME

PROC SQL
Connect to Remote

PROC OPERATE

(in the PROC statement)

set server

stop server

quiesce server

start server

display server

Specifying client identification in the applicable security option (SASUSER= and SASPASS= for SAS/CONNECT and SASSECUR= for SAS/SHARE) is still accepted but is not recommended in Version 8. The USER= and PASSWORD= options take precedence over the client security option when both are specified. For example, a SAS/SHARE client's execution of a LIBNAME statement with values assigned to the USER= and PASSWORD= options would override a SASSECUR= setting in the same client SAS session.

CAUTION:: In order to make a SAS/SHARE server secured, the SASSECUR= option must be set at a SAS/SHARE server that can run on any host.

Here is the syntax and definitions for these options:

USER | USERNAME | USERID | UID=username | _PROMPT_

Specifying these options allows a user on the local host whose username and password have been verified to access the remote host.

username

is a valid userid for the remote host and is thus host-dependent in form. If the value contains blanks or special characters, it must be enclosed in quotes. On Windows NT only, the username can also include the domain name, which locates the specified username in a domain.

password

is the password, if any, required for authentication of the supplied username. This value will not be echoed in the SAS log. If the value contains blanks or special characters, it must be enclosed in quotes.

_PROMPT_

specifies that the SAS System prompts the client for username and password.

Note: The values provided when prompted must NOT be quoted. [cautionend]

Specifying USER=_PROMPT_ and omitting the PASSWORD= specification will cause SAS to prompt you for both userid and password.

This is especially useful for allowing the SAS statements containing the USER= and PASSWORD= options to be copied and otherwise effectively reused by others.

For SAS/SHARE, the values supplied for the USER= and PASSWORD= options are valid for the duration of the remote host connection. Additional accesses of the remote host while the connection to that host is still in-effect do not require re-supply of the USER= and PASSWORD= options. For example while the first, connecting library assign to a SAS/SHARE server may require specification of the options, subsequent assigns to the same server will not heed specification of these options as long as the original connection is in-effect. A subsequent re-connect to the same server or connect to a different server would require re-supply of the USER= and PASSWORD= options.

Here is a Version 8 example for SAS/SHARE:

libname test 'prog2 a' user=joeblue password="2muchfun" server=share1;

For SAS/CONNECT, these values are valid until SIGNOFF.

Here is a Version 8 example for SAS/CONNECT:

signon rmthost user=joeblack password=born2run;

As a security precaution, PASSWORD= field entries echoed in the log are replaced with Xs. If _PROMPT_ was specified for entering the password, the entry would not be displayed on the screen as it is typed.

SAS/CONNECT SASUSER and SASPASS Options

SASUSER userid

SASPASS password

On the local host, either assign a valid userid and password to the SASUSER and SASPASS options or supply them to SAS, when prompted.

Consult with the system administrator of the remote host at which the spawner is invoked for a valid userid and password.

The SASUSER and SASPASS options store the userid and the password of the remote host that, when passed to the remote host, allow a local host connection.

Example:

options set=sasuser bass;
options set=saspass time2go;

See Setting SAS Options and Variables for examples of the forms that you can use to specify the SASUSER and SASPASS options.

Also see PC Spawner Program for information about the -SECURITY option in the PC spawner program, which controls the security of the remote host.

SAS/SHARE SASSECUR Option

You must set the SASSECUR option in order to pass a remote host userid and a password to a SAS/SHARE server for verification. After the userid and the password have been verified, the connection to the SAS/SHARE server can proceed.

SASSECUR=_NONE_ | _PROMPT_ | userid.password | _SECURE_

CAUTION:: Windows NT only SAS/SHARE server security is supported on the Windows NT platform only.

_NONE_

must be set at the SAS/SHARE client.

Setting this value does not establish secure sessions for connecting SAS/SHARE clients.

This is the default.

_PROMPT_

must be set at the SAS/SHARE client.

_PROMPT_ specifies that SAS prompt the user for userid and password information. When prompted for a password, the input field is not displayed. Choosing to prompt for a userid and a password provides more security than assigning the userid and the password to the system option.

userid.password

must be set at the SAS/SHARE client.

