o Prepare the scripts for Tables, views with

constraints, and indexes.

Change the session connections
• What are the tools used in ur environment

for Data Mining and Data Modeling

o Data Modeling :- Erwin from platinum,Visio

from Microsoft
o Data Mining: - A component of Data

Warehousing Solution, used to discover

patterns and relationships in ur data in order
to help u make better business decisions. Also
called knowledge discovery in databases
(KDD), Oracle’s sol to this business pr of data
mining is known as Oracle Darwin or as
oracle’s Data mining Suite. Used to help u
build predictive models, Data Mining is a
discovery process that allows users to
understand the substance of and the
relationships between their data Ex: - What is
likely to happen to the Boston Sales next
month and why? , Characteristics of Data
Mining are Prospective, Proactive information
delivery

o To access remote unix servers tiny tern

o How did u go to oracle
o Using tiny tern

• Diff between lkp cache and unlkp cache

o U can disable the option use lkp cache when u

are creating a lkp tranfor

 o Performance issue if lkp is too large in size lkp
cache also takes lot of space
• What is diff between data warehousing and

enterprise data warehousing

Widely used by whole enterprise data
warehousing
Total GE warehouse is called enterprise data
warehouse
Data warehouse build for all business in an enterprise is
enterprise data warehousing and for a single business is data
warehouse and module in a data warehouse is data mart

Ex:- GE capital , GE appliances, GE electrical

each has their own data data warehouse
• What was the challenging task u felt when u

are working with informatica

• What is sql override

Overriding a SQL in source qualifier or lookup for

additional logic.
• How do u fine tune a session

A mapping is running very slow how do u

handle :- While creating a mapping in the

development process I followed all the rules to fine

tune like joiner transformation in the beginning
reducing no of expressions
In the beginning only I check how much time its
taking to retrive
At mapping level :- Source sql override (explain
plan statistics )
Target we write to flat file then check the time
againt to rdbms then u will know bottle neck is in
the db or in the mapping
Then we check network by calling network admin
Then data cache index cache increase

o How did u implement update strategy

Complex Session scheduling in ur experience
• Have u used a normalizer transformation

where
No
• Explain the difference between oracle

normalization and data warehouse

denormalization why do we need to
denormalize in datawarehousing
Reverse engineering is for the performance i.e.
removing additional joins and decreasing the load
on the oltp system

• How did u handle error handling

ETL-Row-Errors
Always I used have problems when I am retrieving
data from flat files the data is not formatted
arranged properly what I used to do is Using sql *
loader I pulled flat file data into data
They r temporarily tables then I used these
temporary tables as source then applied
transformations and loaded into target then
deleted the temporary tables

Why did u choose this method

informatica taking lot of time to load data into source using sql
* loader the job can be done in minutes
• What are the different kinds of repots u
have created in BO in the recent project
What are the different kinds of repots u have created in BO in
the recent project Tabular, cross tab, Master detail, crosstab
master detail, table multi master detail.

• Can we have multiple conditions in a Lookup?

yes
• Can we have multiple conditions in a Filter?

YES
• How the flags are called in Update strategy?

IIF
0 - DD_INSERT , 1- DD_UPDATE , 2- DD_DELETE , 3-
DD_REJECT
• Is it possible to run the session other than Server

manager? If so how?
YES USING PMCMD
• What is the use of power plug?

For 3rd party connectors to sap,

mainframe,Peoplesoft
1.What are all the versions of Power Mart/Power
Center – 1.7/4.7/5.0/5.1 -??
2.
Business Objects:
1. When U are installing BO with what profile you
will enter?

