Frequently asked questions

Temporary passwords issued to users by administrators are valid for up to 90 days. 

Yes, SEAD administrators can reset forgotten passwords and MFA for analysts, refer to Resetting User Passwords.

Disabling temporarily disables sign in if you suspect a user is misbehaving, but it shouldn’t be used to retain user information for users who have left the organisation or team as this will incur a license fee. Evicting also retains the user information and is preferred so as to not pay a license fee where unnecessary. Evicted users can be seamlessly restored, refer to section Restore Users.

SEADpod owners can set up Administrators accounts for anyone approved by the organisation, regardless of whether they are from the SEAD partner agency or not. As the partner agency SEADpod owners are responsible for managing their individual pod, it will be up to their governance controls to guide their decisions on who is appropriate to have as an administrator, with consideration given to the information administrators are able to access across the entire SEADpod.

Refer to Available Software.

Additional or new software requests can be sent to the ABS and will be considered on a case-by-case basis. To request new software, please email sead.support@abs.gov.au using the Software Request Template.

The size and complexity of the data files being uploaded will affect load times into the SEAD environment. Reasonably short load times can be expected in most cases; however, larger files may take 2+ hours to load. Admins should factor this into their preparation for onboarding new projects. 

Project and Output folders within each workspace are backed up each night and kept for 14 days, this can be restored by administrators through Azure Storage Explorer. Closed projects are archived after 180 days, and deleted after five years as per ABS retention and deletion protocols for this information. The ability to restore a Project will no longer be available after the 180 days grace period and requests to restore an archived Project will incur a cost. Databricks Blob Storage will not be archived.

Yes, projects can be linked to only the products defined by the administrator, subsequently enabling access to data by a select group of users. Refer to Creating New Projects. 

Additional storage can be requested via sead.support@abs.gov.au. Please not that they may be a cost associated with the additional storage.

If you or one of your users is receiving an error when attempting to unzip a file using 7zip, this may be because the default is set to ‘7zG’ and not ‘7zFM’. To confirm whether this is the case, attempt the following steps:

1. Create a zipped file
2. Choose Open With -> another app
3. From there go to “choose another app on your PC”
4. Select 7Zip
5. Select 7zFM
6. Hit apply and select always

If the error persists, populate the SEADpod System Support Request and return it to sead.support@abs.gov.au.

Following recent enhancements, PostgreSQL's data directory relocation is now automated to X:\psql\data when a local disk is attached, facilitating expanded storage capacity for data. This feature streamlines the process of accommodating larger datasets. To enable local disc please email data.services@abs.gov.au.

The appropriate Virtual Machine size will depend on the size, complexity, and needs of the analysts working on a given project. Larger and more complex files and analytical tasks may require larger machines. 

We encourage users to use small machines in the first instances, and to get in touch with us if they are having difficulty performing their analyses using these sizes. Refer to Virtual Machine Performance.

Virtual machine project and output drives are backed up every night and kept for 14 days. Files outside of these drives are not recoverable.

Yes, administrators have the ability to assign/move SAS licenses as required. If your organisation has paid for 20 concurrent licenses, the system will limit users if over 20 try and use a SAS enabled machine at the same time. However, licenses are pooled, meaning that even if your organisation paid for 20 licences, up to 30, 40, 50 different users can access these licences at any given time, just as long as they are not accessed concurrently. Administrators can take exports from the relevant Virtual Machine/user portal pages to monitor this. Refer to Viewing Virtual Machines.

SAS configuration inside SEAD is tied to the size of your Virtual Machine. Alternatively, the addition of local disk space (refer to Running jobs offline using local disk space) can improve run times. Users can also work more on a local disk and then write to the Projects drive when finished, but beware of the costs involved with attaching a local disk space. A 1TB disk can cost between a minimum of $116 to $299 a month depending on usage transactions that would be cost recovered. 

Users with SAS installed now have the ability to edit the SAS configuration file located at “C:\Program Files\SASHome\SASFoundation\9.4\nls\in\sasv9.cfg”. This file governs various software settings and parameters, enhancing customisation options. Noting any changes will need to be repeated following machine rebuilds, as the C drive is destroyed on rebuild. To modify the SAS config file, follow these steps: 

1. Access the file at the provided directory, using SAS or a text editor. 

2. Proceed to make the necessary changes, in order to tailor the configuration.

3. Save the file (and a backup version on your P drive, to reinstate following machine rebuilds), then test the software for desired outcomes. Exercise caution, as improper edits may lead to unexpected behaviour.