Query Service Add-on

Alation Cloud Service Applies to Alation Cloud Service instances of Alation

The Zero Data feature lets you execute queries, sampling, and profiling through an on-premises Alation Agent. No query result data traverses or gets stored in Alation Cloud Service. Instead, the Agent writes query results to your own object store (AWS S3 or Azure Blob Storage). Your browser retrieves results directly through a secure gateway running on the Agent.

The Query Service Add-on is an optional component that you install on the Alation Agent to enable the Zero Data feature. With this add-on installed and configured, the following capabilities run on-premises through the Agent:

  • Compose – Query execution with results stored in your object store

  • Query Forms – Parameterized query execution

  • Scheduled Queries – Automated recurring queries

  • Sampling – Table data sampling

  • Profiling – Column data profiling

Note

The Query Service Add-on is entirely optional. If you do not install it, all existing Compose, sampling, and profiling behavior remains unchanged.

Architecture

The following diagram shows how the Zero Data data flow differs from the standard Agent architecture. The orange dashed arrows represent the new Zero Data path, where your browser retrieves query results directly from the Agent’s gateway and your object store. The existing gray arrows for metadata and catalog operations are unchanged.

Architecture diagram showing the Zero Data data flow. The user's browser connects directly to the Agent's secure gateway via HTTPS, bypassing Alation Cloud Service. The Agent writes query results to the object store.

Prerequisites

To use the Zero Data feature, you must meet the following requirements:

  • You must be on Alation Cloud Service version 2026.4 or later.

  • You must have the Query Service Add-on installed on the Alation Agent. See Query Service Add-on for more information.

  • You must have the Alation Agent version 1.8.16 or later installed.

  • You must have a supported object store configured:

    • AWS S3 – An S3 bucket with the appropriate IAM permissions.

    • Azure Blob Storage – A storage account and container with the appropriate OIDC federated credentials.

  • You must configure the Agent with an ingress hostname, TLS certificate, and TLS key for the Zero Data gateway. See Manage the Query Service Add-on for details.

  • The user’s browser must be able to reach the Agent’s Zero Data ingress endpoint directly. See Alation’s IP Addresses for Allow Lists for network requirements.

Getting Started

For help installing, upgrading, and managing the Query Service Add-on, see: