Teradata MultiLoad

updated Jan 1, 2009 10:40 am | 25,935 views

"Teradata MultiLoad" is a command-driven parallel load utility for high-volume batch

maintenance on multiple tables and views of the Teradata Database. It is specially designed for
high-speed batch creation and maintenance of large databases.

Contents [Hide TOC]

 1 DEFINITION
 2 OVERVIEW
 2.1 Note
 3 DATA SOURCE
 4 OPERATING FEATURES
 4.1 Operating Modes
 4.2 Character Sets
 4.3 Task Status Reporting
 4.4 Data Conversion Capabilities
 5 MULTILOAD COMMANDS
 5.1 MultiLoad Command Summary
 5.2 Teradata SQL Statements in MultiLoad
 5.3 Teradata SQL Statements in MultiLoad
 6 VERSION & PLATFORM INFO
 6.1 Current Version
 6.1.1 Note
 6.2 Version 12
 6.2.1 Note
 6.3 Version 7.9
 6.3.1 Note
 7 REFERENCE
[edit]
DEFINITION

Teradata MultiLoad, also called "MultiLoad," "MLoad" or "ML," is a command-driven parallel load
utility for high-volume batch maintenance on multiple tables and views of the Teradata Database.
It is specially designed for high-speed batch creation and maintenance of large databases.

[edit]
OVERVIEW

Teradata MultiLoad executes a series of MultiLoad commands and Teradata SQL statements
written in a batch mode job script or interactively entered. The MultiLoad commands provide the
session control and data handling specifications for the data transfer operations, and the
Teradata SQL statements perform the actual maintenance functions on the Teradata RDBMS
tables and views.
 A single MultiLoad job performs a number of different import and delete tasks on database
tables and views:

 Each MultiLoad import task can do multiple data insert, update, and delete functions on
up to five different tables or views;
 Each MultiLoad import task can have up to 100 DML steps;
 Each MultiLoad delete task can remove large numbers of rows from a single table.

Teradata MultiLoad is characterized by its serialization feature. In certain scenarios, multiple

changes are possible to occur to a single row in the same MultiLoad job. By using its
serialization feature, Teradata MultiLoad automatically guarantees that the ordering of such
operations is maintained correctly.

If a MultiLoad job has only one import task, then Teradata FastLoad has to be chosen for it,
since FastLoad will finish it much faster. However, the FastLoad utility works only on empty
tables. A FastLoad job can not be used to:

 Insert additional data rows into an existing table;

 Update individual rows of existing tables;
 Delete individual rows from existing tables;
 Load data into multiple tables.
[edit]
Note

Full tape support is not available for any function in MultiLoad for network-attached client
systems. To import data from a tape, a custom access module has to be written to interface with
the tape device.

[edit]
DATA SOURCE

Teradata MultiLoad imports data from:

 Disk or tape files (using a custom Access Module) on a channel-attached client system;
 Input files on a network-attached workstation;
 Special input module (INMOD) routines that select, validate, and preprocess input data;
 Access modules;
 Any device providing properly formatted source data;

The table or view in the database receiving the data can be any existing table or view for which
the user has access privileges for the required maintenance tasks.

MultiLoad command IMPORT has an optional parameter FORMAT, which is used to specify the
format of the external data source. The format may be:

 FASTLOAD;
 BINARY;
 TEXT;
 UNFORMAT;
 VARTEXT.
[edit]
OPERATING FEATURES

This section is based on Teradata documentation for the current release.[1]

[edit]
Operating Modes

Teradata MultiLoad runs in the following operating modes:

 Interactive mode;
 Batch mode.

In interactive mode, Teradata MultiLoad uses terminal screen and keyboard as the standard
output and input streams. In batch mode, MultiLoad uses > and < to redirect the standard output
/ input streams.

To invoke Teradata MultiLoad in interactive mode, enter the following command (for Microsoft
Windows):

c:\ncr\bin\MultiLoad

To invoke MultiLoad in batch mode, use the command below (for Microsoft Windows):

c:\ncr\bin\MultiLoad [options] < infile > outfile

Here, the infile is a Teradata MultiLoad job script file which includes all the required MultiLoad
commands and Teradata SQL statements, whereas the outfile is the outfile is the output
stream file.

[edit]
Character Sets

Teradata MultiLoad supports Latin, Chinese, Japanese and Korean character sets, along with
ASCII, EBCDIC, UTF-8 and UTF-16. It also supports user-defined session character sets.

[edit]
Task Status Reporting

Teradata MultiLoad has three reporting methods to monitor the status of jobs that are still in
progress and those that have just completed:
 MultiLoad utility messages provide job status reports, including:
 Options messages that list the settings of MultiLoad task parameters;
 Logoff/disconnect messages that list key run statistics.
 QrySessn (ie., Query Session Utility) provides real-time, phase-oriented progress reports
at selected intervals during the MultiLoad job;
 Statistics messages present information at the end of the MultiLoad job.
[edit]
Data Conversion Capabilities

Teradata MultiLoad can redefine the data type specification of input data to match it with that of
the destination column in the MultiLoad table on the target database. MultiLoad data conversion
types are:

 Numeric-to-numeric (for example integer-to-decimal);

 Character-to-numeric;
 Character-to-date;
 Date-to-character.

Use the DATADESC specification of the MultiLoad FIELD command to convert input data to a
different data type before inserting it into the MultiLoad table on the Teradata Database.

Note: Redundant conversions, like integer-to-integer, are legal and necessary to support the
zoned decimal format.

[edit]
MULTILOAD COMMANDS

This section is based on Teradata documentation[1], and for the detailed usage, please refer to
Reference 1.

[edit]
MultiLoad Command Summary

The MultiLoad commands perform two types of activities:

 Support activities — Support commands perform support activities to establish the

MultiLoad sessions with the Teradata Database and define the operational support environment
for Teradata MultiLoad. Established support environment options remain in effect until another
support command changes them. Support commands do not specify a MultiLoad task;
 Task activities — Task commands perform task activities to specify the actual
processing of each MultiLoad task.

1. Teradata MultiLoad Commands for Support Activities:

COMMAND NAME FUNCTION

ACCEPT Allows the value of one or more utility variables to be
 accepted from either a file or an environment variable
DATEFORM Specifies the form of the DATE data type specifications for
the MultiLoad job
DISPLAY Writes messages to the specified destination
ELSE (see IF, ELSE, and ENDIF) Introduces commands and statements that execute when
a preceding IF condition is false
ENDIF (see IF, ELSE, and ENDIF) Delimits the group of MultiLoad commands that were
subject to previous IF or ELSE conditions
IF (see IF, ELSE, and ENDIF) Introduces a conditional expression whose value initiates
execution of subsequent commands
LOGOFF Disconnects all active sessions and terminates MultiLoad
on the client system.
LOGON Specifies the LOGON command string to be used in
connecting all sessions established by MultiLoad.
LOGTABLE Identifies the table to be used to journal checkpoint
information required for safe, automatic restart of
MultiLoad when the client or Teradata Database system
fails.
ROUTE MESSAGES Identifies the destination of output produced by MultiLoad
support environment.
RUN FILE Invokes the specified external file as the current source of
utility commands and Teradata SQL statements
SET Assigns a data type and a value to a utility variable
SYSTEM Suspends operation of MultiLoad and executes any valid
local operating system command

2. Teradata MultiLoad Commands for Task Activities:

COMMAND NAME FUNCTION

BEGIN MLOAD and BEGIN DELETE Specifies:
MLOAD
The kind of MultiLoad task to be executed;
The target tables in the Teradata
Database;
The parameters for executing the task.
DML LABEL Defines a label and error treatment options for a following
group of DML statements.
END MLOAD Indicates completion of MultiLoad command entries and
initiates execution of the task.
FIELD Used with the LAYOUT command to define a field of the
data source record that is sent to the Teradata Database.
 FILLER Used with the LAYOUT command to define a field in the
data source record that is not sent to the Teradata
Database.
IMPORT Identifies the data source, the layout used to describe the
data record, and optional conditions for performing DML
operations.
LAYOUT Introduces the record format of the data source to be used
in the MultiLoad task. This command is followed by a
sequence or combination of FIELD and TABLE
commands.
LOGDATA Supplies parameters to the LOGMECH command beyond
those needed by the logon mechanism, such as userid
and password, to successfully authenticate the user.
LOGMECH Identifies the appropriate logon mechanism by name.
PAUSE ACQUISITION Temporarily suspends the acquisition phase of a
MultiLoad job.
TABLE Used with the LAYOUT command to identify a
table whose column names and data descriptions
are used as the field names

and data descriptions of the data source records.