• What is Short Cut join

• What is load balancing ? Fail Over?
• What is clustering ?
• Diff between lkp cache and unlkp cache
Look up cache Indicates whether the Lookup transformation
caches lookup values during the session. When lookup caching is
enabled, the Informatica Server queries the lookup table once,
caches the values, and looks up values in the cache during the
session. This can improve session performance. When you
disable caching, each time a row passes into the transformation,
the Informatica Server issues a select statement to the lookup
table for lookup values.
• When U are installing BO with what profile you will
enter?
• What is the difference between inner and outer

join
Inner is self join and outer join retrieves the information for the
given condition and the information that dose not satisfy the
condition

What is the syntax difference for using outer join

•

in SQL Server / Oracle

In Oracle u use (+) symbol and in SQL Server
u use *
• How do you do requirement analysis?

This is a big question, we start with learning the existing system

and interact with the end users for their requirements and then
decide the steps that need to go in modeling, ETL and reporting

• What is Exception?
Same as exception handler in Oracle
• What is slowly changing Dimension?

I guess you know the TYPE 1,2,3

• What is Slowly Growing Dimension?
The dimension, which dose not have many changes for he
warehouse, e.g. Region dimension dose not have many changes
it may add a row in a year. You have a wizard in Informatica just
go through
The Target mapping filters source rows based on user- defined
comparisons, and then inserts only those found to benew to the
target. Use the Target mapping to determine which source rows
are new and to load them to an existing target table. In the Target
mapping, all rows are current. Use the Target mapping to load a
fact or dimension table, one in which existing data does not
require updates.

For example, you have a site code dimension table

that contains only a store name and a corresponding

The performance details provide that help you

understand the session and mapping efficiency. Each
Source Qualifier, target definition, and individual
transformation appears in the performance details,
along with that display performance information about
each transformation
proc?
Configure the expression to send any input
parameters and capture any output parameters or
return value You must know whether the parameters
shown in the Expression Editor are input or output
parameters. You insert variables or port names
between the parentheses in the exact order that they
appear in the stored procedure itself. The datatypes of
the ports and variables must match those of the
parameters passed to the stored procedure.
For example, when you click the stored procedure,
 something similar to the following appears:
:SP.GET_NAME_FROM_ID()
This particular stored procedure requires an integer
value as an input parameter and returns a string value
as an output parameter. How the output parameter or
return value is captured depends on the number of
output parameters and whether the return value
needs to be captured.
If the stored procedure returns a single output
parameter or a return value (but not both), you should
use the reserved variable PROC_RESULT as the output
variable. In the previous example, the expression
would appear as:
:SP.GET_NAME_FROM_ID(inID, PROC_RESULT)
InID can be either an input port for the transformation
or a variable in the transformation. The value of
PROC_RESULT is applied to the output port for the
expression.
If the stored procedure returns multiple output
parameters, you must create variables for each output
parameter. For example, if you created a port called
varOUTPUT2 for the stored procedure expression, and
a variable called varOUTPUT1, the expression would
appears as:
:SP.GET_NAME_FROM_ID (inID, varOUTPUT1,
PROC_RESULT)
The value of the second output port is applied to the
output port for the expression, and the value of the
first output port is applied to varOUTPUT1. The output
parameters are returned in the order they are
declared in the stored procedure itself.
With all these expressions, the datatypes for the ports
and variables must match the datatypes for the
input/output variables and return value.
 Powermart and PowerCenter uses
1.Network Protocol
2.Native Drivers
3.ODBC
The Server Manager and the Informatica Server
use TCP/IP or IPX/SPX to communicate to each
other.
can
change the no of rec passed th it, a passive tranf
can never change the reccnt
might change the rec cnt
drops the rows of data that do not meet the
condition. However, a router transformation tests
data for one or more conditions and gives you the
option to route rows of data that do not meet any
of the conditions to default output group.
11.What are connected and unconnected
transformations?
Ans:
the factual measures of one or more cubes, which
use that dimension. Ex: geography, time,
customer and product.
16.What is a XML source qualifier?
Ans: The XML source qualifier represents the data
elements that the Informatica server reads when it
runs a session with XML sources.
17.What is a cube?
Ans: A set of related factual measures,
aggregates, and dimensions for a specific
dimensional analysis problem. Ex: regional
product sales.
18.What is Load Manager process?
Ans: Load manager is the primary Informatica
 server process. It performs the following tasks:
a.Manages sessions and batch scheduling.
b.Locks the sessions andreads properties.
c.Reads parameter files.
d.Expands the server and session variables and
parameters.
e.Verifies permissions and privileges.
f. Validates sources and targets code pages.
g.Creates session log files.
h.Creates Data Transformation Manager (DTM)
process, which executes the session.
19.Define a session?
Ans: A session is aset of instructions that
describes how and when to move data from
source to targets
20.What are pmcmd commands?
Ans: pmcmd is a command line program to
communicate with the Informatica server. This
does not replace the server manager, since there
are many tasks that you can perform only with
server Manager.
21.What are cache and their types in
Informatica?
Ans: The Informatica server creates
Traci
ng
level
Determines the amount of information
about this transformation that the
Informatica Server writes to the session
log when it runs the session. You can
override this tracing level when you
configure a session.
Can I use my existing PowerMart
4.0/PowerCenter 1.0 mappings that contain
COBOL sources?

