Getting Started with Data Management

This chapter provides an overview of data management and discusses data management implementation.

Data Management Overview

This section discusses:

PeopleSoft Data Mover.
PeopleSoft Data Archive Manager.
Data integrity and auditing.
Diagnostics Framework.
Database platform considerations.

PeopleSoft Data Mover

PeopleSoft Data Mover is a stand-alone two-tier program, which you can run through a graphical interface on Microsoft Windows, or a with a command line interface on either Microsoft Windows or UNIX systems.

PeopleSoft Data Mover enables you to perform the following tasks:

Transfer application data between PeopleSoft databases.
Move PeopleSoft databases across operating systems and database platforms.
Execute Structured Query Language (SQL) statements against any PeopleSoft database, regardless of the underlying operating system or database platform.
Export data in a platform independent manner.
Control database security and access.
Create, edit, and run scripts which combine SQL commands and PeopleSoft Data Mover commands for exporting and importing data.

See Using PeopleSoft Data Mover.

PeopleSoft Data Archive Manager

In any enterprise application, the ability to purge and archive transactional data is critical to data management. You need to have consistent methods to archive transactional data before your database increases to unmanageable sizes. PeopleSoft Data Archive Manager provides an integrated and consistent framework for archiving data from PeopleSoft applications.

Using a predefined template, you can select any queries and multiple objects that meet your archiving requirements. Leveraging the Archive Query in PeopleSoft Query, you can easily define your archive template. To better manage the archive process, you don't have to make any commits to the database until the entire batch has completed.

Note. This PeopleSoft Data Archive Manager replaces a deprecated feature used in PeopleSoft 8.40 through 8.43, which is discussed in an appendix of this PeopleBook.

Data Integrity and Auditing

PeopleSoft provides several features to ensure the integrity of the data that is stored in your PeopleSoft system.

Data Integrity Tools

You might want to use the provided data integrity tools during upgrades and system customizations, to verify the PeopleSoft system and check how it compares to the actual SQL objects. The data integrity tools are:

SQL Alter.

The primary purpose of the PeopleSoft Application Designer SQL Alter function is to bring SQL tables into accordance with PeopleTools record definitions. You can run SQL Alter in an audit-only mode that alerts you to discrepancies between record definitions and SQL tables, but that doesn't actually perform an alter.
DDDAUDIT.

The Database Audit Report (DDDAUDIT) finds inconsistencies between PeopleTools record and index definitions and the database objects. This audit consists of nine queries: four on tables, two on views, and three on indexes.
SYSAUDIT.

The System Audit (SYSAUDIT) identifies orphaned PeopleSoft objects and other inconsistencies within the system. An example of an orphaned object is a module of PeopleCode that exists, but which does not relate to any other objects in the system. You can use SYSAUDIT to audit a variety of different aspects of your PeopleSoft system.

See Ensuring Data Integrity.

Trigger-Based Database Level Auditing

PeopleSoft provides trigger-based auditing functionality as an alternative to the record-based auditing that PeopleSoft Application Designer provides. Some countries require that you audit changes to certain data, while some companies audit who is making changes to sensitive data. This level of auditing is not only for maintaining the integrity of the data, but it is also a heightened security measure. PeopleSoft takes advantage of database triggers (offered by most database vendors), and when a user makes a change to a specified field that you are monitoring, the changed data triggers the audit.

The information that a trigger records could include the user that made a change, the type of change that is made, when the change is made, and so on.

See Employing Database Level Auditing.

Diagnostics Framework

PeopleSoft provides a framework for defining and retrieving application data diagnostics within the PeopleSoft Pure Internet Architecture (PIA) environment. Diagnostics Framework retrieves diagnostic information from a PeopleSoft database. With this diagnostic information, you can:

Discover problematic application-related data.
Explore setup details.
Present information to PeopleSoft support in a common format.

Using Diagnostics Framework, you can perform diagnostic tests on your system with minimal instructions from the PeopleSoft Global Support Center. These tests answer application-specific questions to help development and user support teams diagnose and troubleshoot any problems that you may be experiencing.

The tests can request additional parameters to tailor the diagnostics to your situation. They output HTML pages that you can open using any PeopleSoft-supported browser, and XML documents containing the same information in a form suitable for programmatic processing. You can email the HTML or XML documents to an application expert.

See Importing Post-Release Plug-Ins.

See Diagnostic PeopleCode.

Database Platform Considerations

PeopleSoft supports a wide range of database platforms. Because each relational database management system (RDBMS) implements certain capabilities in a unique manner, it must be administered differently from the other systems with respect to those functionalities. This PeopleBook includes appendices that provide guidelines for administering the following supported platforms:

Microsoft SQL Server.
DB2 UDB for z/OS.
DB2 UDB for Linux, UNIX, and Windows.
Informix.
Oracle.
Sybase.

Note. DB2 UDB for z/OS is the official IBM name for the DBMS. For the sake of brevity, this PeopleBook sometimes refers to DB2 UDB for z/OS as DB2 z/OS, and it sometimes refers to DB2 UDB for Linux, UNIX, and Windows as DB2 LUW.

Data Management Implementation

The functionality of data management for your PeopleSoft applications is delivered as part of the standard installation of PeopleTools, which is provided with all PeopleSoft products.

Several activities must be completed before you manage the data for your implementation:

Install your PeopleSoft application according to the installation guide for your database platform.

See PeopleSoft Installation Guide for your platform and product line.
Establish a user profile that gives you access to PeopleSoft Application Designer and any other tools and processes that you'll use.

See Enterprise PeopleTools 8.49 PeopleBook: Security Administration.

Other Sources of Information

This section provides information to consider before you begin to manage your data. In addition to implementation considerations presented in this section, take advantage of all PeopleSoft sources of information, including the installation guides, release notes, and PeopleBooks.