DataStage – ETL Basics

ETL Basics
• Extraction Transformation & Load
 Extracts data from source systems
 Enforces data quality and consistency standards
 Conforms data from different sources
 Load data to target systems

• Usually a
 batch process
 Involves large volumes of data

• Scenarios
 Load a data warehouse, data mart for analytical and reporting applications
 Data Integration
 Load packaged applications, or external systems through their APIs or interface
databases
 Data Migration

October 19, 2021 2

ETL Basics

ETL Tool or Hand Coding?

Tool-based ETL
 Simpler, faster, cheaper
development
 Integrated metadata repositories
 Built-in scheduler
 Built-in connectors for variety of
sources/targets
 Delivers good performance
 Can call external routines
Hand-based ETL
 Object-oriented programming
techniques
 Automated unit testing tools
 Can develop in common and well-
known language
 Unlimited flexibility
 In-house programmers

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ETL Basics
Advantages of Tool-based ETL
• Reusability
• Metadata repository
• Incremental load
• Managed batch loading
• Simpler connectivity
• Parallel operation
• Vendor experience

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ETL Basics

ETL Products from

• Pure-play ETL vendors
• Database vendors
• Business Intelligence vendors

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ETL Basics

• Usual features provided by ETL tools:

• Graphical data flow definition interfaces for easy development

• Native & ODBC connectivity to standard databases, packages, etc.
• Metadata maintenance components
• Metadata import & export from standard databases, packages, etc.
• Inbuilt standard functions & transformations – e.g. date, aggregate, sort, etc.
• Options for sharing or reusing developed components
• Facility to call external routines or write custom code for complex requirement
• Batch definition to handle dependencies between data flows to create the application
• ETL Engines that handle the data manipulation without depending on the database
engines.
• Run-time support for monitoring the data flow and reading message logs
• Scheduling options

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ETL Basics

Architecture of a Typical ETL Tool

Source & Target Database Source & Target Database

ETL Metadata Repository Data

Metadata
ETL Engine

Data

GUI-Based Development Run-time Environment

Environment
• Trigger ETL
• Metadata Definition/Import/Export • Monitor flow
• Data Flow & Transformation Definition • View logs
• Batch Definition
• Test & Debug
• Schedule

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IBM Information Server DataStage Overview
IBM Information Server DataStage

What is IBM Information Server DataStage?

• Design jobs for Extraction, Transformation, and Loading (ETL)

• Ideal tool for data integration projects – such as, data warehouses, data marts,
and system migrations

• Import, export, create, and manage metadata for use within jobs

• Schedule, run, and monitor jobs all within DataStage

• Administer the DataStage development and execution environments

• Create batch (controlling) jobs

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DataStage Architecture

Engine

Data Server Data

Metadata Metadata

 Repository

Sources Targets

•ETL Metadata •Assemble Jobs

•Maintained in internal format •Debug
•Compile Jobs
Director •Execute Jobs
Designer •Import & Export
•Execute Jobs component definitions
• Monitor Jobs, view job
logs

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Some Product Flavors
• Enterprise Edition
 Includes Parallel Engine, Server Engine & MetaStage
 Supports Parallel & Server Jobs in a SMP & MPP environment

• Server Edition
 Lower-end version, much less expensive
 Includes Server Engine, supports only Server Jobs
 Sufficient for less performance critical applications
 MetaStage can also be packaged with it

• MVS Edition
 An Extension that allows generation of Cobol Code & JCL for execution on Mainframes
 Common development environment, but involves porting & compiling code on to the mainframe

• SOA Edition
 RTI component to handle real-time interface
 Allows job components to be exposed as web-services
 Multiple servers service requests routed through the RTI component
 Note that the web service client component is available even without purchasing the SOA Edition

NOTE: This material covers ONLY the Parallel Engine Component

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DataStage Architecture

DataStage Server Architecture

• Server (Parallel Engine):

• Windows - Windows Server 2003 (Standard & Enterprise) (DS 7.5.2 only),
• Unix - HP-UX, Tru64, IBM AIX,
• Linux - Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS 3.0 & Linux SUSE LINUX Enterprise Server 9
• Solaris 2.8/2.9/2.10
• USS z/OS
 The engine runs the executable, managing data

• Repository:
• Contains all the metadata, mapping rules, etc.
• DataStage applications are organized into Projects, each server can handle multiple
projects
• DataStage repository maintained in an internal file format & not in the database

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DataStage Architecture

DataStage Client Products

• Windows-based components
• Need to access the server at development time
• Designer: to create DataStage ‘jobs’ , compiled to create the executables,
Import & Export component definitions
• Director: validate, schedule, run, and monitor jobs
• Administrator: setting up users, creating and moving projects, and setting up
purging criteria, setting environment variables
• Designer & Director can connect to one Project at a time

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Key DataStage Components

Project

• Usually created for each application (or version of an application, e.g. Test,
Dev, etc.)
• Multiple projects can exist on a single server box
• Associated with a specific directory with the same name as the Project: the
“Repository”, which contains all metadata associated with the project
• Consists of
 DataStage Server & Parallel Jobs
 Pre-built components (Stages, Functions, etc.)
 User-defined components
• User Roles & Privileges set at this level
• Managed through the Information Server Web console/ DS Administrative
Client tool
• Connected to through other client components

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Key DataStage Components
Category

• Folder-structure within the Project.

