Job² - cleverly automate scripts

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Automatically executed tasks are part of every modern IT infrastructure. Even private users, for example, use the Windows autostart feature intuitively (or after a successful Google search). Things get more complicated when processes contain dependencies. So how do Informatica developers ensure that their mappings and workflows run correctly?

Batch control

Once Informatica PowerCenter mappings and workflows have been successfully developed, they must be started at certain intervals. However, starting them manually is prone to errors. Complex, interlocking processes must be executed cleanly one after the other so that they are completed successfully. This should therefore be done automatically via so-called batch control programs. The core components of batch control programs are

Event-controlled processes that trigger further steps
Centralized control gives users insight into all processes
Availability of tools across multiple platforms

Notable examples are Control-M, ActiveBatch, Redwood RunMyJobs and Job². Each solution offers different functions, with some requiring additional licensing. For example, Control-M, the best known of the solutions, does not have Managed File Transfer or Change Management. Users should therefore first define the requirements for their batch control program.

Job²

Job² offers a simple and easy-to-implement solution. This is an intelligently structured data model, controlling procedures and a constantly running, operating system-related and subsystem-independent script. A graphical user interface is deliberately omitted. The focus is on DB views, tables and procedures. These provide the user with a sufficient overview and transparency for the configuration and monitoring of Job².