Using the SAS Content Server Administration Console

About the SAS Content Server Administration Console

The SAS Content Server Administration Console enables you to manage files and WebDAV folders in the SAS Content Server. Using the console, you can perform the following management tasks:
  • view folders
  • control access to WebDAV folders and files by setting permissions
  • create folders
  • delete folders

Access the SAS Content Server Administration Console

To access the console, enter the following URL in your Web browser and substitute the server name and port number of your SAS Content Server:
http://server:port/SASContentServer/dircontents.jsp
Note: This console is also part of the SAS Web Administration Console. You can administer the SAS Content Server by using either interface. For more information about accessing the SAS Web Administration Console, see Using the SAS Web Administration Console .
Log on to the console with an unrestricted user ID (for example, sasadm@saspw). The term "(Admin)" after your name at the top of the page indicates that you are logged on as an unrestricted user. This provides full administrator rights to use the console.
As a security precaution, make sure that you log off when you are finished using the console. If you go to another URL or close the tabbed page in your browser without logging off, your console logon remains in effect. This means that the console can be accessed again without re-entering a user name and password.

A Brief Tour of the Console Interface

The following display shows an example SAS Content Server Administration Console as it appears in a browser window:
SAS Content Server Administration Console
SAS Content Server Administration Console
Objects in the console are either folders or files. By default, the initial view of the console displays the following folders:
sascontent
contains content that has been added to SAS Content Server by SAS applications. You see a folder only if the folder contains content.
sasdav
contains content that has been added to the SAS Content Server. By default, sasdav contains the following folders:
  • sasdav/Users contains personal repository folders for users. A user's folder is created automatically when the user logs on to a SAS Web application. Users have full rights to their own folders.
  • sasdav/Templates contains templates that are used for e-mail notification in SAS solutions.
sasfolders
contains content that has been defined in the SAS Folders tree in the SAS Metadata Server. You see a folder only if the folder contains content.
CAUTION:
Administrators should not manage folders and content here.
The content within this folder and subfolders is mapped to SAS Folders in the SAS Metadata Server. It is recommended that you use the SAS Management Console to add and manage folders.
Depending on the software that is installed at your site, your console might contain additional folders.
To navigate in the console, follow these steps:
  1. Click an item in the list to display information about that item.
  2. Use the breadcrumb trail above the list to return to a parent folder. For example, in the ^/sasdav/Users breadcrumb trail, click sasdav to return to the sasdav folder.
The console displays the following information for each item listed:
Item name
displays the name of the folder or file.
Primary type
is an internal value that designates the type of object in the repository.
Date created
is the date when the object was created.
Date modified
is the date when the object was modified.
Delete
when the delete button is clicked, the selected objects are deleted.
Permissions
when the permissions icon Permissions icon is clicked, opens a page where permissions can be modified for the object.