This value specifies both the userid and password. Assigning the userid and password directly to the SASSECUR option at the SAS/SHARE client may inadvertently publicize this information and compromise the security of the SAS/SHARE server. Assigning the value to the option in a file allows anyone to read it.

_SECURE_

must be set at the SAS/SHARE server on a Windows NT host only.

The _SECURE_ value for the SASSECUR option requires a SAS/SHARE client to supply a valid userid and password to the remote host or to the remote host on which the server is running in order to allow client access to the server.

Specify the SASSECUR option before you create a server.

Examples:

options set=sassecur _none_;
options set=sassecur _prompt_;
options set=sassecur bass.time2go;
options set=sassecur "apex\bass.time2go";
options set=sassecur _secure_;

See Setting SAS Options and Variables for examples of the forms that you can use to specify SASSECUR.

SAS/CONNECT and SAS/SHARE Options

VQMLINKS number-of-links

specifies the number of links that can be active simultaneously. The default is 0.

For SAS/CONNECT, each time you sign on to a remote host, you initiate one link. If you want to sign on to more than one remote host during a single SAS session, set VQMLINKS to the number of links that will be active at the same time. There is no limit to the number of links that you can specify, but use the smallest number possible to conserve NetBIOS session resources. The number that you specify for this option must be the same as or less than the maximum number of sessions that are configured for NetBIOS when it is installed. If you specify 0, VQMLINKS defaults to the number of sessions that are configured for a single NetBIOS user.

At the SAS/CONNECT remote host, set both VQMLINKS and VQMCONVS to 1. Specify a higher value if you are accessing a SAS/SHARE server from your SAS/CONNECT remote session. Details about the VQMCONVS option are given later in this section.

At a SAS/SHARE server, set VQMLINKS to a value that represents the maximum number of clients that can be connected simultaneously. Specifying 0 implies that no limit is to be enforced and that the maximum is constrained only by system memory.

The server administrator should specify this value if you want to set a limit.

VQADAPTR adapter-number

for SAS/CONNECT and SAS/SHARE, specifies which network adapter, and, therefore, which network to use when establishing the link. You do not need this option if you are connected to only one network. The default is 0.

Note that if both the SAS/CONNECT local and remote hosts or a SAS/SHARE server and clients are connected to multiple networks, both hosts must specify the same network in order to establish a connection. For example, if your node has network connections for a Token Ring network and an Ethernet network and you want to connect to another node on the Ethernet network, you must set VQADAPTR to the correct adapter number for that network. This doesn't necessarily mean that the value of VQADAPTR is the same on both hosts. One host may have adapter 0 set to Ethernet while the other host has adapter 1 set to Ethernet. In this case, VQADAPTR must be 0 for one host and 1 for the other host.

Ask your PC installation staff or a SAS Software Representative for help to determine which adapter to use for each network.

For Windows NT hosts using SAS/SHARE, VQADAPTR specifies the logical adapter number as configured in the Main -> Control -> Panel -> Network -> Netbios Interface menu that matches the desired network route (driver and adapter combination).

Ask the system administrator for help to determine this value.

VQCAMLEN access-method-buffer-and-packet-length

specifies the access method buffer and packet length. This option determines the maximum number of characters that can be transmitted in a single packet. The value can range from 55 to 65535 characters. The default value is 4096.

Ask your system administrator for help to determine this value.

VQMCONVS number-of-conversations

specifies the number of conversations that can occur simultaneously. Each time that you sign on to a remote host, access a server, or access a new library, you initiate one conversation; therefore, set this value to at least the same number as VQMLINKS. There is no limit to the number of conversations that you can specify, but use the smallest number possible to conserve NetBIOS command resources. The number that you specify for this option must be the same or less than the number of commands that are configured for NetBIOS. If you specify 0, VQMCONVS defaults to the number of commands that are configured for a single NetBIOS user.

SAS/SHARE Only Option

VQPNAME symbolic-user-name: specifies the symbolic user name to be used by a SAS/SHARE server when referring to a user session in its SAS log and in output from the OPERATE procedure. This name can be any valid SAS name. See SAS Language Reference: Dictionary for information about SAS naming rules. The default name is the alphabetic character U followed by the last seven characters of the network hardware address.

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	SAS macro variable
	OPTIONS statement
	AUTOEXEC file
	SAS invocation
	SAS configuration file
	DOS environment variable.