Why FACT Is Better
Consider Key Advantages and Differentiators
Learn why IRI FACT is a smarter choice than both:
- pricier megavendor utilities with their poor record of support
- in-house programs, which lack the speed, functionality, and interoperability that enterprise ETL reorgs, and migrations require
Click through these primary attributes of FACT as you consider the alternatives:
Velocity
IRI FACT uses native database APIs and parallel processing to turn tables to flat files faster than any other unload tool or method. FACT scales linearly in volume, so that unloading a two-billion row table should not take more than twice as long as unloading a one-billion row table. Combining the high-performance extraction of FACT with the high-performance, consolidated data transformations and pre-sorted bulk loads of IRI CoSort is the fastest and least expensive way to perform big data ETL and offline reorgs.
Interoperability
Unlike proprietary export tools like Oracle DataPump, FACT produces flat files. FACT-extracted data is thus available for data integration and staging, and it interchanges with any application or database. FACT also runs with other applications by automatically creating the extracts' data layouts for IRI software (Voracity, CoSort, NextForm, FieldShield, and RowGen), and DB load utilities (SQL*Loader, bcp, DB2 Load, and Teradata Fast/MultiLoad). FACT also runs directly and seamlessly with CoSort and bulk DB load utilities to move bulk data rapidly through piped data warehouse ETL, offline DB reorg, replication, and reporting operations.
Portability
FACT scripts work the same way across nine DB platforms: Altibase, DB2 (UDB), MySQL, Oracle, SQL Server, Sybase, Greenplum, Teradata, and Tibero. FACT configuration files (job scripts) run identically across all Unix and Windows platforms. The IRI Workbench GUI, built on Eclipse™, is a free option for visual FACT job design and execution. The scripts themselves can be ported to any platform for command-line use.
Versatility
FACT can be used in many difference scenarios, including end-to-end ETL jobs in IRI Voracity, ETL tool and ELT appliance acceleration, classic DB reorgs, DB migrations, replications, and backup/restore (archive) operations. The simple configuration files of FACT are text scripts that can run on the command line, in batch, or from the IRI Workbench GUI. FACT users in IRI Workbench have access to database views, an end-to-end unload job wizard, and an offline reorg wizard combining FACT, CoSort, and bulk loaders for mass unload, sort, and reload batches.
Simplicity
FACT job scripts are simple text files that anyone can write, read, and understand. They can also be built through user-friendly IRI Workbench job wizards. And, by automatically creating the metadata for the CoSort SortCL program or other IRI products - as well as bulk load utilities - FACT makes it easy to add data transformation, migration, masking, reporting, and loading operations to extractions. Designing, deploying, and managing FACT jobs in IRI Workbench is straightforward and already familiar to those using the database connectivity, version control, metadata search, and other features/functions of Eclipse.
