The SERVER Procedure

ALLOCATE LIBRARY Statement

Defines a SAS library to a SAS/SHARE server.
Restriction: The SERVER procedure
Tip: provides the same functionality as the ALLOCATE LIBRARY command in the OPERATE procedure. In addition, it enables you to specify the library and a libref to use for caching catalog files that have been accessed by using the option LIBTYPE=CATCACHE, which is a Cross-Architecture Catalog Access feature.
See: Cross-Architecture Catalog Access in the SAS/SHARE Server

Syntax

Required Arguments

libref
is a valid SAS name that is temporarily associated with a SAS library.
'SAS-data-library'
is the physical name of the SAS library that is being defined to the server. The name is specific to your operating environment and must be enclosed in either single or double quotation marks.

Optional Arguments

engine
specifies the engine to be used to process the SAS library when the server executes SAS.
Note: Usually, you do not have to specify this option because the server automatically determines which engine to use for processing a data library. However, you can specify this option to reduce the time that is used by the server when determining which engine to use to access a specific SAS library.
LIBTYPE=library-type
specifies the type of library to be allocated. The following library types are supported:
CATCACHE
specifies that this library will be used to cache catalogs that have been accessed by means of the cross-architecture catalog access feature. This option gives you the flexibility to specify a libref and a location for these files. Only one catalog cache might be allocated per SAS/SHARE server invocation.
By default, the SAS/SHARE server uses its WORK library as the location for the catalog cache and assigns the libref SASCATCA to it. In most instances, the default is suitable.
STANDARD
specifies a standard SAS data file library. This is the default.
CATCACHELIMIT=n
is a numeric value that specifies the maximum number of catalog files that are held in the cache. The files are accessed by means of the cross-architecture catalog access feature. The following values can be used:
0 specifies that the catalog files are not cached.
1 specifies that all catalog files are saved in the catalog cache.
n specifies that the cache is limited in size to n files. The cache is maintained, and the files are discarded by using a least-recently-used algorithm. The n argument is valid only when specifying a library type of CATCACHE. By default, the server limits the number of catalogs cached to 3.
engine/system-options
are options that apply to the SAS library. This argument is not required. You can specify any option that is valid in the LIBNAME statement for a specific operating environment and engine. Using the form keyword=value, you can specify as many options as you need. Use a blank space to separate options. See the SAS documentation for your operating environment for a complete list of the options that are available for your operating environment and engine.

Example

  • The following example allocates the UNIX server library /data/sales that has the libref SALES. It specifies that the server use the V9 engine to process this library.
    ALLOC LIBRARY SALES V9 '/data/sales';
  • The following example allocates the z/OS server library SAS.CATALOG (as a catalog cache) that has the libref SRVCATS.
    AL LIB SRVCATS 'SAS.CATALOG' LIBTYPE=CATCACHE;