• Separate “Trees” for Jobs, Table Definitions, Routines, etc.
• Managed through the DS Designer client tool
• Used for better organization of project components.

Table Definition

• Metadata: record structure with column definitions

• Can be imported or manually entered
• Not necessarily associated with a specific table or file.
• Association only made within the job (and stage) definition
• Metadata definition also possible directly through the Stage, but may not result in creation of a table
definition
• Created using the DS Designer client tool

Schema Files

• External metadata definition for a sequential file. Specific format & syntax for a file. Associated with a data
file at run-time

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Key DataStage Components

Job
• Executable unit of work that can be compiled & executed independently or as part
of a data flow stream
• Created using DS Designer Client (Compile & Execute also available through
Designer)
• Managed (copy, rename, import, export) through DS Designer
• Executed, monitored through DS Director, Log also available through Director
• Parallel Jobs (Available with Enterprise Edition):
• have built-in functionality for Pipeline and Partitioning Parallelism
• Compiled into OSH (Orchestrate Scripting Language).
• The OSH executes “Operators” which are executable C++ class instances
• Server Jobs (Available with Enterprise as well as Server Editions):
• Compiled into Basic (interpreted pseudo-code)
• Limited functionality and parallelism
• Can accept parameters **
• Reads & writes from one or more files/tables, may include transformations
• Collection of stages & links

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Key DataStage Components

Stages
• Pre-built component to
• Perform a frequently required operation on a record or set or records, e.g.
Aggregate, Sort, Join, Transform, etc.
• Read or write into a source or target table or file

Links
• Depicts flow of data between stages

Data Sets
• Data is internally carried through links in the form of Data Sets
• DataStage provides facility to “land” or store this data in the form of files
• Recommended for staging data as the data is partitioned & sorted data; so a fast
way of sharing/passing data between jobs
• Not recommended for back-ups or for sharing between applications as it is not
readable, except through DataStage

Shared Containers
• Reusable job elements – comprises of stages and links

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Key DataStage Components
Routines
• Pre-built & Custom built
• Two Types
• Before/After Job: Can be executed before or after a job( or some stages), multiple input
arguments, returns a single error code
• Transform: Called within a Transform Stage to process record & produce a single return
value that can be allocated to or used in computation of an output field
• Custom Built
• Written & compiled using a C++ utility. The Object File created is registered as a routine & is
invoked from within DataStage
• Note that server jobs use routines written within the DS environment using an extended version
of the BASIC language

Job Sequence
• Definition of a workflow, executing jobs (or sub sequences), routines, OS commands, etc.
• Can accept specifications for dependency, e.g.
• when file A arrives, execute Job B
• Execute Job A, On Failure of Job A Execute OS Command <<XXX>> On Completion of Job
A execute Job B & C
• Can invoke parallel as well as server jobs

DS API
• SDK functions
• Can be embedded into C++ code, invoked through the command line or from shell scripts
• Can retrieve information, compile, start, & stop jobs

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Key DataStage Components

Configuration File
• Defines the system size & configuration applicable to the job, in terms of nodes, node
pools, mapped to disk space & assigned scratch disk space
• Details maintained external to the job design
• Different files can be used according to individual job requirements

Environment Variables
• Set or defined through the Administrator at a project level
• Overridden at a job level
• Types
• Standard/Generic Variables: design and running of parallel jobs: e.g. buffering,
message logging, etc.
• User Defined Variables

DSX or XML files

• Created through export option
• Can select components by type, category & name

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Other DataStage Features
• Source & Target data supported:
• Text files
• Complex data structures in XML
• Enterprise application systems such as SAP, PeopleSoft, Siebel and Oracle Applications
• Almost any database - including partitioned databases, such as Oracle, IBM DB2 EE/EEE/ESE (with
and without DPF), Informix, Sybase, Teradata, SQL Server, and the list goes on including access
using ODBC
• Web services
• Messaging and EAI including WebSphereMQ and SeeBeyond
• SAS

• DataStage is National Language Support (NLS) enabled using Unicode.

