Informatica Cloud Tutorial - Informatica Cloud Architecture

Informatica Cloud is a data integration platform and solution that works on a Software as a Service (SaaS) basis. It can easily connect to on-premises and cloud-based databases, applications, file feeds, flat files, and social networking sites. 

It is a cloud-based power center that provides secure, accessible, and trusted data to ease the process of making crucial business decisions. Informatica Cloud Data Integration can assist companies with distributed, global analytics projects and warehouses. 

With the help of this platform, you can enhance the overall connectivity, productivity, and performance of your cloud data warehouse. Those new to this technology will indeed find this guide by MindMajix a helpful asset.

Through this Informatica Cloud tutorial, let’s understand more about it and expand our knowledge further. 

Informatica Cloud Tutorial - Table of Content

What is Informatica Cloud? How does Informatica Cloud work? Informatica Cloud Architecture Components of Informatica Cloud Advantages of Informatica Cloud Connectivity Use Cases Development Reporting Informatica PowerCenter Installation Download the Software Server Installation Client Installation FAQs Conclusion

What is Informatica Cloud?

Informatica is a software development company launched in 1993. It has its headquarters in Redwood City, California. The company is also known as Informatica Power Center. Informatica uses Extraction, Transformation, and Loading (ETL) tool, which is extensively used in building a data warehouse. In 2017, the company came up with Informatica Integrated Cloud Services (IICS). 

Its primary objective is to accelerate data that is responsive to digital transformation in businesses. The data integration of its power center connects and extracts data from varying sources to process them. The PowerCenter server completes tasks on a workflow created by workflow managers and the workflow monitor. 

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How Does Informatica Cloud Work?

Informatica Cloud offers almost every ability that Informatica PowerCenter has to offer. Moreover, it even has a cloud designer. Here is how Informatica Cloud works:

• It offers advanced integration competency 
• You don’t have to connect every port manually
• You can create reusable mappings through parameterized values

Informatica Cloud Architecture

Informatica Cloud Architecture is a Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) type. SOA is a group service where one person can effortlessly communicate. Moreover, it simplifies the process of data transfer during such communications. 

• Informatica Domain: The Informatica domain is an administrative unit that comprises services and nodes. Further, they are segregated into folders and subfolders. 
• Repository Service: The repository service connects the PowerCenter and client repositories. This one is a multi-threaded procedure that integrates metadata and offers access to other services. 
• Integration Service: Integration services help with the integration of data movement from targets to sources. 
• Reporting Service: They look after metadata and let other services access it. 
• Repository Manager: This one is used for managing objects in the repository. 
• A Workflow Manager: A workflow manager helps create tasks and workflows. In addition to that, it also executes the same. 
• Mapping Designer: The mapping designer helps with the creation of metadata of mappings and their storage in the IICS repository. 
• Source and Target: The source and target comprise data type, scale, precision, and other information regarding the target and source objects that have been stored in the IICS repository. 

Components of Informatica Cloud

Informatica cloud components are resources that help in tasks and mapping. Here are the most used components in the Informatica cloud:

• Fixed-Width File Formats

You can create as well as save several fixed-width file formats that help specify the details of formatting for fixed-width flat files. This format can be used as a target or source in mapping tasks and mappings. 

• Business Services

This one is a web service that comprises configured operations. 

• Hierarchical Schemas

It is regarded as an asset based on an XML schema, XML sample file, sample JSON file, or schema file. It gets imported into data integration. 

• API Collections

An API collection offers a request schema that helps with mapping incoming fields in transformation. It also offers a response schema that helps with mapping response fields from the Rest API. 

• File Listeners

It listens to a specific file pattern and a folder. There are some events that trigger a notification in task flows, B2B gateway partners, or file ingestion tasks. 

• User-Defined Functions

You can create user-defined functions through the Informatica Intelligent Cloud Services transformation language. They are reusable and can be used in different expressions. 

• Intelligent Structure Models

An intelligent structure develops a model that expresses the anticipated output data. This model is used in mappings to evaluate structured, unstructured, or semi-structured data. You can create varying formats through JSON files, Microsoft Excel files, Avro files, ORC files, Parquet files, XML files, and more. 

