The SAS Technical Support file sharing server (SASTSDrive) securely stores files associated with a support request and enables file exchanges with SAS Technical Support. Here are the topics covered in this SAS KB article:    

• Accessing the SASTSDrive File Sharing Server
• Managing Large Files Prior to Uploading them to SASTSDrive
• Uploading Files to the SASTSDrive Server
• Downloading Files from the SASTSDrive Server
• Troubleshooting Upload Issues

Accessing the SASTSDrive File Sharing Server

To access the SASTSDrive file sharing server, you must have the following:

• a SAS Profile
• authorization from a Technical Support consultant to share files for a specific support case
  
  Note: If you do not have a SAS Profile, create an account on support.sas.com. If you are unsure if you have a SAS Profile, SAS Technical Support can verify that for you. When creating a SAS Profile, pay close attention to the password requirements. Additionally, if you do not receive an email validating the creation of your SAS Profile, check your junk folder or spam filter settings. If you still cannot locate the email, contact SAS Technical Support for assistance. For more information, see the SAS Profile Help page.

If you are opening a new support request and need to share files with Technical Support, indicate that in the support request. Then, SAS Technical Support will authorize you to access the specific support request folder on SASTSDrive. If you have an existing support request and Technical Support has requested that you upload files, they will authorize you to share files for that support request.

 

Managing Large Files Prior to Uploading them to SASTSDrive

1. For very large files (especially files over 100 GB in size), compress or zip the files prior to upload. This might help prevent time-outs and network interruption errors while uploading the files.
2. If you still experience upload or time-out errors after compressing a file, consider "splitting" the file after compression. If you do split the file, be sure to perform an integrity check on the files prior to uploading them to SAS (recombine the files and successfully unzip the file without affecting the original content).
3. If the compressed files are smaller than 100 GB and you still receive network or time-out errors, update your support request to request assistance. However, you might also need to contact your local IT resources for assistance.

 

Uploading Files to the SASTSDrive Server

After SAS Technical Support provides authorization to SASTSDrive for your support request, you receive the following email:

1. Click the SASTSDrive URL link in the email and log in with your SAS Profile.
2. After you log in, a list of all support request folders for which you have been authorized is displayed:
   
3. Open the appropriate support request folder in the menu on the left. Note: The Upload button will be grayed out until you select a support request folder.
4. Drag-and-drop your files into the center of the upload window (or click the File Upload icon ) to share them with SAS Technical Support. Note: If you open the To_Customer folder, you can download files only from that folder. You must be in the support request folder to upload files. 
   Important Note: If you do not select a support request folder, you will receive a file permission upload error.
5. After uploading your files, update your Tech Support support request to indicate that the files have been uploaded. If you compressed the files, be sure to provide details about how you compressed the files and the tools that you used.
6. When you add files to a support request folder, they are immediately moved to an internal secure location. You might need to refresh your browser to verify that the file has been moved. The upload status is shown as completed on the right side of your browser window. A file named Uploadedfilelist.txt file is created in the support request folder that lists all uploaded files and transfer transactions.

Note: You can upload files securely in one of the following ways:

• access https://sft.sas.com via a browser (max upload file size is 1.5 GB*)
• access sft.sas.com via an sFTP client (max upload file size is 250 GB*)

*The 1.5 GB file size limitation is a browser limitation.

*Large files should be compressed prior to upload. You might experience network or time-out errors when uploading large files, even if they are smaller than the max upload size. Contact your local IT resources for assistance.

 

Downloading Files from the SASTSDrive Server

When SAS Technical Support provides a file for you to download, you are notified that the file is available for you to download via an update to your support request. If you have not previously been authorized to access that support request folder on SASTSDrive, you also receive the email shown above.

1. Click the SASTSDrive URL link in the authorization email that you received and log in with your SAS Profile.
2. After you log in, a list of folders for all open support requests that you are authorized to access is displayed on the left side of the window. 
3. Select the support request folder that contains the file that you want to download.
4. Open the To_Customer subfolder. Note that the file name is pre-pended with the date and time that the file was made available to download.
5. Select the file to download. 
6. If there are several files to download, you can also select the check box beside the files that you want to download and then select the File Download icon () to download all files at one time.
   Note: You cannot upload files to the To_Customer folder. You must be in the support request folder to upload files for SAS Technical Support.

 

Troubleshooting Upload Issues

As issues arise, this section will be updated. 

• If you receive this error, "Operation failed: You do not have the required permission to perform this action.", be sure that you have clicked/opened a support request folder on the left side. You must do this prior to dragging files to the center of the upload window.
• If you receive a "site is unavailable," 404 or "server busy" error when trying to upload files, it could be caused by several things.
  • Reboot and close (turn off) any unnecessary services and applications and retry to upload files. The issue is not related to the SASTSDrive server. For reference, here is an article that mentions this error: Error when accessing sites: "Server busy... the other program is busy ... choose "Switch To" to activate" (globalscape.com)
  • You can also turn off anti-virus software or disconnect from VPN if that is possible. Some software might block the upload. 
• If you encounter an error when you use WinSCP to upload to SASTSDrive, see SAS Note 65747, "You receive a pop-up error 'No such file or directory...' when uploading files to SASTSDrive using the WinSCP utility."
• If you encounter issues uploading a large file, see the tips above in Managing Large Files Prior to Uploading them to SASTSDrive.
• If you have problems uploading a zipped file to SASTSDrive, your browser might be timing out. To circumvent the issue, try a different browser (such as Google Chrome) or use an sFTP client such as WinScp to upload the ZIP file.