• 400 pre-built functions and routines

• Job templates & wizards

• DataStage uses the OS-level security for restricting access to projects.

 Only root/admin user can administer the server
 Roles can be assigned to users & groups to control access to projects

October 19, 2021 20

Recap

• We Saw:
• What, Why & How ETL
• DataStage
• Architecture
• Flavors
• Components & Other Features

October 19, 2021 21

A Quick Demo Job
Case:
• Input File contains Sales Data with attribute including <Region ID, Zone, Total Sales>
• Note that
• Region ID is the Unique
• The file contains attributes other than the 3 mentioned above
• The required calculation is to
• compute the Regional Total as a percentage of the Zonal Total
• Compute the Rupee equivalent of the Regional Total by multiplying it with the exchange rate which should
be a parameter Region ID City Zone ID Regional Sales

1 City 1 Z1 10
e.g.
2 City 2 Z1 10
If input is
3 City 3 Z1 20
4 City 4 Z2 20
5 City 5 Z2 30

• And conversion rate is 40

Zone
Region ID City ID Regional Sales Rs_Sales PCT
1 City 1 Z1 10 400 25
• Expected Output is 2 City 2 Z1 10 400 25

3 City 3 Z1 20 800 50
4 City 4 Z2 20 800 40

5 City 5 Z2 30 1200 60

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A Quick Demo Job
• Step 0
• Project has been created
• User groups have been assigned appropriate roles
• Source Data is available
• ODBC connection DSNs to the source & target databases have been created <Not required for
this particular example>

• Step 1 : Connect to the DataStage Project

• Open Designer, connecting to the appropriate server & the specific project
• Note that the OS-level User ID & Password of the server box are used

October 19, 2021 23

A Quick Demo Job
• Step 2 : Define Metadata of source and/or target files

• Menu Option: Import > Table Definitions > Sequential File Definitions
• Browse to the directory & select source file.
• Select category under which to save the table definition & the name of the table definition
• Click on Import

Path & file w.r.t DS server

not the client!

October 19, 2021 24

A Quick Demo Job

• Step 2 …

• Define formatting (e.g. fixed width/delimited, what end of line character has been used, does
the first line contain column names, etc.)
• Set Column Names (if file does not already contain them), & widths

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Designer Interface

• Step 3: Create the job

• Open Designer
• Directly through Desktop or through tools menu in Director OR
• Create a new “Parallel Job”
• Save within the chosen ‘Category’ or folder

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Designer Interface

Repository

Design pane

Palette

• Step 4 – Design the job

• Drag & drop icons & links from the palette as shown in the next slide

October 19, 2021 27

A Quick Demo Job

Aggregate Stage: Group by Zone,

Sequential File Stage: Read Sum( Sales Total)
Source File

Join Stage: Join aggregated &

un-aggregated data by Zone

Transform Stage: Compute PCT

at the record level

Sequential File Stage: Write

Copy Stage: to use the data into Target File, metadata
stream twice defined through the job

October 19, 2021 28

A Quick Demo Job

• Step 4 Contd.

• Define Job Parameters

Default value optional

October 19, 2021 29

A Quick Demo Job

• Step 4 Contd. - Design the job..

• Double-Click icons to open stages for settings & options.

• Note that individual stage options will be discussed shortly
• Stage & link names will have defaults, These must be changed to meaningful tags

• Step 5 – Save & Compile the job

• Compile the job: Designer menu/icon

• Step 6 – Run

• Designer menu/icon (or Director menu/icon)

• View Log: Director menu/icon
Tip!

• Table definitions can also be created through the DataStage Designer

• Always import table definitions from the database to ensure that datatypes are consistent
• Ensure data definition is a project-level controlled activity to avoid proliferation of metadata with
redundancies and inconsistencies

October 19, 2021 30

Director Interface
Director view …

October 19, 2021 31

A Quick Demo Job

• View sample records in the output

• Designer: option available on Right-click on stage icon or within stage dialog box

• Demo Job Completed

October 19, 2021 32

Sequential File Stage

• Features
• Normally executes in sequential mode**
• Can read from multiple files with same metadata
• Can accept wild-card path & names.
• The stage needs to be told:
• How file is divided into rows (record format)
• How row is divided into columns (column format)

• Stage Rules
• Accepts 1 input link OR 1 stream output link
• Rejects record(s) that have metadata mismatch. Options on reject
• Continue: ignore record
• Fail: Job aborts
• Output: Reject link metadata a single column, not alterable, can be written into a
file/table

** - parallelization options to be discussed shortly

October 19, 2021 33

Sequential File Stage

Add a reject link

Dotted line for reject link

Options for output link: Reject Mode =

“Output”

