Configuring the Initial Load

An Initial Load synchronizes the source and target databases, which is an important first step in data replication. It extracts an entire copy of the source data set, transforms it if necessary, and applies it to the target tables. Data replication can now continue from this point.

One really cool feature is the ability for GoldenGate's "change synchronization" to keep track of ongoing transactional changes while the initial load is being applied. If configured, the Change Data Capture and Delivery concurrent process tracks the incremental changes, which are then reconciled with the results of the Initial Load.

So why is the Initial Load so important? To answer this question, consider an UPDATE statement. By its pure nature the row to be updated must exist on the target table else the transaction will fail. This is also true for DELETE operations. To avoid the ORA-01403 no data found error, synchronize your source and target databases unless your target is configured...