Configure database load utility

A large component of a Contact Optimization session is reading data from the PCT and writing data to the OCT. Configuring a database load utility improves the performance of your Contact Optimization sessions.

Contact Optimization uses the same configuration settings as Campaign for implementing a database load utility. If you configure Campaign to work with a database load utility, you configure Contact Optimization to use the same commands. Similarly, if you configure Contact Optimization to work with a database load utility, you are configuring Campaign to work with a database load utility. Each assumes a different root directory in your HCL® Marketing Software installation directory. The root directory is /Campaign for Campaign or /ContactOptimization for Contact Optimization, so you can specify different commands in the loader command and template files.

A database load utility also improves performance when populating PCT tables with an Campaign flowchart.

When you configure a database load utility to work with Contact Optimization, it behaves as described for the following Contact Optimization tables:

• PCT table. If the number of unique customers is greater than or equal to the MinReqForLoaderCommand or MinReqForLoaderCommandForAppend, Contact Optimization uses the database load utility.
• POA table. Contact Optimization uses the database load utility irrespective of the values for MinReqForLoaderCommand or MinReqForLoaderCommandForAppend.
• OCT table. Contact Optimization uses the database load utility irrespective of the values for MinReqForLoaderCommand or MinReqForLoaderCommandForAppend.
• RC table. Contact Optimization uses the database load utility irrespective of the values for MinReqForLoaderCommand or MinReqForLoaderCommandForAppend.

To configure a database load utility for Contact Optimization, complete the following steps.

• Complete the database load utility configuration in the Campaign partitions as described in the Campaign documentation.

• Confirm that the Contact Optimization installation has the database load utility command in the same location as Campaign.

  Note: Contact Optimization does not update any user database data sources, so the following information does not apply to user database data sources.
  Contact Optimization uses the UA_SYSTEM_TABLES data source loader settings to update Contact Optimization tables during session runs. Because these settings are common to Campaign and Contact Optimization, you must configure the loader as follows:

  • Contact Optimization loader settings: Avoid using relative paths for loader scripts in the UA_SYSTEM_TABLES data source loader configuration. Instead, use absolute paths.
  • If Campaign and Contact Optimization are installed on different machines, create identical folder structures as the absolute path on the Campaign machine and the Contact Optimization machine. Make sure that the absolute path is accessible to both the Campaign listener and the Contact Optimization listener from their respective machines.
  • If Campaign and Contact Optimization are installed on the same machine, you do not have to create the folder structure because it exists.
  In the following example, Campaign and Contact Optimization are installed on separate machines, and Campaign has the following loader configuration:

  LoaderCommand: /Unica/Campaign/partitions/partition1/db2load.sh <CONTROLFILE> <DATAFILE>
  LoaderCommandForAppend: /Unica/Campaign/partitions/partition1/db2load.sh <CONTROLFILE> <DATAFILE>

  In the previous example, you create the /Unica/Campaign/partitions/partition1/ directory on the Contact Optimization machine, and copy all of the necessary loader-specific script files to that directory on the Contact Optimization machine.

  Note: When you make changes to the loader script files in the Campaign machine folder, similar changes must be updated to the loader script files on the Contact Optimization machine folder.

• Confirm that the Contact Optimization installation has the control file template for the database load utility in the same location as Campaign.