Deleting data with a Data Deletion Request data object

If there are records from the data model that need to be deleted along with any linked records, you can ingest that data into a specified data object. This data object can be the ready-to-use DataDeletionRequest data object or a custom data object created for the purpose of storing data to be deleted. You can then create and run a delete job that will process the deletion.

Important: Please ensure that you validate the data you are configuring through a data deletion job. This data will be permanently deleted and cannot be recovered.

To manage the workflow for deleting data, you can leverage Job sequencing. Learn how to Set up job sequences from the Oracle Unity Developer Help Center.

Follow these steps to delete data with a Data Deletion Request data object:

• Step 1: Create the source

• Step 2: Create the ingest job

• Step 3: Run the ingest job

• Step 4: Run the data warehouse job

• Step 5: Create the delete job

• Step 6: Publish the changes

• Step 7: Run the delete job

• Step 8: Run the ID Resolution and Customer 360 jobs (Deletes relevant data from Master entities and re-populates Customer 360 and Cube data in your instance)

• Step 9: Review the data deletion report

Step 1: Create the source

You will need to define the source that has the file identifying the records that need to be deleted.

Follow the steps for Creating sources.

Step 2: Create the ingest job

Create the ingest job that will map the records the delete to one or both of the following:

• The ready-to-use DataDeletionRequest data object.

• A custom data object created for the purpose of deleting data.

If you choose to create a custom data object, you will need to follow the steps for Creating custom data objects and create the following attributes: 

Attribute name	Data type	Description
SourceObjectID	string	(Comes from the source) Unique ID for the record that needs to be deleted.
ObjectName	string	Name of the object where data must be deleted from.
ObjectClass	string	The type of object (Table) where data must be deleted from.
ObjectIDName	string	Used if identifier within the ObjectName is different from source<ObjectName>ID.

To create the ingest job:

1. Follow the steps for Creating ingest jobs.
 Note: As an alternative to creating an ingest job in the Oracle Unity platform, you can do one of the following:
• Ingest data using the Oracle Unity Stream API
• Manage data object records in the Data viewer.

When completing Step 2: Field mapping, make sure you configure field mapping for the following attributes in the DataDeletionRequest data object or the custom delete deletion data object you create:

• Column - SourceDataDeletionRequestID: Unique identifier for the deletion request.

• ObjectClass: The type of object (Table) where data must be deleted from.

• ObjectName: Name of the object where data must be deleted from.

• SourceObjectID: (Comes from the source) Unique ID for the record that needs to be deleted.



2. Follow the steps for Publishing changes.

Step 3: Run the ingest job

After creating and publishing the ingest job, run the job to import the details on the specific records to delete.

To run the ingest job:

1. Run the ingest job from the Data feeds page.
2. Monitor its progress from the Jobs dashboard and make sure it completes successfully.

Step 4: Run the data warehouse job

Run the data warehouse job to process the changes to the data model.

To run the Data warehouse job:

1. Click the Oracle icon in the bottom-right corner to open the navigation menu.
2. Select Data feeds.
3. Click the Action menu () for the System - Data warehouse job and select Start.
4. Monitor the job from the Jobs dashboard.

Step 5: Create the delete job

Create the delete job that will process the data deletion from the data model.

To create the delete job:

1. Click the Oracle icon in the bottom-right corner to open the navigation menu.
2. Select Data feeds.
3. In the top-right corner, click Create data feed, then select Delete job.

The Create delete job page is displayed.

Define your job details

The job details section allows you to define how the delete job will display in Oracle Unity.

To define the job details:

1. Enter the details for the delete job.



• Name: Enter a name. The name must be 1 or more characters, up to a maximum of 50. Other than underscores (_) and hyphens (-), special characters are not allowed. The first character cannot be a space. You can use characters from all languages supported in the language settings.

• Job ID: The unique system identifier for your job. You can't change this value after you create the job.

  • If the job name uses English characters, the Job ID field is auto-populated from the job name you enter. You can change this value before the job is created.
  • If the job name uses characters from another language supported in the language settings, the Job ID field will be left blank. You will need to enter a name using English characters.
• Description: Enter a description. This field is optional, but it is highly recommended to add descriptions for any entity created. This helps all other users get additional context when using and navigating Oracle Unity. The description can have a maximum of 512 characters with no restrictions on characters used. You can use characters from all languages supported in the language settings.
2. Confirm the job details and click Continue.

Data to be deleted

The Data to be deleted section allows you to select the method of deletion.

To set up the Data to be deleted section:

1. For Delete type, select Delete via DataDeletionRequest data object.



2. In the Data objects field, you have the option of using the ready-to-use DataDeletionRequest data object and/or a custom data deletion data object. If you are using a custom data object, use the Data objects field to select it.





3. Review the Additional preferences section.
   • Delete linked records from related data objects: This deletes data records from the specified data object and from data objects related by foreign keys. You can only delete linked records from the Customer data object, Account data object, and custom data objects. Learn more about Relationships.
   • Delete all Customer 360 data: This deletes all Customer 360 data in your instance and may impact areas such as the Profile explorer. After the job successfully runs, you will need to complete Step 8: Run the ID Resolution and Customer 360 jobs.
   • Delete all cube data: This deletes all Cube data in your instance and may impact areas such as analytics and intelligent attributes. After the job successfully runs, you will need to complete Step 8: Run the ID Resolution and Customer 360 jobs.



