Configuration Guide

10.4

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Relationship Types

A relationship type describes classes of relationships and defines the types of entities that a relationship of this type can include, the direction of the relationship (if any), and how the relationship is displayed in the

Hub Console

. You can create relationship types for relationship base objects or for foreign key relationships.

Relationship Type is a physical construct and can be configuration heavy, while Hierarchy Type is more of a logical construct and is typically configuration light. Therefore, it is often easier to have many Hierarchy Types than to have many Relationship Types. Be sure to understand your data and hierarchy management requirements prior to defining Hierarchy Types and Relationship Types within the

MDM Hub

A well defined set of hierarchy relationship types has the following characteristics:

It reflects the real-world relationships between your entity types.

It supports multiple relationship types for each relationship.

Field	Description
Code	Unique code name of the rel type. Can be used as a foreign key from hierarchy relationship base objects.
Display name	Name of this relationship type as it will be displayed in the Hub Console . Specify a unique, descriptive name.
Description	Description of this relationship type.
Color	Color of the relationships associated with this relationship type as they will be displayed in the Hub Console in the Hierarchy Manager Console and Informatica Data Director.
Entity Type 1	First entity type associated with this new relationship type. Any entities of this type will be able to have relationships of this relationship type.
Entity Type 2	Second entity type associated with this new relationship type. Any entities of this type will be able to have relationships of this relationship type.
Direction	Select a direction for the new relationship type to allow a directed hierarchy. The possible directions are: Entity 1 to Entity 2 Entity 2 to Entity 1 Undirected Bi-Directional Unknown An example of a directed hierarchy is an organizational chart, with the relationship reports to being directed from employee to supervisor, and so on, up to the head of the organization.
FK Rel Start Date	The start date of the foreign key relationship.
FK Rel End Date	The end date of the foreign key relationship.
Hierarchies	Check the check box next to any hierarchy that you want associated with this new relationship type. Any selected hierarchies can contain relationships of this relationship type.