Virtualizing data (Data Virtualization)

The most common mechanism for virtualizing data is to create a table "view" or virtual table. You can create a virtual table to segment or combine data from one or more tables in Data Virtualization.

About this task

Service This service is not available by default. An administrator must install this service on the IBM Cloud Pak for Data platform. To determine whether the service is installed, open the Services catalog and check whether the service is enabled.

Data Virtualization connects multiple data sources into a single self-balancing collection of data sources or databases.
Figure 1. Connection of multiple data sources into a single collection
The image shows how Data Virtualization connects multiple data sources into a single self-balancing collection of data sources or databases.

Tables that are similar from multiple sources can be combined into a single virtual table, which creates a unified definition containing the columns and data from all participating data sources. Segmentation is vertical (either a subset or superset of columns based on a selection of chosen columns). You can then run queries against the resulting virtual table no different than how you would query any of the base tables.

After you provision the Data Virtualization service, you can manage users, connect to multiple data sources, create and govern virtual assets, then consume the virtualized data.
Figure 2. Virtualize data with the Data Virtualization service
Connect, Join, Create Views, and Consume are the main actions that are needed for Data Virtualization.
For more information about these tasks, see: