Watch this Ask the Expert session to discover the smoothest way to transition your SAS®9 code and flows to SAS Viya 4 with minimal effort.
Watch the Webinar
You will learn:
- How to bring SAS®9 code to Viya.
- Tips and tricks to refactoring the code.
- Which functional and technical considerations are required to migrate to Viya.
- How the code can be improved.
- What CAS is and how it works.
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
What is the upgrade cycle for Python installed?
We are running the latest version of that. SAS Viya has a monthly release. To get these up to speed, I will suggest you double check in the documentations available as a version of SAS on the website. But we can also share the link after the webinar where you can find that.
https://communities.sas.com/t5/SAS-Communities-Library/Configuring-SAS-Viya-for-Python-Integration/t...
Does Viya support GIT integration?
Yes, SAS Viya includes integration with Git and can be used with many different repository hosting services such as GitHub and Bitbucket.
Here is a link where you can find how to set up a Git repository in SAS Studio 5.2: https://video.sas.com/detail/video/6116261170001/setting-up-git-repository-in-sas-studio-5.2
Currently with SAS 9.4, I'm able to run an entire application using SAS/AF (Application Facility) locally on my PC apart from any networks (no internet & no intranet). Does SAS Viya require a network, or can it run on my local machine only?
SAS Viya is cloud-based so that it can run on public or private clouds. It can also run on SAS Servers. Any client communication with the SAS Viya deployment outside the data center must use the external network.
99% of what? 99% of my programs, that's fantastic. 99% of my program steps, that is OK. 99% of my lines of code, that is a disaster.
99% - it's a statement and the functions that you need to reflect based on the codes. That 99% comes from our experience with different customers and the journey of bringing SAS 9 code to SAS Viya. It's where we can find that high average. If you really like to understand if your code, coming from 9 to Viya, will work or not, there are 2 things. One, it's more hands-on. You can call, paste, and see if that will run. If your current code will run on Viya or if there is a more automatic way to do that because you cannot imagine running all your 1,000 lines of codes and different lines of statements into Viya to try to see if it's working or not. Part of Ecosystem Diagnostic, there is one thing that is specifically where you can find a code and assessment to check all your codes and highlight it to you as a dashboard itself. Why do you need to consider paying attention on that change or not in each line of your code and each function of your code that you need to reflect or at least to adjust for a SAS Viya feature? But again, it's a lot of information. On top of that, we can also share a link if you are more interested in getting how that works. https://go.documentation.sas.com/doc/en/sasadmincdc/v_047/contentassessment/titlepage.htm
For customers migrating from SAS 9 to Viya 4, 99% of the existing SAS 9 code will run in SAS Viya. Check out https://sas.highspot.com/items/64497fd9cc9aa149c5cbc754 to learn more.
If you need to move fast due to migration, is there then a difference in preference 'it depends' on SAS9/CAS/CASL?
There are many factors that can impact in the strategy. I would recommend you migrate first as is (SAS 9) and than understand what makes more sense (if needed) to be transform to CASL.
Can you schedule code in Viya?
You can use the following different methods to schedule in SAS Viya. The most common is the Jobs page in SAS® Environment Manager.
Here is a link where you can find more details on how schedule: https://go.documentation.sas.com/doc/en/dprepcdc/v_015/datastudioadv/n1qdsvxwglxro4n1mkfwjh87jo0s.ht...
If you run a data step in the CAS code, what's the outcome - a SAS table or an object?
The DATA step is processed in CAS, and the output is an in-memory CAS table.
Your examples were statistics oriented, PROC LOGISTIC, etc. We do very little statistics; we do mainly data processing. Is SAS Vaya needed for data processing?
With SAS Data Preparation running on SAS Viya, you can quickly prepare data for analytics in a self-service, point-and-click environment.
https://www.sas.com/en_ca/software/data-preparation.html
Can you use this method to also upload code? Can you mass upload?
From the SAS Environment Manager, you can mass upload all these types of files: .json, .spk, .egp, .ctm or .ctk. Also, You can find alternative methods to import here:
https://communities.sas.com/t5/SAS-Communities-Library/Six-Easy-Ways-to-Import-Local-SAS-Data-Sets-i...
Can SAS Viya programs work with Snowflake data?
Yes, SAS/ACCESS Interface connects Snowflake to SAS Viya, allowing SAS analytics to be applied to vast volumes of Snowflake data.
When running my code in SAS Viya, I am frequently receiving a "SAS Session Problem Detected - A problem has been detected with the SAS Session. Would you like to reset the current session?" It then takes 2 mins for my compute context to load, and I have to start over. Is there a workaround so I do not receive this error? Is this expected behavior?
The best approach is to open a ticket for our support so you can share logs or screenshots, and experts will help you to figure it out.
The question is perhaps rather how we can convert a SAS stored process to run in Viya. I assume the stored processes can be exported into a package and then, in Viya Environment Manager, we can import a package? But can you demo how it is done?
Here is a link where you can find more details on how to convert SAS 9.4 stored process into Viya: https://communities.sas.com/t5/SAS-Communities-Library/Migration-of-Stored-Processes-to-SAS-Viya-Job...
In SAS Viya, what is the replacement for SAS/AF?
Find more information in this paper and SAS communities https://support.sas.com/resources/papers/proceedings/proceedings/sugi29/025-29.pdf
https://communities.sas.com/t5/SAS-Programming/SAS-AF-still-alive/td-p/813060
What is the latest tool to convert SAS 9.4 Stored Process to run in Viya?
Here is a link where you can find more details on how to convert SAS 9.4 stored process into Viya: https://communities.sas.com/t5/SAS-Communities-Library/Migration-of-Stored-Processes-to-SAS-Viya-Job...
Recommended Resources
How Do I Modify SAS 9 Programs to Run in SAS® Viya®?
Migrating SAS 9 Libraries to SAS Viya Compute Libraries
Open-Source Code Node Example in Model Studio
Best Practices for Converting SAS® Code to Leverage SAS® Cloud Analytic Services
SAS Viya Page
SAS Studio Page
Moving from SAS®9 to SAS® Viya®
Move to Viya Board
Please see additional resources in the attached slide deck.
Want more tips? Be sure to subscribe to the Ask the Expert board to receive follow up Q&A, slides and recordings from other SAS Ask the Expert webinars.
