SAS/CONNECT User's Guide

Establishing a Connection

SAS/CONNECT must perform these two steps in order to establish a connection from a local SAS session to a remote SAS session:

Gain access to a remote host (for example, by means of a logon or a spawner program).
Execute a command to invoke a remote SAS session.

Here are the methods for establishing a connection. The primary difference among these methods is how the remote SAS session is invoked.

Remote host spawner
Local host sign on script
Multi-Process (MP) sign on with SASCMD option
Access method-specific command file.

In addition, for all preceding methods, there are two methods for establishing a connection to a remote SAS session:

Explicit execution of a SIGNON statement or command
Autosignon feature that is built into the RUSBMIT statement or command.

Remote Host Spawner

A spawner program must be invoked on a remote SAS/CONNECT host prior to executing a SIGNON. The spawner program listens for client requests for connection to the remote host. The advantages of using a spawner program are userid and password encryption and the optional use of a SIGNON script file.

SAS/CONNECT requires the following options for a spawner-based connection:

REMOTE=: designates the name of the remote host that you want to access.
COMAMID=: specifies the communication access method identifier that is used to pass data between the two hosts.
Script file (optional): For details, see Local Host-Based Sign-on Script.

For more information about spawner programs, see Communications Access Methods for SAS/CONNECT and SAS/SHARE Software.

Local Host-Based Sign-on Script

Script files make use of either a remote TELNET daemon (for TELNET or the TCP/IP access method) or a remote presentation space (for the EHLLAPI access method) to establish a connection to the remote host. Script files provide a programmatic interface for navigation through remote host login and invocation to the remote SAS session.

SAS/CONNECT requires the following options for a script-based connection:

REMOTE=
COMAMID=

The need for a sign-on script is based on the access method that is used to communicate between hosts and the method used to invoke SAS/CONNECT. The same script that is used to sign on is usually also used at sign off.

Uses a Script May Use
a Script Does Not Use
a Script

TELNET TCP/IP DECnet

EHLLAPI
NetBIOS

APPC

Uses a Script	May Use a Script	Does Not Use a Script
TELNET	TCP/IP	DECnet
EHLLAPI		NetBIOS
		APPC

For a description of the statements used in the scripts, see Summary of Script Statements.

Multi-Process (MP) CONNECT

MP CONNECT establishes a connection to a remote SAS session that runs on the same host as the local SAS session. If you have MP/SMP hardware, this feature enables your operating system to exploit the multi-processor capabilities. Besides ease-of-use, the primary advantage of MP CONNECT is the ability to asynchronously process encapsulated units of work whose results can be subsequently merged and managed from the originating local SAS session. This method eliminates the need for executing a program on the remote host such as a spawner program or a TELNET daemon. It also eliminates the need for a script file on the local host and the need to configure the access method.

MP CONNECT requires the following options:

REMOTE= or PROCESS=: specifies the name of the remote session to which statements are submitted for execution.
COMAMID=: specifies the identifier for the communications access method that is used to establish a connection between a local SAS session and a remote SAS session. TCP/IP is the only supported access method.
SASCMD=: specifies the command to be used to invoke the remote SAS session for MP CONNECT.

Communications Access Method Specific Command File

This method of establishing a connection uses the features that are built into various protocols and is defined by the protocol vendor. These access methods provide command files that are used to establish a connection:

Communications Access Method Type of Command File

APPC Transaction program

DECnet SASCONN command file

Communications Access Method	Type of Command File
APPC	Transaction program
DECnet	SASCONN command file

For more information about these access methods and their associated command files, see Communications Access Methods for SAS/CONNECT and SAS/SHARE Software.

Chapter Contents
Previous
Next
Top of Page