compress large datasets on unix for transfer to another OS.

[deleted_user]

What is the best way to compress very large datasets on AIX so they can transported over to a Sun 64 system with SAS on it.

[sbb]

If you are transporting SAS data library files, there is an XPORT format required for certain OS platform conversions/transfers. There are coding examples on the SAS support http://support.sas.com/ website. Suggest whatever approach you choose to exercise it liberally with some testing data scenarios.

Scott Barry
SBBWorks, Inc.

[Doc_Duke]

I'd tend to use gzip. It's available, reliable, and free.

Other considerations.

How big is big? Will the Sun file system handle files that are as large at those on AIX. That is often operating system version dependent ("Sun 64" is not sufficient. I think that you need Solaris 10 to get to the really big files.).

Is the data already in a SAS dataset? If so, make sure the Sun 64's SAS will read datasets created by the AIX ("cross platform compliant"). You may want to consider converting to a SAS transport file first.

Disk space. Is there enough disk space on both to do the work. If disk space is a concern, you may want to invest in an FTP server that will compress and uncompress on the fly.