topic Re: Cloning the sas servers in Administration and Deployment

Cloning the sas servers

ksuman — Tue, 29 Oct 2013 17:33:58 GMT

Hi Friends,

This is one typical question

Can any one know about SAS Server Cloning ?

Clone (Copying the 'SAS Server environment from one server to another server).

Please share your valuable links here.

Many Thanks,

Suman K Reddy

Re: Cloning the sas servers

SASKiwi — Tue, 29 Oct 2013 19:09:32 GMT

The difficulty of cloning a SAS server would be in subsequently making the changes required on the cloned server. The new server would require all references to server names to be replaced at a bare minimum plus there would be many others required like port number changes. SAS Deployment Manager masks many of the complexities when installing a new SAS server.

The SAS install experts I know always install on a new server from scratch using SAS Deployment Manager even if the new server has an identical configuration. I think there are good reasons why they do this. Now if SAS were to provide a cloning tool, then that would be the ideal solution.

Re: Cloning the sas servers

jakarman — Wed, 30 Oct 2013 20:44:51 GMT

The reasons can possible just that is what they have been instructed to do so. Put the image to insert floppy type setup..
There are several steps in the SDW, that are:
- checking verifying pre-reqs on the system (very sensitive to Windows)
- You must deliver a whole list of settings that are propagated in al lot of other files for the configuration.

There are a lot of things you need to organize

- Than the installation starts (fase 1) it will deliver you the loadables (some are binary updated fixed namings).

See this as you can run SAS/base - Foundation

- The Next is setting up scripts metadata etcl for running BI/DI server and than a lot ot others like the web-portal.

Knowing all the details you could make a clone process. Will take some time.

Your question to a clone process is very understandable as that will get the installation proces in normal IT process.
With Unix Linux eg RPM (just one of many), Windows CCM (msi) , Mainframe SMP-E. As SAS is forcing their own approach there are a lot of challenges to that.

The biggest challenge wiht cloning is the metadata. SAS(R) 9.4 Intelligence Platform: Migration Guide shows some of that complexity.

all content data prot numbering etc must be migrated. what is all there see: SAS(R) 9.4 Intelligence Platform: System Administration Guide

Even this what is supposed being standard is having a lot of issues to common mandatory guidelines in IT. You will need to be granted to by-pass those rules or find other ways.

Depending on your inital functional request different approaches could be possible to solve those.
I can imagine you have an issue that updating a SAS version directly in production environmet is not allowerd.

Re: Cloning the sas servers

jakarman — Wed, 30 Oct 2013 20:49:59 GMT

Cloning a metadata repository is possible. (te complexity is adjusitn all king of ports/servers)
SAS(R) 9.4 Intelligence Platform: System Administration Guide

Re: Cloning the sas servers

ksuman — Thu, 31 Oct 2013 05:38:33 GMT

Hi Jaap,

Thanks for the replay and valuable inputs.

Well I know half of the cloning process for SAS Servers (Copying the SAS Servers from one server to another server) But like I struck up the DI and Mid tier tools (Web-portal applications)....

Thanks,

Suman K Reddy

Re: Cloning the sas servers

jakarman — Thu, 31 Oct 2013 19:07:56 GMT

Waht could help is the SMU utility. Migration of a level to the same machine other level. (never tried, some idea)

SAS(R) 9.3 Intelligence Platform: Migration Guide

When the webtier has not been setup /designed to support mulitple levels that will be a single point where problems arise as by default that part does not anything of the separation.