Additional transformations support partitioning. When a mapping enabled for partitioning contains the following transformations, the Data Integration Service can use multiple threads to transform the data:

For an Aggregator, Joiner, or Rank transformation, you can configure multiple cache directories to optimize performance during cache partitioning for the transformation. You can use the default CacheDir system parameter value if an administrator configured multiple cache directories for the Data Integration Service. Or, you can override the default CacheDir system parameter value to configure multiple cache directories specific to the transformation.

For a Sorter transformation, you can configure multiple work directories to optimize performance during cache partitioning for the transformation. You can use the default TempDir system parameter value if an administrator configured multiple temporary directories for the Data Integration Service. Or, you can override the default TempDir system parameter value to configure multiple directories specific to the transformation.

The Data Integration Service can create partitions for a mapping that establishes a sort order. You can establish sort order in a mapping with a sorted flat file source, a sorted relational source, or a Sorter transformation. When the Data Integration Service adds a partition point to a mapping, it might redistribute data and lose the order established earlier in the mapping. To maintain order in a partitioned mapping, you must specify that Expression, Java, Sequence Generator, SQL, and Write transformations maintain the row order in the transformation advanced properties.

If you override the maximum parallelism for a mapping, you can define a suggested parallelism value for a specific transformation. The Data Integration Service uses the suggested parallelism value for the number of threads for that transformation pipeline stage as long as the transformation can be partitioned. You can define a suggested parallelism value that is less than the maximum parallelism value defined for the mapping or the Data Integration Service. You might want to define a suggested parallelism value to optimize performance for a transformation that contains many ports or performs complicated calculations.