Enabling Report Scheduling with Platform Suite for SAS

Overview of Enabling Report Scheduling

To enable users to use the report scheduling capabilities of SAS Web Report Studio, you must first install and configure Platform Suite for SAS.
Note: If you are using a Platform Process Manager server, the Platform LSF scheduling server machine must be the same machine on which the SAS Business Intelligence Report Services is installed.
When the preceding requirements are in place, complete the following additional setup tasks:
  1. Create the necessary users, groups, and logins.
  2. Verify that a SAS Java Batch Server with a subtype of Reporting has been created.
  3. Identify the scheduling server type to SAS Web Report Studio.
  4. Update the SAS Web Report Studio configuration information.
  5. Update the LSF password file (Windows only).
  6. Verify logging for the Output Generation Tool.
  7. Edit the initialization file for the Output Generation Tool.
  8. Define archive paths for publishing reports to channels (optional).
  9. Test the configuration.
The scheduling software must be installed on the same machine as the commands that it executes. For SAS Web Report Studio, this is the location where the Output Generation Tool is installed.

Step 1: Create the Necessary Users, Groups, and Logins

Ensure That the Required Operating System User Accounts Are Present

The following user accounts must be added to the operating system of the scheduling server:
User IDs Needed for Report Scheduling
User ID
Purpose
lsfuser (suggested name)
Used by Web Report Studio to connect to Platform Suite for SAS and to run the Output Generation Tool, which creates scheduled reports in batch mode. This user is sometimes referred to as the scheduling user.
sastrust@saspw
Used by the Output Generation Tool to obtain user credentials from the metadata server. In a default installation, this user already exists in the metadata repository.
sassrv
Used by SAS Web Report Studio to perform the nightly cleanup of partially deleted jobs. In a default installation, this user already exists in the metadata repository.

Ensure That Metadata Logins Exist for Users Who Will Schedule Reports

For each user who will use SAS Web Report Studio to schedule reports, a login (including a password) must exist in the metadata repository.
To add a login for a user,
  1. While you are logged on to SAS Management Console as the SAS Administrator, select User Manager. A list of users and groups appears in the right pane.
  2. Right-click the user to whose login you want to add a password, and select Properties.
  3. In the Properties dialog box, select the Logins tab. Then right-click the login to which you want to add a password, and click Modify.
  4. In the Edit Login Properties dialog box, enter the user's password in the Password and Confirm Password boxes. Then click OK.
  5. Click OK in the Properties dialog box.
Users can manage their own passwords by using the SAS Login Manager.

Step 2: Verify That a SAS Java Batch Server Has Been Defined

A SAS Java Batch Server must be defined as a component of your SAS Application Server. This server is set up automatically by the SAS Deployment Wizard.
To create the server manually, follow the instructions in Defining a SAS Java Batch Server . When defining the server, you must specify the following information:
  • In the Associated Machine field, you must choose a machine that has Platform LSF and SAS Business Intelligence Report Services installed.
  • In the SubType field, you must select a value of Reporting.
  • In the Command Line box, enter a command that contains the following components:
    “path-to-outputgen-executable”
    The fully qualified path to the outputgen executable file, enclosed in quotation marks.
    --spring-xml-filespring-file-location
    The fully qualified path to the spring.xml file, which provides configuration services information to enable outputgen to connect to the SAS Metadata Server. This component must be preceded by two hyphens (- -).
    --repositorymetadata-repository
    The name of the repository that contains the job definitions. This component must be preceded by two hyphens (- -)
    Here are examples of valid commands:
    Windows example
    C:\SAS\Config93\Lev1\ReportBatch\rptbatch.bat --spring-xml-file C:\SAS\Config93\Lev1\Web\Applications\ SASBIReportServices4.3\spring.xml --repository Foundation
    Note: Enter the command with no line breaks, and be sure to put quotation marks around the arguments as shown in the example. If you copy and paste the command, be sure to include a space after outputgen.exe. You can verify the command by pasting it into a DOS command window. The command should execute with no errors. (You can ignore Missing option messages, unless they pertain to the --config-file option or the --repository option.)
    UNIX example
    usr/local/Config93/Lev1/ReportBatch/rptbatch.sh --spring-xml-file usr/local/Config93/Lev1/Web/Applications/ SASBIReportServices4.3/spring.xml --repository Foundation
    Note: Enter the command with no line breaks. If you copy and paste the command, be sure to include a space after outputgen. You can verify the command by pasting or typing it into a Telnet window. The command should execute with no errors. (You can ignore Missing option messages, unless they pertain to the --repository option.)
CAUTION:
If you have a SAS Java Batch Server that was defined for a release before SAS Web Report Studio 3.1, then create a new definition, reschedule the reports on the new server, and delete the old definition.

