If you are working with a SAS 9.4 z/OS non-planning order, you can manually configure the Object Spawner to enable SAS Workspace Servers for tools such as SAS® Enterprise Guide®.

Overview of Configuration Components

In the &saspfx..INSTALL.CNTL data set, there are three members associated with the Object Spawner:

• SPNOSHEL: The shell script that is copied to OMVS.
• SPNOPARM: A parameter file that remains in its current location.
• SPNOCNTL: The JCL that should be copied to a system PROCLIB to run as a started task.

Steps to Configure

To configure the Object Spawner, complete the following steps:

1. Copy the shell script to OMVS.

Copy &saspfx..INSTALL.CNTL(SPNOSHEL) to the SASHome directory on OMVS. Check the PARM member for the suggested location.

2. Modify the shell script.

Edit spnoshel.sh and locate the following line:

cmd="/bin/tso -t %REXX${language}W6 $@"

Update the line by removing the trailing $@ characters:

cmd="/bin/tso -t %REXX${language}W6"

3. Update the parameter file.

In the Object Spawner parameter file, modify the sasCommand to include -nolog. Here is an example:

sasCommand: /usr/lpp/SAS/94m8f/SASHome/spnoshel.sh -nosasuser -nolog

4. Set file permissions.

Ensure that the shell script has the correct permissions:

chmod 755 spnoshel.sh

You can test the script by running it directly from OMVS to verify syntax and functionality.

Optional: Enhanced Script for “/bin/tsocmd”

If you need the script to use /bin/tsocmd to run authorized TSO commands (for example, submitting JCL or requesting tape mounts), consider using the modified script attached: spnoshel.sh.

Important Setup Notes

• Verify that the SYSPROC environment variable points to your actual &saspfx..SASRX library.
• Ensure that the language and encoding variables match a valid member in the SASRX library, such as REXXENW0.

Troubleshooting

After testing, check the Object Spawner log for entries similar to the following:

DEBUG    >SAS_SOCKET<
DEBUG       >9<
INFO Created process 33555230 using credentials sassys (child id 0).
ERROR The launch of the server (MyServer) process failed with an unknown status code (2048).

Socket FD Issue

If the SAS_SOCKET value is less than 10, and the status code is 2048, these symptoms might indicate insufficient socket file descriptors. Correct this issue by defining additional SAS Workspace Servers in the Object Spawner parameter file, each with a unique port. Typically, three or four servers might be required to resolve this issue.     

Note: The /bin/tsocmd utility passes file descriptors 10-99 to the SAS server. This limitation necessitates the workaround described above.

Documentation

The primary source of documentation for this setup is in the Configuration Guide for SAS® 9.4 Foundation for z/OS. Refer to this document for completeness.