Use the CData ODBC Driver for FTP in SAS for Real-Time Reporting and Analytics

SAS is a software suite developed for advanced analytics, multivariate analysis, business intelligence, data management, and predictive analytics. When you pair SAS with the CData ODBC Driver for FTP, you gain database-like access to live FTP data from SAS, expanding your reporting and analytics capabilities. This article explains how to create a library for FTP in SAS and create a simple report based on real-time FTP data.

The CData ODBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live FTP data in SAS due to optimized data processing built into the driver. When you issue complex SQL queries from SAS to FTP, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to FTP and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations (often SQL functions and JOIN operations) client-side. With built-in dynamic metadata querying, you can easily visualize and analyze FTP data in SAS.

Connect to FTP as an ODBC Data Source

Information for connecting to FTP follows, along with different instructions for configuring a DSN in Windows and Linux environments (the ODBC Driver for FTP must be installed on the machine hosting the SAS System).

To connect to FTP or SFTP servers, specify at least RemoteHost and FileProtocol. Specify the port with RemotePort.

Set User and Password to perform Basic authentication. Set SSHAuthMode to use SSH authentication. See the Getting Started section of the data provider help documentation for more information on authenticating via SSH.

Set SSLMode and SSLServerCert to secure connections with SSL.

The data provider lists the tables based on the available folders in your FTP server. Set the following connection properties to control the relational view of the file system:

• RemotePath: Set this to the current working directory.
• TableDepth: Set this to control the depth of folders to list as views.
• FileRetrievalDepth: Set this to retrieve and list files recursively from the root table.

Stored Procedures are available to download files, upload files, and send protocol commands. See the Data Model chapter of the FTP data provider documentation for more information.

When you configure the DSN, you may also want to set the Max Rows connection property. This will limit the number of rows returned, which is especially helpful for improving performance when designing reports and visualizations.

Windows

If you have not already, first specify connection properties in an ODBC DSN (data source name). This is the last step of the driver installation. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs.

Linux

If you are installing the CData ODBC Driver for FTP in a Linux environment, the driver installation predefines a system DSN. You can modify the DSN by editing the system data sources file (/etc/odbc.ini) and defining the required connection properties.

/etc/odbc.ini

[CData FTP Sys]
Driver = CData ODBC Driver for FTP
Description = My Description
RemoteHost = MyFTPServer

For specific information on using these configuration files, please refer to the help documentation (installed and found online).

Create a FTP Library in SAS

Connect to FTP in SAS by adding a library based on the CData ODBC Driver for FTP.

1. Open SAS and expand Libraries in the Explorer pane.
2. In the Active Libraries window, right-click and select New.
3. Name your library (odbclib), select ODBC as the Engine, and click to Enable at startup (if you want the library to persist between sessions).
4. Set Data Source to the DSN you previously configured and click OK. 👁 Creating a library for FTP in SAS.
   

Create a View from a FTP Query

SAS natively supports querying data either using a low-code, point-and-click Query tool or programmatically with PROC SQL and a custom SQL query. When you create a View in SAS, the defining query is executed each time the view is queried. This means that you always query live FTP data for reports, charts, and analytics.

Using the Query Tool

1. In SAS, click Tools -> Query
2. Select the table sources and the table(s) you wish to pull data from. Then, click OK. 👁 Selecting table(s) to visualize.
   
3. Select columns and right-click to add filtering, ordering, grouping, etc. 👁 Selecting columns(s) to visualize and configuring the query.
   
4. Create a local view to contain the query results by right-clicking the SQL Query Tool window, selecting Show Query, and clicking Create View. Name the View and click OK. 👁 Create a local view to work with FTP data.
   

Using PROC SQL

1. In SAS, navigate to the Editor window.
2. Use PROC SQL to query the data and create a local view.
   NOTE: This procedure creates a view in the Work library. You can optionally specify a library in the create view statement.

   proc sql;
    create view mydirectory_view as
    select 
    filesize, 
    filename 
    from 
    odbclib.mydirectory 
    where 
    FilePath = '/documents/doc.txt';
   quit;
   

3. Click Run -> Submit to execute the query and create a local view.

Report On or Visualize FTP Data in SAS

With a local view created, you can report, visualize, or otherwise analyze FTP data using the powerful SAS features. Print a simple report using PROC PRINT and create a basic graph based on the data using PROC GCHART.

Print an HTML Report

1. In SAS, navigate to the Editor window.
2. Use PROC PRINT to print an HTML report for the FTP MyDirectory data.

   proc print data=mydirectory;
    title "FTP MyDirectory Data";
   run;
   

   👁 A simple FTP data report.
   

Print a Chart

1. In SAS, navigate to the Editor window.
2. Use PROC GCHART to create a chart for the MyDirectory data.

   proc gchart data=mydirectory;
    pie filesize / sumvar=filename
    value=arrow
    percent=arrow
    noheading
    percent=inside plabel=(height=12pt)
    slice=inside value=none
    name='MyDirectoryChart';
   run;
   

   👁 A simple FTP data chart.