Multi-source models can be used to quickly access data in multiple sources with homogeneous metadata. When you have multiple instances of data that are using identical schema (horizontal sharding), JBoss Data Virtualization can help you aggregate data across all the instances, using "multi-source" models. In this scenario, instead of creating/importing a model for every data source, user must define one source model that represents the schema and configure multiple data "sources" underneath it. During runtime, when a query issued against this model, the query engine analyzes the information and gathers the required data from all the sources configured and aggregates the results and provides in a single result set. Since all sources use the same physical metadata, this feature is most appropriate for accessing the same source type with multiple instances.