HASHLOV1 Support for Parquet File Masking in FDM

Products

• CA Test Data Manager (Data Finder / Grid Tools)

Issue/Introduction

When attempting to perform data masking on Parquet files using Fast Data Masker (FDM), the HASHLOV1 masking function is either missing from the available options or fails to execute correctly. In versions prior to 5.0.8.0, the HASHLOV1 function was not supported for Parquet file formats, often leading to a java.lang.NullPointerException if manually configured.

Symptoms / Error Messages

• The HASHLOV1 function is not visible in the FDM interface when a Parquet file is selected as the source.
• Users may encounter the following error in logs: ERROR - main - java.lang.NullPointerException: Cannot invoke "java.sql.Connection.prepareStatement(String)" because the return value of "com.ca.fdm.database.JDBCDatabaseAccess.getConnection()" is null.

Environment

• Product: CA Test Data Manager (TDM)
• Component: Fast Data Masker (FDM)
• Versions: FDM 5.0.1.x through 5.0.7.x
• File Type: Parquet

Cause

The HASHLOV1 masking function was not initially implemented for Parquet file masking. This function traditionally requires a database connection (JDBCDatabaseAccess) to handle restricted value lookups. Since Parquet masking operates in a file-system context, the connection returns null, causing the execution to fail.

Resolution

Support for HASHLOV1 in Parquet file masking was introduced in the FDM 5.0.8.0 release.

Steps to Resolve:

1. Download the Patch: Obtain the Fast Data Masker 5.0.8.0 (or later) patch.
   • Note: Patches can be downloaded from the Test Data Manager (TDM) Support Patches page.
2. Apply the Patch: Follow the standard procedure for applying FDM patches as documented in KB 10931.
3. Verify: Open FDM and confirm that the HASHLOV1 function is now available and functional for Parquet masking configurations.