BUFNO= System Option

Specifies the number of buffers to be allocated for processing SAS data sets.
Valid in: configuration file, SAS invocation, OPTIONS statement, SAS System Options window
Category: Files: SAS Files
PROC OPTIONS GROUP= SASFILES
Supports: SAS data set

Syntax

BUFNO=n| nK | nM | nG | nT |hexX | MIN | MAX

Syntax Description

n | nK | nM | nG | nT
specifies the number of buffers to be allocated in multiples of 1 (bytes); 1,024 (kilobytes); 1,048,576 (megabytes); 1,073,741,824 (gigabytes); or 1,099,511,627,776 (terabytes). For example, a value of 8 specifies 8 bytes, and a value of 3m specifies 3,145,728 bytes.
hexX
specifies the number of buffers as a hexadecimal value. You must specify the value beginning with a number (0–9), followed by an X. For example, the value 2dx specifies 45 buffers.
MIN
sets the minimum number of buffers to 0, which causes SAS to use the minimum optimal value for the operating environment. This is the default.
MAX
sets the number of buffers to the maximum possible number in your operating environment, up to the largest four-byte, signed integer which is 231-1, or approximately 2 billion.
CAUTION:
The recommended maximum for this option is 10.

Details

The number of buffers is not a permanent attribute of the data set; it is valid only for the current SAS session or job.
BUFNO= applies to SAS data sets that are opened for input, output, or update.
Using BUFNO= can improve execution time by limiting the number of input/output operations that are required for a particular SAS data set. The improvement in execution time, however, comes at the expense of increased memory consumption.
Operating Environment Information: The syntax that is shown here applies to the OPTIONS statement. In the command line or in a configuration file, the syntax is specific to your operating environment. For details, see the SAS documentation for your operating environment.

Comparisons

You can override the BUFNO= system option by using the BUFNO= data set option.