Loading locations faster in ArcGIS Network Analyst?

I am currently using ArcGis Network Analyst to calculate an OD cost matrix.

I was wondering whether there is a faster way to load my locations (origins, destinations and barriers) because my current rate is around 10 locations loaded per second (which is quite slow for I have about 7.000 points to load).

Moreover, is there a way to save these locations in order to use them later?

I think of origins/destinations but also of the barriers. I didn't find anything about this in the ArcGIS documentation.

Answer

I finally found a way to improve the loading speed in network analyst.

First, I mention that I upgraded to ArcGIS 10.1, but the problem was the same in this version.

In order to have a very fast loading, it is better if you place all the data you will need in a single file geodatabase .gdb file using ArcCatalog. Inside this geodatabase, create a new feature dataset where you will load the line feature containing your future network dataset.

Once it is loaded, create a network dataset inside your geodatabase. Do not forget to place your origins/destinations and barriers in the same geodatabase.

Using this kind of file instead of a shapefile has increased dramatically the loading speed in network analyst for me.