Information roadmap for InfoSphere Information Server, Version 11.3

This document provides links to the information resources that are available for IBM® InfoSphere® Information Server and all of its products and components, including InfoSphere Information Governance Catalog, InfoSphere Information Governance Dashboard, InfoSphere DataStage, InfoSphere Data Click, InfoSphere QualityStage, InfoSphere Information Analyzer, InfoSphere Information Services Director, InfoSphere Blueprint Director, and InfoSphere FastTrack.

Product overview
Planning, installing, and configuring
Administering
Metadata management
Connecting to data sources
Information Blueprint Director
InfoSphere Information Governance Catalog
InfoSphere FastTrack
InfoSphere Information Analyzer
InfoSphere DataStage
InfoSphere QualityStage
InfoSphere Data Click
InfoSphere Data Quality Console
InfoSphere Information Services Director
Troubleshooting and support
Reference

Product overview

In addition to the Product overview information in IBM Knowledge Center, review these additional information resources:

IBM InfoSphere Information Server product website

This website describes the packages and editions for the InfoSphere Information Server family of products. This family of products provides clients with the ability to flexibly meet their unique information integration requirements --- from data integration, to data quality, to data governance, and more.

Integrating and governing big data

Published in 2014, this IBM ebook that describes the end-to-end information integration capabilities of IBM InfoSphere Information Server and how it is designed to help organizations understand, cleanse, monitor, transform and deliver data—as well as collaborate to bridge the gap between business and IT.

IBM Information Server Integration and Governance for Emerging Data Warehouse Demands

Published in July 2013, this IBM Redbooks® publication is intended for business leaders and IT architects who are responsible for building and extending their data warehouse and Business Intelligence infrastructure. It provides an overview of powerful new capabilities of Information Server in the areas of big data, statistical models, data governance and data quality. The book also provides key technical details that IT professionals can use in solution planning, design, and implementation.

InfoSphere Information Server for Data Warehousing

Published in September 2011, this video shows how InfoSphere Information Server fully supports the new requirements for data warehousing. InfoSphere Information Server delivers faster time to value, increases business confidence in information, and provides a lower cost of ownership than older, more time-consuming approaches.

The information perspective of SOA design (series)

Published in October 2008, this series of articles is written for architects and practitioners designing a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA). It introduces a set of patterns and capabilities representing the information perspective in the design of an SOA. The key patterns addressed are the business glossary, the canonical model and data quality analysis.

IBM InfoSphere Software: Trusted Information

Published in 2008, this white paper describes how you can use IBM InfoSphere software and the integrated platform for trusted information to align business and IT, accelerate your projects for faster time to value, leverage your existing infrastructure, and adapt to the changing needs of your business.

YouTube Channels

These YouTube video channels collect together many videos about our products:

Planning, installing, and configuring

In addition to the installation information and migration information in IBM Knowledge Center, review these information resources:

System requirements: This report describes the system requirements for InfoSphere Information Server.
Release notes: This topic contains critical information to ensure the successful installation and operation of InfoSphere Information Server.
IBM InfoSphere Information Server Deployment Architectures: Updated in January 2013, this IBM Redbooks publication presents guidelines and criteria for the successful deployment of InfoSphere Information Server components in typical logical infrastructure topologies that use shared metadata capabilities of the platform, and support development lifecycle, data privacy, information security, high availability, and performance requirements. This book is for IT architects, information management and integration specialists, and system administrators who are responsible for delivering the full suite of information integration capabilities of InfoSphere Information Server.
Designing a topology for InfoSphere Information Server: Published in October 2012, this IBM developerWorks® article describes how a successful deployment of IBM InfoSphere Information Server must include a topology that meets customer expectations for performance, ease of maintenance, security, high availability, and scalability. This article walks you through the considerations for each of these requirements to help you design a topology that meets your needs.
Deploying a Grid Solution with IBM InfoSphere Information Server: Published in September 2008, this IBM Redbooks publication describes a scenario for migrating an existing InfoSphere Information Server parallel framework implementation to a high availability grid environment.

Administering

Review the administering information in IBM Knowledge Center.

Metadata management

In addition to the managing metadata information in IBM Knowledge Center, review these information resources:

Managing Metadata in InfoSphere Information Server: Published in July 2012, this video is a Tech Talk session demonstrates how InfoSphere Metadata Asset Manager simplifies importing physical metadata, business intelligence metadata, analytical metadata, glossary metadata, and user metadata to provide a complete view of data integration processes.
Metadata Management with IBM InfoSphere Information Server: Published in October 2011, this IBM Redbooks publication introduces IBM's information governance initiative and explains how InfoSphere Information Server provides the functions that are required to achieve metadata management. It also describes a typical implementation process.
Asset interchange in IBM InfoSphere Information Server: Published in October 2010, this IBM developerWorks article describes standard practices for using the InfoSphere Information Server asset interchange tools.

Connecting to data sources

In addition to the connecting to data sources information in IBM Knowledge Center, review these information resources:

Tuning the Oracle Connector performance in IBM InfoSphere DataStage - Part 1: Overview of the connector tuning process and optimization of fetch, lookup and DML operations: Published in March 2013, this developerWorks article provides a set of guidelines for tuning the Oracle Connector stages in parallel jobs with the goal of maximizing their performance.
Use InfoSphere Information Server to integrate Teradata data: Published in November 2009, this IBM developerWorks article illustrates and compares several approaches for the integration of InfoSphere Information Server with Teradata data.
Use DataStage Web Services Pack to fetch Lotus Notes data into an InfoSphere Information Servers DataStage module for more ETL processing: Published in December 2009, this IBM developerWorks article explores various features that Lotus® Domino® Server provides to create and deploy Lotus applications as Web services. It explains how to create, configure, and deploy Web services in Lotus Domino, and to create, configure, compile, and execute a DataStage® Web Services Pack job that uses Lotus Web services.
IBM InfoSphere DataStage and DB2 pureXML (series): Published in August and September of 2009, this series of IBM developerWorks articles shows how to integrate business-critical XML data into your data warehouse using IBM InfoSphere DataStage 8.1 and DB2® 9.5 pureXML®. The articles provide step-by-step instructions for using pureXML as both a source and target data source for InfoSphere DataStage jobs.
Data integration with Salesforce CRM using IBM InfoSphere Information Server: Published in July 2008, this IBM developerWorks article introduces the IBM InfoSphere Information Server Pack for Salesforce.com. It describes the architectural design, and demonstrates the usage of the package.
Data integration with SAP NetWeaver Business Intelligence using IBM Information Server: Published in February 2008, this IBM developerWorks article provides a step-by-step guide on how to use InfoSphere Information Server to load data into the SAP BI.

InfoSphere Blueprint Director

In addition to theInfoSphere Blueprint Director information, review these information resources:

InfoSphere BluePrint Director: Published in May 2012, this video shows how IBM InfoSphere Blueprint Director provides consistency and connectivity to your information architecture designs by linking the solution overview and detailed design documents together.
Best practices for IBM InfoSphere Blueprint Director: Working within a project lifecycle: Published in June 2012, this IBM developerWorks article provides best practices for using InfoSphere Blueprint Director. When you understand and apply these best practices, you can create effective and actionable architecture blueprints.

InfoSphere Information Governance Catalog

In addition to the InfoSphere Information Governance Catalog information, review these information resources:

Information Governance Principles and Practices for a Big Data Landscape: Published in March 2014, this IBM Redbooks publication describes how the IBM Big Data Platform provides the integrated capabilities that are required for the adoption of Information Governance in the big data landscape. The IBM Big Data Platform, coupled with a framework for Information Governance, provides an approach to build, manage, and gain significant value from the big data landscape.
The business value of a business glossary: How IBM helps businesses communicate more efficiently and effectively: Published in October 2008, this paper explains how implementing a business glossary can help your enterprise be more efficient and productive. Although this paper was publishedfor a previous version of InfoSphere Business Glossary, the principles still apply to implementing a business glossary by using InfoSphere Information Governance Catalog.

