Creating and Managing Lookup Tables
This topic introduces a variable discounting use case example to explain how to create a Lookup Table, add a Table Revision, and set up a data field schema for a Revision:
Example Use Case
Suppose you run an online data storage service and bill end customers monthly in arrears by volume of data uploaded to your platform. You have customers in two countries - the US and UK. You want to offer your customers a running discount on their usage of your service and vary the discount rate on a month-by-month basis. At the end of each month, your Sales team will review customer Accounts and determine a discount rate for uploaded volume for the following month by country. To fulfill this kind of variable discounting use case, we can:
Create a Lookup Table and publish a new Table Revision for the required discounted usage volume rates by country each month.
Apply a calculation to a Meter Derived Field which uses a Lookup function to reference the Lookup Table and pull the relevant discount rates by country to be applied to uploaded data volume measures.
For pricing Account Plans, use an Aggregation that targets the Meter Derived Field and therefore at billing only charges your customers for appropriately discounted upload volume measures.
Creating a Lookup Table
You can quickly create a new Lookup Table from the Settings section of the Console.
To create a Lookup Table:
1. Select Settings>Lookup tables:
The Lookup tables page opens.
2. Select Create lookup table. The Create page opens.
3. Under Lookup table details, enter a Name and Code.
4. Select Create lookup table. The Lookup table details page opens:
Note that you can Copy the Lookup Table ID directly to your clipboard.
Creating Lookup Table Revisions
When you create a Lookup Table Revision, you can define a schema for the data fields and types the Revision contains:
String and number data field types are supported.
A maximum of ten fields is allowed for a Revision data schema.
To create a Lookup Table Revision:
1. Select Settings>Lookup tables. The Lookup tables page opens.
2. Select the Name hotlink text of the Lookup Table you want to create a Revision for. The Lookup table details page opens.
3. On the Revisions panel, select Create revision. The Create page opens.
4. Under Revision details enter a Name for the Revision. (Required)
5. Under Revision fields, add the fields for the Revision:
Enter a Name and Type for each field and use unique names for each field.
Key fields:
There must be at least one key field and one non-key field in a Revision.
A maximum of 10 fields can be added for a Revision.
Field order is important because lookups will be performed sequentially. You can change the Revision fields order after adding them:
For the current example, we've created a Revision that contains a rate number field and a country string field and used the checkbox to define country as a Key field.
6. Select Create revision. You are returned to the Lookup table details page and the new Revision is listed:
Note that:
The Status of a Revision when first created is DRAFT.
You can expand a Revision and read-off its Fields.
We've now defined the data field schema for a Lookup Table Revision to serve our variable discount rate example. Next, we'll need to add some data values for that schema and publish the Revision. Publishing a Lookup Table Revision makes the data values configured for the Revision available for any Lookup functions used in calculations that reference the Lookup Table - see the following topic.
Next: Adding Data to, Publishing, and Managing Lookup Table Revisions
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