[edit]
Teradata SQL Statements in MultiLoad

MultiLoad supports a subset of Teradata SQL statements in order to define and manipulate the data
stored in the Teradata Database. Consequently, other utilities do not have to be invoked to perform
routine database maintenance functions before executing MultiLoad utility tasks. The Teradata SQL
statements supported by Teradata MultiLoad are listed below:

COMMAND NAME FUNCTION

ALTER TABLE Changes the column configuration or options of an existing
table
CHECKPOINT Adds a checkpoint entry to a journal table
COLLECT STATISTICS Collects statistical data for one or more columns of a table
COMMENT Stores or retrieves comment string associated with a
database object
CREATE DATABASE Creates a new database, macro, table, or view
CREATE MACRO
CREATE TABLE
CREATE VIEW
DATABASE Specifies a new default database for the current session
DELETE Removes rows from a table
 DELETE DATABASE Removes all tables, views, and macros from a database
DROP DATABASE Drops the definition for an empty database from the Data
Dictionary
DROP TABLE Removes a table from the database
GIVE Transfers ownership of a database to another user
GRANT Grants access privileges to a database object
INSERT Inserts new rows to a table
MODIFY DATABASE Changes the options of an existing database
RELEASE MLOAD Removes the access locks from the target tables
in the Teradata Database
This inhibits any attempts to restart the MultiLoad
job when a MultiLoad task has been suspended or
aborted.
Note: A RELEASE MLOAD statement must be
entered from BTEQ. It cannot be entered from
MultiLoad.
RENAME Changes the name of an existing table, view, or macro
REPLACE MACRO Redefines an existing macro or view

REPLACE VIEW

REVOKE Rescinds access privileges to a database object

SET QUERY_BAND Identifies type and source of query to determine
prioritization of queries
SET SESSION COLLATION Overrides the collation specification for the current session
SET SESSION OVERRIDE REPLICATION Turns replication services on or off
ON/OFF

UPDATE Changes the column values of an existing row in a table

[edit]
Teradata SQL Statements in MultiLoad

MultiLoad supports a subset of Teradata SQL statements in order to define and manipulate the data
stored in the Teradata Database. Consequently, other utilities do not have to be invoked to perform
routine database maintenance functions before executing MultiLoad utility tasks. The Teradata SQL
statements supported by Teradata MultiLoad are listed below:

COMMAND NAME FUNCTION

ALTER TABLE Changes the column configuration or options of an existing
table
CHECKPOINT Adds a checkpoint entry to a journal table
COLLECT STATISTICS Collects statistical data for one or more columns of a table
 COMMENT Stores or retrieves comment string associated with a
database object
CREATE DATABASE Creates a new database, macro, table, or view
CREATE MACRO
CREATE TABLE
CREATE VIEW
DATABASE Specifies a new default database for the current session
DELETE Removes rows from a table
DELETE DATABASE Removes all tables, views, and macros from a database
DROP DATABASE Drops the definition for an empty database from the Data
Dictionary
DROP TABLE Removes a table from the database
GIVE Transfers ownership of a database to another user
GRANT Grants access privileges to a database object
INSERT Inserts new rows to a table
MODIFY DATABASE Changes the options of an existing database
RELEASE MLOAD Removes the access locks from the target tables
in the Teradata Database
This inhibits any attempts to restart the MultiLoad
job when a MultiLoad task has been suspended or
aborted.
Note: A RELEASE MLOAD statement must be
entered from BTEQ. It cannot be entered from
MultiLoad.
RENAME Changes the name of an existing table, view, or macro
REPLACE MACRO Redefines an existing macro or view

