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Informatica PowerCenter - Overview

Informatica PowerCenter architecture is used to achieve the extract, transform and load of data. PowerCenter provides an environment that allows you to load data into a centralized location, such as a data mart, data warehouse, or operational data store (ODS). You can extract data from multiple sources, transform the data according to business logic you build in the client application, and load the transformed data into file and relational targets

Informatica PowerCenter - Components

PowerCenter repository. The PowerCenter repository is at the center of the PowerCenter suite. You create a set of metadata tables within the repository database that the PowerCenter applications and tools access. The PowerCenter Client and Server access the repository to save and retrieve metadata. PowerCenter Repository Server. The PowerCenter Repository Server manages connections to the repository from client applications. It inserts, updates, and fetches objects from the repository database tables. It also maintains object consistency. PowerCenter Client. Use the PowerCenter Client to manage users, define sources and targets, build mappings and mapplets with the transformation logic, and create workflows to run the mapping logic. The PowerCenter Client has the following client applications: Repository Manager, Repository Server Administration Console, Designer, Workflow Manager, and Workflow Monitor.

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Informatica PowerCenter - Components

PowerCenter Server. The PowerCenter Server reads mapping and session
information from the repository. It extracts data from the mapping sources and stores the data in memory while it applies the transformation rules that you configure in the mapping. The PowerCenter Server loads the transformed data into the mapping targets.

Meta data . The simplest definition of metadata is that it is data about data. An item of metadata may describe an individual data item or a collection of data
items.
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Sources & Targets

Relational. Oracle, Sybase, Informix, IBM DB2, Microsoft SQL Server, and Teradata.

File. Fixed and delimited flat file, COBOL file, and XML.
Application. You can purchase additional PowerCenter Connect products to access business sources, such as PeopleSoft, SAP R/3, Siebel, IBM MQSeries, and TIBCO. Other. Microsoft Excel and Access.

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Repository
The PowerCenter repository resides on a relational database. The repository database tables contain the instructions required to extract, transform, and load data PowerCenter Client applications access the repository database tables through the Repository Server. You add metadata to the repository tables when you perform tasks in the PowerCenter Client application, such as creating users, analyzing sources, developing mappings or mapplets, or creating workflows. The PowerCenter Server reads metadata created in the Client application when you run a workflow. The PowerCenter Server also creates metadata, such as start and finish times of a session or session status

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Repository
Global repository. The global repository is the hub of the domain. Use the global repository to store common objects that multiple developers can use through shortcuts. These objects may include operational or Application source definitions, reusable transformations, mapplets, and mappings. Local repositories. A local repository is within a domain that is not the global repository. Use local repositories for development. From a local repository, you can create shortcuts to objects in shared folders in the global repository. These objects typically include source definitions, common dimensions and lookups, and enterprise standard transformations. You can also create copies of objects in nonshared folders. Version control. A versioned repository can store multiple copies, or versions, of an object. Each version is a separate object with unique properties. PowerCenter version control features allow you to efficiently develop, test, and deploy metadata into production.

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Repository Server
The Repository Server manages repository connection requests from client applications. For each repository database registered with the Repository Server, it configures and manages a Repository Agent process. The Repository Server also monitors the status of running Repository Agents, and sends repository object notification messages to client applications. The Repository Agent is a separate, multi-threaded process that retrieves, inserts, and updates metadata in the repository database tables. The Repository Agent ensures the consistency of metadata in the repository by employing object locking.

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PowerCenter Client
Repository Server Administration Console. Use the Repository Server Administration console to administer the Repository Servers and repositories. Repository Manager. Use the Repository Manager to administer the metadata repository. You can create repository users and groups, assign privileges and permissions, and manage folders and locks. Designer. Use the Designer to create mappings that contain transformation instructions for the PowerCenter Server. Before you can create mappings, you must add source and target definitions to the repository. The Designer has five tools that you use to analyze sources, design target schemas, and build source-totarget mappings: Source Analyzer. Import or create source definitions. Warehouse Designer. Import or create target definitions. Transformation Developer. Develop reusable transformations to use in mappings. Mapplet Designer. Create sets of transformations to use in mappings. Mapping Designer. Create mappings that the PowerCenter Server uses to extract, transform, and load data.

