Pushdown Optimization which is a new concept in Informatica PowerCentre, allows

developers to balance data transformation load among servers. This article describes
pushdown techniques.

What is Pushdown Optimization?

Pushdown optimization is a way of load-balancing among servers in order to achieve optimal
performance. Veteran ETL developers often come across issues when they need to
determine the appropriate place to perform ETL logic. Suppose an ETL logic needs to filter
out data based on some condition. One can either do it in database by using WHERE
condition in the SQL query or inside Informatica by using Informatica Filter transformation.
Sometimes, we can even "push" some transformation logic to the target database instead of
doing it in the source side (Especially in the case of EL-T rather than ETL). Such optimization
is crucial for overall ETL performance.

How does Push-Down Optimization work?

One can push transformation logic to the source or target database using pushdown
optimization. The Integration Service translates the transformation logic into SQL queries
and sends the SQL queries to the source or the target database which executes the SQL
queries to process the transformations. The amount of transformation logic one can push to
the database depends on the database, transformation logic, and mapping and session
configuration. The Integration Service analyzes the transformation logic it can push to the
database and executes the SQL statement generated against the source or target tables,
and it processes any transformation logic that it cannot push to the database.

Using Pushdown Optimization

Use the Pushdown Optimization Viewer to preview the SQL statements and mapping logic
that the Integration Service can push to the source or target database. You can also use the
Pushdown Optimization Viewer to view the messages related to pushdown optimization.
Let us take an example:

Filter Condition used in this mapping is: DEPTNO>40

Suppose a mapping contains a Filter transformation that filters out all employees except
those with a DEPTNO greater than 40. The Integration Service can push the transformation

logic to the database. It generates the following SQL statement to process the
transformation logic:
INSERT INTO EMP_TGT(EMPNO, ENAME, SAL, COMM, DEPTNO)
SELECT
EMP_SRC.EMPNO,
EMP_SRC.ENAME,
EMP_SRC.SAL,
EMP_SRC.COMM,
EMP_SRC.DEPTNO
FROM EMP_SRC
WHERE (EMP_SRC.DEPTNO >40)
The Integration Service generates an INSERT SELECT statement and it filters the data using
a WHERE clause. The Integration Service does not extract data from the database at this
time.
We can configure pushdown optimization in the following ways:

Using source-side pushdown optimization:

The Integration Service pushes as much transformation logic as possible to the source
database. The Integration Service analyzes the mapping from the source to the target or
until it reaches a downstream transformation it cannot push to the source database and
executes the corresponding SELECT statement.

Using target-side pushdown optimization:

The Integration Service pushes as much transformation logic as possible to the target
database. The Integration Service analyzes the mapping from the target to the source or
until it reaches an upstream transformation it cannot push to the target database. It
generates an INSERT, DELETE, or UPDATE statement based on the transformation logic for
each transformation it can push to the database and executes the DML.

Using full pushdown optimization:

The Integration Service pushes as much transformation logic as possible to both source and
target databases. If you configure a session for full pushdown optimization, and the
Integration Service cannot push all the transformation logic to the database, it performs

source-side or target-side pushdown optimization instead. Also the source and target must
be on the same database. The Integration Service analyzes the mapping starting with the
source and analyzes each transformation in the pipeline until it analyzes the target.
When it can push all transformation logic to the database, it generates an INSERT SELECT
statement to run on the database. The statement incorporates transformation logic from all
the transformations in the mapping. If the Integration Service can push only part of the
transformation logic to the database, it does not fail the session, it pushes as much
transformation logic to the source and target database as possible and then processes the
remaining transformation logic.
For example, a mapping contains the following transformations:
SourceDefn -> SourceQualifier -> Aggregator -> Rank -> Expression -> TargetDefn
SUM(SAL), SUM(COMM) Group by DEPTNO
RANK PORT on SAL
TOTAL = SAL+COMM

The Rank transformation cannot be pushed to the database. If the session is configured for
full pushdown optimization, the Integration Service pushes the Source Qualifier
transformation and the Aggregator transformation to the source, processes the Rank
transformation, and pushes the Expression transformation and target to the target
database.
When we use pushdown optimization, the Integration Service converts the expression in the
transformation or in the workflow link by determining equivalent operators, variables, and
functions in the database. If there is no equivalent operator, variable, or function, the
Integration Service itself processes the transformation logic. The Integration Service logs a
message in the workflow log and the Pushdown Optimization Viewer when it cannot push an
expression to the database. Use the message to determine the reason why it could not push
the expression to the database.

How does Integration Service handle Push Down

Optimization
To push transformation logic to a database, the Integration Service might create temporary
objects in the database. The Integration Service creates a temporary sequence object in the
database to push Sequence Generator transformation logic to the database. The Integration
Service creates temporary views in the database while pushing a Source Qualifier

transformation or a Lookup transformation with a SQL override to the database, an

unconnected relational lookup, filtered lookup.
1. To push Sequence Generator transformation logic to a database, we must configure
the session for pushdown optimization with Sequence.
2. To enable the Integration Service to create the view objects in the database we must
configure the session for pushdown optimization with View.
After the database transaction completes, the Integration Service drops sequence and view
objects created for pushdown optimization.

Configuring Parameters for Pushdown Optimization

Depending on the database workload, we might want to use source-side, target-side, or full
pushdown optimization at different times and for that we can use the $
$PushdownConfig mapping parameter. The settings in the $$PushdownConfig parameter
override the pushdown optimization settings in the session properties. Create $
$PushdownConfig parameter in the Mapping Designer , in session property for Pushdown
Optimization attribute select $$PushdownConfig and define the parameter in the parameter
file.
The possible values may be,
1. none i.e the integration service itself processes all the transformations.
2. Source [Seq View],
3. Target [Seq View],
4. Full [Seq View]

Using Pushdown Optimization Viewer

Use the Pushdown Optimization Viewer to examine the transformations that can be pushed
to the database. Select a pushdown option or pushdown group in the Pushdown
Optimization Viewer to view the corresponding SQL statement that is generated for the
specified selections. When we select a pushdown option or pushdown group, we do not
change the pushdown configuration. To change the configuration, we must update the
pushdown option in the session properties.

Database
that
Optimization

supports

Informatica

Pushdown

We can configure sessions for pushdown optimization having any of the databases like
Oracle, IBM DB2, Teradata, Microsoft SQL Server, Sybase ASE or Databases that use ODBC
drivers.
When we use native drivers, the Integration Service generates SQL statements using native
database SQL. When we use ODBC drivers, the Integration Service generates SQL
statements using ANSI SQL. The Integration Service can generate more functions when it
generates SQL statements using native language instead of ANSI SQL.

Pushdown Optimization Error Handling

When the Integration Service pushes transformation logic to the database, it cannot track
errors that occur in the database.
When the Integration Service runs a session configured for full pushdown optimization and
an error occurs, the database handles the errors. When the database handles errors, the
Integration Service does not write reject rows to the reject file.
If we configure a session for full pushdown optimization and the session fails, the
Integration Service cannot perform incremental recovery because the database processes
the transformations. Instead, the database rolls back the transactions. If the database
server fails, it rolls back transactions when it restarts. If the Integration Service fails, the
database server rolls back the transaction.