InfoSphere FastTrack

In addition to the InfoSphere FastTrack information in IBM Knowledge Center, review these information resources:

Demo: IBM FastTrack: Published in July 2012, this demo outlines the base features of InfoSphere FastTrack including mapping specifications, metadata analysis all with an intuitive, easy to use graphical interface.
InfoSphere FastTrack: The need for speed - accelerating data integration projects: Published in December 2007, this white paper explains how InfoSphere FastTrack can help enterprises accelerate the deployment of data integration projects by simplifying and improving the communication process between the business analyst and the developer.

InfoSphere Information Analyzer

In addition to the InfoSphere Information Analyzer information in IBM Knowledge Center, review these information resources:

Using pre-built rule definitions with IBM InfoSphere Information Analyzer: Published in December 2011, this IBM developerWorks article describes how to use pre-built rule definitions to begin the process of validating key business requirements. The pre-built rule definitions are provided as attachments to the article.
InfoSphere best practices: Using InfoSphere Information Analyzer in a productive environment: Published in October 2010, this IBM developerWorks article describes tips and tricks that you can use to increase your productivity when you develop data quality rules in InfoSphere Information Analyzer.
Using IBM InfoSphere Information Analyzer data quality rules in a productive environment: Published in October 2010, this IBM developerWorks article describes tips and tricks you can use to increase your productivity when developing IBM InfoSphere Information Analyzer data quality rules. It shows you how to use various options that are available to move a data quality project or individual data rules to a different environment, how to create reusable project templates that you can then easily deploy, how to archive data rule definitions in a source control repository, and how to trigger the execution of data rules from a third-party environment.
Use InfoSphere Information Analyzer data classification to understand the quality of your data: Published in October 2010, this IBM developerWorks article describes data classification schemes, classification categories, system capabilities, and how you can effectively control the data classification results. The article also explains how to use data classification to determine subsequent analysis requirements and to support your overall data quality assessment.
Understand the resource usage of data quality rules in IBM InfoSphere Information Analyzer: Published in October 2010, this IBM developerWorks article helps you understand the execution of data quality rules in IBM InfoSphere Information Analyzer with a focus on performance.

InfoSphere DataStage

In addition to the InfoSphere DataStage information in IBM Knowledge Center, review these information resources:

InfoSphere DataStage - Introduction: Published in August 2010, this video shows how to extract, transform, and load data between multiple sources and targets.
InfoSphere DataStage parallel framework standard practices: Published in July 2010, this IBM Redbooks publication presents guidelines to help you develop highly efficient and scalable information integration applications by using InfoSphere DataStage parallel jobs.
IBM InfoSphere DataStage Data Flow and Job Design: Published in July 2008, this IBM Redbooks publication develops usage scenarios that describe the implementation of InfoSphere DataStage flow and job design with special emphasis on features such as the distributed transaction stage (DTS), Slowly Changing Dimension stage, complex flat file stage, and access to mainframe data.
Operations console - Managing and monitoring datastage jobs: Published in February 2013, this video shows how you can use the Operations Console to manage and monitor DataStage jobs, including monitoring their job logs and resource usage. The demo briefly shows how you can troubleshoot the issues when runtime problems occur.
Operations console demo: Published in July 2012, this video shows how the Operations Console is used to monitor InfoSphere Information Server jobs in flight.
InfoSphere DataStage - Part 1: Designing jobs: Published in September 2012, this video shows how to build and run InfoSphere DataStage parallel jobs. The demo briefly takes you through the steps of designing an InfoSphere DataStage jobs.
InfoSphere DataStage - Part 2: Editing and configuring settings: Published in September 2012, this video will take you through the steps to configure the stages in a DataStage job.
InfoSphere DataStage - Part 3: Compiling jobs: Published in September 2012, this video will take you through the steps to compile a DataStage job into an executable form and run the job.
InfoSphere DataStage: Parsing JSON data: This video shows you how to use the XML stage to parse hierarchical data in the JSON format into a relational format.
IBM InfoSphere DataStage and DB2 pureXML (series): Published in August and September of 2009, this series of IBM developerWorks articles shows how to integrate business-critical XML data into your data warehouse using IBM InfoSphere DataStage 8.1 and DB2 9.5 pureXML. The articles provide step-by-step instructions for using pureXML as both a source and target data source for InfoSphere DataStage jobs.
Manage dimension tables in InfoSphere Information Server DataStage: Published in March 2009, this IBM developerWorks article shows how to use the Slowly Changing Dimension stage for processing dimension table changes. It also shows how to use the output of the stage to update an associated fact table.
Cognos reports for InfoSphere DataStage operations: These topics describe the sample reports that are provided with InfoSphere DataStage to demonstrate what can be achieved by querying the operations database with Cognos reporting. The PDF file is available in the Server/bsodb/Sample folder.