REPLACE VIEW

REVOKE Rescinds access privileges to a database object

SET QUERY_BAND Identifies type and source of query to determine
prioritization of queries
SET SESSION COLLATION Overrides the collation specification for the current session
SET SESSION OVERRIDE REPLICATION Turns replication services on or off
ON/OFF

UPDATE Changes the column values of an existing row in a table

[edit]
VERSION & PLATFORM INFO
 Teradata MultiLoad runs on MP-RAS, AIX, HP-UX, Linux, Solaris, Windows XP/2000/NT/2003
where client systems are connected to Teradata RDBMS through network. It also operates on
Channel-attached client systems with VM and MVS operating systems.

[edit]
Current Version

Teradata MultiLoad V. 13 (included in Teradata Tools And Utilities Release 13)

Supported Versions of Teradata Database[7]:

 Teradata Database V2R6.0

 Teradata Database V2R6.1
 Teradata Database V2R6.2
 Teradata Database 12.0
 Teradata Database 13.0

Supported Platforms[8]: Operating System | Microprocessor, Extension, OR Programming

Language

 Hewlett-Packard HP-UX 11i v1 (11.11) 32-bit and 64-bit Hewlett-Packard PA-RISC

 Hewlett-Packard HP-UX 11i v2 (11.23) 32-bit and 64-bit Hewlett-Packard PA-RISC
 Hewlett-Packard HP-UX 11i v2 (11.23)[*] Intel Itanium (Itanium build)
 Hewlett-Packard HP-UX 11i v3 (11.31) 32-bit and 64-bit Hewlett-Packard PA-RISC
 Hewlett-Packard HP-UX 11i v3 (11.31)[*] Intel Itanium (Itanium build)
 IBM AIX 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 6.1 | 32-bit and 64-bit IBM PowerPC
 IBM z/OS (MVS) 1.7, 1.8, 1.9
 IBM z/VM 5.1, 5.2, 5.3
 Microsoft Windows 2000 (Professional,Server, and Advanced Server) SP4 | Intel x86
 Microsoft Windows XP (Professional) SP2 | Intel x86; Intel Xeon with EM64T and AMD
Opteron
 Microsoft Windows XP (Professional 64) SP2 | Intel Xeon with EM64T and AMD Opteron
 Microsoft Windows Server 2003 (Enterprise, Standard, and R2) | Intel x86, Intel Xeon
with EM64T and AMD Opteron
 Microsoft Windows Server 2003 (Enerprise x64, Standard x64 and R2) | Intel Xeon with
EM64T and AMD Opteron
 Microsoft Windows Vista (Enterprise) | Intel x86, Intel Xeon with EM64T and AMD
Opteron
 Microsoft Windows Vista (Enterprise x64) | Intel Xeon with EM64T and AMD Opteron
 Microsoft Windows Server 2008 (Enterprise, Standard) | Intel x86, Intel Xeon with
EM64T [**] and AMD Opteron [**]
 Microsoft Windows Server 2008 (Enterprise x64, Standard x64) | Intel Xeon with EM64T
and AMD Opteron
 Novell 32-bit SUSE Linux Enterprise 9 SP 1, 2, and 3 | AMD Opteron, Intel x86 and Intel
Xeon with EM64T
 Novell 64-bit SUSE Linux Enterprise 9 SP 1, 2, and 3 | AMD Opteron [**] and Intel Xeon
with EM64T [**]
 Novell 32-bit SUSE Linux Enterprise 10 SP 1 | AMD Opteron, Intel x86 and Intel Xeon
with EM64T
 [**]
 Novell 64-bit SUSE Linux Enterprise 10 SP 1 | AMD Opteron and Intel Xeon with
[**]
EM64T
 Red Hat Enterprise Linux Advanced Server 2.1, 3.0, 4.0 | Intel x86
 Red Hat Enterprise Linux Advanced Server 4.0 | AMD Opteron and Intel Xeon with
EM64T
 Red Hat Enterprise Linux 64-bit Advanced Server 4.0 | AMD Opteron and Intel Xeon
with EM64T
 Red Hat Enterprise Linux Advanced Platform 5.0 | AMD Opteron, Intel x86 and Intel
Xeon with EM64T
 Red Hat Enterprise Linux 64-bit Advanced Platform 5.0 | AMD Opteron and Intel Xeon
with EM64T
 Sun Solaris 8, 9, 10 | 32-bit and 64-bit SPARC
 Sun 64-bit Solaris 10 | AMD Opteron and Intel Xeon
[edit]
Note
1. Those marked with [*] provide the 64-bit version.
2. Those marked with [**] are Teradata Database 13.00.00 supported platforms.
[edit]
Version 12

