The PowerCenter repository is a relational database managed by the Repository Service.

The repository consists of database tables that store metadata. Metadata describes different types of objects, such as mappings and transformations, that you can create or modify using the PowerCenter Client tools. The Integration Service uses repository objects to extract, transform, and load data. The repository also stores information such as permissions for users.

All repository clients access the repository database tables through the Repository Service. The Repository Service protects metadata in the repository by managing repository connections and using object-locking to ensure object consistency. The Repository Service also notifies you when another user modifies or deletes repository objects that you are using.

Each Repository Service manages a single repository database. You can configure a Repository Service to run on multiple machines, or nodes, in the domain. Each instance running on a node is called a Repository Service process. This process accesses the database tables and performs most repository-related tasks.

The Repository Service uses native drivers to communicate with the repository database. PowerCenter Client tools and the Integration Service communicate with the Repository Service over TCP/IP. When a repository client connects to the repository, it connects directly to the Repository Service process.

You administer the repository using the Repository Manager client tool, the Informatica Administrator, and the

pmrep

and

infacmd

command line programs.

You can connect to and manage multiple repositories. A

repository domain

is a group of repositories in the PowerCenter Client. Repository domains share metadata through a special type of repository called a global repository. When you configure shared folders in a repository, you can share the objects in the folder with other repositories in the repository domain. You share objects to reuse metadata.

If you have the team-based development option, you can enable the repository for version control. You can store multiple versions of objects in a versioned repository. You can also perform change-management tasks such as version comparison, change tracking, labeling, and deployment.