Can I Deploy SAS® Viya® On-Premises Using Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform? Q&A, Slides, and On-Demand Recording
Watch this Ask the Expert session to learn how SAS Viya supports deploying on OpenShift on VMware to give you an on-premises deployment option.
Watch the Webinar
You will learn:
- About SAS’ support of deploying Viya on-site.
- The methodology and requirements of deploying and using Viya on OpenShift Container Platform.
- The benefits of the OpenShift ecosystem and how to utilize OpenShift GitOps to operationalize SAS Analytics.
The questions from the Q&A segment held at the end of the webinar are listed below and the slides from the webinar are attached.
Q&A
You mean there is no SAS ServerX_Y, unlike in SAS 9?
Yes, each web app has its own small "web server" which is embedded in the app’s container (pod).
Are SAS Viya licenses based on cores like SAS 9 core-based licenses?
No, they are not. They are now based on users.
Is there any page to see this SAS Viya user-based license cost details?
Please reach out to your account executive for pricing information.
Since SAS Viya process uses I - memory, do we require more RAM/Core for processing or is in-memory used based on the SAS work area?
It would depend on your workload. You can find our official sizing recommendations here: https://documentation.sas.com/doc/en/itopscdc/v_029/itopssr/n0ampbltwqgkjkn1j3qogztsbbu0.htm#n00ad1l...
Does SAS Viya have autoexec.sas file (to make some control over a SAS Session)?
This communities post should answer your question: https://communities.sas.com/t5/SAS-Viya/how-does-the-autoexec-work-in-sas-viya/td-p/738304
Do we use helm chart in SAS Viya deployment in OCS cluster?
No, we don't offer a helm chart. Our deployments use the kustomize tool to prepare a “master” deployment file in YAML notation. This file is then submitted to the Kubernetes cluster (e.g. by using “kubectl apply -f site.yaml”)
What percentage of customers deploying Viya 4 on OpenShift on-premises platform vs. cloud platforms?
That depends on the industry the customer is working in. We see on-premises a lot in areas with elevated security requirements, e.g. in the banking sector. It is a bit hard to answer because the industries are all very different. They have different requirements. We see a finite number of customers, so I don't think either of us can really talk to the broad company at this point. In the US, I don't get many OpenShift customers. I get a lot more cloud customers, but Hans, on the other hand gets more OpenShift customers in EMEA. Most of the deployments that I am seeing in EMEA are on-premises. I think this is where Red Hat still has, at least in our region, the strongest footprint. Red Hat does have offerings for all the public cloud user uses. There’s no problem running OpenShift on Azure for example, but most customers are using it on-premises. And again, I think the reason for that is security considerations. With all these options, you can choose the option that is best suited to your needs.
Which version of Viya are you talking about 3.5 or 4?
It's 4. Viya 4 is our re-architected version of SAS Viya, but it has pretty much the same look and feel as those previous versions. The company also wants us to drop the “4” in the name because of the new release strategy cadence. A bit confusing, but today we are talking about Viya 4 or SAS Viya.
Will there be or is there support for VMware Tanzu as the k8s platform?
It's on the roadmap but we don't have a fixed date for it yet. A lot of OpenShift is capable to run on different platforms and Hans mentioned in the cloud as well. It is on the road map, but we don't have a fixed date for it yet, so if that is something that you're looking for, reach out to your AE and they can help try to push that priority.
Where does web tier lie in Viya Architecture?
Everything's a pod - so the web apps are containers as well. there's no central web server anymore. That's a good question and it might be confusing to people that are familiar with the previous releases. Previously, we had a web application server that served all the web applications. Everything has been containerized and refactored into microservices. Now there is no central Web application server for all the web applications, but every web application basically has its own small web server.
I am very new to SAS Viya. Previously, I have been working mainly on 9.4 as an admin. Where can I get started with resources?
A great place to start is by watching our SAS Users channel on YouTube. There are so many videos there that are incredibly informative and helpful. You can also visit communities.sas.com for more support. You can ask questions and get them answered quickly. Beyond that, if you want more of a hands-on experience, you can check out our free online training.