Advantages of Informatica Cloud

Below mentioned are some of the most common advantages of Informatica Cloud:

• It doesn’t require infrastructure set up on-premise; thus, you don’t have to stress about managing the server locally
• It lets you monitor data centrally across the cloud integration services
• The hub of cloud administration lets you monitor all the jobs
• Informatica Cloud assists in the enhancement of performance
• The audit logs let you view all the users and jobs
• It’s easy to scale up the server
• It provides published APIs that can be integrated with third-party tools easily
• Informatica Cloud offers agility and speed
• It provides a wide range of connectors for on-premise and cloud sources
• You get better document control with it

Related Article: Informatica Cloud Interview Questions

Connectivity

Informatica provides an extensive range of high-performing, intelligent, builtin cloud connectors. The connection between endpoints of data, such as databases, big data repositories, data warehouses, APIs, and applications, is effortless through these connectors. 

Connectors Provided by Informatica Cloud

In Informatica Cloud, you can find a variety of pre-installed connectors. Besides, you can even create new connections for connectors installed in the cloud. With these connections, you can use a gamut of features, including data in platforms, on-premise and cloud applications, databases, and flat files.  

• OData Connector

Also known as Open Data Protocol (OData) is a standard version of OASIS and offers best practices to develop and retain RESTful APIs. With the help of OData, you can customize and create RESTful APIs as per your requirements. 

• Web Service Consumer Connector

The web service consumer connector connects web service applications that eventually support SOAP APIs. This connector is also used in web services for the purpose of transforming data. 

• REST V2 Connector

This one is generally used to execute interaction with web service applications developed on REST architecture. It can also be used in diverse areas, such as source transformation, midstream, or target transformation in a web services transformation. Not just that, you can also use the REST V2 connector to midstream a mapping so as to pass one or multiple requests to a specific web service app and process the outcome data. 

• JSON Target Connector

By using a JSON template, this connector helps convert source data into JSON format. It objects as targets in synchronization tasks. 

Related Article: JSON Interview Questions

Use Cases

The Informatica Cloud offers the below-mentioned use cases: 

1. Data Synchronisation

Under data synchronization, you can find:

• Cloud application to cloud application
• On-premise application to on-premise application
• SaaS to SaaS
• On-premise application to cloud application

2. System Maintenance Tasks

Under system maintenance tasks, you can find:

• Performance of Create Update Delete (CRUD) operations
• Bulk loading and pulling data to third-party applications or systems 

3. Data Replication

Under data replication, you can:

• Backup or warehouse data
• Copy data sets

4. Mappings

Under mappings, you can have:

• Procedures to extract load, and transform data from several sources to several targets

5. Monitoring

Under monitoring, you will find:

• An activity log for all unsuccessful and successful jobs
• A dashboard summary for data processing, availability, and tasks
• An audit log for all events created by users in a company

Development

Development, in Informatica Cloud, has been segregated into Mappings and Data Synchronisation Tasks. 

Mappings are such flows that let you chain several complicated operations, such as functions, filters, and joins, together to develop a complicated integration process. 

Data Synchronisation Tasks, on the other hand, are ETL-based tasks. With their help, you can load the data from a specific source to a certain target and offer transformation during this transfer. 

Reporting

Reporting in Informatica Cloud is segregated into Activity Monitoring and Activity Log. 

The Activity Monitoring is liable for the creation of a list of every currently running job. Each job gets listed with its starting time or date and rows processed. 

On the contrary, the Activity Log is liable for the generation of a summary report of every unsuccessful and successful job executed so far. 

Each of these processes also offers varying information, like an error message, error rows, success rows, status, time, and date. You can get into every job and download a session log containing details of execution information at the level of logging. 

