UNIQUELOV Masking Function Fails to Provide Consistent Results Across Jobs

Products

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

Issue/Introduction

When using the UNIQUELOV masking function in Fast Data Masker (FDM), users may observe that:

• Masked results are inconsistent across different job runs (e.g., a source value 'A' is masked as 'B' in Job 1 and 'C' in Job 2).
• New mappings are not being committed to the specified external Cross-Reference (XREF) table.
• FDM logs show that the DEFAULT_XREF is being used for caching instead of the intended custom XREF table.

Environment

Fast Data Masker 5.0 and later.

Cause

This issue typically occurs because the Cross Reference identifier (specifically the rx_ref_id or the 'Cross Reference' setting in Column J of the mapping CSV) is missing or not configured correctly.

Even if the global options file includes the CROSSREFTABLE parameter and the connection to the XREF database is valid, FDM requires an explicit identifier in the mapping file to know which XREF 'bucket' to use. Without this, FDM defaults to an internal cache (DEFAULT_XREF) and does not write the new mappings back to the persistent external table.

Resolution

To ensure consistency, you must enable and correctly identify the Cross-Reference setting within your masking configuration.

1. Update the Mapping File:

   • Open your masking CSV/mapping configuration.
   • Locate Column J (the 'Cross Reference' column).
   • Assign a Cross Reference Identifier (e.g., rx_ref_id) to the row containing the UNIQUELOV function.
   • This can be an existing identifier to match previous mappings or a new one to start a fresh set of consistent mappings.

2. Verify Global Options:

   • Ensure the following parameters are set in your options file:
     • CROSSREFTABLE=[Your_XREF_Table_Name]
     • UNIQUELOVFAILONEXHAUSTION=Y (Recommended to guarantee uniqueness)

3. Test the Configuration:

   • Run a small masking job and verify that the external XREF table is updated with new entries.
   • Run a subsequent job to confirm that the same source values produce the same masked outputs.

Additional Information

Consistency across masking jobs is only guaranteed when XREF functionality is explicitly enabled and assigned in the mapping file. For more information, refer to the TDM Documentation on XREF Parameters.