Can we just learn Viya from 3.5 onwards or do we need to know the previous releases as well?
No, you do not need to learn 3.5 and before to learn Viya. You can start with the latest release.
Is there any procedure for user management (Add meta sync in SAS 9)? If so, can you share a link please?
This is one of the areas where Viya has changed. We are no longer storing user information in the platform. Before, we did and you had to use a script to synchronize your user base, but the functionality behind that script is no longer needed. Now, we do a connection to the authentication provider to get the info we need, but we are not storing that info like in a user database inside SAS.
How does the authentication work, do we need to configure PAM?
There is documentation on how to integrate authentication. We still offer all important industry standard authentication approaches, like LDAP, SAML, OIDC, Kerberos and SCIM. If you need it to connect to existing file shares and to achieve backward compatibility, you can still configure the system to use SSSD/PAM. But in a default deployment, it's no longer enabled or configured for you because, in most cases, you don't need it anymore.
Is there any significant difference in using OKD instead of Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform?
You must make a distinction here between what is technically feasible and doable and what is officially supported. OKD is not officially supported by SAS but, on a technical level, it might just work. There are differences though. There are services missing with OKD. If you narrow your perspective on what we as SAS need then it might be sufficient. Officially, we would not support it because we have not tested Viya on this platform.
Can I migrate from SAS 9.4M7 (Linux) directly onto the latest SAS Viya (v4)?
We have content migration tooling that helps you move a lot of your data and your code into Viya 4 when you are coming from SAS 9. There are some limitations with that, but we do offer tooling and a whole strategy to help with that process.
What are the skills required for a SAS admin to deploy SAS Viya on OCS?
The biggest one that I would recommend is Kubernetes knowledge. We get a lot of customers who are SAS admins, and they are tasked with deploying because they're the SAS admin. But, without that Kubernetes knowledge, it can get difficult quickly. You can use remote managed services if you're not using OpenShift. You don't have to be a Kubernetes administrator, but you should be familiar with the concept of what is a pod and what's a service. You should be familiar with the basic terms.
Does the latest SAS Viya 4 only run on Kubernetes?
Yes, Kubernetes is required.
Are any trainings available for SAS Partners for SAS Viya deployment on OpenShift?
Our partner team is working on this and I’ll add them to this post as soon as they are available. In the meantime, these resources may be helpful:
https://www.sas.com/en_us/solutions/cloud/red-hat-openshift.html
https://communities.sas.com/t5/SAS-Communities-Library/Deploying-SAS-Viya-using-Red-Hat-OpenShift-Gi...
https://go.documentation.sas.com/doc/en/itopscdc/v_027/itopscon/n1ob03chiyninhn19sm1ssfgss7w.htm
I'm using SAS EG. What SAS APPL should I use later when I want to use VIYA in Red Hat OpenShift?
SAS Viya on Kubernetes doesn’t use Enterprise Guide. It’s been replaced by SAS Studio, a web-based programming interface which supports “flow” perspectives like the ones you’re familiar with from EG.
How are the web server/services different in 3.5 and 4 (for Viya)?
It’s a microservice-oriented architecture now and everything has been decomposed into individual services. There’s no single web application server anymore. All web apps have a small web server built in. Kubernetes offers a single public endpoint through which all apps can be reached.
Is SAS 9.4. going to be deprecated soon?
Please look at this page to see the support timeframes for our different products: https://support.sas.com/en/technical-support/services-policies.html#releases. I’d recommend that you reach out to your SAS AE or to SAS Tech Support if you want to learn more about what these dates mean.
Recommended Resources
Viya Operations Guide – 2021.2.6
Communities Blog: Deploying SAS Viya using Red Hat OpenShift GitOps
Blog: SAS Viya 4 on OpenShift – old dogs and new tricks
SAS on Red Hat OpenShift
Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform Admin Guide
Moving from SAS9 to SAS Viya
Please see additional resources in the attached slide deck.
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