IBM InfoSphere Master Data Management, Version 11.3

Platform and core feature overview

IBM® InfoSphere® Master Data Management (InfoSphere MDM) is an enterprise application that provides a unified operational view of your customers, accounts, and products and an environment that processes updates to and from multiple channels.

InfoSphere MDM aligns these front office systems with multiple back office systems in real time, providing a single source of truth for master data. The InfoSphere MDM physical MDM platform use a component-based Extensible Markup Language (XML) and Java™ Platform Enterprise Edition (Java EE) architecture to rapidly integrate with other systems and deliver flexibility and scalability.

InfoSphere MDM is an enterprise application that can either be used in its standard configuration, or modified through customization. You can customize InfoSphere MDM through a number of externalized features that control its operation.

The InfoSphere MDM Workbench can be used to create and extend InfoSphere MDM and associated Web-based user interfaces to aid with stewardship over the managed information. The Workbench provides a modeling, code generation, Java development environment, and testing environment.

The Workbench supports an iterative approach to development with full round-tripping support. The Workbench is integrated with IBM Rational® Software Architect to provide access to standard software development capabilities such as:

Requirements management
Source code control
Asset management
Deployment
Testing

This documentation focuses on the InfoSphere MDM backend systems, especially from the system development and administration point of view. It also includes many method descriptions and code samples for developers. The major points of discussion relate to the externalized portions of the infrastructure components, the server-side tier components, and how both can be used to extend InfoSphere MDM functionality.

