Using a SAS Virtual Desktop

Owned by Trevor Bain
Last updated: Oct 09, 2024
2 min read

If the nature of your research, data and ethics approval mean that SAS OnDemand for Academics and SAS Viya for Learners cannot be used (likely because data are stored in a cloud environment operated by SAS), Health Computing has a limited number of virtual machines that can be used for:

  • researchers and grad students who only have access to Mac computers

  • researchers and grad students who do not have a dedicated machine that can be used for long-running SAS programs

Access to a machine can be requested on a term-by-term basis by contacting the Health Computing Office (hlthco@uwaterloo.ca)

Things to know about running SAS on a virtual desktop

  1. Connect to the VPN when off-campus. Remote Desktop connections from off-campus are possible only while connected to the campus VPN. See Virtual Private Network (VPN) for links to instructions.

  2. Use Remote Desktop to Connect. You can access SAS running on a virtual desktop using the built-in Remote Desktop program on Windows. People using Mac computers will need to download and use the Windows app (formerly Microsoft Remote Desktop) from the App Store or the Company Portal app (on UW-managed devices). See instructions at Using the Windows App (Mac).

  3. Sign in with your UW username and password. Connect to the assigned virtual computer and, when prompted, sign in with your username (maximum 8 characters) and your UW password (i.e. do not append @uwaterloo.ca to your username).

  4. Logging in can take a while. A workspace for your account needs to be set up when you log in. This takes a while - especially the first time you connect.

  5. There are three SAS desktop shortcuts. You should see three shortcuts on the desktop to the various SAS programs (see Three ways to run SAS).

  6. Use the Log off desktop icon when you are done. There is a LOG OFF icon on the desktop that you can use to end your session if you don’t have any jobs that need to continue running.

  7. To keep SAS running, disconnect your remote desktop session. If you want SAS to continue running, simply disconnect your session (close the remote desktop application) and your session will continue until the next time you sign in.

  8. Storing your programs and data. If you have access to a research drive where your data are stored, you can map a network drive to that location on the virtual machine.
    Otherwise, set up OneDrive on the virtual desktop and access your data on OneDrive. Do not store the data on the C: drive of the virtual machine as this area is not backed up and you could lose data.