The component request parameters for running an EIM process are
1. Batch Number: This parameter is used for identifying the rows to be processed by the EIM process. Value 0 specifies the EIM process to use the batch number as specified in the EIM configuration file.
2. Configuration file: This parameter names the configuration file to be used by the EIM process. This file should be placed in the ADMIN subdirectory of the Siebel server.
The EIM Process consists of executing the following sequence of steps:
1.Populate the columns in the Interface/ EIM table that are required to load the Siebel base
2.Write/Edit the EIM Configuration (IFB) File to define the EIM Process to perform
3.Submit the EIM as a Siebel Server Batch component task
A merge process deletes one or more existing rows from the base table and ensures that intersecting table rows are adjusted to refer to the remaining rows. Some process parameters like TYPE, BATCH and TABLE are similar to that in case of the above mentioned processes. Upon completion of the merge process, the some row survives and the remaining rows are deleted.
Some process parameters like TYPE, BATCH, and TABLE are similar to an Import process.
DELETE ROWS: For Delete process the TYPE parameter should be defined as TYPE = DELETE. As a result the DELETE ROWS parameter will be automatically set to TRUE. This parameter can prevent deletions from one table while allowing them in others. For example, the following parameter prevents deletion of rows from the S_ADDR_PER table:
DELETE ROWS = S_ADDR_PER, FALSE
Some process parameters like TYPE, BATCH, and TABLE are similar to an Import process.
EXPORT ALL ROWS: It implies that all rows in the target base table and data from the related child tables in a specific batch section are to be exported. Valid values are TRUE and FALSE (the default). When it is set to TRUE, the EXPORT MATCHES parameter is ignored, as it is selective export process.
TYPE: This parameter specifies the type of process being defined (IMPORT, EXPORT, DELETE, MERGE, or SHELL). A shell process uses the INCLUDE statement to invoke a sequence of processes in a single run.
An IFB file consists of two main sections namely:
Header Section: The .ifb file begins with a header section to specify global parameters that apply to all process sections.
Process Section: Following the header section, there must be at least one process section with its associated parameters. Some process section parameters are generic for all EIM processes ‘Type’, ‘Process Name’, ‘Batch Number’, ‘EIM Table Selection’ etc.
An IFB file is nothing but a EIM configuration file which is an ASCII or Unicode (Binary) text file of extension type .ifb. IFB stands for Interface Batch. It resides in the Admin directory of Siebel Server and allows the database administrator to define the type of EIM process like Import, Export, Merge and Delete to be performed.
Why IFB is needed?
The Siebel Enterprise Integration Manager (EIM) manages the bi-directional exchange of data between the Siebel databases and other corporate databases. This exchange of information is accomplished through intermediary tables called EIM tables. The EIM tables act as a staging area between the Siebel application database and other databases.
Normally, User key updationare not possible through EIM except for few entities, of which Product is one. Here is a useful information to update one of the user key columns for Product (Product NAME for instance) through EIM.
Solution:
We can update Product name through EIM_PROD_INT_UK. EIM_PROD_INT_UK will enable us update a Product’s name from “Product 1” to “Product 2”.