InfoSphere QualityStage

In addition to the InfoSphere QualityStage information in IBM Knowledge Center, review these information resources:

InfoSphere QualityStage® Methodologies, Standardization, and Matching: Published in June 2008, this IBM Redbooks publication documents the procedures for implementing InfoSphere QualityStage and related technologies by using a typical merger and acquisition financial services business scenario. The scenario covers all dimensions of data cleansing, standardization, matching, job design, and job deployment through a data integration lifecycle.
Leverage a ripple-down rules framework in InfoSphere QualityStage standardization rule set development: Published in September 2011, this IBM developerWorks article looks at address standardization and shows how you can use the advantages of a ripple-down rules (RDR) framework in QualityStage rule set development, lowering the manual effort required to rewrite or migrate rules from one data source to another.

InfoSphere Data Click

In addition to the InfoSphere Data Click information in IBM Knowledge Center, review these information resources:

IBM Information Server Integration and Governance for Emerging Data Warehouse Demands: Published in July 2013, this IBM Redbooks publication is intended for business leaders and IT architects who are responsible for building and extending their data warehouse and Business Intelligence infrastructure. It provides an overview of powerful new capabilities of InfoSphere Information Server in the areas of big data, statistical models, data governance, and data quality. The book also provides key technical details that IT professionals can use in solution planning, design, and implementation.

InfoSphere Data Quality Console

In addition to the InfoSphere Data Quality Console information in IBM Knowledge Center, review these information resources:

InfoSphere Data Quality Console: Assigning a reviewer: This video shows you how to find exception descriptors in the data quality console and assign them to a reviewer.
InfoSphere Data Quality Console: Reviewing and exporting exceptions: This video shows you how to track exceptions in the data quality console and export them for further review.

InfoSphere Information Services Director

In addition to the InfoSphere Information Services Director information in IBM Knowledge Center, review these information resources:

InfoSphere Information Services Director Basic Demo: Published in July 2012, this video shows how an InfoSphere DataStage or InfoSphere QualityStage Job can be formally deployed as a Web Service. The demo briefly takes you through the publication of a data transformation service that performs "matching" in real time --- re-using the same matching components that are also processing Customer names in batch. Publishing the service means making it available for any client tooling (.NET, Java, etc.) that supports standard service oriented architecture protocols such as SOAP, and includes the generation and registration of required artifacts like WSDL documents that describe the details of the service.
Invoke Valid Values: InfoSphere Information Services Director: Published in August 2012, this video shows how InfoSphere Information Services Director can be used to display and analyze valid data values defined earlier using InfoSphere Information Analyzer.
Publish Valid Values: InfoSphere Information Services Director: Published in August 2012, this video shows how InfoSphere Information Services Director can be used to publish valid values defined earlier using InfoSphere Information Analyzer.
Testing InfoSphere Information Services Director WSDL using InfoSphere Information Data Architect: Published in July 2012, this video shows how to test an InfoSphere Information Services Director WISDL using InfoSphere Information Data Architect. The example demonstrates testing real-time InfoSphere record matching.
Use IBM InfoSphere Information Server to transform legacy data into information services: Updated in November 2012, this article shows you how to create and deploy information services to access legacy databases without writing any code. The generated web services are created using IBM InfoSphere Information Server components including IBM InfoSphere DataStage, InfoSphere Federation Server, WebSphere® Information Services Director, and WebSphere Transformation Extender for DataStage.

