The below question and answers are my preparation notes for Informatica Developer Specialist certification which I am planning to take some time in June. I will continue update this page as i go through various topics as per syllabus. Just follow me, will do it together and become informatica certified specialists. 🙂
What is the primary unit for management and administration of services in PowerCenter?
Ans:- Informatica Domain
Which architectural pattern is used in PowerCenter?
Ans:- SOA (Service Oriented Architecture)
What is the logical representation of a machine in a domain?
Ans:- Node
Can a domain contain more than one node?
Ans:- Yes. Its called Grid (Collection of nodes)
What are the components of a domain?
Ans:- One or more nodes, Service Manager, Application Service.
What is master gateway?
Ans:- The node that hosts the domain is the master gateway for the domain
What is Application services?
Ans:- A group of services that represent Informatica server-based functionality.
What is the role of a service Manager?
Ans:- The Service Manager runs on each node in the domain which will support the domain and the application services.
What are the different functions of a Service Manager?
Ans:- Alerts, Authentication, Authorization, Domain configuration, Node configuration, Licensing, Logging and User management.
What are the application services runs in informatica?
Ans:- Analyst Service, Data Integration Service, Model Repository Service, PowerCenter Repository Service, PowerCenter Integration Service, Web Services Hub, SAP BW Service, Reporting Service, Reporting and Dashboards Service, Metadata Manager Service
Which PowerCenter component cannot be made highly available?
Ans:- PowerCenter Reporting Service
In a PowerCenter mapping, a database deadlock has been created, Whats is the result?
Ans:- The mapping fails after the database resilience period has passed?
In the TO_CHAR(DATE) function, what do the format strings D, DD and DDD produce?
Ans:- Numerical day of week, day of month, and day of year respectively.
Which of the following transformations may be unconnected in a valid mapping?
Ans:- Lookup, Stored Procedure, External procedure – Unconnected
Why should the SETCOUNTVARIABLE function be used only once in a pipeline?
Ans:- This may cause inconsistent results when you use the same variable function multiple times in a mapping.
Where is administrative information such as permissions and privileges for users and groups are stored in PowerCenter?
Ans:- It’s stored in PowerCenter Repository. It resides in a relational database.
What are the two type of repositories to share metadata?
Ans:- Global repository & Local repositories.
What are the different options to view the PowerCenter metadata repository?
Ans:- 1. Informatica Metadata Exchange (MX) provides a set of relational views that allow easy SQL access to the PowerCenter metadata repository.
2. Create a Reporting and Dashboards Service in the Administrator tool and run the PowerCenter Repository Reports to view repository metadata.
How to manage the PowerCenter domain and PowerCenter security?
Ans:- Using Informatica Administrator, a web application.
What are the tools available in PowerCenter Client application?
Ans:- Repository Manager (R), Designer (D), Workflow Manager), Workflow Monitor (M), Mapping Architect for Visio and iReports Designer.
What are the tools available in PowerCenter Designer?
Ans:- Source Analyzer, Target Designer, Transformation Developer, Mapplet Designer and Mapping Designer.
How to assign permissions to users and groups and manage folders?
Ans:- Using Repository Manager.
What are the functions of a Repository Manager?
Ans:- Manage user and group permissions, Perform folder functions and View metadata.
What are the different Repository Objects in the Navigator window?
Ans:- Source definitions, Target definitions, Mappings, Reusable transformations, Mapplets and Sessions & workflows.
What is pass-through mapping?
Ans:- A pass-through mapping inserts all the source rows into the target
Can we run multiple mapping using a single session?
Ans:- No. create a session for each mapping that you want the Integration Service to run.
A set of instructions that tells the Integration Service how to execute tasks are called?
Ans:- A Workflow.
A set of instructions that tells the Integration Service how to move data from sources to targets are called?
Ans:- A Session. (One of task in workflow Manager)
Can we run multiple session in a single workflow?
Ans:- Yes. We can include multiple sessions in a workflow to run sessions in parallel or sequentially.
How to create Reusable Session?
Ans:- If you create a session using Task Developer, it’s a Reusable session and can be used in multiple workflows.
How to create non-reusable sessions?
Ans:- If you create a session in the Workflow Designer it’s a non-reusable session and can be used it only in that workflow.
What is the service that retrieves, inserts, and updates metadata in the repository database tables?
PowerCenter Repository Service
What are the PowerCenter components which can connect to Repository using Repository Service?
PowerCenter Client, Command line programs, PowerCenter Integration Service, Web Services Hub & SAP BW Service.
What is the object representing a set of tasks created to reuse a set of workflow logic in multiple workflows?
worklet
Active database
The database to which transformation logic is pushed during pushdown optimization.
Active source
An active source is an active transformation the Integration Service uses to generate rows.
Adaptive dispatch mode
A dispatch mode in which the Load Balancer dispatches tasks to the node with the most available CPUs.
Application service
A service that runs on one or more nodes in the Informatica domain. You create and manage application services in Informatica Administrator or through the infacmd command program. Configure each application service based on your environment requirements.
Associated service
An application service that you associate with another application service. For example, you associate a Repository Service with an Integration Service.
Attachment view
View created in a web service source or target definition for a WSDL that contains a mime attachment. The attachment view has an n:1 relationship with the envelope view.
Available resource
Any PowerCenter resource that is configured to be available to a node.
Backup node
Any node that is configured to run a service process, but is not configured as a primary node.
Blocking
The suspension of the data flow into an input group of a multiple input group transformation.
Blurring
A masking rule that limits the range of numeric output values to a fixed or percent variance from the value of the source data. The Data Masking transformation returns numeric data that is close to the value of the source data.
Bounds
A masking rule that limits the range of numeric output to a range of values. The Data Masking transformation returns numeric data between the minimum and maximum bounds.
Buffer block
A block of memory that the Integration Services uses to move rows of data from the source to the target. The number of rows in a block depends on the size of the row data, the configured buffer block size, and the configured buffer memory size.
Buffer block size
The size of the blocks of data used to move rows of data from the source to the target. You specify the buffer block size in bytes or as percentage of total memory. Configure this setting in the session properties.
Buffer memory
Buffer memory allocated to a session. The Integration Service uses buffer memory to move data from sources to targets. The Integration Service divides buffer memory into buffer blocks.
Buffer memory size
Total buffer memory allocated to a session specified in bytes or as a percentage of total memory.
Built-in parameters and variables
Predefined parameters and variables that do not vary according to task type. They return system or run-time information such as session start time or workflow name. Built-in variables appear under the Built-in node in the Designer or Workflow Manager Expression Editor.
Cache partitioning
A caching process that the Integration Service uses to create a separate cache for each partition. Each partition works with only the rows needed by that partition. The Integration Service can partition caches for the Aggregator, Joiner, Lookup, and Rank transformations.
Child dependency
A dependent relationship between two objects in which the child object is used by the parent object.
Child object
A dependent object used by another object, the parent object.
Cold start
A start mode that restarts a task or workflow without recovery.
Commit number
A number in a target recovery table that indicates the amount of messages that the Integration Service loaded to the target. During recovery, the Integration Service uses the commit number to determine if it wrote messages to all targets.
Commit source
An active source that generates commits for a target in a source-based commit session.
Compatible version
An earlier version of a client application or a local repository that you can use to access the latest version repository.
Composite object
An object that contains a parent object and its child objects. For example, a mapping parent object contains child objects including sources, targets, and transformations.
Concurrent workflow
A workflow configured to run multiple instances at the same time. When the Integration Service runs a concurrent workflow, you can view the instance in the Workflow Monitor by the workflow name, instance name, or run ID.
Configuration Support Manager
A web-based application that you can use to diagnose issues in your Informatica environment and identify Informatica updates. It helps you discover comprehensive information about your technical environment and diagnose issues before they become critical.
Coupled group
An input group and output group that share ports in a transformation.
CPU profile
An index that ranks the computing throughput of each CPU and bus architecture in a grid. In adaptive dispatch mode, nodes with higher CPU profiles get precedence for dispatch.
Custom role
A role that you can create, edit, and delete.
Custom transformation
A transformation that you bind to a procedure developed outside of the Designer interface to extend PowerCenter functionality. You can create Custom transformations with multiple input and output groups.
Custom transformation procedure
A C procedure you create using the functions provided with PowerCenter that defines the transformation logic of a Custom transformation.
Custom XML view
An XML view that you define instead of allowing the XML Wizard to choose the default root and columns in the view. You can create custom views using the XML Editor and the XML Wizard in the Designer.
Data masking
A process that creates realistic test data from production source data. The format of the original columns and relationships between the rows are preserved in the masked data.
Data Masking transformation
A passive transformation that replaces sensitive columns in source data with realistic test data. Each masked column retains the datatype and the format of the original data.
Default permissions
The permissions that each user and group receives when added to the user list of a folder or global object. Default permissions are controlled by the permissions of the default group, “Other.”
Denormalized view
An XML view that contains more than one multiple-occurring element.
Dependent object
An object used by another object. A dependent object is a child object.
Dependent services
A service that depends on another service to run processes. For example, the Integration Service cannot run workflows if the Repository Service is not running.
Deployment group
A global object that contains references to other objects from multiple folders across the repository. You can copy the objects referenced in a deployment group to multiple target folders in another repository. When you copy objects in a deployment group, the target repository creates new versions of the objects. You can create a static or dynamic deployment group.
Design Objects privilege group
A group of privileges that define user actions on the following repository objects: business components, mapping parameters and variables, mappings, mapplets, transformations, and user-defined functions.
Deterministic output
Source or transformation output that does not change between session runs when the input data is consistent between runs.
Digested password
Password security option for protected web services. The password is the value generated from hashing the password concatenated with a nonce value and a timestamp. The password must be hashed with the SHA-1 hash function and encoded to Base64.
Direct staging
A staging method that allows the integration Service to read from a data source and stage the data on a local machine before it passes the data to downstream transformations. You can use direct staging when you read data from one source file.
Dispatch mode
A mode used by the Load Balancer to dispatch tasks to nodes in a grid.
Domain
A domain is the fundamental administrative unit for Informatica nodes and services.
Data Transformation Manager (DTM)
The component of the Data Integration Service that extracts, transforms, and loads data to complete a data transformation job. The DTM also runs profiles and data previews.
Dynamic deployment group
A deployment group that is associated with an object query. When you copy a dynamic deployment group, the source repository runs the query and then copies the results to the target repository.
Dynamic partitioning
The ability to scale the number of partitions without manually adding partitions in the session properties. Based on the session configuration, the Integration Service determines the number of partitions when it runs the session.
Effective Transaction Control transformation
A Transaction Control transformation that does not have a downstream transformation that drops transaction boundaries.
Effective transaction generator
A transaction generator that does not have a downstream transformation that drops transaction boundaries.
Element view
A view created in a web service source or target definition for a multiple occurring element in the input or output message. The element view has an n:1 relationship with the envelope view.
Envelope view
A main view in a web service source or target definition that contains a primary key and the columns for the input or output message.
Exclusive mode
An operating mode for the Repository Service. When you run the Repository Service in exclusive mode, you allow only one user to access the repository to perform administrative tasks that require a single user to access the repository and update the configuration.
Failover
The migration of a service or task to another node when the node running or service process become unavailable.
Fault view
A view created in a web service target definition if a fault message is defined for the operation. The fault view has an n:1 relationship with the envelope view.
Flush latency
A session condition that determines how often the Integration Service flushes data from the source.
Gateway node
Receives service requests from clients and routes them to the appropriate service and node. A gateway node can run application services. In the Administrator tool, you can configure any node to serve as a gateway for a PowerCenter domain. A domain can have multiple gateway nodes.
Global object
An object that exists at repository level and contains properties you can apply to multiple objects in the repository. Object queries, deployment groups, labels, and connection objects are global objects.
Grid object
An alias assigned to a group of nodes to run sessions and workflows.
Group
A set of ports that defines a row of incoming or outgoing data. A group is analogous to a table in a relational source or target definition.
Hashed password
Password security option for protected web services. The password must be hashed with the MD5 or SHA-1 hash function and encoded to Base64.
High availability
A PowerCenter option that eliminates a single point of failure in a domain and provides minimal service interruption in the event of failure.
High Group History List
A file that the United States Social Security Administration provides that lists the Social Security Numbers it issues each month. The Data Masking transformation accesses this file when you mask Social Security Numbers.
Idle database
The database that does not process transformation logic during pushdown optimization.
Impacted object
An object that has been marked as impacted by the PowerCenter Client. The PowerCenter Client marks objects as impacted when a child object changes in such a way that the parent object may not be able to run.
Incompatible object
An object that a compatible client application cannot access in the latest version repository.
Indirect staging
A staging method that allows the Integration Service to create an indirect file with the names of multiple source files. The Integration Service stages the indirect file and the source files on a local machine before it passes the data to downstream transformations. You can use indirect staging when you have multiple source files.
Ineffective Transaction Control transformation
A Transaction Control transformation that has a downstream transformation that drops transaction boundaries, such as an Aggregator transformation with Transaction transformation scope.
Ineffective transaction generator
A transaction generator that has a downstream transformation that drops transaction boundaries, such as an Aggregator transformation with Transaction transformation scope.
Informatica domain
A collection of nodes and services that define the Informatica platform. You group nodes and services in a domain based on administration ownership.
Informatica Services
The name of the service or daemon that runs on each node. When you start Informatica Services on a node, you start the Service Manager on that node.
Input group
A set of ports that defines a row of incoming data.
Integration Service
An application service that runs data integration workflows and loads metadata into the Metadata Manager warehouse.
Integration Service process
A process that accepts requests from the PowerCenter Client and from pmcmd. The Integration Service process manages workflow scheduling, locks and reads workflows, and starts DTM processes.
Invalid object
An object that has been marked as invalid by the PowerCenter Client. When you validate or save a repository object, the PowerCenter Client verifies that the data can flow from all sources in a target load order group to the targets without the Integration Service blocking all sources.
Key masking
A type of data masking that produces repeatable results for the same source data and masking rules. The Data Masking transformation requires a seed value for the port when you configure it for key masking.
Label
A user-defined object that you can associate with any versioned object or group of versioned objects in the repository.
Latency
A period of time from when source data changes on a source to when a session writes the data to a target.
Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) authentication
One of the authentication methods used to authenticate users logging in to PowerCenter applications. In LDAP authentication, the Service Manager imports groups and user accounts from the LDAP directory service into an LDAP security domain in the domain configuration database. The Service Manager stores the group and user account information in the domain configuration database but passes authentication to the LDAP server.
Limit on resilience timeout
An amount of time a service waits for a client to connect or reconnect to the service. The limit can override the client resilience timeout configured for a client.
Linked domain
A domain that you link to when you need to access the repository metadata in that domain.
Load Balancer
A component of the Integration Service that dispatches Session, Command, and predefined Event-Wait tasks across nodes in a grid.
Local domain
A PowerCenter domain that you create when you install PowerCenter. This is the domain you access when you log in to the Administrator tool.
Log Agent
A Service Manager function that provides accumulated log events from session and workflows. You can view session and workflow logs in the Workflow Monitor. The Log Agent runs on the nodes where the Integration Service process runs.
Log Manager
A Service Manager function that provides accumulated log events from each service in the domain. You can view logs in the Administrator tool. The Log Manager runs on the master gateway node.
Mapping
A set of source and target definitions linked by transformation objects that define the rules for data transformation.
Mapping Architect for Visio
A PowerCenter Client feature that you use to create mapping templates in Visio and import them into the PowerCenter Designer.
Mapplet
A mapplet is a set of transformations that you build in the Mapplet Designer. Create a mapplet when you want to reuse the logic in multiple mappings.
Masking algorithm
Sets of characters and rotors of numbers that provide the logic to mask data. A masking algorithm provides random results that ensure that the original data cannot be disclosed from the masked data.
Master gateway node
The entry point to the Informatica domain. When you configure multiple gateway nodes, one node acts as the master gateway node. If the master gateway node becomes unavailable, the Service Manager on other gateway nodes elect another master gateway node.
Master service process
An Integration Service process that runs the workflow and workflow tasks. When you run workflows and sessions on a grid, the Integration Service designates one Integration Service process as the master service process. The master service process can distribute the Session, Command, and predefined Event-Wait tasks to worker service processes. The master service process monitors all Integration Service processes.
Metadata explosion
The expansion of referenced or multiple-occurring elements in an XML definition. The relationship model you choose for an XML definition determines if metadata is limited or exploded to multiple areas within the definition. Limited data explosion reduces data redundancy.
Metadata Manager Service
An application service that runs the Metadata Manager application in a PowerCenter domain. It manages access to metadata in the Metadata Manager warehouse.
Metric-based dispatch mode
A dispatch mode in which the Load Balancer checks current computing load against the resource provision thresholds and then dispatches tasks in a round-robin fashion to nodes where the thresholds are not exceeded.
Mixed-version domain
A PowerCenter domain that supports multiple versions of application services.
Native authentication
One of the authentication methods used to authenticate users logging in to PowerCenter applications. In native authentication, you create and manage users and groups in the Administrator tool. The Service Manager stores group and user account information and performs authentication in the domain configuration database.
Node
A logical representation of a machine or a blade. Each node runs a Service Manager that performs domain operations on that node.
Node diagnostics
Diagnostic information for a node that you generate in the Administrator tool and upload to Configuration Support Manager. You can use this information to identify issues within your Informatica environment.
Nonce
A random value that can be used only once. In PowerCenter web services, a nonce value is used to generate a digested password. If the protected web service uses a digested password, the nonce value must be included in the security header of the SOAP message request.
Normal mode
An operating mode for an Integration Service or Repository Service. Run the Integration Service in normal mode during daily Integration Service operations. Run the Repository Service in normal mode to allow multiple users to access the repository and update content.
Normalized view
An XML view that contains no more than one multiple-occurring element. Normalized XML views reduce data redundancy.
Object query
A user-defined object you use to search for versioned objects that meet specific conditions.
One-way mapping
A mapping that uses a web service client for the source. The Integration Service loads data to a target, often triggered by a real-time event through a web service request.
Open transaction
A set of rows that are not bound by commit or rollback rows.
Operating mode
The mode for an Integration Service or Repository Service. An Integration Service runs in normal or safe mode. A Repository Service runs in normal or exclusive mode.
Operating system flush
A process that the Integration Service uses to flush messages that are in the operating system buffer to the recovery file. The operating system flush ensures that all messages are stored in the recovery file even if the Integration Service is not able to write the recovery information to the recovery file during message processing.
Operating system profile
A level of security that the Integration Services uses to run workflows. The operating system profile contains the operating system user name, service process variables, and environment variables. The Integration Service runs the workflow with the system permissions of the operating system user and settings defined in the operating system profile.
Output group
A set of ports that defines a row of outgoing data.
Parent dependency
A dependent relationship between two objects in which the parent object uses the child object.
Parent object
An object that uses a dependent object, the child object.
Permission
The level of access a user has to an object. Even if a user has the privilege to perform certain actions, the user may also require permission to perform the action on a particular object.
Pipeline branch
A segment of a pipeline between any two mapping objects.
Pipeline stage
The section of a pipeline executed between any two partition points.
Pmdtm process
The Data Transformation Manager process.
Pmserver process
The Integration Service process.
Port dependency
The relationship between an output or input/output port and one or more input or input/output ports.
Predefined parameters and variables
Parameters and variables whose values are set by the Integration Service. You cannot define values for predefined parameter and variable values in a parameter file. Predefined parameters and variables include built-in parameters and variables, email variables, and task-specific workflow variables.
Predefined resource
An available built-in resource. This can include the operating system or any resource installed by the PowerCenter installation, such as a plug-in or a connection object.
Primary node
A node that is configured as the default node to run a service process. By default, the Service Manager starts the service process on the primary node and uses a backup node if the primary node fails.
Privilege
An action that a user can perform in PowerCenter applications. You assign privileges to users and groups for the PowerCenter domain, the Repository Service, the Metadata Manager Service, and the Reporting Service.
Privilege group
An organization of privileges that defines common user actions.
Pushdown compatible connections
Connections with identical property values that allow the Integration Service to identify tables within the same database management system. The required properties depend on the database management system associated with the connection object.
Pushdown group
A group of transformations containing transformation logic that is pushed to the database during a session configured for pushdown optimization. The Integration Service creates one or more SQL statements based on the number of partitions in the pipeline.
Pushdown optimization
A session option that allows you to push transformation logic to the source or target database.
Random masking
A type of masking that produces random, non-repeatable results.
Real-time data
Data that originates from a real-time source. Real-time data includes messages and messages queues, web services messages, and change data from a PowerExchange change data capture source.
Real-time processing
On-demand processing of data from operational data sources, databases, and data warehouses. Real-time processing reads, processes, and writes data to targets continuously.
Real-time session
A session in which the Integration Service generates a real-time flush based on the flush latency configuration and all transformations propagate the flush to the targets.
Real-time source
The origin of real-time data. Real-time sources include JMS, WebSphere MQ, TIBCO, webMethods, MSMQ, SAP, and web services.
Recovery
The automatic or manual completion of tasks after a service is interrupted. Automatic recovery is available for Integration Service and Repository Service tasks. You can also manually recover Integration Service workflows.
Recovery ignore list
A list of message IDs that the Integration Service uses to prevent data duplication for JMS and WebSphere MQ sessions. The Integration Service writes recovery information to the list if there is a chance that the source did not receive an acknowledgement.
Reference file
A Microsoft Excel or flat file that contains reference data. Use the Reference Table Manager to import data from reference files into reference tables.
Reference table
A table that contains reference data such as default, valid, and cross-reference values. You can create, edit, import, and export reference data with the Reference Table Manager.
Reference table staging area
A relational database that stores the reference tables. All reference tables that you create or import using the Reference Table Manager are stored within the staging area. You can create and manage multiple staging areas to restrict access to the reference tables.
Repeatable data
A source or transformation output that is in the same order between session runs when the order of the input data is consistent.
Reporting Service
An application service that runs the Data Analyzer application in a PowerCenter domain. When you log in to Data Analyzer, you can create and run reports on data in a relational database.
Reporting and Dashboards Service
An application service that runs the JasperReports application in an Informatica domain. You can view the PowerCenter and Metadata Manager reports from JasperReports Server. You can also launch the reports from the PowerCenter Client and Metadata Manager to view them in JasperReports Server.
Repository client
Any PowerCenter component that connects to the repository. This includes the PowerCenter Client, Integration Service, pmcmd, pmrep, and MX SDK.
Repository domain
A group of linked repositories consisting of one global repository and one or more local repositories.
Repository Service
An application service that manages the PowerCenter repository. It retrieves, inserts, and updates metadata in the repository database tables.
Request-response mapping
A mapping that uses a web service source and target. When you create a request-response mapping, you use source and target definitions imported from the same WSDL file.
Required resource
A PowerCenter resource that is required to run a task. A task fails if it cannot find any node where the required resource is available.
Reserved words file
A file named reswords.txt that you create and maintain in the Integration Service installation directory. The Integration Service searches this file and places quotes around reserved words when it executes SQL against source, target, and lookup databases.
Resilience
The ability for PowerCenter services to tolerate transient network failures until either the resilience timeout expires or the external system failure is fixed.
Resilience timeout
The amount of time a client attempts to connect or reconnect to a service. A limit on resilience timeout can override the resilience timeout.
Resource provision thresholds
Computing thresholds defined for a node that determine whether the Load Balancer can dispatch tasks to the node. The Load Balancer checks different thresholds depending on the dispatch mode.
Role
A collection of privileges that you assign to a user or group. You assign roles to users and groups for the PowerCenter domain, the Repository Service, the Metadata Manager Service, and the Reporting Service.
Round-robin dispatch mode
A dispatch mode in which the Load Balancer dispatches tasks to available nodes in a round-robin fashion up to the Maximum Processes resource provision threshold.
Run-time Objects privilege group
A group of privileges that define user actions on the following repository objects: session configuration objects, tasks, workflows, and worklets.
Safe mode
An operating mode for the Integration Service. When you run the Integration Service in safe mode, only users with privilege to administer the Integration Service can run and get information about sessions and workflows. A subset of the high availability features are available in safe mode.
SAP BW Service
An application service that listens for RFC requests from SAP NetWeaver BI and initiates workflows to extract from or load to SAP NetWeaver BI.
Security domain
A collection of user accounts and groups in a PowerCenter domain. Native authentication uses the Native security domain which contains the users and groups created and managed in the Administrator tool. LDAP authentication uses LDAP security domains which contain users and groups imported from the LDAP directory service. You can define multiple security domains for LDAP authentication.
Seed
A random number required by key masking to generate non-colliding repeatable masked output.
Sequential merge
A merge type that allows the Integration Service to create one merge file for all target partitions from the individual output files. The integration Service writes the merge file to the final target.
Service level
A domain property that establishes priority among tasks that are waiting to be dispatched. When multiple tasks are waiting in the dispatch queue, the Load Balancer checks the service level of the associated workflow so that it dispatches high priority tasks before low priority tasks.
Service Manager
A service that manages all domain operations. It runs on all nodes in the domain to support the application services and the domain. When you start Informatica Services, you start the Service Manager. If the Service Manager is not running, the node is not available.
Service mapping
A mapping that processes web service requests. A service mapping can contain source or target definitions imported from a Web Services Description Language (WSDL) file containing a web service operation. It can also contain flat file or XML source or target definitions.
Service process
A run-time representation of a service running on a node.
Service version
The version of an application service running in the PowerCenter domain. In a mixed-version domain you can create application services of multiple service versions.
Service workflow
A workflow that contains exactly one web service input message source and at most one type of web service output message target. Configure service properties in the service workflow.
Session
A task in a workflow that tells the Integration Service how to move data from sources to targets. A session corresponds to one mapping.
Session recovery
The process that the Integration Service uses to complete failed sessions. When the Integration Service runs a recovery session that writes to a relational target in normal mode, it resumes writing to the target database table at the point at which the previous session failed. For other target types, the Integration Service performs the entire writer run again.
Single-version domains
A PowerCenter domain that supports one version of application services.
Source pipeline
A source qualifier and all of the transformations and target instances that receive data from that source qualifier.
Sources and Targets privilege group
A group of privileges that define user actions on the following repository objects: cubes, dimensions, source definitions, and target definitions.
State of operation
Workflow and session information the Integration Service stores in a shared location for recovery. The state of operation includes task status, workflow variable values, and processing checkpoints.
Static deployment group
A deployment group that you must manually add objects to.
System-defined role
A role that you cannot edit or delete. The Administrator role is a system-defined role.
Target connection group
A group of targets that the Integration Service uses to determine commits and loading. When the Integration Service performs a database transaction such as a commit, it performs the transaction for all targets in a target connection group.
Target load order groups
A collection of source qualifiers, transformations, and targets linked together in a mapping.
Task release
A process that the Workflow Monitor uses to remove older tasks from memory so you can monitor an Integration Service in online mode without exceeding memory limits.
Task-specific workflow variables
Predefined workflow variables that vary according to task type. They appear under the task name in the Workflow Manager Expression Editor. $Dec_TaskStatus.PrevTaskStatus and $s_MySession.ErrorMsg are examples of task-specific workflow variables.
Terminating condition
A condition that determines when the Integration Service stops reading messages from a real-time source and ends the session.
Transaction
A set of rows bound by commit or rollback rows.
Transaction boundary
A row, such as a commit or rollback row, that defines the rows in a transaction. Transaction boundaries originate from transaction control points.
Transaction control
The ability to define commit and rollback points through an expression in the Transaction Control transformation and session properties.
Transaction control point
A transformation that defines or redefines the transaction boundary by dropping any incoming transaction boundary and generating new transaction boundaries.
Transaction Control transformation
A transformation used to define conditions to commit and rollback transactions from relational, XML, and dynamic WebSphere MQ targets.
Transaction control unit
A group of targets connected to an active source that generates commits or an effective transaction generator. A transaction control unit may contain multiple target connection groups.
Transaction generator
A transformation that generates both commit and rollback rows. Transaction generators drop incoming transaction boundaries and generate new transaction boundaries downstream. Transaction generators are Transaction Control transformations and Custom transformation configured to generate commits.
Transformation
A repository object in a mapping that generates, modifies, or passes data. Each transformation performs a different function.
Type view
A view created in a web service source or target definition for a complex type element in the input or output message. The type view has an n:1 relationship with the envelope view.
User credential
Web service security option that requires a client application to log in to the PowerCenter repository and get a session ID. The Web Services Hub authenticates the client requests based on the session ID. This is the security option used for batch web services.
User name token
Web service security option that requires a client application to provide a user name and password. The Web Services Hub authenticates the client requests based on the user name and password. The password can be a plain text password, hashed password, or digested password. This is the default security option for protected web services.
User-defined commit
A commit strategy that the Integration Service uses to commit and roll back transactions defined in a Transaction Control transformation or a Custom transformation configured to generate commits.
User-defined parameters and variables
Parameters and variables whose values can be set by the user. You normally define user-defined parameters and variables in a parameter file. However, some user-defined variables, such as user-defined workflow variables, can have initial values that you specify or are determined by their datatypes. You must specify values for user-defined session parameters.
User-defined property
A user-defined property is metadata that you define, such as PowerCenter metadata extensions. You can create user-defined properties in business intelligence, data modeling, or OLAP tools, such as IBM DB2 Cube Views or PowerCenter, and exchange the metadata between tools using the Metadata Export Wizard and Metadata Import Wizard.
User-defined resource
A PowerCenter resource that you define, such as a file directory or a shared library you want to make available to services.
Version
An incremental change of an object saved in the repository. The repository uses version numbers to differentiate versions.
Versioned object
An object for which you can create multiple versions in a repository. The repository must be enabled for version control.
View root
The element in an XML view that is a parent to all the other elements in the view.
View row
The column in an XML view that triggers the Integration Service to generate a row of data for the view in a session.
Web Services Hub
An application service in the PowerCenter domain that uses the SOAP standard to receive requests and send responses to web service clients. It acts as a web service gateway to provide client applications access to PowerCenter functionality using web service standards and protocols.
Web Services Provider
The provider entity of the PowerCenter web service framework that makes PowerCenter workflows and data integration functionality accessible to external clients through web services.
Worker node
Any node not configured to serve as a gateway. A worker node can run application services but cannot serve as a master gateway node.
Workflow
A set of instructions that tells the Integration Service how to run tasks such as sessions, email notifications, and shell commands.
Workflow instance
The representation of a workflow. You can choose to run one or more workflow instances associated with a concurrent workflow. When you run a concurrent workflow, you can run one instance multiple times concurrently, or you can run multiple instances concurrently.
Workflow instance name
The name of a workflow instance for a concurrent workflow. You can create workflow instance names, or you can use the default instance name.
Workflow run ID
A number that identifies a workflow instance that has run.
Workflow Wizard
A wizard that creates a workflow with a Start task and sequential Session tasks based on the mappings you choose.
Worklet
A worklet is an object representing a set of tasks created to reuse a set of workflow logic in multiple workflows.
XML group
A set of ports in an XML definition that defines a row of incoming or outgoing data. An XML view becomes a group in a PowerCenter definition.
XML view
A portion of any arbitrary hierarchy in an XML definition. An XML view contains columns that are references to the elements and attributes in the hierarchy. In a web service definition, the XML view represents the elements and attributes defined in the input and output messages.