Alation Sink | OpenMetadata Metadata Integration

• Requirements
• Data Mapping and Assumptions
• Metadata Ingestion
• Troubleshooting

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How to Run the Connector Externally

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Requirements

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Data Mapping and Assumptions

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Metadata Ingestion

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Step 1: Add New Service

1. Navigate to Settings > Services.
2. Click Add New Service.

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Step 2: Select a Service and Connector

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Step 3: Add Service Name and Description

• Enter a unique, descriptive Service Name. OpenMetadata identifies services by their service name. Enter a name that distinguishes this deployment from other AlationSink services you are ingesting metadata from.
• Optional: Enter a Description for the service.

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Step 4: Configure Connection Options

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Enter Connection Details

• Host and Port: Host and port of the Alation service.
• Authentication Types:
  1. Basic Authentication
  • Username: The name of the user whose credentials will be used to sign in.
  • Password: The password of the user.
  2. Access Token Authentication The access token created using the steps in the Alation API authentication guide can directly be entered. We’ll use that directly to authenticate the Alation APIs.
  • accessToken: Generated access token
• Project Name: Project name used to create the refresh token. It can be anything.
• Pagination Limit: Pagination limit used for Alation APIs pagination.
• DataSource Links: Add a custom mapping between OpenMetadata databases and Alation DataSources. If this mapping is present, the connector will only look for the data source in Alation to create other entities inside it. It will not create the data source in Alation, so it needs to be created beforehand. The mapping needs to be of the format alation_datasource_id: openmetadata_database_fqn. Here alation_datasource_id corresponds to the numerical ID of the data source in Alation. And openmetadata_database_fqn corresponds to the fullyQualifiedName of the database in OpenMetadata. Below is an example of the mapping:

datasourceLinks: {
    "23": "sample_data.ecommerce_db",
    "15": "mysql_prod.customers_db",
}

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Test Connection

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Step 5: Configure Ingestion Options

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How Filter Patterns Work

• Include: Add one or more comma-separated regular expressions. OpenMetadata ingests only assets whose names match at least one expression. Leave blank to include all assets.
• Exclude: Add one or more comma-separated regular expressions. OpenMetadata skips any asset whose name matches an expression. Leave blank to exclude nothing.

• contains: matches any name containing the value. For example, sales matches my_sales_data and sales_2024.
• starts with: matches names beginning with the value. For example, prod_ matches prod_db and prod_schema.
• ends with: matches names ending with the value. For example, _raw matches events_raw and logs_raw.
• is exactly: matches the exact name only. For example, analytics matches only analytics.
• matches regex: matches names using a regular expression. For example, ^prod_.*_v\d+$ matches prod_events_v1.

• Database: Controls which databases OpenMetadata ingests from the source.
• Schema: Controls which schemas within the ingested databases are included.
• Table: Controls which tables and views within the ingested schemas are included.

• Scan Mode: You can choose between the following scan modes:
  • Scan all: Ingests every asset of that type the connector can access. This is the default.
  • Only specific: Enables include rules so only assets matching at least one rule are ingested.
• Exclude system toggle: Use this toggle to automatically filter out system-reserved names defined by the connector, for example, Exclude system databases for the Databases section.
• Always exclude: Add permanent exclusion rules (shown in red). Assets matching these rules are never ingested, regardless of include rules.
• Preview: Shows a real-time summary of what will be in scope based on your current rules.
• Include rules (available only in Only specific mode): Click + Add to define a rule. Added rules appear as chips; an asset is included if it matches any rule.

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Step 6: Create & Deploy

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Configure Metadata Agent and Schedule Ingestion

1. Navigate to Settings > Services and select the service type.
2. Click the service you have added.
3. Select the Agents tab and click Add Agent > Metadata. For some services, the dropdown is not available and clicking Add Agent takes you directly to the agent configuration page.
4. On the Configure Ingestion page, do the following and click Next.
   • Name this Ingestion: Enter a unique recognizable name for this ingestion pipeline.
   • Agent Setup: Configure the core parameters for this agent. The following fields are available:

     Field	Default	Description
     Default Owner	—	Default owner applied to all entities when no specific owner is configured. Accepts a user or team name/email.
     Service Owner	—	Owner assigned to the service entity.
     Database Owner	—	Owner assigned to all ingested databases. Accepts a single owner (user or team) for all databases.
     Database Schema Owner	—	Owner assigned to all ingested schemas. Accepts a single owner (user or team) for all schemas.
     Table Owner	—	Owner assigned to all ingested tables. Accepts a single owner (user or team) for all tables.
     Enable Inheritance	On	Enable child entities to inherit owner from parent entities when they don’t have a specific owner configured.
     Query Log Duration	1	Number of days to look back in query logs when processing stored procedure results.
     Query Parsing Timeout Limit	300	Timeout in seconds for parsing a single query.
     Number of Threads	1	Number of threads to use for parallel table ingestion.
     JSON Schema Sample Size	10	Number of rows to sample for inferring JSON schema. A larger sample size provides more accurate schema inference but increases query time.
     Extract JSON Schema	Off	Extract JSON schema from JSON columns by sampling data. Requires SELECT permission on the tables. If disabled or SELECT fails, JSON columns are ingested without schema information.

     
   • Filter Patterns: Apply include or exclude rules to scope which databases, schemas, tables, and stored procedures this agent ingests. These follow the same filter options described in Step 5: Configure Ingestion Options.
   • Scope & Behaviour: Control what metadata to include and how to handle deletions. Toggle each option on or off based on your needs:

     Toggle	Default	Description
     Enable Debug Log	Off	Sets the ingestion log level to DEBUG. Useful for troubleshooting.
     Mark Deleted Tables	On	Soft-delete tables in OpenMetadata when they are removed from the source. Applies only within the currently ingested schema.
     Mark Deleted Stored Procedures	On	Soft-delete stored procedures in OpenMetadata when they are removed from the source. Associated entities like lineage are also deleted.
     Mark Deleted Schemas	Off	Soft-delete schemas and all their child assets when removed from the source.
     Mark Deleted Databases	Off	Soft-delete databases and all their child assets when removed from the source.
     Include Tables	On	Ingest table metadata from the source. Turn off to skip tables entirely.
     Include Tags	On	Ingest tags from the source.
     Include Custom Properties	Off	Ingest connector-specific custom properties onto entities.
     Include Owners	Off	Assign owners to ingested entities when the source owner’s email matches a user in OpenMetadata. Does not overwrite an existing owner.
     Include Stored Procedures	On	Ingest stored procedure metadata.
     Include DDL Statements	Off	Ingest DDL statements alongside table metadata.
     Override Metadata	Off	When on, source values overwrite existing descriptions, tags, owners, and display names in OpenMetadata. When off, OpenMetadata only updates fields that have no existing value.

     
5. On the Schedule Interval page, set when the agent runs:
   • Schedule: Choose a preset interval (Hourly, Daily, Weekly, Monthly) or enter a custom cron expression.
   • On-Demand: No automatic schedule; trigger the agent manually when needed.
   
6. Click Add to deploy the agent.

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