Informatica PowerCenter Installation

Informatica PowerCenter’s latest version is Informatica 10.4. It was released on 2nd December 2019. If you are looking forward to installing this version, listed below are some prerequisites that you must accomplish:

• Disk space of 35 GB minimum
• x86 chipset
• 4GB of RAM
• Adobe Flash plug-in

Download the Software

To download the Informatica PowerCenter, follow these steps:

• Visit https://edelivery.oracle.com 
• Register for the free account if you are new to it or sign in to the existing account
• From the left drop-down, choose ‘All Categories
• In the given search box, type ‘Informatica PowerCenter’ and hit the search option
• On your screen, you will see ‘Informatica PowerCenter and PowerCenter Adapters’
• Click on the given link and choose your operating system
• Click ‘Continue’
• Select the version that you require and click ‘Download’
• You will get a set of zip files downloaded from your system
• Extract all the files in a folder to set the installation

Server Installation

To complete server installation, follow these steps:

• From the zip folders that you downloaded, open the server folder and run the installer
• An installation wizard will open
• Now, click ‘Install Informatica’
• The verification will be done and you will see a list of prerequisites that you should match
• Click ‘Next’
• Then, type the license key in the given box (you can find the license key file in the installation folder where you extracted the zip files)
• Click ‘Next’ and click ‘Install’
• After the installation gets completed, you will have to give the domain
• Choose the ‘Create a domain’ option and click ‘Next’
• You will get an alert from Windows to give access so click ‘Allow access
• Now, you will have to set up the database
• Provide the database type, user ID, password, and more required details
• To see whether the connection has been successfully established, click ‘Test Connection
• If the connection has been successful, click ‘Next’
• Now, you will get a prompt for an encryption key
• Provide a secure keyword and choose ‘Next’
• Click ‘OK’
• On the next screen, you will get to configure the domain node
• Provide details, such as domain name, node name, node hostname, a domain password, and domain username 
• Click ‘Next’
• For the next screen, click ‘Next’ again

Once the installation is successful, you will see an administrator home page link to move ahead. 

Client Installation

To complete client installation, follow these steps:

• In your system, where you had extracted the zip files, open the client folder and run the installer
• An installation wizard will open
• Now, click ‘Install Informatica’ and click ‘Next’
• In the next slide, choose all the clients and click ‘Next’
• The default server installation directory will get displayed on your screen
• Here, you can make changes as you like; once done, click ‘Next’
• The next screen will ask you to configure the transformation studio
• Here, choose ‘Install data transformation studio and a standalone copy of Eclipse’
• Click ‘Next’
• You will see a detailed summary of the installation on the screen
• Click ‘Install’
• You will get to see the post-installation summary once the client is installed successfully; click ‘Done’

Informatica Cloud FAQs

1. What is Informatica cloud used for?

Informatica Cloud offers an all-inclusive platform for data management and cloud integration. Upon subscribing to it, you get to use a web browser that connects you to Informatica Cloud. With this, you can configure connections, monitor tasks, create users, schedule, and run tasks. 

2. Is Informatica Cloud an ETL tool?

Yes, Informatica Cloud is based on an ETL architecture; hence, it is an ETL tool. 

3. What is the difference between Informatica and Informatica Cloud?

Informatica is the correct choice for enterprises that can use every option that PowerCenter has to provide. Large organizations and enterprises can seamlessly handle the high cost and make use of the current bundle licensing tier. On the other hand, Informatica Cloud is more suited for small and medium organizations. 

4. What is the difference between PowerCenter and Iics?

The PowerCenter tool can only offer access to on-premise data sets. On the other hand, lists offer a hybrid solution through which you can develop integrations between cloud and cloud, on-premise and on-premise, and cloud and on-premise. 

5. Is Informatica SaaS or PAAS?

Informatica works as a Software as a Service (SaaS). 

Conclusion

The cloud service offered by Informatica is an all-in-one tool that is used predominantly. A huge number of companies and organizations heavily depend upon this because of its diverse applications. It lets you take complete advantage of the integration abilities. You can also keep a check on tasks executed and finished. Moreover, connecting is a breeze, thanks to inbuilt connectors. 

If you are looking forward to enhancing your Informatica skills further, try taking one of these Informatica Training. By choosing the right course, you can become an expert in analyzing profiles, learn the basics of data integration, and much more.