Manta Flow Alation: Alation Configuration

The initial configuration is described on the page Manta Flow Alation: Alation Requirements — APIs used by IBM Automatic Data Lineage have to be enabled by using the feature flags.

The rest of the configuration is done on the source system server level. The configuration is slightly different for RDBMS source systems and for reporting/analytical source systems. The following sections show how to perform the steps via the Alation user interface, but the same results can be achieved by using Alation APIs.

Important: Note that the screenshots provided in this documentation show the Alation 2020.3 user interface. The user interface may be different in newer versions of Alation.

Create Sources for Automatic Data Lineage Database Server Objects

For each Automatic Data Lineage database server node, it is necessary to create a source in Alation and provide its mapping to the Automatic Data Lineage Server node. Otherwise, the lineage for the Automatic Data Lineage Server node (and its descendants) will not be exported.

To create a new source in Alation:

Click on Sources in the Apps menu.
Click on the Add… button to add a new source.
Select Data Source from the drop-down menu.
Finish the configuration of the source by following the instructions. Make sure that you provide the user with privileges sufficient for the metadata extraction.
Once the source is created, go to the source settings (Apps > Sources > select the newly created source > More > Settings).
Execute the metadata extraction. (Click on the metadata extraction tab, and then click the Fetch from DB Now! button to fetch the schemas from your database. After the schemas have been fetched, click Launch Job.) Further details on how to schedule Alation and Automatic Data Lineage metadata extraction processes are available on the page Manta Flow Alation: Integration Architecture.
Fetch the ID of the newly created source. For more information, see How to Acquire an Alation Source ID and add a mapping between the Automatic Data Lineage Server node and the Alation source as described in Alation Resource Mapping Configuration.

Create BI Servers for Automatic Data Lineage Reporting/Analytical Tool Server Objects

Each Automatic Data Lineage reporting/analytical tool server node is mapped to a specific Alation BI server object. It is possible to create the BI server objects manually and provide the mapping between Automatic Data Lineage Server nodes and the Alation BI server object. If no mapping is provided, Automatic Data Lineage will automatically create the BI server objects in Alation.

To create a new BI server in Alation:

Click on Sources in the Apps menu.
Click on the Add… button to add a new source.
Select BI Server from the drop-down menu.
Select the BI server type Custom (API) and provide the desired BI server name. Note that Automatic Data Lineage can map the Automatic Data Lineage Server node to the Alation BI server automatically if the BI server name is defined according to Automatic Data Lineage standards, which means in the format <resource name>:<manta server node name>. (See below for information on how to set up the mapping if this is not the case.) Then, click on Add.
Optionally, provide additional BI server attributes and click Save.
Fetch the ID of the newly created BI server. For more information, see How to Acquire an Alation BI Server ID and add a mapping between the Automatic Data Lineage Server node and the Alation source as described in BI Technologies (Reporting Tools) Resource Mapping Configuration.

Create Virtual Datasource Servers for Automatic Data Lineage Custom Database Server Objects

Each Automatic Data Lineage custom database server node is mapped to a specific Alation VDS server object. It is possible to create the VDS server objects manually and provide the mapping between Automatic Data Lineage Server nodes and the Alation VDS server object. If no mapping is provided, Automatic Data Lineage will automatically create the VDS server objects in Alation.

To create a new VDS server in Alation:

Click on Sources in the Apps menu.
Click on the Add… button to add a new source.
Select Virtual Data Source from the drop-down menu.
Provide the desired VDS server name. Note that Automatic Data Lineage can map the Manta Server node to the Alation VDS server automatically if the VDS server name is defined according to Automatic Data Lineage standards, which means in the format <resource name>:<manta server node name(optional)>.<manta database node name>. (Information on how to set up the mapping if this is not the case is provided later.) Then, click on Continue Setup.
Select the Database Type accordingly to the one that should be mapped. Note: The Alation Custom Database does not correspond to the Automatic Data Lineage Custom Database - it is necessary to choose the specific database type.
Press Save and Continue.
Fetch the ID of the newly created VDS server (see How to Acquire an Alation Source ID) and add a mapping between the Automatic Data Lineage Server node and the Alation source as described in Custom-Database-Resource-Mapping-Configuration.

Create Files System sources for Automatic Data Lineage Filesystem objects

You can map each Automatic Data Lineage Directory node with a Filesystem resource type to a specific Alation File System source. You have to create the File System sources manually and provide the mapping between Automatic Data Lineage Directory nodes and the Alation File System sources.

To create a new File System source in Alation:

Select Sources from the Apps menu.
Click Add button to add a new source.
Select File System from the menu.
Select a File System Type and provide its title. Click Add File System.
Optionally, configure access rights in the newly created File System source on the Access tab.
If you want the File System source to be native (i.e. not virtual), configure connection settings on the General Settings tab. Then, click Run Extraction Now on Metadata Extraction tab.
Get the ID of the newly created File System source (see How to Acquire an Alation Source ID) and add a mapping between the Automatic Data Lineage Server node and the Alation source as described in Filesystem resource mapping configuration.