Sun Master Data Management Suite Primer

Sun Master Index

Sun Master Index provides a flexible framework that allows you to create matching and indexing applications, known as enterprise-wide master indexes. A master index uniquely identifies and cross-references the business objects stored in your system databases using data cleansing and matching technology to create a single view of all like objects. Business objects can be any type of entity about which you store information, such as customers, members, vendors, businesses, inventory items, and so on.

The following topics provide information about Sun Master Index and its components.

Sun Master Index Overview

With Sun Master Index, you can create and configure an enterprise-wide master index for any type of data. The Master Index Wizard guides you through the initial setup steps and special editors are provided so you can further customize the configuration, processing rules, and database structure of the master index. The wizard automatically generates the components you need to implement a master index.

Sun Master Index is highly configurable, allowing you to define the data structure of the information to be indexed and to define the logic that determines how data is updated, standardized, weighted, and matched in the master index database. The master indexes created by Sun Master Index provide accurate identification of objects throughout your organization and cross-reference an object’s local identifiers using an enterprise-wide unique identification number (EUID) assigned by the master index. The master index also ensures accuracy by identifying potential duplicate records and providing the ability to merge or resolve duplicate records. All information is centralized in one shared index. Maintaining a centralized database for multiple systems enables the indexing application to integrate data throughout the enterprise while allowing local systems to continue operating independently.

Sun Master Index Features

Sun Master Index provides your business with a powerful assortment of design-time features that you can use to create and configure master index applications. The runtime features allow you to manage the master index system and to perform continuous data cleansing in real time.

Design-Time Features

The Sun Master Index tools provide your business with flexibility in designing and creating indexing applications. This flexibility allows you to perform the following tasks.

Runtime Features

The components of the master index application are designed to uniquely identify, match, and maintain information throughout a business enterprise. These components are highly configurable, allowing you to create a custom master index suited to your specific data processing needs. Sun Master Index applications provide the following features.

Sun Master Index Architecture

The Sun Master Index design-time components allow you to define the data structure of the business objects to be stored and cross-referenced and to define the logic that determines how data is processed in the master index application. As shown in the following diagram, the design-time components include a wizard, editors, configuration files, and database scripts. When the master index project is built, a master index application is created that can be deployed to the application server.

Figure 2 Sun Master Index Design-Time Components

Figure shows the relationship between the design-time
components of Master Index.

Building and deploying the master index application creates the runtime components of Sun Master Index, including components that process and persist data, master index services, and the Master Index Data Manager (a web-based GUI to monitor and maintain master index data). Runtime components also include the master index database. The following diagram illustrates the runtime components of a master index application.

Figure 3 Sun Master Index Runtime Components

Figure shows the relationship between the runtime components
of Master Index.

Master Index Design and Development Phase

The development phase consists of standard tasks for creating an indexing application and advanced tasks for further customizing the applications you create.

Analysis and Design Tasks

The process of creating a master index begins with a thorough analysis of the structure and characteristics of the data you plan to store in the master index database and to share among external systems. The results of this analysis define the structure of the information stored in the master index database and provide information to help you customize the processing and matching logic for the master index.

From this analysis you can design the object structure, matching and standardization logic, any required custom processing, and the connectivity components for the indexing system. Once you have created the master index framework, you can generate custom tools to perform a more in-depth analysis and cleansing of the actual data to be stored in the master index database.

Standard Development Tasks

The following steps outline the basic procedure for developing a master index using Sun Master Index.

  1. Create a Master Index Application project in NetBeans.

  2. Using the Master Index Wizard, define the data and message structures, the operating environment, and external systems sharing data with the master index application.

  3. Using the Configuration Editor, customize the application.

  4. Generate the application.

  5. Customize the database scripts, and then create the database.

  6. Define the database connection pools and JDBC resources.

  7. Define security.

  8. Build and deploy the fully configured master index application.

Advanced Development Tasks

You can perform additional tasks during the development phase to customize your indexing application further.

Master Index Wizard

The Master Index Wizard takes you through each step of the master index setup process and, based on the information you specify, creates the XML files that define the configuration of the application.

Figure 4 Field Properties on the Master Index Wizard

Figure shows the field properties page on the Master
Index Wizard.

Configuration Editor

Once you create the Project files using the wizard, you can further customize the configuration of the master index application using the Configuration Editor.

Figure 5 Normalization Page of the Master Index Configuration Editor

Figure shows the Normalization page of the Configuration
Editor.

With the Configuration Editor, you can customize the following:

Master Index Runtime Phase

Once all of the analysis, design, and development tasks are complete and the system is running, you can perform any of these maintenance tasks.

Manager Service

The Manager Service provides a session bean to all components of the master index, such as the MIDM, Query Builder, Update Manager, and so on. During the runtime phase, the Manager Service performs the following tasks:

Master Index Database

The components of a master index connect to the database to provide the following features:

Data Monitoring and Maintenance

The Master Index Data Manager (MIDM) is a web-based interface that allows you to monitor and maintain the data in your master index database. The appearance and search capabilities of the MIDM are highly configurable to allow you to view and search for information in the way that best suits your business needs. The following figure shows a sample page on the MIDM.

Figure 6 Master Index Data Manager

Figure shows the Record Details page of the MIDM.

The MIDM allows you to perform these primary functions to monitor and maintain the data in a master index database.