In PowerMart 4.0 and PowerCenter 1.0, the Designer

did not support REDEFINE statements in COBOL
sources or copybooks. If your COBOL sources included
REDEFINE statements in older mappings and you
implemented workarounds, you do not need to edit
your existing mappings or sessions. However, if you
want to improve session performance, you can either
create a new mapping or edit the existing mapping by
reimporting the COBOL sources and modifying any
filter transformations or target as needed. You can
then create one session to load the data from the
COBOL source.
Cannot I edit the ports in my Normalizer
transformation when using a relational source?
When you create ports manually, you must do so on
the Normalizer tab in the transformation, not the Ports
tab.
Source Qualifier Transformation:
When you add a relational or a flat file source
definition to a mapping, you need to connect it to a
Source Qualifier transformation.
Qualifier represents the records that the
Informatica Server reads when it runs a session
statement for the Informatica server to read
source data. For example, we might use a custom
query to perform aggregate calculations or
execute a stored procedure.
 you can instruct the server to either treat all
records in the same way (for example, treat all
records as inserts), or use instructions coded into
ate, delete, or reject within a mapping, add an
Update Strategy transformation to the mapping.
Update Strategy transformations are essential if
you want to flag records destined for the same
target for different database operations, or if you
want to reject records.
2.Define how to flag records when you configure a
session. You can flag all records for insert, delete,
or update, or select the Data Driven option, where
the Informatica Server follows instructions code
into Update Strategy transformations within the
session mapping.
InsertTreat all records as inserts. If
inserting the record violates a
primary or foreign key constraint in
database, the server reject the
records
DeleteTreat all records as deletes. For each
record, if the server finds a
corresponding record in the target
table, the server deletes it.
UpdateTreat all records as updates. For
each existing records, server
updates the record.
Data
Driven
The informatica server follows
instructions code into update
strategy transformations within the
session mapping to determine how
 to flag records for insert, delete,
update or reject.
Specifying operations for individual Target Tables.
target table before loading data.
Flagging Records within a Mapping.
Following are database operation
Operation
Constant
Numeric Value
Insert
DD_INSERT
0
Update
You can configure the Update strategy transformation
to either pass rejected rows to the next transformation
or drop them. By default, the informatica server
forwards rejected rows to the next transformation.
Update Strategy Expression.
Frequently, the update strategy expression uses the
IIF or DECODES function from the transformation
language to test each record to see if it meets a
particular condition. On the condition you can assign a
numeric code to flag it for a particular database
operation.
Aggregator and update strategy transformation
calculation, and then used
the update strategy transformation to flag records
that contain the results of this calculation for insert,
delete, or update.
t, delete, update, or reject before you
perform the aggregate calculation. How you flag a
 particular record determines how the aggregator
transformation treats any values in that record used
in the calculation.
This behavior has changed since PowerMart 3.5. In
version 3.5, the informatica server performed all
aggregate calculations before it flagged records for
insert, update, delete, or reject through a data driven
expression
Data warehouses and OLTP systems have vastly
different requirements. Here are some examples of
the notable differences between typical data
warehouses and OLTP systems:
Data warehouses are designed to accommodate
ad hoc queries. The workload of a data warehouse
may not be completely understood in advance,
and the data warehouse is optimized to perform
well for a wide variety of possible query
operations.
OLTP systems support only predefined operations.
The application may be specifically tuned or
designed to support only these operations.
The data in a data warehouse is updated on a
regular basis by the ETT process (often, every
night or every week) using bulk data-modification
techniques. The end users of a data warehouse do
not directly update the data warehouse. In an
OLTP system, end users routinely issue individual
data-modification statements in the database. The
OLTP database is always up-to-date, and reflects
the current state of each business transaction.
Data warehouses often use denormalized or
partially denormalized schemas (such as a star
 schema) to optimize query performance. OLTP
systems often use fully normalized schemas to
A typical data warehouse query may scan thousands
or millions of rows. For example, "Find the total sales
for all customers last month." A typical OLTP
operation may access only a handful of records. For
example, "Retrieve the current order for a given
customer."
Data warehouses usually store many months or
years of historical data. This is to support historical
analysis of business data. OLTP systems usually
store only a few weeks' or months' worth of data.
The OLTP system only stores as much historical data
as is necessary to successfully meet the current
transactional requirements.
Typical Data Warehouse Architectures
As you might expect, data warehouses and their
architectures can vary depending upon the specifics of
each organization's situation. Figure 1–2 shows the
most basic architecture for a data warehouse. In it, a
data warehouse is fed from one or more source
systems, and end users directly access the data
warehouse.
Figure 1–2 Typical Architecture for a Data
Warehouse
warehouse environment. In addition to a central
database, there is a staging system used to cleanse
and integrate data, as well as multiple data marts,
which are systems designed for a particular line of
business.
if u want to create tranfor
that perform common tasks such as avg sal in a
dept
 Mapplet:-Is a reusuable objectthat represents a
set of transformations
How.
Standard and reusable
Standard:- Aggregator, expression, external
procedure, advanced external procedure, filter,
joiner, lookup, normalizer, sequence, source
qualifer, stored procedure, update strategy
u
must stop the batch to stop the session. Ifthe
session is part of a batch that is nested in a series of
batches u must stop the outermost batch to stop the
session

