# Key differences between Staging Area and master database

There are relatively few differences between the database schema of the master database and the Staging Area.

| Difference | Description |
| --- | --- |
| No Foreign Key relations | In the Staging Area, all Foreign Key relations are<br>disabled. This is to allow users to load data without taking<br>into account the relationships between entities. |
| Additional column for source | In the Staging Area, the database schema has an additional<br>text column where MDM users can provide details about the<br>origin of the record. This column is free-form and is not<br>mandatory.<br><br>For example, when loading data in the Staging Area, a user<br>may indicate that records with the ID 1 come from SAP and<br>the records with the ID 2 come from another legacy<br>system. |
| Additional column for status | In the Staging Area, this column is used to<br>store actions carried out by MDM on the staging record. The column<br>contains a code:<br><br><ul> <li> <p> <span>000</span> or null means "new                                        record".</p> </li> <li> <p> <span>2nn</span> values                                        (<span>200</span>, <span>201</span>...) mean the                                        record successfully passed a step of record validation.</p> </li> <li> <p> <span>4nn</span> values                                        (<span>400</span>, <span>401</span>...) mean the                                        record failed to pass a step of record validation. </p> </li> </ul> |