Parallel Bulk Copy Methods

There are various methods to copy in data using parallel bulk copy.

  • Start multiple bcp sessions in the background, and:
    • Specify the password at the command line.

    • Use native mode, character mode, or a format file.

    You can start bcp as many times as the table is partitioned.

  • Create and use a format file:
    1. Start bcp in interactive mode.

    2. Answer the prompts.

    3. Create a format file that stores your responses.

    4. Put the process in the background when the copy begins.

    5. Issue the next bcp command, and specify the format file created with the first bcp command.

  • Start bcp sessions in multiple windows.

  • Specify a partition to file mapping in a single bcp in command.

    The client can execute independent bcp in sessions in parallel. The user can alternately specify the --maxconn option to control the maximum number of parallel connections that the bcp client can open to the server.

Alternatively, specify the --maxconn option to control the maximum number of parallel connections that the bcp client can open to the server. To ensure parallel execution on UNIX platforms, use the bcp_r variant.