4. Review the selections and click Continue.

Confirmation report

You will need to select the destination that will receive the data deletion report. You can only select the following types of destinations: Secure FTP, Oracle Object Storage, and AWS.

If needed, create a new destination.

To configure the confirmation report:

1. Use the drop-down list or search bar to select the destination (Secure FTP, Oracle Object Storage, or AWS types).



2. Review and complete the File format information. The Compression format and Encryption key parameters are applicable only if you select a Secure FTP destination.

   

   1. Review and confirm the Field Delimiter.
   2. Enter a File name.
      • We recommend using a file name that includes the delete job name for easy identification.
      • You can use characters from all languages supported in the language settings.
      • The file name you provide will override the file name defined in the destination.
      • A timestamp will be added to the custom file name you provide in the following format: yyyy-MM-dd-HH-mm-ss-SSS. For example, entering the file name delete_job_01 will generate the following file name in the destination when it runs: delete_job_01_2020-05-13-08-04-13-354_0.csv.

   3. If you select a Secure FTP destination, review the compression format.

      • The default value is generated from the value configured in the selected Destination settings.

      • Any changes you make to the compression format will override the configurations in the Destination settings.

      • If you select PGP, you will need to provide an encryption key.

   4. If PGP compression format is selected, an encryption key is required. If you change the existing compression format to PGP, select the file that has the encryption key.

   The following encryption keys are supported.

   Key type	Bit lengths
   RSA (RSA cryptosystem)	2048
   	3072
   	4096

3. Review the details and click Continue.

Schedule and notify

You will need to configure the schedule and notification settings for the delete job.

To schedule the delete job and define the notification settings:

1. Configure the schedule for the delete job:
• Click Recurring to automatically run the job on a regular schedule. If a job is still running while the next one is scheduled to run, the next scheduled run will not start until the current one completes. Two scheduled instances of the same job can't run simultaneously.
• Click On demand to run the job as needed.
2. If the job is recurring, select the Frequency, Start time, and Days it will run.
3. In the field for Notify, enter the email addresses of people to be notified when the job runs. You can use characters from all languages supported in the language settings. Separate multiple emails with a comma.
4. If you only want a notification if the job fails, click the checkbox for Only notify on failure.

When done configuring the delete job, Scroll to the top of the page and click Save or Save and close.

Step 6: Publish the changes

After saving the delete job you will need to publish the changes before it can run. Follow the steps for Publishing changes.

Note: The Change list for the publish job will not list changes for delete jobs.

Step 7: Run the delete job

You can now run the delete job. If you configured a recurring schedule, the job will automatically run according to its schedule.

If you configured an on-demand schedule, you will need to manually start the job.

To run an on-demand delete job: 

1. Click the Oracle icon in the bottom-right corner to open the navigation menu.

2. Select Data feeds.

3. Locate the delete job. If needed, use the filters and search bar.

4. Click the Action menu () for the job and select Start.

5. Monitor the status of the job from the Jobs dashboard.

Step 8: Run the ID Resolution and Customer 360 jobs

Running the ID Resolution and Customer 360 jobs will do the following: 

• Deletes relevant data from Master entities (ID Resolution job)

• Re-populates Cube data if you select Delete all Cube data in the Data to be deleted section (ID Resolution job)

• Re-populates Customer 360 data if you select Delete all Customer 360 data in the Data to be deleted section (Customer 360 job)

It may take several hours to view the re-populated data.

To run the ID Resolution and Customer 360 jobs:

1. Click the Oracle icon in the bottom-right corner to open the navigation menu.

2. Select Data feeds.

3. Locate the two jobs at the top of list of data feeds. System jobs are listed first.

4. Click the Action menu () for each job and select Start.

5. Monitor the status of the jobs from the Jobs dashboard.

Step 9: Review the data deletion report

After the delete job successfully completes, a report is generated in the destination folder that lists the data objects from which data was deleted, and the number of deleted records. The deletion report contains the following information.

Column header	Description
ObjectClass	The class of data object where data was deleted. For example, Data objects are named "Table".
ObjectName	The name of the data object where data was deleted.
ObjectType	The type of data deleted from data objects. DW: Data from data warehouse data objects. R: Data from data objects. RS: Raw ingested data from the Stream API.
DeleteMode	The mode of deletion specified for the job.
ItemsDeleted	Number of records deleted.
AdditionalInfo	Other details about the Data Deletion job.
DeleteSourceType	Where the record deletion came from. Table: Deletion came from a data deletion data object. Query: Deletion came from a query.
DeleteSourceID	The source ID for the job. Will display one of the following values. Table ID Query ID
DeleteSourceRecordID	The ID for the deletion source record. Will display one of the following values. Data deletion record ID. The incremental row from the query.

Learn more

Deleting data objects

Deleting Activation Snapshots

Deleting records using segments

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