MEFA Configuration

The MEFAConfig section specifies the Java classes to be used by components of the Matching Service, including the match and standardization engines, block picker, and pass controller. The match and standardization engines control the processes of standardizing data and generating matching probability weights between records. The block picker and pass controller define how the blocking query is executed during the match process.

Match and Standardization Engines

Sun Master Index provides the ability to use the standardization and match engines that best suit your indexing requirements. You can configure the master index application to use the Master Index Match Engine and the Master Index Standardization Engine, or you can configure the index to use a customized engine of your choice.

These engines perform two functions:

• Standardize data to a common format

• Calculate the likelihood that two objects match

The engines are called during match processing, when the master index application retrieves the best matches during a weighted search from the MIDM or when the master index application checks for duplicate records during an insert or update from the MIDM or an external system.

Block Picker and Pass Controller

By default, the matching process is executed in multiple stages. Each configured block that defines query criteria is executed and evaluated separately (each query block execution and evaluation is referred to as a match pass). After a block is evaluated, the pass controller determines whether the results found are sufficient or matching should continue by performing another match pass.

The block picker chooses the block definition to use for each match pass. Block definitions define the criteria for each query that checks the database for a subset of the records to be used for matching. The block picker has access to the match results from previous match passes, as well as lists of applicable block definitions that have been executed and of those that have not been executed.