Introduction to Load Plans

1.    Oracle Data Integrator is often used for populating very large data warehouses. In these use cases, it is common to have thousands of tables being populated using hundreds of scenarios. The execution of these scenarios has to be organized in such a way that the data throughput from the sources to the target is the most efficient within the batch window. Load Plans help the user organizing the execution of scenarios in a hierarchy of sequential and parallel steps for these type of use cases.

2.    A Load Plan is an executable object in Oracle Data Integrator that can contain a hierarchy of steps that can be executed conditionally, in parallel or in series. The leaf nodes of this hierarchy are Scenarios. Packages, mappings, variables, and procedures can be added to Load Plans for executions in the form of scenarios.

3.    Load Plans allow setting and using variables at multiple levels. Load Plans also support exception handling strategies in the event of a scenario ending in error.

4.    Load Plans can be started, stopped, and restarted from a command line, from Oracle Data Integrator Studio, Oracle Data Integrator Console or a Web Service interface. They can also be scheduled using the run-time agent's built-in scheduler or an external scheduler. When a Load Plan is executed, a Load Plan Instance is created. Each attempt to run this Load Plan Instance is a separate Load Plan Run.

5.    A Load Plan can be modified in production environments and steps can be enabled or disabled according to the production needs. Load Plan objects can be designed and viewed in the Designer and Operator Navigators. Various design operations (such as create, edit, delete, and so forth) can be performed on a Load Plan object if a user connects to a development work repository, but some design operations will not be available in an execution work repository. Once created, a Load Plan is stored in the work repository. The Load Plan can be exported then imported to another repository and executed in different contexts. Load Plans can also be versioned.

6.     Load Plans appear in Designer Navigator and in Operator Navigator in the Load Plans and Scenarios accordion. The Load Plan Runs are displayed in the Load Plan Executions accordion in Operator Navigator.