Performing General Data Optimization

To help minimize I/O and improve performance, you can drop unneeded columns, minimize column widths (especially from Database Management System [DBMS] tables that have wide columns), and delay the inflation of column widths until the end of your SAS Data Integration Studio flow. (Column width inflation becomes an issue when you combine multiple columns into a single column to use a key value).

Pre-sorting can be the most effective means to improve overall join performance. A table that participates in multiple joins on the same join key usually benefits from pre-sorting. For example, if the ACCOUNT table participates in four joins on ACCOUNT_ID, then pre-sorting the ACCOUNT table on ACCOUNT_ID helps optimize three joins. However, the overhead that is associated with sorting can degrade performance. You can sometimes achieve better performance when you subset by using the list of columns in the SELECT statement and the conditions set in the WHERE clause.