Running the Iterative and Advanced Subset Job Actions
Process Overview - Running Advanced Subset Job Actions
Once you have updated your Control Spreadsheet, you can run the actions involved in an Advanced Subset.
The Actions typically involved in running an iterative Subset are:
DROP: Drops the tables registered by the TABLES action and deletes the data in your Target Database. You will only run this if something has gone wrong in a Subset, and you want to create a wholly new Data Subset.
PREPENV: If you drop the tables, you will need to re-register tables before performing the next Subset.
TRUNCATE: Deletes data from the Target Database or Schema.
BUILDMODEL: Creates the rules to drive the Advanced Subset, based on the Control Spreadsheet.
SUBSET: Writes the new Data Subset to the Staging Database.
Explore this documentation page to learn more about each action.
Dropping and Re-Registering Tables if Necessary
The DROP tables action will delete the Tables and Indexes in your target database. These would have been registered by the TABLES and GetKeys actions and created in the target database by the PREPENV Action.
You will only drop the Tables and Indexes if a mistake has been made. For instance, if you have accidentally specified the wrong Source or Staging Database. Typically, you will not need to Drop and Re-Register tables to perform Subsetting iteratively. You can instead begin your next Subset by Truncating the existing Data Subset.
If you notice a mistake in your Tables Sheet or ForeignKeys Sheet, you will need to perform the DROP Action before you can re-register them.
To run DROP, open The VIP Server Controller from your desktop or start menu. You must open it as an administrator.
Load your re-usable Config file for the current Subset. You should have created this when you ran a previous Action for the same Subset. Instructions for working with Config files are provided in this article.
Next, make sure the relevant .vip workflows are Put in Memory. See this article for instructions.
Next, complete the mandatory parameters in the "Run Flow" tab. If working from a Config file created for the current Subset, you should only need to update the parAction argument and enter any additional optional parameters. You will need to update
Specify "Drop" for parACTION:
parAction=Drop
Complete any optional parameters. See this Knowledge Base article for a full list of Arguments and example parameters.
Once you have parameterized the DROP Action, make sure your Configuration Spreadsheet, Subset Report and Log file are all shut. Next, click "Create File" and then click "Start" to run the action.
In the output dialogue, you will see "Flow execution completed on remote server. Please check logs for details." once the DROP Action is complete":
If you receive an error message in your output dialogue or log, please refer to this article to troubleshoot common issues. You can also run your Action on debug mode for a more detailed log. You can also check the Log File and Subset Report at this stage, to check that the Actions have performed correctly.
Check your Database to make sure the Tables and Indexes have gone.
Next, check the Log File and Subset Report at this stage, to check that the Actions have performed correctly.
Next, update your Configuration sheet in your Control Spreadsheet to specify the correct Source Database and Schema, and the correct Target Database and Schema.
Next, re-register the metadata and create the tables and indexes in your target database. Re-perform the following actions to do so:
Run DROP from the Command Line
To run DROP from the Command Line, first open your re-usable .cmd script in a text editor.
If you have already configured a .cmd script for one Subset Action and wish to edit and re-use that script, you should only need to set "DROP" for "Action".
Otherwise, configure all mandatory parameters in the .cmd script.
You can also specify optional parameters at this stage.
Make sure your Control Spreadsheet, the Subset Report, and any Log Files are closed.
Run the script to delete the Tables and Indexes from the Staging Database.
Truncating The Existing Data Subset
If you have not used the DROP Action, you will first need to delete the data from your Target Database to perform an updated Subset. This is performed using the TRUNCATE action.
To run TRUNCATE, open The VIP Server Controller from your desktop or start menu. You must open it as an administrator.
Load your re-usable Config file for the current Subset. You should have created this when you ran a previous Action for the same Subset. Instructions for working with Config files are provided in this article.
Next, make sure the relevant .vip workflows are Put in Memory. See this article for instructions.
Next, complete the mandatory parameters in the "Run Flow" tab. If working from a Config file created for the current Subset, you should only need to update the parAction argument and enter any additional optional parameters. You will need to update Specify "Truncate" for parACTION:
parAction=Truncate
Complete any optional parameters. See this article for instructions.
Once you have parameterized the Truncate Action, make sure your Configuration Spreadsheet, Subset Report and Log file are all shut. Next, click "Create File" and then click "Start" to run the action.
In the output dialogue, you will see "Flow execution completed on remote server. Please check logs for details." once the Truncate Action is complete":
If you receive an error message in your output dialogue or log, please refer to this article to troubleshoot common issues. You can also run your Action on debug mode for a more detailed log. You can also check the Log File and Subset Report at this stage, to check that the Actions have performed correctly.
Check your Target Database to make sure the data has been deleted.
Run TRUNCATE from the Command Line
To run TRUNCATE from the Command Line, first open your re-usable .cmd script in a text editor.
If you have already configured a .cmd script for one Subset Action and wish to edit and re-use that script, you should only need to set "DROP" for "Action".
Otherwise, configure all mandatory parameters in the .cmd script.
You can also specify optional parameters at this stage.
Make sure your Control Spreadsheet, the Subset Report, and any Log Files are closed.
Run the script to delete the data from your Target Database.
Check your Target Database to make sure the data has been deleted.
Next, check the Log File and Subset Report at this stage, to check that the Actions have performed correctly.
How to Re-Run BUILDMODEL and SUBSET
Once you either have truncated your date or dropped and re-registered your tables, you are ready to generate a new set of Subset Rules. You can then Subset the data.
First, generate a new set of Subset Rules. This uses the BUILDMODEL action to create rules based on your updated Control Spreadsheet. Run BUILDMODEL.
Finally, run the SUBSET action to create your updated Subset.
You can now review the results of your advanced Subset. Then, you can either iterate again, or can perform Post-Subset Actions.
TEST DATA AUTOMATION DATA SUBSETTING ADVANCED SUBSETS JOB ACTIONS