Modify Permissions for WebDAV Folders and Files

The sasfolders directory should be accessed only by trusted or unrestricted users. These users are recognized as unrestricted administrators for the SAS Content Server, and do not require the Access Control List (ACL) to grant them access to this directory. If other types of users attempt to access this location, their permissions are verified before they are granted any access.
The sasdav directory can be accessed by regular users, and ACLs can be used to grant access to specific users and groups.
Principals can be granted permissions for folders and files. In the SAS Content Server, a principal is either a user or a group of users defined in the SAS Metadata Server. Principals can be given permissions that allow them to perform specific tasks such as reading an object, writing to an object, deleting an object, and so on.
You set permissions for an object by specifying which principals have which types of access. To modify permissions for an object, follow these steps:
  1. Click the permission icon Permission icon next to the item that you want to modify. A permissions page appears.
  2. For each principal listed, modify the permissions by changing each permission to Yes or No.
    Note: You might see a principal named jcr:authenticated. This principal refers to any user who can log on to a SAS Web application. By default, authenticated users have Read and Inherit Read permissions only.
  3. To add more principals to the page, do one of the following:
    • If you know the principal's name, enter it in the field and click Save changes.
    • Click Search for Principals to search for a name. When you find the principal that you want to add, select the check box next to the principal's name and then click Return.
    After the principal's name appears on the permission page, you can set permissions for the principal.
The following display shows a portion of the console with permissions for a folder:
Folder Permissions in the SAS Content Server
Folder Permissions in the SAS Content Server
The following permissions are available for you to apply to objects:
Permissions for Objects
Permissions
Purpose
Read
Allows the principal to read the object. For folders, this permission allows the principal to see the members of the folder.
Write
Allows the principal to write an object. For folders, this permission allows the principal to create new objects in a folder.
Delete
Allows the principal to delete the object.
Admin
Allows the principal to change the permissions on an object.
Inherit Read
Objects created in this folder inherit this setting for their Read permission (and Inherit Read permission for subfolders).
Inherit Write
Objects created in this folder inherit this setting for their Write permission (and Inherit Write permission for subfolders).
Inherit Delete
Objects created in this folder inherit this setting for their Delete permission (and Inherit Delete permission for subfolders).
Inherit Admin
Objects created in this folder inherit this setting for their Admin permission (and Inherit Admin permission for subfolders).
Note: Inherited permissions are assigned when objects are created. Each object has its own set of permissions. Inherited permissions are static; dynamic inheritance does not occur.
If you are applying permissions to folders, then the following options are available:
Results of Applying Permissions to Folders
Permissions for Folders
Results
Subfolders and files
Changed permissions are applied to subfolders and files that exist below the current folder.
This folder only
Changed permissions are applied to subfolders and files that exist in the current folder.
Overwrite permissions for all
Changed permissions are applied to all folders and files.

Create a New Folder

To add a folder below the current folder, enter the name of the new folder in the field and click Add Folder.
Note: Although you can add a folder to the sasfolders location, the folder that you add is not added to the SAS Metadata Server. The best practice is to add folders to metadata using SAS Management Console.

Add Files to the SAS Content Server

You cannot use the SAS Content Server Administration Console to add files to folders. To add files, you can use one of the following methods:
  • Use Microsoft Web folders to add content to the appropriate folder. You must use a browser on a Windows client machine in order to use this method.
    For example, the sasdemo user might open the following location as a Web folder:
    http://myServer:8080/SASContentServer/repository/default/sasdav/Users/sasdemo/
    Then, copy and paste content into the folder.
  • Use the SAS DAVTree utility to drag and drop folders or files into console folders.
    To use this utility, run the following command:
    SAS-config-dir\Levn\Web\Utilities\DAVTree.bat
    On UNIX and z/OS, the utility command is DAVTree.sh.
    For more information about using DAVTree, see Using the DAVTree Utility to Manage WebDAV Content .
  • Use the SAS Publishing Framework to publish files to the WebDAV repository.
    Portal users can publish portal content to the WebDAV repository by using the portal's publish and subscribe tools.
  • Programmatically publish content to WebDAV.
Usage of these tools and techniques is beyond the scope of this documentation (with the exception of the DAVTree utility).

Delete Folders or Files

Delete a single or multiple folders when you are sure that the folders and their contents are not required.
CAUTION:
Exercise caution when deleting items from the SAS Content Server.
When deleting folders, the following rules apply:
  • Do not delete the sasdav or sasfolders directories.
  • If you delete an item in the sasfolders tree, then applications that rely on the content mapping between the SAS Content Server and the SAS Metadata Server might not be able to access the content. To add and delete SAS metadata objects, use SAS Management Console.
    For information about the best practices to follow for managing SAS folders in SAS Management Console, see “Working With SAS Folders” in the SAS Intelligence Platform: System Administration Guide.
  • When you delete a folder, all objects within that folder are also deleted.
To delete a folder or file, select the check box for the folder or file from the Delete column. Click the Delete button. The item is deleted. You are not prompted to confirm the deletion. To delete multiple items, select multiple check boxes from the Delete column.