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PowerCenter Client
Workflow Manager. Use the Workflow Manager to create, schedule, and run workflows. A workflow is a set of instructions that describes how and when to run tasks related to extracting, transforming, and loading data. The PowerCenter Server runs workflow tasks according to the links connecting the tasks. You can run a task by placing it in a workflow. Workflow Monitor. Use the Workflow Monitor to monitor scheduled and running workflows for each PowerCenter Server. You can choose a Gantt Chart or Task view. You can also access details about those workflow runs.

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PowerCenter Server
The PowerCenter Server reads mapping and session information from the repository. It extracts data from the mapping sources and stores the data in memory while it applies the transformation rules that you configure in the mapping. The PowerCenter Server loads the transformed data into the mapping targets. The PowerCenter Server can achieve high performance using symmetric multi-processing systems. The PowerCenter Server can start and run multiple workflows concurrently. It can also concurrently process partitions within a single session. When you create multiple partitions within a session, the PowerCenter Server creates multiple database connections to a single source and extracts a separate range of data for each

connection, according to the properties you configure.

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Repository Manager
Use the Repository Manager to administer your repositories. The Repository Manager allows you to navigate through multiple folders and repositories, and perform the following tasks: Manage the repository. You can perform repository management functions, such as copying, creating, starting, and shutting down repositories. You launch the Repository Server Administration Console to perform these functions. Implement repository security. You can create, edit, and delete repository users and user groups. You can assign and revoke repository privileges and folder permissions. Perform folder functions. You can create, edit, copy, and delete folders. Work you perform in the Designer and Workflow Manager is stored in folders. If you want to share metadata, you can configure a folder to be shared. View metadata. You can analyze sources, targets, mappings, and shortcut dependencies, search by keyword, and view the properties of repository objects.

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Workflow Manager
The Workflow Manager consists of three tools to help you develop a workflow: Task Developer. Create tasks you want to accomplish in the workflow in the Task Developer. Workflow Designer. Create a workflow by connecting tasks with links in the Workflow Designer. You can also create tasks in the Workflow Designer as you develop the workflow. Worklet Designer. Create a worklet in the Worklet Designer. A worklet is an object that groups a set of tasks. A worklet is similar to a workflow, but without scheduling information. You can nest multiple worklets inside a workflow.

Before you create a workflow, you must configure the following connection information: PowerCenter Server connection. Register the PowerCenter Server with the repository before you can start it or create a session to run against it. Database connections. Create connections to source and target systems. Other connections. If you want to use external loaders or FTP, you configure these connections in the Workflow Manager.

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Workflow Monitor
After you create a workflow, you run the workflow in the Workflow Manager and monitor it in the Workflow Monitor. The Workflow Monitor is a tool that displays details about workflow runs in two views, Gantt Chart view and Task view. You can monitor workflows in online and offline modes. The Workflow Monitor consists of the following windows:

Navigator window. Displays monitored repositories, servers, and repositories objects. Output window. Displays messages from the PowerCenter Server. Time window. Displays progress of workflow runs. Gantt Chart view. Displays details about workflow runs in chronological format.
Task view. Displays details about workflow runs in a report format.

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Debugging Tools
Log Reader Tool: Log Reader helps the users to extract meaningful and necessary information from PowerCenter log files(Session Logs, Repository server and agent logs, pmserver logs) by color coding the errors and informational messages.

Performance Analyzer Tool : Performance Analyzer is a utility that analyzes the performance of mappings and session with the help of the mapping XMLs.

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Informatica Resources www.infomatica.com Professional and Education Services

my.informatica.com Tech support / Knowledgebase

devnet.informatica.com discussion forms / webinars

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