Teradata MultiLoad V. 12 (included in Teradata Tools And Utilities Release 12)

Supported Versions of Teradata Database[5]:

 Teradata Database V2R6.0

 Teradata Database V2R6.1
 Teradata Database V2R6.2
 Teradata Database 12.00.00

Supported Platforms[3]: Operating System | Microprocessor, Extension, OR Programming

Language

 Hewlett-Packard HP-UX 11i v1 (11.11) 32-bit and 64-bit Hewlett-Packard PA-RISC

 Hewlett-Packard HP-UX 11i v2 (11.23) 32-bit and 64-bit Hewlett-Packard PA-RISC
 Hewlett-Packard HP-UX 11i v2 (11.23)[*] Intel Itanium (Itanium build)
 IBM AIX 5.1, 5.2, 5.3 | 32-bit and 64-bit IBM PowerPC
 IBM z/OS (MVS) 1.6, 1.7, 1.8, 1.9
 IBM z/VM 5.1, 5.2
 Microsoft Windows 2000 (Professional,Server, and Advanced Server) SP4 | Intel x86
 Microsoft Windows XP (Professional) SP2 | Intel x86; Intel Xeon with EM64T and AMD
Opteron
 Microsoft Windows XP (Professional 64) SP2 | Intel Xeon with EM64T and AMD Opteron
 Microsoft Windows Server 2003 (Enterprise, Standard, and R2) | Intel x86, Intel Xeon
with EM64T and AMD Opteron
 Microsoft Windows Server 2003 (Enerprise x64, Standard x64 and R2) | Intel Xeon with
EM64T and AMD Opteron
 Microsoft Windows Vista (Enterprise) | Intel x86, Intel Xeon with EM64T and AMD
Opteron
 Microsoft Windows Vista (Enterprise x64) | Intel Xeon with EM64T and AMD Opteron
 Microsoft Windows Server 2008 (Enterprise, Standard) | Intel x86, Intel Xeon with
EM64T [**] and AMD Opteron [**]
 Microsoft Windows Server 2008 (Enterprise x64, Standard x64) | Intel Xeon with EM64T
and AMD Opteron
 NCR UNIX SVR4 MP-RAS 3.2, 3.3[**]
 Novell 32-bit SUSE Linux Enterprise 9 SP 1, 2, and 3 | AMD Opteron, Intel x86 and Intel
Xeon with EM64T
 Novell 64-bit SUSE Linux Enterprise 9 SP 1, 2, and 3 | AMD Opteron and Intel Xeon with
EM64T[**]
 Novell 32-bit SUSE Linux Enterprise 10 SP 1 | AMD Opteron, Intel x86 and Intel Xeon
with EM64T
 Novell 64-bit SUSE Linux Enterprise 10 SP 1 | AMD Opteron and Intel Xeon with EM64T
 Red Hat Enterprise Linux Advanced Server 2.1, 3.0, 4.0 | Intel x86
 Red Hat Enterprise Linux Advanced Server 4.0 | AMD Opteron and Intel Xeon with
EM64T
 Red Hat Enterprise Linux 64-bit Advanced Server 4.0 | AMD Opteron and Intel Xeon
with EM64T
 Red Hat Enterprise Linux Advanced Platform 5.0 | AMD Opteron, Intel x86 and Intel
Xeon with EM64T
 Red Hat Enterprise Linux 64-bit Advanced Platform 5.0 | AMD Opteron and Intel Xeon
with EM64T
 Sun Solaris 8, 9, 10 | 32-bit and 64-bit SPARC
 Sun 64-bit Solaris 10 | AMD Opteron and Intel Xeon
[edit]
Note
1. Those marked with [*] provide the 64-bit version.
2. Those marked with [**] are Teradata Database 12.00.00 supported platforms.
[edit]
Version 7.9

Teradata MultiLoad V. 7.9 (included in Teradata Tools And Utilities Release 8.2)

Supported Versions of Teradata Database[4]:

 Teradata Database V2R5.1

 Teradata Database V2R6.0
 Teradata Database V2R6.1
 Teradata Database V2R6.2

Supported Platforms[2]: Operating System | Microprocessor, Extension, OR Programming

Language

 Hewlett-Packard HP-UX 11i v1 (11.11) | 32-bit and 64-bit Hewlett-Packard PA-RISC

 Hewlett-Packard HP-UX 11i v2 (11.23), 11i v3 (11.31) | Intel Itanium (Itanium build)
 IBM AIX 5.1, 5.2, 5.3 | 32-bit and 64-bit IBM PowerPC
 IBM z/OS (MVS) 1.6, 1.7, 1.8
 IBM z/VM 5.1, 5.2
 Microsoft Windows 2000 (Professional,Server, and Advanced Server) SP4 | Intel x86
 Microsoft Windows XP (Professional) SP2 | Intel x86; Intel Xeon with EM64T and AMD
Opteron
 Microsoft Windows XP (Professional 64) SP2 | Intel Xeon with EM64T and AMD Opteron
 Microsoft Windows Server 2003 (Enterprise, Standard, and R2) | Intel x86, Intel Xeon
with EM64T and AMD Opteron
 Microsoft Windows Server 2003 (Enerprise x64, Standard x64 and R2) | Intel Xeon with
EM64T and AMD Opteron
 Microsoft Windows Vista (Enterprise, Enterprise x64) | Intel x86, Intel Xeon with EM64T
and AMD Opteron
 Microsoft Windows Vista (Enterprise x64) | Intel Xeon with EM64T and AMD Opteron
 NCR UNIX SVR4 MP-RAS 3.2, 3.3
 Red Hat Enterprise Linux Advanced Server 2.1, 3.0, 4.0 | Intel x86
 Red Hat Enterprise Linux 32-bit Advanced Server 4.0 | Intel Xeon with EM64T
 Red Hat Enterprise Linux 64-bit Advanced Server 4.0 | Intel Xeon with EM64T and AMD
Opteron
 Sun Solaris 8, 9, 10 | 32-bit and 64-bit SPARC
 Sun 64-bit Solaris 10 | Intel Xeon with EM64T and AMD Opteron
 Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise 9 SP 1, 2, and 3 | Intel x86
 Novell 32-bit SUSE Linux Enterprise 9 SP 1, 2, and 3 | Intel Xeon with EM64T and AMD
Opteron
 Novell 64-bit SUSE Linux Enterprise 9 SP 1, 2, and 3 | Intel Xeon with EM64T and AMD
Opteron
 Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise 10 SP 1 | Intel x86
 Novell 32-bit SUSE Linux Enterprise 10 SP 1 | Intel Xeon with EM64T and AMD Opteron
 Novell 64-bit SUSE Linux Enterprise 10 SP 1 | Intel Xeon with EM64T and AMD Opteron
[edit]
Note

Teradata MultiLoad V. 7.9 has only the 32-bit version.

[edit]
REFERENCE

This article is based on the following references:

1. Teradata MultiLoad Reference Release 12

2. Teradata Tools and Utilities Release 8.2 Supported Platforms and Product Versions
3. Teradata Tools and Utilities Release 12 Supported Platforms and Product Versions
4. Teradata Tools and Utilities Release Definition Release 8.2
5. Teradata Tools and Utilities Release Definition Release 12
6. Teradata MultiLoad Reference Release 13
7. Teradata Tools and Utilities Release Definition Release 13
8. Teradata Tools and Utilities Release 13 Supported Platforms and Product Versions
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