Step 3: Identify the Scheduling Server Type

In order to ensure that SAS Web Report Studio uses Platform Suite for SAS scheduling, you must specify the type of scheduling server that the application uses. This step is particularly important if you have both an In-Process Scheduling Services server and a Platform Process Manager server defined. Follow these steps:
  1. In the SAS Management Console Plug-Ins tab, expand the Configuration Manager plug-in.
  2. Right-click on Web Report Studio 4.3 to display the Web Report Studio 4.3 Properties dialog box.
  3. Select the Settings tab.
  4. In the Application field, select Scheduling.
  5. In the Scheduling Enabled field, select Yes.
  6. In the Scheduling Server Type field, select Platform Process Manager.
  7. Close the Properties dialog box and restart your Web application server.

Step 4: Update the SAS Web Report Studio Configuration

The credentials of the user ID lsfuser must be available to SAS Web Report Studio.
If you have installed and configured the second maintenance release after SAS 9.2, the credentials are managed by the SAS Deployment Manager. You do not need to perform this step.
If you are using a version of SAS that is prior to the second maintenance release after SAS 9.2, or if you have installed the second maintenance release after SAS 9.2 without performing the configuration step, you might have already provided these credentials during the installation. To verify that the credentials are present, and to update the credentials (if necessary), you must use one of the following two procedures.
The first procedure creates the LSF Services group and adds users to the group. Follow these steps:
  1. Use the User Manager plug-in in SAS Management Console to create a new authentication domain. The domain must be named LSFServicesAuthWRS.
  2. Use the User Manager plug-in in SAS Management Console to create a new group. The group must be named LSFServices.
  3. In the Properties dialog box for the LSFServices group, select the Accounts tab and add the user ID that schedules reports in SAS Web Report Studio (typically lsfuser). On Windows systems, you must preface the user ID with a domain (hostname\lsfuser). You must also select the LSFServicesAuthWRS authorization domain for the user and provide the current password for the user ID.
  4. In the Members tab, add the trusted user (SAS Trust User) as a member of the LSFServicesGroup.
Alternatively, you can add the credentials directly to the SAS Web Report Studio properties. Although this procedure is somewhat less complex, it does have the disadvantage of having credentials in a publicly readable area. To modify the properties, follow these steps:
  1. Start SAS Management Console and connect to the metadata server using the credentials of the user who installed the software on this host.
  2. Expand the Application Management node. Under that node, expand the Configuration Manager node.
  3. Right-click the Web Report Studio node, and select Properties.
  4. In the Properties dialog box, select the Advanced tab.
  5. In the list of properties in the Advanced tab, look at the value of the wrs.scheduling.LSFSchedulingServerUID property (or add the property if it does not exist). If the Property Value column does not contain the user ID lsfuser, enter that user ID in the Property Value field. On Windows systems, the ID must be qualified with a domain or machine name.
  6. For the wrs.scheduling.LSFSchedulingServerPW property, enter the password for lsfuser (if the password is not already present) in the Property Value field. Add the property if it does not exist. You can use a password that is encoded by SAS.
  7. Click OK to close the Properties dialog box.
  8. If you have edited the configuration information, you must restart SAS Web Report Studio.

