Oracle - DataVault

Applies to
Platform: Oracle
Architecture: Data Vault

Oracle - DataVault generates a Stage, Raw Vault and Business Vault for an Oracle database as SQL*Plus scripts with PL/SQL loader packages. Select it in Project Settings, where Generator Configuration shows Oracle DataVault, when your Data Vault runs on Oracle. This article lists what the configuration supports and where it differs from Microsoft SQL Server - DataVault.

Business Driving Key Link offers no Foreign Key Mode, Partition Clause or Table Compression on Oracle.

Scope and output

Platform: Oracle. The configuration is available since Generator 2.0.
Layers: Source, Stage, Raw Vault and Business Vault. Dataflow Modeling shows Stage in the Bronze column and both vault layers in the Silver column. See Understand the Layering concept.
Output: one SQL*Plus script per layer, PL/SQL loader packages, the load control scripts and the PowerShell 7 scripts that deploy and load, described in Oracle - Artifacts.

Prerequisites

One Oracle user for each layer, here Stage, Raw Vault and Business Vault, and one for load control (with Native Load Control). Each user name is also the schema name of its layer.
PowerShell 7 and SQL*Plus on the machine that deploys.
The privileges listed in Oracle - Target environment, for example CREATE DATABASE LINK for the Stage user.
For model objects imported from a linked project, with Create GRANTs for Imported Objects on: the user name and password of each linked layer's user. The deployment connects as that user to grant the objects.

The placeholders for the users, schemas and connections are listed in Oracle - Placeholder values.

Sources and linked projects

The source system has the type Oracle. Stage views read its tables through a database link or directly, as set in Database Links for Source Systems. To create source model objects from an Oracle schema, see Discover an Oracle database.

You can import a linked project as a source and export this project as a linked project. Create GRANTs for Imported Objects decides whether the deployment grants the imported objects to the layer users.

Supported model objects

Capabilities and limitations

Names: generated names are unquoted and in capitals. Characters other than letters, digits, _, $ and # become _, and names are cut to 128 characters.
Keys: primary keys are created with RELY and a unique index, and business keys get a unique constraint. Foreign Key Mode offers None, Create Disabled (default) and Create Enforced.
Indexes: the deployment creates a B-tree index on the referencing columns of each relationship, unless the primary key or a unique key has the same columns. Index management offers B-Tree Index and Bitmap Index and the option Create as local Index.
Table storage: the partition, compression, tablespace and statistics properties of a model object are described in Partition Clause and table storage (Model Object).
Wide objects: Hash Group Size splits the row hash of Satellites, Link Satellites, Multi-Active Satellites, Business Satellites, Business Link Satellites and Reference Tables into groups.
Identity values: identity columns such as BG_ID are NUMBER GENERATED BY DEFAULT AS IDENTITY.
Grants: each layer grants ALL with GRANT OPTION on its tables and views to the users of the following layers. It grants EXECUTE on its loader packages to the load-control user.
Loading: LoadControl Options offers Native Load Control and Airflow.
Data types: the platform data types CHAR(CHAR), CHAR(BYTE), VARCHAR2(CHAR) and VARCHAR2(BYTE) write the length semantics, for example VARCHAR2(100 CHAR). CHAR and VARCHAR2 write none, so the database setting NLS_LENGTH_SEMANTICS applies. TIMESTAMP WITH TIME ZONE with precision 3 becomes TIMESTAMP(3) WITH TIME ZONE.
Data type validation: a length, precision or scale that does not fit the Oracle data type gets a warning, see Invalid data type configuration (Business Rule). The generator writes the configured value: VARCHAR2(5000) fails with ORA-00910 at deployment on a database with MAX_STRING_SIZE = STANDARD.

Project properties

Project Settings shows these properties of the configuration, with their defaults:

Hash Algorithm: SHA1; also MD5, SHA256, SHA384 and SHA512

With SHA256, SHA384 or SHA512, the hash Default Terms stay RAW(20). Set their data type to the result length of the algorithm, see Hash Algorithm.

Hash Casing: None; also Upper and Lower
Hash Concatenation Separator: _
Hash Null Placeholder: _NULL_
Hash Trim: off
Begin of Universe: 19000101
End of Universe: 99991231
Persist Validity: off
Behaviour for Nulled Business Keys in Links: Nulled Business Keys Point to Non-Existing Hub Key
Create Result Views: on
Target Object Comment Type: None
Artifact Output Mode: Layer Composites
Deployment Options: Generate Drop Table Statements
Configure LoadControl: on
Deploy LoadControl: on
LoadControl Options: Native Load Control; also Airflow
Database Links for Source Systems: Create Database Links
Create GRANTs for Imported Objects: on

