Pre-install checklist for Altair SLC and Altair Analytics Workbench

Nico Chart_21517

Here are some questions to consider before starting to install Altair Analytics Workbench and Altair SLC.

• Understand that Altair Analytics Workbench is the "client" or "App" and that Altair SLC (our SAS language execution environment) is the "server".
• If you are installing both Workbench and Altair SLC on a single computer for a single user, download the single software package (it contains both parts) and proceed with your installation. You will need sudo/administrator access of course.
• What version of Operating Systems are you looking to install the Workbench and Altair SLC on?
• One server will be required to run Altair SLC and one or more client machines (user desktops) will run the Workbench. Do you have these systems ready and available for the install? The installation process will require sudo/administrator access.
• When Workbench (on the user's desktop) connects to Altair SLC on a server using Altair SLC Link, Workbench does not require a license. However it is also possible to license "Local Server" on each user's desktop, so they have a choice between running sas language programs locally or on the server. In this environment, licenses are required for each user.
• Altair Software Downloads and Licenses are found on the Altair One marketplace website www.altairone.com.
• Documentation, including installation steps, are found on https://community.altair.com/, and also bundled with the software in PDF files.
• Altair SLC will require a license. Do you have this available? If not, you should request evaluation licenses from your Altair Sales Account Manager. Which license configuration will you be using...? Altair Hosted (SLC connects to AltairOne over the internet), Local ALM Server, Local static ALM file (non-preferred), Local static WPSKEY (SETINIT) file (deprecated).
• The connection from Workbench to Altair SLC is made via SSH. This means the end-users need to have valid credentials for logging into the server and running their programs. Ideally the server is integrated with the local AD/LDAP authentication environment.
• Can you confirm (using PuTTY utility or SSH command in a CMD window) that end-users can login from client to server?
• Altair SLC requires a fast disk for the WORK library - this needs to be local to the server that is running SLC and preferable an SSD device, with no automatic backups, compression, encryption, or scanning that may slow down computation. The WORK disk must be large enough to handle copies of the data being processed.
• End-user SAS language programs may access data files (WPD, SAS7BDAT, XLSX, etc). Are these on disks mounted to the server?
• End-user SAS language programs may access databases. For this, driver software must be installed on the SLC server host (and firewalls/routing may need to be considered too).
• Will Python and/or R be required on the Worker hosts?