Step 5: Update the LSF Password File (Windows Only)

If your scheduling server is running on a Windows machine, then you must supply the scheduling server with the credentials for the user ID lsfuser.
The user name and password that you provide in this step must match the ones that you provided in the SAS Web Report Studio configuration, as described in Step 4: Update the SAS Web Report Studio Configuration .
Follow these steps:
  1. On the scheduling server, open a Command Prompt window.
  2. Use the program lspasswd to register the credentials for the user ID lsfuser, as follows:
    1. Issue a command similar to this: 
      C:\LSF_7.0\7.0\\bin\lspasswd.exe -u .\lsfuser
      The program prompts you for this user's password.
    2. Enter the user's password and then confirm it. This completes the registration process.

Step 6: Verify Logging for the Output Generation Tool

SAS Web Report Studio uses the Output Generation Tool to create sets of reports in batch mode. When a scheduled report is executed on Windows, the tool records information in a logs directory. (On UNIX systems, the log statements are directed to the console when a scheduled report is executed.) Verify that the directories have been created.
For a default Windows installation, the path is as follows:
C:\SAS\config
\Lev1\Web\Logs\SASBIReportServices4.3.log
For a default UNIX installation, the path is as follows:
SAS-config-dir/levx/Applications/SASBIReportServices43/logs

Step 7: Edit the Initialization File for the Output Generation Tool (Windows Only)

On Windows systems, you must edit the initialization file for the Output Generation Tool to specify the directory location of the logs that are created when a scheduled report is executed. Complete the following steps:
  1. Open the outputgen.ini file in a text editor. The file is located in the installation directory for SAS Business Intelligence Report Services.
  2. Locate the line that starts with this code: 
    applogloc=
  3. After the equal sign, enter the path to the directory in which you want the tool to create the log file. This should be the same directory that you created in Step 6: Verify Logging for the Output Generation Tool .
  4. Save your changes.

Step 8: Define Archive Paths for Publishing Reports to Channels

Scheduled reports can be distributed to channels that are defined using the SAS Publishing Framework. If users will be distributing reports to channels that use archive locations (persistent stores), then the archive location must be accessible to both SAS Web Report Studio and the scheduling software. If the scheduling software and SAS Web Report Studio reside on different machines, then the archive location should be specified as a network path rather than a local path. This step is optional.
To specify the appropriate archive path, follow these steps:
  1. In SAS Management Console, expand the Publishing Framework node.
  2. Expand the appropriate metadata repository node.
  3. Expand the Channels node.
  4. Right-click the channel to which you will be publishing reports, and select Properties.
  5. In the Properties dialog box, select the Persistent Store tab.
  6. In the Type of persistent store area, select the Archive radio button.
  7. In the Path box, specify the path to a network location that all users who will be creating content can write to.
  8. Click OK.
You might also need to update permissions on the physical folder to allow access for the users who will be publishing reports. For information about setting up publication channels, see “Adding SAS Publication Channels” in the SAS® 9.3 Intelligence Platform: Web Application Administration Guide.

Step 9: Test the Configuration

After you have completed steps 1 through 8, use the following procedure to test your configuration:
  1. On a client machine, use SAS Web Report Studio to create and schedule a report as follows:
    1. Create and save a simple report.
    2. Click View Report to display the report.
    3. Select Filethen selectSchedule.
    4. On the Schedule Report page, select Now, and click Next.
    5. On the next page, click Finish. If the word Running appears in the status field, wait for the job to finish.
  2. In SAS Management Console, check the properties of the scheduled report as follows:
    1. Select the Folder View tab and then expand the folders until you locate the report that you scheduled.
    2. Right-click the report, and choose Properties.
    3. Select the Content tab. A folder called Batch should be displayed on this tab. The folder contains the output of the scheduled report.
  3. If the Batch folder is present on the report's Content tab, as described in the previous step, then return to SAS Web Report Studio and complete these steps:
    1. Log off, and then log back in.
    2. Open the report. The following message should appear at the top of the report: 
      To interact with this report, you must first refresh the data.
      If this message appears, then the configuration is correct.
If the configuration is not correct, see Troubleshooting the Configuration .
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