If the Relationship Linker runs slow or appears as though no progress is being made, the cause is usually a large number of window keys of the same value. When this occurs, the Relationship Linker will have many more comparisons to make and this may slow the linking process. This condition can cause the process to stop all together.
Use the following two options to handle large window keys:
Option 1: Specifying the maximum number of records per window
You can control how many rows are added to the match window. If there are more rows of one window key than the value specified, additional windows are created for the remaining rows. For information, see Specifying Window Sizing.
Option 2: Using a cross-reference file
If you know which window keys are particularly large, an external cross-reference file is used to break up a large number of window keys of the same value. When this file is specified, the Relationship Linker appends the value in the attribute you choose as the tiebreaker or secondary key, and creates smaller groups of rows with the same original window key values. For information, see Using a Cross-Reference File.