Platform differences

The table compares the configuration with Microsoft SQL Server - DataVault of the same release:

Item	Oracle	Microsoft SQL Server
Timestamp Default Terms	`TIMESTAMP`	`datetimeoffset`
Effectivity Default Terms	`TIMESTAMP`	`datetime2`
Hash Default Terms	`RAW(20)`	`binary(20)`
Text Default Terms	`VARCHAR2`	`nvarchar`
Number Default Terms	`NUMBER`	`int` or `bigint`
Flag Default Terms	`NUMBER(1, 0)`	`bit`
Hash Algorithm values besides `SHA1` and `MD5`	`SHA256`, `SHA384`, `SHA512`	`SHA2_256`
Index types	B-tree, bitmap	rowstore, columnstore
Foreign Key Mode on Business Driving Key Link	not available	available

Database Links for Source Systems, Create GRANTs for Imported Objects, Hash Group Size, Create as local Index and the table storage properties exist only on Oracle. Included Columns of an index exists only on Microsoft SQL Server.

These Default Terms belong to each group; text Default Terms have the same lengths on both platforms:

Timestamps: BG_LoadTimestamp, BG_ValidFromTimestamp, BG_ValidToTimestamp, BG_UpdateTimestamp, BG_EffectiveTimestamp, DVPIT_ForeignKey_LoadDate
Effectivity: BG_Effectivity_Begin, BG_Effectivity_End
Hash keys and row hashes: Hub_HK, Link_HK, DrivingKeyLink_HK, PIT_HK, DVLINK_ForeignKey_Identity, DVPIT_ForeignKey_Identity, BG_RowHash, BG_RowHashScd1, BG_RowHashScd2
Text: BG_SourceSystem, BG_DataflowName, BG_DataflowSetName, BG_ErrorDescription, BG_IncrementLoadStatus
Numbers: BG_ID, BG_Sequence, BG_ErrorCount, BG_DataQuality_ID
Flags: BG_IsDeleted, BG_Appearance, BG_MAS_HubDifferenceFound

Example

A Hub common_customer with the business key term CUSTOMER_ID generates this table. In the excerpt, <raw vault schema> and <business vault user> stand for the placeholders of the Raw Vault schema and the Business Vault user, and short lines are joined:

CREATE TABLE <raw vault schema>.RDV_HUB_COMMON_CUSTOMER (
     BG_LOADTIMESTAMP TIMESTAMP NOT NULL
    ,HUB_HK RAW(20) NOT NULL
    ,BG_SOURCESYSTEM VARCHAR2(255)
    ,CUSTOMER_ID NUMBER NOT NULL
)
;
ALTER TABLE <raw vault schema>.RDV_HUB_COMMON_CUSTOMER
ADD CONSTRAINT RDV_HUB_COMMON_CUSTOMER_PK PRIMARY KEY (HUB_HK)
RELY
USING INDEX (
    CREATE UNIQUE INDEX <raw vault schema>.RDV_HUB_COMMON_CUSTOMER_PK
    ON <raw vault schema>.RDV_HUB_COMMON_CUSTOMER (HUB_HK)
);
ALTER TABLE <raw vault schema>.RDV_HUB_COMMON_CUSTOMER
ADD CONSTRAINT RDV_HUB_COMMON_CUSTOMER_UK UNIQUE (CUSTOMER_ID)
USING INDEX (
    CREATE UNIQUE INDEX <raw vault schema>.RDV_HUB_COMMON_CUSTOMER_UK
    ON <raw vault schema>.RDV_HUB_COMMON_CUSTOMER (CUSTOMER_ID)
);
GRANT ALL ON <raw vault schema>.RDV_HUB_COMMON_CUSTOMER
    TO <business vault user> WITH GRANT OPTION;

With Microsoft SQL Server - DataVault, the three Default Terms of this Hub get the types datetimeoffset, binary(20) and nvarchar(255).

Release differences

Project Settings shows the Generator Version of your project.

Generator 2.0: first release of the configuration.
Generator 2.2: Vault Out; the project properties Persist Validity, Create Result Views, Hash Casing, Hash Concatenation Separator, Hash Null Placeholder and Hash Trim; the model object properties Increment Management Type and Use Embryo Loader, see Embryo Loader; the platform data types with length semantics and the data type validation; the replacement of characters in generated names. Up to Generator 2.0.1, precision 3 was written as TIMESTAMP(3 WITH TIME ZONE).
Generator 2.3: the model object properties Hash Group Size and Custom Singleton Values.
Generator 2.4: Non-Historized Satellite and Non-Historized Business Satellite; the model object property Excluded from Delta Detection.
Fixes for Oracle are listed in Generators Release - 2.3.0, Generators Release - 2.4.0 and Generators Release - 2.4.1.