A short guide to the most asked Top Basic IICS CDI Interview Questions and answers-Part2
1. What is the difference between Data Integration and Application Integration in IICS?
Data Integration vs Application Integration: They may look similar because both run on the cloud and convert data from various sources into meaningful sets. However, the key difference comes down to usage patterns—when and how each service is applied
Application Integration is best suited for automating business workflows and enabling real-time data sharing across multiple applications, ensuring seamless operations.
Data Integration is we required to combine data from different systems, clean and transform it, and load it into a data warehouse or cloud storage for analytics and reporting
2. What is the difference between Mapping Task and Taskflow?
A Mapping Task runs on a single mapping based on the data flow logic we define. You can configure parameters, schedule runs, and manage runtime properties by using Mapping Task
KeyPoints:
1. When we create a Mapping Task we must select the Mapping which we decided to use.
2. The Mapping must already created.
Taskflows allow you to orchestrate multiple tasks (Mapping Tasks, Synchronization Tasks, etc.) with conditional logic, parallel execution, and scheduling.
KeyPoints:
Before you create a taskflow, we must have Mapping tasks that we required to add in task flow, You cannot create a task during the taskflow creation process.
3. What is the difference between Mapping and Task in IICS?
A Mapping is the blueprint of your data flow. It defines how data moves from source to target, including all the transformations applied along the way.
A Mapping Task runs on a single mapping based on the data flow logic we define. You can configure parameters, schedule runs, and manage runtime properties by using Mapping Task
4. Union Transformation in Informatica Cloud vs PowerCenter: Key Differences
The Union transformation is an active transformation and is used to combine data from multiple pipelines into a single stream
In Informatica power center it supports only two input groups, if we required to connect multiple groups, the user must use two union transformation. The output of First two sources to Union1. The Output of Union 1 and source3 should connect to union 2.
In IICS, By default, a Union transformation has two input groups.
1. To add an additional input group, go Mapping Designer, connect an upstream transformation to the “New Group” group of the Union transformation.
2. You can also add input groups on the Incoming Fields tab of the Union transformation.
5. What is the difference between Union and Joiner
A Union transformation can merge data from multiple sources but does not combine data based on a join condition like a Joiner transformation.
| Use case | Union transformation | Joiner transformation |
|---|---|---|
| Combine records based on a join condition | No. The Union Transformation is equivalent to a UNION ALL statement in SQL, which combines data vertically from multiple sources. | Yes. The Joiner transformation supports Normal, Right Outer, Left Outer, and Full Outer JOINs. |
| Supports multiple input groups | Yes. You can define multiple input groups and one output group. | Yes. You can define two input groups, Master and Detail. |
| Supports heterogeneous sources | Yes | Yes |
| Merge different data types | All of the source columns must have similar data types. The number of columns in each source must be the same. | At least one column in the sources to be joined must have the same data type. |
| Duplicates | Keeps duplicates | Depends on join type |
6. Explain about Informatica Cloud Runtime Environment?
The Informatica Cloud Runtime Environment is the execution layer that runs your integration tasks, mappings, and processes in Informatica Intelligent Cloud Services (IICS). It acts as the bridge between the cloud platform and your data sources. we must have one runtime environment in each orgnization, And one rune time environment consists of one or more secure agents
Types of Runtime Environments
1. Secure Agent
A lightweight software installed on your local machine or server. and it Connects to on-premises systems like databases, ERP, or local files.
Key Features of Secure Agent:
1. Runs integration tasks locally.
2. Communicates securely with IICS cloud.
3. Supports hybrid integrations (cloud + on-prem).
2. Serverless Runtime
A cloud-managed execution environment provided by Informatica. which is Ideal for cloud-to-cloud integrations without installing anything.
Key Features:
1. No infrastructure management.
2. Scalable and cost-efficient.
3. Perfect for SaaS applications and cloud data sources.
7. How can we create worklet in ICIS?
We do not have worklet concept in IICS, instead we can call a sub taskflow inside a taskflow
refer below image how we call subtaskflow in main taskflow, the sub taskflow works as same as main taskflow,
8. Do we have re-usable transformation in iics?
No, we do not have re-usable transformation in IICS, instead we can use mapplet with single transformation.
9. What is Mapplet in IICS?
A Mapplet in Informatica Intelligent Cloud Services (IICS) is a reusable object that contains a set of transformations. It allows you to group multiple transformations into a single logical unit and we can reuse it across different mappings. This helps maintain consistency and reduces development effort.
You can include one mapplet inside another mapplet. However, cyclic references are not allowed. For example, if Mapplet X contains Mapplet Y, then Mapplet Y cannot contain Mapplet X
10. Why is Sorter an Active Transformation?
By default Sorter is a passive transformation, and many of them say if we use DISTINCT option then it acts as a ACTIVE well, that’s not the case for always to consider it as ACTIVE
below is the thumb-rule to consider why it acts as ACTIVE
1. No of rows at Source is not equal to No of rows at Target.
2. Row type changes
3. it change the order of the records coming from input
