The Data Masker Misc. Setup Tab

Refresh Information from Target Schema Section: The Data Masker application needs to be made aware of the configuration and components in the target schema (tables, columns, column sizes, foreign key constraints etc.) before it can be used. This information must be acquired from the target database for each schema listed on the Known Schemas tab. Typically, the New Masking Set Wizard is used to build a new Masking Set and the acquisition process is automatic. However, if required, the information can be separately acquired and refreshed using the tools in this section.

What the buttons do

Refresh Schema Information from DB

This button launches a tool that will download the schema information (tables, columns etc) from the target database of the selected user. Detailed information on this tool can be found on the Get Table Structure from Schema help page.

Refresh Foreign Key Information

Many Oracle database schemas contain referential integrity constraints which define relationships between tables. If such constraints exist in the target database, the Masking Set will need to know about them. In general, care must be taken when applying Masking Rules to columns involved in foreign keys and the Data Masker will provide warnings and assistance if this should be attempted. Detailed information on this tool can be found on the Get Foreign Keys from Database help page.

Get Table Row Counts from Schema

When designing Masking Sets it is useful to know the number of rows in each table in the target schema. The Refresh Table Row Counts tool enables the number of rows in each table in the target schema to be acquired and stored with the Masking Set. More information on this tool can be found on the Get Table Row Counts from Schema help page.

Disable/Enable Triggers

When running a Masking Set, the Data Masker will offer the option of disabling any triggers on the tables involved in the rules. Normally these triggers are enabled again once the set has completed masking operations. Disabling the triggers during the masking process prevents update triggers from firing and considerably speeds things up. These two buttons provide a way to manually enable and disable all schema triggers used in the masking rules should such an action be required.

Test/Create Temporary Table

The Data Masker application requires temporary tables in the target schema to assist with the masking of the data. This button tests for the existence of these tables and enables their creation - if required.

Data Dictionary Optimizer Hint

Certain operations, such as the download of schema information and foreign key constraints, access the Oracle Data Dictionary through the use of the USER_* views. These operations use the default optimizer mode currently in force on the database. If the download of schema and table information is slow then setting an appropriate hint in this section may speed up the process considerably.

Note: This optimizer mode does not affect operations on the data rows during the Masking process - it only affects statements which access the Oracle Data Dictionary.

Known Data Sets Section: The section on the top right of the dialog box is entitled Known Data Sets and indicates the Data Sets which are available for use by Substitution and Insertion rules. Data Sets are made known to the Data Masker by placing them in the Data Sets directory (see the configuration option below) and pressing the Refresh button. All Data Sets in the Data Set directory are automatically added into the Data Masker software at startup. More information on Data Sets and how they are used can be found on the Data Sets help file.

Configuration Directories Section This section of the dialog box provides the ability to configure various directories for the Data Masker Software.

What the options mean

Directory for Temporary Files

During execution the Data Masker application will use the rules defined in the Masking Set to identify and modify the appropriate and relevant rows from each table in the target schema. As part of the masking process it is sometimes necessary to create temporary files. Use this field to specify the directory into which the various temporary files should be written. This directory should be local to the machine on which the Data Masker is running. Using a remote directory will slow the performance considerably.

Directory for Log Files

The Data Masker writes out various informational messages to a log to record its progress. A new log file is created each time the application starts and this field is the directory in which the log files will be placed.

Directory for Data Sets

Substitution and Insertion rules require a Data Set to be configured for them. The Data Set provides the data used while the rule is executing. The Data Masker looks for the Data Sets in this directory. More information on Data Sets and how they are used can be found on the Data Sets help file.