BL_DATA_BUFFER_SIZE= Table Option

Specifies the total amount of memory to allocate for the bulk load utility to use as a buffer for transferring data.

Category: Bulk Loading
Requirement: Must be specified within the BULKOPTS= Table Option
Data source: DB2 under UNIX and PC

Syntax

BL_DATA_BUFFER_SIZE= buffer-size

Arguments

buffer-size

specifies the total amount of memory (in 4KB pages) that is allocated for the bulk load utility to use as buffered space for transferring data within the utility. This setting does not consider the degree of parallelism that is available.

Details

If you specify a value that is less than the algorithmic minimum, the minimum required resource is used and no warning is returned. This memory is allocated directly from the utility heap, the size of which you can modify through the util_heap_sz database configuration parameter. If you do not specify a value, the utility calculates an intelligent default at run time. The calculation is based on a percentage of the free space that is available in the utility heap at the time of instantiation of the loader, as well as some characteristics of the table.
It is recommended that the buffer be several extents in size. An extent is the unit of movement for data within DB2, and the extent size can be one or more 4KB pages.
The DATA BUFFER parameter is useful when you are working with large objects (LOBs) because it reduces input and output waiting time. The data buffer is allocated from the utility heap. Depending on the amount of storage that is available on your system, you should consider allocating more memory for use by the DB2 utilities. You can modify the database configuration parameter util_heap_sz accordingly. The default value for the Utility Heap Size configuration parameter is 5,000 4KB pages. Because load is one of several utilities that use memory from the utility heap, it is recommended that no more than 50% of the pages that are defined by this parameter be made available for the load utility.
For more information about using this option, see the DATA BUFFER parameter in IBM DB2 Universal Database Data Movement Utilities Guide and Reference.
Last updated: February 23, 2017