Overview¶
Available from Alation version 2023.3
Overview¶
The OCF connector for Salesforce was developed by Alation and is available as a Zip file. You can upload and install the Zip file in the Alation application.
The latest Salesforce OCF connector package can be downloaded from the Connector Hub on the Alation Customer Portal. Ask an Alation admin with access to the Customer Portal to download the connector from the Connectors section (Customer Portal > Connectors). The connector is compiled together with the required database driver, therefore, you don’t have to procure and install the driver separately.
This connector should be used to catalog Salesforce as a data source on Alation on-premise and Cloud Service instances.
Alation supports objects from Salesforce Sales Cloud and few from Salesforce Service Cloud. It extracts and catalogs database objects such as schemas, tables, views, columns, column data types, primary keys, and foreign keys. After the metadata is extracted, it is represented in the data catalog as a hierarchy of catalog pages under the parent data source. Alation users can leverage the full catalog functionality to search for and find the extracted metadata, curate the corresponding catalog pages, create documentation about the data source, and exchange information about it.
Note
For more information on the list of Alation supported Salesforce Sales Cloud objects, see Supported Objects.
Team¶
You may need the assistance of your database administrator to configure this data source.
Salesforce administrator:
Creates a service account for Alation.
Provides the connection information and the JDBC URI.
Provides the authentication information and assists in configuring OAuth authentication.
Alation Server Admin:
Ensures that Alation Connector Manager is installed and running or installs it.
Install the connector.
Creates and configures the Salesforce data source in the catalog.
Performs initial extraction and prepares the data source for Alation users.
Scope¶
The table below lists the features supported by the connector.
Feature |
Scope |
Availability |
|---|---|---|
Authentication |
||
Basic (username and password) |
Authentication with a service account created on the database using username and password |
|
SSL |
Connection over the TLS protocol |
|
LDAP |
Authentication with the LDAP protocol |
|
OAuth |
Authentication with the OAuth 2.0 protocol |
|
SSO |
Authentication using an SSO flow through an IdP application |
|
Metadata extraction (MDE) |
||
Default MDE |
Extraction of metadata on the JDBC driver methods in the connector code |
|
Query-based MDE |
Extraction of metadata based on custom extraction queries provided by a user |
|
Popularity |
Indicator of the popularity (intensity of use) of a data object, such as a table or a column |
|
Extracted metadata objects |
||
Data Source |
Data source object in Alation that is parent to the extracted metadata |
|
Schemas |
List of schemas |
|
Tables |
List of tables |
|
Columns |
List of columns |
|
Column data types |
Column data types |
|
Views |
List of views |
|
Source comments |
Source comments |
|
Primary keys |
Primary key information for extracted tables |
|
Foreign keys |
Foreign key information for extracted tables |
|
Functions |
Extraction of function metadata |
|
Function Definitions |
Extraction of function definition metadata |
|
Sampling and Profiling |
||
Table sampling |
Retrieval of data samples from extracted tables |
|
Column sampling |
Retrieval of data samples from extracted columns |
|
Custom query-based table sampling |
Ability to use custom queries for sampling specific tables |
|
Custom query-based column sampling |
Ability to use custom queries for profiling specific columns |
|
Deep column profiling |
Profiling of columns with the calculation of value distribution stats |
|
Dynamic profiling |
Ability for individual users to connect with their own database accounts to retrieve table and column samples and profiles |
|
Compose |
||
On-prem Alation instances |
Compose on on-premise instances specific columns |
|
Alation Cloud Service instances |
Depending on your network configuration, you may be using Alation Agent to connect to your data source. |
|
Basic authentication in Compose |
Authentication in Compose with username and password |
|