SAS System Options under Windows

BUFSIZE System Option: Windows

Specifies the permanent buffer page size for output SAS data sets.

Default:	0
Valid in:	configuration file, SAS invocation, OPTIONS statement, SAS System Options window
Category:	Files: SAS Files
PROC OPTIONS GROUP=	SASFILES, PERFORMANCE
Windows specifics:	Valid values for n
See:	BUFSIZE System Option in SAS Language Reference: Dictionary

Syntax
Details
See Also

Syntax

-BUFSIZE n | nK | nM | nG | hexX | MAX

BUFSIZE=n | nK | nM | nG | hexX | MAX

n | nK | nM | nG: specifies the buffer page size in multiples of 1; 1,024 (kilobytes); 1,048,576 (megabytes), and 1,073,741,824 (gigabytes), respectively. You can specify decimal values for the number of kilobytes, megabytes, or gigabytes. For example, a value of 8 specifies 8 bytes, a value of .782k specifies 801 bytes, and a value of 3m specifies 3,145,728 bytes.
hexX: specifies the buffer page size as a hexadecimal value. You must specify the value beginning with a number (0-9), followed by an X. For example, the value 2dx sets the buffer page size to 45 bytes.
MAX: sets the buffer page size to 2,147,483,647 bytes.

Details

The BUFSIZE system option enables you to specify the permanent buffer page size for output SAS data sets. Under Windows, the value can range from 512 bytes to 2,147,483,647 bytes. Using the default value of 0 optimizes the buffer page size by enabling the engine to pick a value depending on the size of the observation.

Experienced users might want to vary the value of the BUFSIZE system option if you are trying to maximize memory usage or the number of observations per page.