Partition keys for Stream data sets

You can define a set of partition keys in a Stream data set to test how data flow processing is distributed across Data Flow service nodes in a multinode decision management environment by using the default load balancer. For example, you can test whether the intended number and type of partitions negatively affect the processing of a Data Flow rule that references an event strategy.

Create the partition keys in a Stream data set when your custom load balancer for Stream data sets is unavailable or busy, or in application environments where the production level is set to 1 - Sandbox, 2 - Development, or 3 - Quality assurance. If you set the production level to 4 - Staging or 5 - Production, then any Stream data set that has at least one partition key defined continues to process data, but is no longer distributed across multiple nodes. For more information on production levels, see Specifying the production level.

If the Stream data set feeds event data to an Event Strategy rule, you can define only a single partition key for that data set. That partition key must be the same as the event key that is defined in the Real-Time Data shape on the Event Strategy form. Otherwise, when you run the Data Flow, it fails.

An active Data Flow rule that references a Stream data set with least one partition key defined continues processing when nodes are added or removed from the cluster, for example, as a result of node failure or an intentional change in the node topology. However, any data that was not yet processed on the failed or disconnected node is lost.