SAS Scalable Performance Data Server 4.5, Administrator'S Manual

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SPDSCONV on the copied versions to convert them for use with SPDS 4.5, while
maintaining archival versions of the SPD Server 3.x tables.
Overview of the SPDSCONV Utility
The SPDSCONV utility converts SPD Server 3.x metadata files for use with SPD Server
4.4. The conversion updates the physical structure of the metadata file and renames the
files. The SPDSCONV utility will also update the data partition files if the SPD Server 3.x
tables being converted contain compressed data.
You can identify SPD Server 3.x table files by the filename extension. SPD Server 3.x table
files end with the filename extension
.spds8 . SPD Server 4.4 table files end with the
filename extension .spds9 . All tables that are upgraded to be compatible with SPD Server
4.4 will have the filename extension .spds9 .
SPD Server 4.4 index files differ from SPD Server 3.x index files. SPD Server 4.4 index
files allow greater numbers of observations than the SPD Server 3.x index files. SPD Server
3.x index files are not compatible with the SPD Server 4.0 and 4.4 environment.
The SPDSCONV table conversion utility does not recreate index files. When you use the
SPDSCONV utility to convert tables from SPD Server 3.x to SPD Server 4.4 format, the
utility automatically deletes physical files that were associated with the old 3.x indexes and
are now obsolete. The SPDSCONV utility does offer an option to create a SAS job file that
you can run in the SPD Server 4.4 environment to recreate the SPD Server 3.x index files
for use with SPD Server 4.4.
If you choose to create the SAS job file to recreate SPD Server 3.x indexes for use in SPD
Server 4.4, the code will resemble the following:
%let SPDSIASY=YES;
PROC DATASETS lib=<spdsv4 libname>;
modify MYTABLE;
index create X1 [/Options];
index create X2 [/Options];
...
quit;
When you use the SPDSCONV utility, you can specify the destination directory for the
SAS job file that you create, but the SPDSCONV utility names the job file that your create.
The utility generates SAS job file names by adding the text string _v4ix.sasto the table
name, resulting in names such as mytable_v4ix.sas. It's a good idea to defer index recreation
because of the intensive computing it can require. Performing index re-creation as an off-
peak batch job can be advantageous in busy computing environments.
After converting the indexes, some users may notice that SPD Server 4.4 metadata files
are slightly larger than the SPD Server 3.x metadata files. The file size increase is related
to the new structures that facilitate SPD Server 4.4's capability to use large tables that more
than 2G rows of data.
How does SPDSCONV work? When converting a table, the SPDSCONV utility first reads
the original SPD Server 3.x metadata file and creates a new SPD Server 4.4 metadata file.
Both these files are locked during the conversion process. The lock prevents any outside
access to the files by other users while changes are being made. If the conversion process
encounters problems, the SPD Server 4.4 metadata file is deleted and the original SPD
Server 3.x table remains intact.
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Chapter 5 • SPD Server 3.x to SPD Server 4.5 Conversion Utility