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

SHARE

System Administrator or User

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

Verify that you have met all your site and software requirements.
Verify that the resources for the APPC access method have been defined.
Verify that you know how to set variables in SAS software.
Set the desired SAS/CONNECT and SAS/SHARE variables.

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

Ensure that the following conditions have been met:

APPC has been installed at both the local and remote hosts at your site.
SAS software is installed on both the local and remote hosts.

The system requirements for the APPC access method in the UNIX environments are based on which vendor's type of UNIX operating system that you are using. SAS Institute supports the APPC access method on the following types of UNIX systems:

AIX

HP-UX

Solaris

AIX System Requirements

To use the APPC access method under AIX, your site must meet the following requirements:

run Version 3.2.5 or subsequent version of the AIX operating system
run AIX SNA Server/6000 Version 2.1.1 or subsequent version
run eNetwork Communications Server for AIX.

HP-UX System Requirements

To use the APPC access method under HP-UX, your site must meet the following requirements:

run Version 10.20 of the HP-UX operating system
run HP-UX SNAplusAPI and SNAplusLink Release 3 or a subsequent release. Recommended patches at Release 3/Dart 16 are PHNE_4773, PHNE_5314, and PHNE_5374.

Solaris System Requirements

Note: The Solaris platform is not supported in Version 7 or later. [cautionend]

To use the APPC access method under Solaris, your site must meet the following requirements:

run Version 2.6 of the Solaris operating system
run SunLink SNA Peer-to-Peer Version 8.0 or subsequent version. Recommended patches for version 8.0 are 102146, 102147, and 102229.

Configuring the APPC Access Method

Network Administrator: Before you can use SAS/CONNECT and SAS/SHARE with the APPC access method, you must first configure the SNA LU6.2 APPC communications environment for your UNIX systems. Separate tasks are provided for each type of supported UNIX system: AIX, HP-UX, and Solaris. See System Configuration for the APPC Communications Environment for more information.

Understanding APPC Communications Terminology

Familiarity with these terms will help you when you talk to your network administrator about variable settings.

LU (logical unit): a device or program by which a user (LU6.2 applications program) gains access to an SNA network.
local LU: a named LU that is associated with a local host that will connect to a SAS/CONNECT remote host or with a client that will access a SAS/SHARE server.
partner LU: a named LU that is associated with the SAS/CONNECT remote host or with a SAS/SHARE server to which a local host or a client will attach.
LU alias: an alternative name assigned to an LU (local or remote).

For more information about this terminology, see System Configuration for the APPC Communications Environment.

Setting Variables in SAS

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

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

You may specify a variable in any of several forms, as follows:

Note: In these examples, the variable name varies according to the form used. APPC_SECURE is the environment variable form; APPCSEC is the macro variable form. [cautionend]

in a SAS configuration file or at a SAS invocation:
-SET variable-name value
Example:
```
-set appc_secure _none_
```
as a SAS macro variable:
%LET variable-name=value;
Example:
```
%let appcsec=_none_;
```
as a UNIX environment variable in a shell or a profile file:
Korn shell: export VARIABLE-NAME=value
C shell: setenv VARIABLE-NAME value
Examples:
```
export APPC_SECURE=_NONE_
setenv APPC_SECURE _NONE_
```
Values for these variables 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 variable, here is the order of precedence that is followed:

SAS macro variable

SAS invocation

SAS configuration file

UNIX environment variable.

Setting Security for SAS/CONNECT and SAS/SHARE

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 several sections outline the alternatives for storing security information for SAS/CONNECT and SAS/SHARE.

Providing Client Identification in a Version 8 Session

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 APPCSEC variable is still accepted but is not recommended in Version 8. The USER= and PASSWORD= options take precedence over the client APPCSEC variable 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 APPCSEC variable setting in the same client SAS session.

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.

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-supplying 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 need 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-supplying 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.

Providing Client Identification in a pre-Version 8 Session

Both the environment variable and SAS macro variable forms are provided, as appropriate. Use the SAS macro variable for run-time specification.

APPC_SECURE (HP-UX, Solaris, and AIX): is an environment variable.
APPCSEC: is a SAS macro variable.

_NONE_

must be set at the SAS/CONNECT local host or the SAS/SHARE client. This is the default.

Setting this value does not establish secure sessions for connecting SAS/CONNECT local hosts or SAS/SHARE clients.

_PROMPT_

must be set at the SAS/CONNECT local host or 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 password to the environment variable or the macro variable.

userid.password

must be set at the SAS/CONNECT local host or the SAS/SHARE client.

This value specifies both the userid and password. Assigning the userid and the password directly to the APPCSEC variable at the SAS/CONNECT local host or at the SAS/SHARE client may inadvertently publicize this information and compromise the security of the SAS/CONNECT remote host or the SAS/SHARE server. Assigning the value to the variable in a file allows anyone to read it.

If the userid or the password contains numeric or special characters, enclose the entire userid.password in quotation marks.

Note: You must specify security for OS/390, CMS, and VSE remote hosts. However, security is not required for OS/2 or Windows hosts unless session security has been explicitly defined. [cautionend]

Macro variable examples:

%let appcsec=_none_;
%let appcsec=_prompt_;
%let appcsec='bass.time2go';

SAS/CONNECT and SAS/SHARE Variables

APPC_GATEWAY (Solaris only)

is an environment variable.

APPCGATE

is a SAS macro variable.

These variables specify the name of the peer-to-peer gateway that you will attach to.

The gateway provides the SNA stack for connecting to an SNA network. If you are working in a stand-alone environment and your gateway has the same name as your machine, do not specify this variable. By default, SAS uses the gethostname UNIX function to obtain the machine name on which SAS is running and then uses that name as the gateway name.

In a SunLink SNA Peer-to-Peer configuration, specify the gateway name either in a local /etc/appcs file or in the NIS/NIS+ database.

APPC_LU (HP-UX only)

is an environment variable.

APPCLU

is a SAS macro variable.

These variables specify the name of the local LU alias to use.

This name must match an LU alias that is established during configuration. This variable is required unless a default local APPC LU has been defined.

APPC_MODE (HP-UX and AIX)

is an environment variable.

APPCMODE

is a SAS macro variable.

These variables specify the communication mode that represents the set of networking characteristics that are defined during configuration.

The default communications mode name is SASAPPC. This name must be defined in both the local and remote environments regardless of whether you specify it explicitly or you allow it to default to SASAPPC.

APPC_NET (HP-UX and AIX)

is an environment variable.

APPCNET

is a SAS macro variable.

These variables specify the network name that is used when forming the fully-qualified remote LU name in APPN environments.

This name is required to exploit APPN connections in the absence of explicitly configured remote LU profiles.

APPC_PARTNER_COUNT (HP-UX and Solaris)

is an environment variable.

This variable specifies the number of simultaneous partners that this local session will have at one time. This estimate improves allocation of memory resources for internal control block usage.

SAS/CONNECT Only Variable

APPC_SURROGATE_LUNAME (HP-UX, Solaris and AIX) - is an environment variable

This variable specifies which LU to use for a SAS/CONNECT remote session on an OS/390 host.

If this variable is not defined, the OS/390 remote session dynamically selects an LU from the pool of LUs that is defined on the OS/390 host for this purpose.

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	SAS macro variable
	SAS invocation
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	UNIX environment variable.