What happens when u use the delete or update

or reject or insert statement in ur update
strategy?

Inserts:- treats all records as inserts , while

inserting if the record violates primary, foreign key
or foreign key in the database it rejects the record
What are variables and where do u use it?
Use variable to simplify complex expressions,
temporarily store date, store values from prior rows,
compare values, capture multiple return values from
a stored procedure, store the results of an
unconnected lookup
What is conn. And unconn. Lookup?
A connected lookup transformation is part of the
mapping flow,. With connected lookup values u can
have multiple return values, Support Default values
Unconnected lookup transformation exists separate
from the data flow in the mapping
U write an expr using :lkp reference qualifierto call
 the lookup within another transformation
Uses:- testing the results of a lookup in a
transformation
Filtering records based on the lookup results
Which pass data through them
(Mapplets)
Variable Port :- Used to store components of
expressions
What happens if the info. Server doesn’t find
the session parameter in the parameter file?
How do run session from command line?
pmcmd
What are diff. Things u can do using PMCMD ?
U can stop or abort a session
What is pmrep command
Have u created parallel sessions How do u
create parallel sessions
batch to run several sessions in parallel
on one informatic server, if u have several
independent sessions using separate sources and
separate mapping to populate diff targets u can place
them in a concurrent batch and run them at the same
time , if u have a complex mapping with multiple
sources u can separate the mapping into several
simpler mappings with separate sources. Similarly if u
have session performing a minimal no of
transformations on large amounts of data like moving
flat files to staging area, u can separate the session
into multiple sessions and run them concurrently in a
batch cutting the total run time dramatically
The error code can be checked from
troubleshooting guide and corrective action
taken.The log file can be increased by giving
 appropriate tracing level in thesession properties.
Also we can give that one Session can stop after 1,2
or n number of errors.
, Month, Year,
Quarter )
Stored procedure transformation : A procedure has
two input parameters I_Start_Year, I_End_Year and
output parameter as O_Date, Day , Month, Year,
Quarter. If this session is running, how many rows
will be available in the target and why ?.
Only one row the last date of
mns used in condition
Data cache: :Contains other output columns than
the condition columns.
Discuss two approaches for updation of target
table

