Date:         Sun, 20 Oct 1996 14:32:00 PDT
Reply-To:     Thomas M Skinner <Thomas_M_Skinner@CCM.FM.INTEL.COM>
Sender:       "SAS(r) Discussion" <SAS-L@UGA.CC.UGA.EDU>
From:         Thomas M Skinner <Thomas_M_Skinner@CCM.FM.INTEL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Using NT as a server? Good choice?

                                                Santa Clara, California
                                                October 20, 1996
                                                Sunny, Breezy 60's
Dear SAS-Lers,
 
Andy Ratcliffe <aratcliffe@CIX.COMPULINK.CO.UK>  wrote:
 
>Hi,
 
>I'm considering using Windows NT for our server. We would wish to run our
>SAS jobs on the server, not the client PC. So the NT server would be a
>compute-server in addition to a file-server. Is anybody using SAS and NT
>in this way?
>
>If so, is it a good choice in your opinion? Are you using SAS/CONNECT or
>batch submission? If batch submission, is it easy to start server jobs,
>monitor their progress, etc?
>
>To complicate matters, we'll have up to twelve users submitting seriously
>big jobs (clin trials phase 3) so I'm not sure a single server would have
>enough oomph. The biggest server I've seen uses four Pentium pro 200s. If
>we had to run more than one server, I'd like to "cluster" them so that
>they appear as one logical server to the users. Does anybody have any
>experience (or knowledge) of this approach (with or without SAS)? I know
>of a product from Digital called "Clusters for NT" which is specifically
>for the task. Is anybody using it? Sounds like a breakfast cereal!
>
>Thanks in anticipation of any information...
 
Andy,
 
Sorry, but I can't help you on the clustering... but I'll ask around.  Good
choice for hardware though as R6.11 is optimized for Pentium Pro (TM) and SAS is
one great 32bit application that can really use that architecture well.
 
To do what you want, you might be looking at SAS/Share*Net software requirements
and SAS licensed at each workstation (BASE CORE CONNECT) as a minimum.   As far
as compute server technology goes, the trend these days is toward CGI / Web
based submission, however this launches a batch job and unique SAS Session for
each request (lots of overhead here...)  SI is currently working on a model for
a "Serial" Web Server that would reduce this overhead and take care of such
things as cleaning up work datasets and manage output.  Eventually, this wll
emerge as a new product for SAS used in such ways.  In the meantime, SAS on a
Server is just like any other SAS for Windows release.
 
One note of caution however.  SI is apparently reviewing its stance on NT Server
licensing, and while ECO licenses have been grandfathered for NT Server this
year, all indications are that SI will try to break this platform out of the
standards Windows ECO.  Furthermore, NT Server CPU's count as two workunits, so
a quad server will count as an eight workunit license (equivelent to eight
single workstation licenses (NT for Workstations of WIN'95.)  I think the plan
is to license NT Server just like UNIX pltforms based on the power of the server
CPU's.
 
Tom Skinner
 
     These are my views and opinions and not necessarily those of the
     Intel Corporation.  I am not an Intel Spokesperson.