Options for Reject link – none

Column Format is raw. Not editable

October 19, 2021 34

Sequential File Stage
Sequential File Stage properties …

Load from Table Definitions or

Enter manually & “Save” as a
Table definition

October 19, 2021 35

Copy Stage
• Features of Copy Stage
• Copies single input link dataset to a number of output datasets
• Records can be copied with or without some modifications
• Modifications can be:
• Drop columns
• Change the order of columns
• Note that this functionality also provided by the Transform Stage but Copy is faster

Separate settings for

each output link

Drop columns,
Change the order of
columns, rename columns

October 19, 2021 36

Transformer Stage
• Single input
• One or more output links
• Optional Reject link
• Column mappings – for each output link, selection of columns & creation of new derived columns
also possible
• Derivations
• Expressions written in Basic
• Final compiled code is C++ generated object code (Specified compiler must be available on the
DS Server)
• Powerful but expensive stage in terms of performance
• Stage variables
• For readability & for performance when same complex expression is used in multiple derivations
• Be aware that
• The values are retained across rows & order of definition of stage variables will matter.
• The values are retained across rows but only within a each partition
• Expressions for constraints and derivations can reference
• Input columns
• Job parameters
• Functions (built-in or user-defined)
• System variables and constants
• Stage variables – be aware that the variables are within each partition
• External routines
• Link Ordering - to use derivations from previous links

October 19, 2021 37

Transformer Stage
Inside Transformer Stage … Link
Area

Output
Links
Expressions/
Transforms
Input Links

Metadata
Area

October 19, 2021 38

Transformer Stage
Properties Section for each
output link

Column Mappings
Not all input columns Stage Variable
need to be used Derivation,
Expression

Metadata defined
for derived
columns

October 19, 2021 39

Transformer Stage
• Constraints
• Filter data
• Direct data down different output links
• For different processing or storage
• Output links may also be set to be “Otherwise/Log” to catch records that have not passed through
any of the links processed so far (link ordering is critical)
• Optional Reject link to catch records that failed to be written into any output because of write
errors or NULL

Do not output if
Region_ID is NULL

Output records where all previous

constraints have failed i.e. Region_ID
is NULL

Abort job if 10 rows have Region_Id =

NULL

October 19, 2021 40

Join Stage

• Four types:
• Inner
• Left outer
• Right outer
• Full outer

• Follow the RDBMS-style relational model

• Cross-products in case of duplicates
• Matching entries are reusable for multiple matches
• Non-matching entries can be captured (Left, Right, Full)

• Join keys must have same name, can modify if required in a previous stage

• 2 or more input links, 1 output link

• No fail/reject option for missed matches

• All input link data is pre-sorted & partitioned** on the join key
• By default
• Sort inserted by DataStage
• If data is pre-sorted (by a previous stage), does not pre-sort

** - to be discussed shortly

October 19, 2021 41

Join Stage
Join Stage Implementation Can have multiple
keys

Candidates listed in drop

box, i.e. fields with
common names

Join Types

Option for case-

sensitive or
insensitive joins

• Important: In case outer joins are specified

• the left & right links must be specified & the downstream checks must consider this
• Non-null joining fields must be made nullable on output to allow detection of join failures

October 19, 2021 42

Aggregator Stage

• Performs data aggregations

• Specify zero or more key columns
that define the aggregation units
(or groups)
• Aggregation functions available
are:
• Count (nulls/non-nulls)
• Sum
• Max/Min/Range/Mean
• Missing/Non-missing value cnt
• % coefficient of variation
• Output link has “Mapping” tab to
select, reorder & rename fields
• Input key-partitioned** on grouping
columns

** - to be discussed shortly

October 19, 2021 43

Aggregator Stage

• Grouping methods available are:

• Hash
• Intermediate results for each group are stored in a hash table
• Final results are written out after all input has been processed
• No sort required
• Use when number of unique groups is small
• Running tally for each group’s aggregate calculations needs to fit
into memory. Requires about 1K RAM / group
• Sort
• Only a single aggregation group is kept in memory
• When new group is seen, current group is written out

• Requires input to be sorted by grouping keys

• Can handle unlimited numbers of groups
• Example: average daily balance by credit card

October 19, 2021 44

Using Job Parameters

• Defining through Job Properties > Parameters

• Used to pass business & control parameters to the jobs

Default value optional

#XXX#
Direct usage for expression evaluation
Usage as stage parameter for string substitution

October 19, 2021 45

Job Parameters

• Setting Parameter Values

• Provided at run-time
• Use default value used if not reset
• If no default value, the value must be provided at run-time

October 19, 2021 46

Recap

• We Saw:
• Table Definition
• Job
• Stages
• Sequential File as source & target
• Aggregator
• Join
• Transform
• Job Parameters

October 19, 2021 47

Case Study 1