PowerCenter works like this: it controls the order

in which the target tables are committed to a
relational database. It is of no use when sending
information to a flat file. To construct the proper
constraint order: links between the TARGET tables
in Informatica need to be constructed. Simply
turning on "constraint based load ordering" has no
effect on the operation itself. Informatica does
NOT read constraints from the database when this
switch is turned on. Again, to take advantage of
this switch, you must construct primary / foreign
key relationships in the TARGET TABLES in the
designer of Informatica. Creating primary / foreign
key relationships is difficult - you are only allowed
to link a single port (field) to a single table as a
primary / foreign key.
What is the difference between Power mart and
Power Centre.
Power Center - has all the functionality

respective procedures one pre session ,other

post session.
When the Session is run these two procedures
are executed before the session and after the
session.
How can you utilize COM components in
Informatica
Informatica Server to update your target
incrementally, rather than forcing it to process the
entire source and recalculate the same calculations
each time you run the session. Therefore, only use
incremental aggregation if:

this by filtering source data by timestamp.

Before implementing incremental aggregation,
consider the following issues:

different machines. You run a session from the server

manager by specifying the source and target
 databases. It displays an error. You are confident that
everything is correct. Then why it is displaying the
error?
(2)
2.Informatica Repository Tables
3.What is the difference between power mart and
power centre. Elaborate.(2)
4.Power centeris a global repository
5.What are variable ports and list two situations when
they can be used?
(2)
6.What are the parts of Informatica Server?
(2)
7.How does the server recognise the source and
target databases.
Elaborate on this.
(2)
8.List the transformation used for the following:
(10)
a)Heterogeneous Sources
b)Homogeneous Sources
c)Find the 5 highest paid employees within a dept.
d)Create a Summary table
e)Generate surrogate keys
databases. It displays an error. You are confident
that everything is correct. Then why it is displaying
the error?(2)
23.When you connect to repository for the first time it
asks you for user name & password of repository
and database both.
But subsequent times it asks only repository
password. Why ?
(2)
 24.What is the difference between normal and bulk
loading.
Which one is recommended?
(2)
25.What is a test load ?
(2)
26.What is an incremental aggregation and when it
should be implemented?
33.Cubes contain measures ( T / F )
(1)
34.COM components can be used in Informatica ( T /
F)
(1)
35.Lookup is an Active Transformation (T/F)
(1)
36.What is the advantage of persistent cache?
When it should be used.
(1)
37.When will you use SQL override in a lookup
transformation?
(2)
38.Two different admin users created for repository
are______ and_______ (1)
39.Two Default User groups created in the repository
are____ and______
(1)
40.A mapping contains
• Source Table S_Time ( Start_Year, End_Year )

• Target Table Tim_Dim ( Date, Day, Month, Year,

1 Fact F1 containing measures M1, M2,M3 and

Dimension Surrogate keys K1,K2,K3,K4
(a) Write a SQL statement to populate Fact table
F1
(b) Design a mapping in Informatica for loading of
Fact table F1.
(2)
42. When should one create a lookup transformation?
(2)
43. How do you handle performance issues in
Informatica.Where can you monitor the
performance ?

(3)
44. List and Discuss two approaches for updation of
target table in informatica and
how they are different.
What can the path be?
(2)