Troubleshooting and support

In addition to the troubleshooting information in IBM Knowledge Center, review these information resources:

InfoSphere Information Server product support: The IBM Support Portal is a unified, customizable view of all technical support tools and information for all IBM systems, software, and services. Browse for and select which products you want to search for troubleshooting information.
Community forums: The InfoSphere community forums enable you to share ideas and experiences with other users.

Reference

In addition to the glossary of terms , review these additional information resources:

IBM Redbooks publications

The IBM Redbooks publications provide product, platform, and solution perspectives and explore integration, implementation, and operation of realistic client scenarios.

IBM developerWorks articles

The IBM developerWorks Web site contains developer resources, tutorials, and articles.

IBM Education Assistant videos

IBM Education Assistant is a collection of multimedia educational modules designed to help you gain a better understanding of IBM software products and use them more effectively to meet your business requirements.

IBM InfoSphere Information Server Best Practices documents

Get practical guidance for many common issues and use this knowledge to improve the value of your implementation.

IBM InfoSphere training

IBM offers classroom, on-site, and e-Learning training classes.

Search for these course codes on this IBM training website:

KM130: Overview: Lifecycle of Information Integration with IBM InfoSphere Information Server. This course presents an overview of how the various products in InfoSphere Information Server work together to implement a data integration project.
KM202: IBM InfoSphere DataStage Essentials. This course is designed to introduce ETL developers to InfoSphere DataStage.
KM212: IBM InfoSphere QualityStage Essentials. This course teaches how to build InfoSphere QualityStage parallel jobs that investigate, standardize, match, and consolidate data records.
KM310: IBM InfoSphere QualityStage Postal Modules. Learn how to build QualityStage jobs that standardize and verify address data.
KM402: IBM InfoSphere DataStage Advanced- Parallel Framework. This course is designed to introduce advanced parallel job development techniques in InfoSphere DataStage.
KM412: IBM InfoSphere QualityStage Advanced. Learn how to build InfoSphere QualityStage rule sets to standardize product data. Learn how to use reference matching to find related records.
KM422: IBM InfoSphere DataStage Advanced - Data Processing. This course is designed to introduce you to advanced parallel job data processing techniques in InfoSphere DataStage.
KM502: IBM InfoSphere Information Server Administration. This course describes and discusses Information Server administrative tasks surrounding the Suite as a whole, such as security, session management, and backup and recovery, and administrative tasks related to key InfoSphere Information Server products such as InfoSphere DataStage and InfoSphere Information Analyzer.
KM612: IBM InfoSphere Business Glossary Essentials. This course is designed to equip you with the knowledge and ability to create and use a business glossary within InfoSphere Business Glossary. The course illustrates how users can practically apply the usage of a business glossary as a solution to an enterprise wide problem.
KM622: IBM InfoSphere Metadata Workbench Essentials. This course is designed to give you the skills to capture, explore, and analyze metadata stored within the metadata repository using InfoSphere Metadata Workbench.
New Course: IBM InfoSphere Information Governance Catalog Essentials. This course is designed to give you the skills to capture, explore, and analyze information assets that are stored in the metadata repository. Users will also learn how to build and use an information governance catalog of categories and terms to manage these information assets.
KM632: IBM InfoSphere FastTrack Essentials. This course enables you to acquire the skills necessary to create mapping specifications in InfoSphere FastTrack and generate DataStage jobs from them.
KM640: IBM InfoSphere Information Services Director Essentials. Learn how to quickly and easily create a project and its components. Participants will also learn how to create and utilize service provider connections to an application. In addition, users will learn how to invoke the services they have created from a series of exercises that involve executing an InfoSphere DataStage job, performing SQL queries, and other such tasks.
KM802: IBM InfoSphere Information Analyzer Essentials. This course introduces the concepts and methods used to perform information analysis. IBM InfoSphere Information Analyzer, InfoSphere Business Glossary, and InfoSphere QualityStage will be used to perform data profiling, data assessment, and metadata enrichment tasks.