SAS/CONNECT

      SAS/CONNECT establishes a link between a PC or Macintosh running SAS and a remote host (such as a UNIX box) also running SAS. Jobs can be developed on the microcomputer side and submitted for execution on the much faster, larger, more powerful host.

      The SAS/CONNECT session is established like other logins that use communication software (Kermit, PPP, Telnet, etc.). This is done with a script file (called an .SCR file because of the traditional DOS extension of .SCR) that is prepared according to the instructions in the SAS/CONNECT documentation.

      Complete instructions for using SAS/CONNECT, including the proper setup of the .SCR file, are found in the SAS OnlineDoc(tm) at the ITS Web site:

        www.usc.edu/its/doc/statistics/sas/

      Then click the SAS OnlineDoc(tm) link, then click the SAS/CONNECT link.

      There is also information on SAS/CONNECT at the SAS Web Site:

        www.sas.com/service/techsup/

      then enter "SAS/CONNECT" in the search field.

      One particular file might be useful to many users:

        http://ftp.sas.com/techsup/download/sample/samp_lib/
  cnntsampCONNECT_Customized_Script_Macro.html

      This file contains a macro that will create a customized .SCR file on a local PC.

      For those users who have SAS installed on their own machines, SAS provides sample .SCR files in:

        $SASROOT\connect\saslink\*.scr

      $SASROOT is the conventional symbol for "the directory where SAS is installed", so if you have SAS installed in C:\SASWIN, the sample .SCR files will be found in:

        c:\saswin\connect\saslink\*.scr

      Once the .SCR file is ready, the user enters a SIGNON command (or clicks the Signon option under the Locals menu) to begin the session (assuming the .SCR file is correctly written and ready), and then when jobs are to be submitted on the host machine, the RSUBMIT command is used (or the Rsubmit choice under Locals is clicked).

    Troubleshooting

    • If you get a message that the host machine (e.g., almaak) couldn't be found, it may be because the table your system is looking in has a multi-level name (or an IP address which is, by definition, a multi-level name) rather than just a single-word name for the host. The name of the remote host to which you're connecting is declared in an OPTIONS statement, after the keyword REMOTE=. Normally, your OPTIONS statement would look like:

        options  comamid=tcp  remote=almaak;

      If you have to enter a multi-level name, such as almaak.usc.edu or an IP number, such as 128.125.253.166, you will need to set up a SAS Macro Variable, then use the symbolic name of that Macro Variable in the OPTIONS statement, as follows:

        %let host=almaak.usc.edu;
options  comamid=tcp  remote=host;

      NOTE: unlike other macro variables, do not use the ampersand and optional period, as in &host.; simply the word host is used in this situation.