Physical MDM architectural overview
InfoSphere MDM’s physical MDM capabilities make use of a base platform that is flexible and extensible, along with a number of core features.
Customization restrictions
One of the prime objectives of InfoSphere MDM architecture is to support customization and extension of the core product.
Physical MDM customization capabilities
InfoSphere MDM can be customized, allowing you to create additions, extensions, and metadata specs.
Overview of InfoSphere MDM and OSGi
Beginning with version 11.0, InfoSphere MDM uses OSGi as the framework specification development and deployment of the operational server.
Overview of OSGi migration
If you have customized InfoSphere MDM without using the MDM Workbench, this content will help you migrate your InfoSphere MDM customizations to use OSGi.
Developing with specs
There are two ways to extend the data model. One is the traditional method of persisting hardened attributes to the database, and the other is by using specs to persist soft attributes to the database as XML.
Common code type framework
The common code type framework provides consistent and easy use of code table functions.
Common features and entities
Multi-instance federated deployments
The multi-instance federated deployment framework provides services for inquiry and search transactions to communicate across multiple geographically-distributed InfoSphere MDM instances.
Subtyping entities
The entity subtyping feature allows you to process business objects that have an inheritance relationship.
Entity suspect management
The entity suspect management framework and entity data stewardship framework work together to provide a mechanism for a domain specific entity, such as a product, to implement the suspected duplicate processing capabilities.
Logging and error handling
InfoSphere MDM handles application and system messages by capturing the problem or condition and reporting back to the caller with a meaningful message.
External business rules
Pluggable keys
Pluggable keys provide a single point of entry for defining the primary key for a record into a database table. You can use your own implementation to create the primary key on specific tables or on all tables
Smart Inquiries
Smart Inquiries are a method of improving processing efficiency.
Custom SQL search queries
InfoSphere MDM allows clients to either write their own SQL queries to execute customized searches, or to use the existing search methods.
Service activity monitoring
The service activity monitoring facility provides a way to capture the system information generated by the InfoSphere MDM product.
Language and locale
You can define the language and locale for your implementation to enable the application to be deployed and used across various geographies.
Inquiry levels
Inquiry levels are parameters that define the level of detail for objects being returned in a search, or inquiry, transaction.
Retrieving audit history
The InfoSphere MDM audit database is a duplicate of the operational database that does not include code and rule tables, but includes additional audit attributes.
Retrieving historical data (point in time)
Historical, point in time queries show how data has changed over a defined period of time. You can use this functionality to retrieving historical information for party or contract images within a range of dates.
Configuring transaction audit logging
The transaction audit log (TAIL) module provides services for the storage and retrieval of transaction log information.
Using the Concurrent Execution Infrastructure (CEI)
The Concurrent Execution Infrastructure, or CEI, provides the ability to perform party or contract searches for operations that run concurrently within the managed environment of an EJB container.
Setting source values and data decay
The purpose of source values is to establish a standardized approach to store and retrieve information, or values, that come from an external sources when the attributes of those values do not fit the structure of your implementation.
Tracking performance statistics
InfoSphere MDM provides the ability to capture performance statistics for transactions within components of the architecture.
Request and Response Framework
The Request and Response Framework provides a consistent entry point into InfoSphere MDM enterprise applications.
Creating composite transactions using business proxies
Composite transactions allow you to group related business transactions that should be run as a single unit of work.
Creating composite XML transactions
InfoSphere MDM includes a Composite Transaction Framework to support composite XML requests.
Publishing transaction responses
The Request and Response Framework can publish the changes of the business objects to a JMS queue before returning the response to the caller.
Working with the Messaging Adapter
The Messaging Adapter component provides an asynchronous entry point into InfoSphere MDM.
Working with Web Services
This section describes the use and configuration of the InfoSphere MDM Web Services.
Event Manager
The Event Manager is a component that detects events and activities.
Security services
Access to InfoSphere MDM data and functionality is controlled both at the application server level and at the application level.
Controlling data visibility and access
You can control who sees what and who can add persistent data using data level entitlements, set though the Rules of Visibility and access tokens.
Using the Configuration and Management components
The Configuration and Management components support the operational configuration and management of applications. They enable administrative users to deploy, fine-tune, and manage applications within their runtime environment.
Batch job processing
The InfoSphere MDM batch processor enables you to run transactions or persist data in batches.
Validating data
InfoSphere MDM validates all data submitted through InfoSphere MDM transactions to ensure that all data satisfies the requirements expressed in the validation rules.
Paginating search results
The Pagination search results feature improves the performance and usability of the getAll and Search transactions by allowing multiple pages of results to be returned. Pagination requires no special administration.
Customizing task management
The task management feature manages the tasks lifecycle, provides task management transactions to other components, and provides a runtime environment for each task.
Understanding Multi time zone deployment
The InfoSphere MDM multi time zone deployment feature enables you to handle several issues related to multi server deployment and daylight savings time scenarios.
Introduction to the Entity Standardization framework
The InfoSphere MDM Entity Standardization framework enables your organization to use plugin standardizers for any business object, whether the business object is out-of-the-box, extended, or new.
Implementation and configuration of the Notification Framework
The InfoSphere MDM Notification Framework provides a foundation that enables you to define and send entity data to multiple applications that have an interest in those entities.
Understanding the Adaptive Services Interface (ASI)
The Adaptive Services Interface (ASI) feature provides organizations with the ability to adapt InfoSphere MDM interfaces to a particular audience or messaging standard.
Partitioning strategy for the MDM database
If you have a large amount of data in the InfoSphere MDM data store, you may experience long response times and high CPU consumption on the database. One approach to address performance and response time issues is to employ a partitioning solution.
Integrating with InfoSphere MDM Collaboration Server
The PIMDataTransformer module is one of the key components that enables InfoSphere MDM to integrate with IBM InfoSphere MDM Collaboration Server (formerly known as InfoSphere MDM for Product Information Management).
Logging SQL using InfoSphere Guardium
IBM InfoSphere Guardium® provides a suite of products designed to enhance the security of databases. One component of their line of products is the ability to audit and report all database access.
External rules for the platform and core features
This section describes the business rules that are externalized from InfoSphere MDM and are configured using the External Rule Component.
Learning the platform and core configuration elements
Platform domain configurations have names beginning with the following:

Parent topic: Developing for physical MDM

Last updated: 27 June 2014