PS02
Using a RAM Disk to Speed up your Windows 2000 SAS Session
Contributed
Erik H. Dilts
Rho, Inc.
Abstract:
Old ideas that fall out of favor due to the advent of new technologies rarely make a comeback. However, it is worth examining "the old ways" every so often to see if any benefits can be leaned from their usage or methodology. The RAM disk is an example of
this: a computer optimization method that was considered necessary as recently as SAS version 5 but has since fallen out of general use. Why? For many years, computer memory has been prohibitively expensive in relation to the benefits received by using a R
AM disk on a standard workstation, but that is no longer the case. Now one can set up a large (512 MB) RAM drive for roughly $100. This paper will demonstrate that for many (but not all) SAS users, the speed gains realized are easily worth the cost. It is
written toward any skill level and is applicable to any version of SAS run on Microsoft Windows 2000.
Biography: