Take a closer look at FACT

Fast unloading of Oracle and other VLDBs

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IRI FACT™ (Fast Extract) loads large tables quickly into external files using DB-native APIs, SQL SELECT syntax, and a selection of split (parallel) query methods.

Unlike other database unload methods (e.g., Oracle Data Pump), FACT creates portable flat files. Your „dump table to file“ data is therefore quickly available for any purpose, including: Reorgs, transformations, preload sorting, migrations, change and summary reports, ETL, replication, testing, and protection.

If you also the IRI Voracity-Platform or product IRI CoSort use, you can with the program SortCL perform all these steps after extraction at once or speed them up. However, you don't have to use SortCL, meaning, once the data is in flat files, you can do anything you want with it.

FACT's extraction performance is unparalleled. With superior connection protocols, parallel hints and queries, and a host of other proprietary techniques, FACT's unload rate is much faster than database spool or export capabilities.

Benchmarks also show that flat files are generated many times faster by FACT than by SQL*Plus or ODBC operations. FACT consumes few system resources and requires no load balancing.

FACT includes several useful file layout options, including:

    Custom date and time stamping
    Realigning numerical data
    Formatting of fixed or variable data records
    Separator and Frame Character Selection
    Column trim (with reduction)
    Packed decimal to numeric conversion
    Varchar Length Displays
    Null Number Casting
    Remove line breaks and characters

To unload a supported database, run FACT from the command line:

fact ini_file

or from the free IRI Workbench GUI, built on Eclipse™. Workbench users IRI VoracityPlatform for ETL and other data management activities can also configure FACT specification and execution through various wizards or state-of-the-art workflow diagrams.

The ini_file is an easy-to-use text or XML file that identifies the database, extracts with an SQL SELECT command, and specifies the format and destination of the unload target (pipe or files).

FACT also works with the data transformation and reporting program CoSort. SortCL (via metadata creation) and with database loading programs (like Oracle SQL*LoaderThis consolidates complete database reorg or data warehouse ETL processes into single-pass operations. These users can also simultaneously perform reporting, replication, conversion, and row/column security operations.

With FACT, DBAs and Data Warehouse architects can optionally perform mass dispatches through pipelines to complete very fast offline reorg or ETL processes.

Run the file FACT.ini with a:

    CoSort SortCL Job specification file (.scl) that refers to the .ddf metadata automatically created by FACT
    SQL*Loader- process that uses the tax file metadata, which FACT also creates automatically

or as part of a complete ETL or reorganize workflow, which in the IRI Voracity-platform is designed and executed in the same Eclipse IDE, IRI Workbench, is supported:

IRI ETL Workflow Diagram - Voracity (FACT, CoSort, DB Loaders, More)

For example, for Oracle, the operational template is:

fact -c ini_file; Fact ini_file | sortcl /spec=transform.scl /spec=fact.ddf | sqlldr control=fact.ctl direct=true

This command initiates a fast table extraction and hands it off to the CoSort SortCL program. SortCL simultaneously performs field filtering, sorting, aggregation, conversion, protection, reformatting, replication, and/or reporting (transform.scl). In turn, one of SortCL's output destinations (stdout.dat) can be passed, pre-sorted, to SQL*Loader.

SortCL can also create other outputs during this process, including: structured reports, CSV table replicas, XML files, web-enabled reports, BI tool (cube) handoffs, and so on. No other ETL solution offers this level of parallel processing power, versatility, or ease of use while relieving the database of so much effort.

Summary

IRI FACT is the fastest way to simultaneously:

  • Offloading Very Large Database (VLDB) Transaction (Fact) Tables
  • Create formatted flat files from a table
  • Creating Tax File Metadata for Database Bulk Loaders
  • Creation of IRI CoSort or Voracity ETLMetadata for transformations, rollups, delta reports, and preload sorts.
  • Creation of IRI NextForm-Metadata for converting exported data and file types
  • Creation of IRI FieldShield- Metadata for column encryption, de-identification, and masking of columns
  • Creation of IRI RowGen-Metadata for generating secure test data in tabular format