My Astera experience
Updated December 20, 2024
My Astera experience

Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Overall Satisfaction with Astera Data Pipeline Builder (Centerprise)
It is used by the software development department. We are using this for the ETL process to move and transform the data from one data source to another based on the business rules. We also use this to read the data from the source, transform the data and then feed our application.
Pros
- It is easy to use. Does not required too much technical background to learn.
- It can quickly transfer the data across different data sources as it supports the multi-thread processes.
- It supports many different data sources.
- It supports Azure connection
Cons
- Better support for SQLite, as it is only partially support it.
- Supporting the spatial functions. For example, connection SDE or geo databases.
- More user-friendly error message reporting.
- Move the ServerAdminConfig.Xml into cluster database as the file access always caused the issue
- The ability to exchange and valid the data between different data sources
- It is quickly adapted by many of my co-workers and easy to learn. That saved a lot of training time.
- As I am dealing with a big data set, it helps us to move and verify the data quickly.
- It took me some time to get used to the error message, as it is a bit too technical. This has also caused some issues as other users may need more support on it.
- The cdc file caused the issue a lot. We have to remove that from our design.
- Astera provides a fast response for support.
We first tried Informatica and think it is suitable for our company. However, the per license price is way too expensive, as we need to support multiple users at the same time. When compared to Astera, we found Astera can do most of the stuff that Informatica does. That's why we picked Astera.
Do you think Astera Data Pipeline Builder (Centerprise) delivers good value for the price?
Yes
Are you happy with Astera Data Pipeline Builder (Centerprise)'s feature set?
Yes
Did Astera Data Pipeline Builder (Centerprise) live up to sales and marketing promises?
Yes
Did implementation of Astera Data Pipeline Builder (Centerprise) go as expected?
Yes
Would you buy Astera Data Pipeline Builder (Centerprise) again?
Yes
Astera Data Pipeline Builder (Centerprise) Feature Ratings
Using Astera Data Pipeline Builder (Centerprise)
10 - They are doing the software development and ETL processing
4 - They have the strong SQL and Oracle knowledge. They know our data model inside out.
- Transfer data from one data source to another
- Validate the data and provide the report to the user
- Trying to use it to connect to Azure
- We used Astera as the backend of some of our webservices
- We are trying to use Astera to move data between Azure and local databases
Evaluating Astera Data Pipeline Builder (Centerprise) and Competitors
Yes - We replaced one of our internal made software because of that software was made as single thread application. Astera made our application runs much faster. We also used Astera to replace one of our old application.
- Cloud Solutions
- Scalability
- Integration with Other Systems
- Ease of Use
I think the product feature is the most important factor for our decision. We love how Astera is easy to use and fast to transfer data.
If I can do it again, other than how easy to use and how fast to transfer the data. I think I will also evaluation how easy to debug the issues when they occur.
Astera Data Pipeline Builder (Centerprise) Implementation
- Implemented in-house
Yes - There are two major implementation. 1. We are using that as the backend for the webservice. There was validation and data loading phases for it. 2. Complete ETL process. We did the extract and transform together as one phase and load for the second.
Change management was minimal
- When there is issue occur, it is very hard to debug as the error message did not give me enough information
- When using the webservice component, it always gives me the generic error message.
Astera Data Pipeline Builder (Centerprise) Training
- No Training
This is very easy to learn. But I will suggest Astera to provide some training for others as I need to provide the training to my co-workers for Astera right now.
Configuring Astera Data Pipeline Builder (Centerprise)
Don't try to use the multi-thread loading for the foreign keys enabled tables
Yes - we have customized the interface extensively - We need to allow our clients to customize all there configuration based on our data model. Our development team created the application for it. They are only calling Astera api to do the job.
No - the product does not support adding custom code
Astera Data Pipeline Builder (Centerprise) Support
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Quick Resolution Good followup Knowledgeable team Problems get solved Kept well informed No escalation required Immediate help available Support understands my problem Support cares about my success Quick Initial Response | None |
I believe our company purchase that. I think we need that because we always need to have the fastest response to resolve our client issues.
Yes - Yes, they were resolved quick and I am satisfying for them.
There was our client security issue. I submitted the support ticket and request the same day meeting with our client. I got the response within an hour and have the meeting with our client to resolve the issue. This was quick turnaround and very helpful.
Using Astera Data Pipeline Builder (Centerprise)
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Like to use Relatively simple Easy to use Well integrated Consistent Quick to learn Convenient Feel confident using Familiar | None |
- Data transfer
- Data validation
- I think xml data transfer is a bit difficult
Astera Data Pipeline Builder (Centerprise) Reliability
Integrating Astera Data Pipeline Builder (Centerprise)
- SQL server
- Oracle
- Excel
- Xml
- Webservice
SQL, Oracle and Excel are very easy to use and we are using them in most of our products. We are using the webservice call feature for one of our application. It is easy to use as well. However, I found it is difficult to debug when there is any issue. XML is the most difficult one to use. We start to use that at the beginning and need to swap that out to use sql command instead.
- We are planning to use the Azure connector
Yes, we found couple of vendors provide this.
- File import/export
- Single Signon
- API (e.g. SOAP or REST)
- ETL tools
no
Learn what Astera can do first as I am still trying to explore what I can do with it.
Relationship with Astera Software
I am not sure about this
Create the support tickets whenever you need help. Their supports are quick and helpful.
Upgrading Astera Data Pipeline Builder (Centerprise)
Yes - When we upgrade from Astera 7 to Astera 8, it took a long time as there are a lot of changes in both dataflow and workflow. We are planning to upgrade to Astera 10 in few months, I hope it is easier this time.
- Bugs fixes
- License server using port 443
- Able to connect to Azure database
- Better performance
- Less bug
Comments
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