Export command for common metadata assets

You can export most types of common metadata assets by using the istool export command with the -commonmetadata parameter.

Purpose

You export assets into a file that can be imported into a different instance of InfoSphere® Information Server. For example, you can export from a development environment and import the file into a production or test environment. You can also migrate common metadata assets to a newer version of InfoSphere Information Server.

By using the -commonmetadata parameter you can export the following types of assets:

Implemented data resources
Business intelligence (BI) assets
Physical data model assets
Data connections
Contract libraries

Note: Data connections that are transferred between systems do not work unless the name of the target host system is the same as the name of the source host system. When the host names are not the same, separately export only data connections by using the -cm parameter. Import the data connections by using a mapping file to specify the source host name as the current value and the target host name as the new value.

When you export common metadata assets, any custom attributes and values that are associated with them are also exported.

The export creates an archive file, which by default has the suffix .isx.

To export logical data model assets, see Export command for logical data model assets.

To export all custom attributes, see Export command for custom attributes.

For command information on exporting all common metadata assets in order to migrate to a new version or environment, see Migrating common metadata assets.

To export all assets of all types, see Moving all assets from one metadata repository to another.

Prerequisites

You must have the Suite User role.

The preferred way to run this command is in the istool command-line window. If you run this command in your operating system command-line window or in scripts, you must add istool before the command name.

Command syntax for implemented data resource assets, BI assets, physical data model assets, and miscellaneous common metadata assets

Optional parameters and values in the syntax are enclosed in brackets, [ ].

export 
authentication parameters
[generic parameters]
-archive "file_name_and_path" 
[-maxArchiveSize number_of_megabytes]
[-updatearchive] 
[-abortIfError number_of_errors]
[-preview] | [-responseFile "file_name_and_path"]
–commonmetadata '[-base "beginning_section_of_identity_string"]
 asset1 [asset2 asset3 ...] 
  [-contactAssignmentOnly] 
  [-includeContactAssignment] 
  [-includeAnnotation]
  [-includeDataConnection] 
 '

Note: The following options cannot be used when you export contract library assets:

[-contactAssignmentOnly] 
[-includeContactAssignment] 
[-includeAnnotation]
[-includeDataConnection]

Parameters

authentication parameters

Required. All asset interchange commands use authentication parameters to connect to a specific installation of InfoSphere Information Server.

generic parameters

The generic parameters are available to all asset interchange commands. Use the generic parameters to request help on command syntax, to specify silent or verbose operation, and to use a script to run commands.

-archive |-ar "file_name_and_path"

Required. Specifies the .isx file that the assets are exported to.

-maxArchiveSize | -mas number_of_megabytes

For enhanced export and import performance, creates additional archive files when the size of the export file exceeds the specified number of megabytes. For example, if you specify 500 and the total size of the export is 1,300 MB, two additional archive files are created with numeric suffixes added to their names. For import, specifying the first archive file imports all. For more information, see common parameters.

-updatearchive | -up

Adds exported assets to the archive file if it exists. If you do not specify -updatearchive, the content of the existing archive file is overwritten.

-abortIfError | -abort number_of_errors

Stops the export after the specified number of errors.

-preview | -pre

Previews the export. The preview lists the assets that will be exported when the export runs.

-responseFile | -rf "file_name_and_path"

Specifies the name and path of a response file that contains assets that failed to export during a run of a previous istool export -cm command. Not supported with the -preview parameter. For more information, see Using a response file with istool export and istool import commands.

-commonmetadata | -cm 'identity_string_information options'

Required. Specifies that common metadata assets are exported. Specifies the identity strings of one or more assets to export. The format of the identity string is described in Common metadata asset types and identity strings for the command line. You can use wildcards to specify multiple assets.

Use a single space to separate each asset that you specify. If the containing path of each identity string for the assets that you export is the same, you can use the -base option a single time to specify the beginning section of the identity string. After the -base value, specify the remainder of the identity string for each asset. Identity strings and all options of -commonmetadata that you specify must be contained within a single set of single quotation marks ('). You can specify the following options:

-base "beginning_section_of_identity_string": Specifies the beginning section of an identity string that applies to all the assets that you specify in the command. The -base option can be used as a shortcut when each asset is contained in the same identity hierarchy. Surround the value with double quotation marks ("). Specify the remainder of each identity string separately for each asset, separating each with a single space.
Note: Do not specify the final forward slash (/) in the value of the -base option, and do not add that forward slash to the beginning of the values of the remainders of the identity string.; For example, to export three database tables that are in the same schema, you can specify -base "/host_name/database_name/schema_name" and then specify just the name and extension for each database table: table1.tbl table2.tbl table3.tbl.; To export a single database table from each of two different schemas, you can specify a base value of "/host_name/database_name" and then specify, for example, schema1/table1.tbl schema2/table2.tbl as the identity string values for the tables.
-includeContactAssignment | -incca: Includes the contact assignments for the exported assets. A contact assignment connects an asset to the person or group who is a contact or steward for the asset. For example, when a database table has a steward, a contact assignment is used to connect the table to the steward.; Stewards are created in InfoSphere Information Governance Catalog. A steward is a user or user group in InfoSphere Information Server that is responsible for one or more assets. Contacts are created in InfoSphere Information Analyzer. Contacts are people or groups who are not required to have an InfoSphere Information Server login.; When imported to a target system with assets, contact assignments are relinked to the people or groups that they connect, if those people and groups exist in the target repository at the time of import.
-includeAnnotation | -incannot: Includes the annotations for the exported assets.
-includeDataConnection: Includes the data connections that are associated with the exported database tables, data files, and data file folders.; Note: Use this option only when the name of the target host system is the same as the name of the source host system. Otherwise, separately export only data connections by using the -cm parameter. Import the data connections by using a mapping file to specify the source host name as the current value and the target host name as the new value.
-contactAssignmentOnly | -caonly: Exports only the contact assignments that are associated with the specified assets, not the assets themselves.; When you import contact assignments to a target system, the contact assignments are relinked to the assets, people, or groups that they connect, if those assets, people, and groups exist in the target repository at the time of import.

Output

A return value of 0 indicates successful completion. Any other value indicates failure.

Examples

The following command exports all the tables and associated annotations in the database schema named schema1 to the file myarchive.isx.

export –dom ABC:9443 –username user1 –password pass1 
-archive "c:\myarchive.isx" -maxArchiveSize 50
–commonmetadata '/host1/db1/schema1/*.tbl 
-includeAnnotation'

The following command exports all the contact assignments that are associated with tables in the database schema named schema1.

export –dom ABC:9443 –u user1 –p pass1 
-ar "c:\myarchive.isx" 
–cm '/host1/db1/schema1/*.tbl 
-contactAssignmentOnly'

The following command exports the two specified hosts.

export –dom ABC:9443 –u user1 –p pass1 
-ar "c:\myarchive.isx" 
–cm '/host1.hst /host2.hst'

The following command uses the -base option to export three tables that are in schema1.

export –dom ABC:9443 –u user1 –p pass1 
-ar "c:\myarchive.isx" 
–cm '-base "/host1/db1/schema1/" tab1.tbl 
tab2.tbl tab506.tbl'

The following command exports all the BI report queries in all BI reports within bi_folder2.

export –dom ABC:9443 –u user1 –p pass1 
-ar "c:\myarchive.isx" 
–cm '/bi_server1/bi_folder2/*/*/*.rds'

The following command exports bi_report1, which is in bi_folder2, a subfolder of bi_folder1 on biserver1.

export -dom ABC:9443 -u user1 -p pass1 
-ar "c:\myarchive.isx" 
-cm '/bi_server1/bi_folder1/bi_folder2/bi_report1.rdf'

The following command uses the -base option to export bi_report1, which is in the subfolder bi_folder2, and also to export the subfolder bi_folder3.

export -dom ABC:9443 -u user1 -p pass1 
-ar "c:\myarchive.isx" 
-cm '- base "/bi_server1/bi_folder1" bi_folder2/bi_report1.rdf bi_folder3.fld'

The following command exports all the design tables in the physical data model physicalmodel1 in namespace1..

export –dom ABC:9443 –username user1 –password pass1 
-archive "c:\myarchive.isx" 
–commonmetadata '/namespace1/physicalmodel1/*.dtl’

The following command uses the -base option to export all the design tables and design stored procedures in physicalmodel1.

export –dom ABC:9443 –username user1 –password pass1 
-archive "c:\myarchive.isx" 
–commonmetadata '-base “/namespace1/physicalmodel1” *.dtl *.dp’

The following command exports all the data connections that connect to database2 on host1.

export –dom ABC:9443 –u user1 –p pass1 
-ar "c:\myarchive.isx" –cm '/host1/database2/*.dcn'