Vertica OCF Connector: Install and Configure¶
Alation Cloud Service Applies to Alation Cloud Service instances of Alation
Customer Managed Applies to customer-managed instances of Alation
Network Configuration¶
Open outbound TCP port 5433 to the Vertica server.
Create Service Account¶
Sample SQL to Create an Account¶
When using the SQL below, substitute <service_account> and <password> with actual values.
CREATE USER <service_account> IDENTIFIED BY '<password>';
Permissions for Metadata Extraction¶
GRANT SELECT ON V_CATALOG.SCHEMATA TO <service_account>;
GRANT SELECT ON V_CATALOG.ALL_TABLES TO <service_account>;
GRANT SELECT ON V_CATALOG.TABLES TO <service_account>;
GRANT SELECT ON V_CATALOG.ODBC_COLUMNS TO <service_account>;
GRANT SELECT ON V_CATALOG.VIEWS TO <service_account>;
GRANT SELECT ON V_CATALOG.PRIMARY_KEYS TO <service_account>;
GRANT SELECT ON V_CATALOG.FOREIGN_KEYS TO <service_account>;
GRANT SELECT ON V_CATALOG.USER_FUNCTIONS TO <service_account>;
GRANT SELECT ON V_CATALOG.USER_TRANSFORMS TO <service_account>;
GRANT SELECT ON V_INTERNAL.ODBC_PROCEDURE_COLUMNS TO <service_account>;
Permission |
Purpose |
|---|---|
GRANT SELECT ON V_CATALOG.SCHEMATA |
Required for schema extraction |
GRANT SELECT ON V_CATALOG.ALL_TABLES |
Required for table extraction |
GRANT SELECT ON V_CATALOG.TABLES |
Required for table extraction |
GRANT SELECT ON V_CATALOG.ODBC_COLUMNS |
Required for column extraction |
GRANT SELECT ON V_CATALOG.VIEWS |
Required for view extraction |
GRANT SELECT ON V_CATALOG.PRIMARY_KEYS |
Required for primary key extraction |
GRANT SELECT ON V_CATALOG.FOREIGN_KEYS |
Required for foreign key extraction |
GRANT SELECT ON V_CATALOG.USER_FUNCTIONS |
Required for function extraction |
GRANT SELECT ON V_CATALOG.USER_TRANSFORMS |
Required for function extraction |
GRANT SELECT ON V_INTERNAL.ODBC_PROCEDURE_COLUMNS |
Required for function definition extraction |
Permissions for Profiling and Sampling¶
GRANT USAGE ON SCHEMA [schema] TO <service_account>;
GRANT SELECT ON ALL TABLES IN SCHEMA [schema] TO <service_account>;
Permissions for Query Log Ingestion¶
If using table-based QLI, grant the service account the SELECT permissions for the QLI view you create on Vertica. If using custom query-based QLI, grant the service account admin-level privileges as this type of QLI involves querying system tables. For details, see Query Log Ingestion below.
Configure Kerberos for Vertica Data Source¶
If your Vertica database is kerberized, make sure that the Alation service account has been granted permissions to use Kerberos authentication. You will also need the krb5.conf and the keytab files for your Vertica database. Both files will need to be uploaded in the data source settings in Alation user interface. For details on granting accounts permissions to use Kerberos authentication, refer to Create the Vertica Principals and Keytabs on Linux KDC in Vertica documentation.
Testing Kerberos Connection¶
Run the following commands to obtain a ticket and check connectivity from the Vertica server:
Kerberos without keytab
sudo -i -u dbadmin kinit <principal>/<service_account>Enter the password created during adding the principal.
Kerberos with keytab
sudo -i -u dbadmin kinit -kt <keytab_file> <principal>/<service_account>Verifying the connection
vsql -U <service_account> -k <KerberosServiceName> -K <krb5-host> -h <host name> -c "select client_authentication_name, authentication_method from sessions;" vsql -U <service_account> -k <KerberosServiceName> -K <krb5-host> -h <host name> -c "select KERBEROS_CONFIG_CHECK();"
JDBC URI¶
Format¶
Basic Authentication¶
vertica://<hostname_or_ip>:<port>/<database_name>
Example
vertica://10.13.41.154:5433/my_database
Kerberos Authentication¶
vertica://<hostname>:<port>/<database_name>?KerberosHostName=<kerberos_host_name>&KerberosServiceName=<service_name>
Example
vertica://ip-10-13-20-137:5433/alation?KerberosHostName=ip-10-13-20-137.alation-test.com&KerberosServiceName=alation
Configuration in Alation¶
Step 1: Install the Connector¶
Alation On-Premise¶
Important
Installation of OCF connectors requires Alation Connector Manager to be installed as a prerequisite.
To install an OCF connector:
If this has not been done on your instance, install the Alation Connector Manager: Install Alation Connector Manager.
Ensure that the OCF connector Zip file is available on your local machine.
Install the connector on the Connectors Dashboard page using the steps in Manage Connectors.
Alation Cloud Service¶
Note
On Alation Cloud Service instances, Alation Connector Manager is available by default.
Depending on your network configuration, you may need to use Alation Agent to connect to databases.
Connection via Alation Agent¶
Ensure that Alation Agent is enabled on your Alation instance. If necessary, create a Support ticket with Alation for an Alation representative to enable the Alation Agent feature on your instance and to receive the Alation Agent installer.
Install the connector on the Connectors Dashboard page using the steps in Manage Connectors.
Connection Without Agent¶
To install an OCF connector:
Ensure that the OCF connector Zip file is available on your local machine.
Install the connector on the Connectors Dashboard page using the steps in Manage Connectors.
STEP 2: Create and Configure a New Data Source¶
In Alation, add a new data source:
Log in to Alation as a Server Admin.
Expand the Apps menu on the right of the main toolbar and select Sources.
On the Sources page, click +Add on the top right of the page and in the list that opens, click Data Source. This will open the Add a Data Source wizard.
On the first screen of the wizard, specify a name for your data source, assign additional Data Source Admins, if necessary, and click the Continue Setup button on the bottom. The Add a Data Source screen will open.
On the Add a Data Source screen, the only field you should populate is Database Type. From the Database Type dropdown, select the connector name. After that you will be navigated to the Settings page of your new data source.
Note
Agent-based connectors will have the Agent name appended to the connector name.
The name of this connector is Vertica OCF connector.
Access¶
On the Access tab, set the data source visibility using these options:
Public Data Source—The data source will be visible to all users of the catalog.
Private Data Source—The data source will be visible to the users allowed access to the data source by Data Source Admins.
You can add new Data Source Admin users in the Data Source Admins section.
General Settings¶
Perform the configuration on the General Settings tab.
Application Settings¶
Specify Application Settings if applicable. Click Save to save the changes after providing the information.
Parameter |
Description |
|---|---|
BI Connection Info |
This parameter is used to generate lineage between the current data source and another source in the catalog, for example a BI source that retrieves data from the underlying database. The parameter accepts host and port information of the corresponding BI data source connection. Use the following format: You can provide multiple values as a comma-separated list:
Find more details in BI Connection Info. |
Disable Automatic Lineage Generation |
Select this checkbox to disable automatic lineage generation from QLI, MDE, and Compose queries. By default, automatic lineage generation is enabled. |
Connector Settings¶
Data Source Connection¶
Populate the data source connection information and save the values by clicking Save in this section.
Parameter |
Description |
|---|---|
JDBC URI |
Specify the JDBC URI in the required format. |
Username |
Specify the service account username. |
Password |
Specify the service account password. |
Enable Kerberos authentication |
Select this checkbox if using Kerberos authentication and upload the krb5.conf file using the upload link under the checkbox. |
Use keytab |
Select this checkbox if using keytabs and upload the keytab file for the service account using the upload link under the checkbox. |
Enable SSL |
Enable or disable SSL authentication by selecting or clearing the Enable SSL checkbox. If the Enable SSL checkbox is enabled, upload the SSL certificate using the upload link below. |
Truststore password |
Specify the password for the SSL certificate. The password will be deleted if the data source connection is deleted. |
Logging Configuration¶
Select the logging level for the connector logs and save the values by clicking Save in this section. The available log levels are based on the Log4j framework.
Parameter |
Description |
|---|---|
Log level |
Select the log level to generate logs. The available options are INFO, DEBUG, WARN, TRACE, ERROR, FATAL, ALL. |
You can view the connector logs in Admin Settings > Manage Connectors > Vertica OCF connector.
Obfuscate Literals¶
Obfuscate Literals—Enable this toggle to hide actual values in the query statements that are ingested during query log ingestion or executed in Compose. This toggle is disabled by default.
Test Connection¶
Under Test Connection, click Test to validate network connectivity.
Metadata Extraction¶
You can configure metadata extraction (MDE) for an OCF data source on the Metadata Extraction tab of the Settings page. Refer to Configure Metadata Extraction for OCF Data Sources for information about the available configuration options.
The default queries that the connector uses to extract metadata can be found in Extraction Queries for Vertica. You can customize these queries to adjust the extraction to your needs.
MDE Extraction from Compose¶
After creation of a table or view in Compose, users will see the corresponding table or view on the respective catalog page without re-running MDE. In Compose, users should use the following query format for Alation to ingest the metadata incrementally:
Table
CREATE TABLE "SCHEMA_NAME"."TABLE_NAME" ({column properties});View
CREATE VIEW "SCHEMA_NAME"."VIEW_NAME" AS {view condition}
Sampling and Profiling¶
Sampling and profiling is supported. For details, see Configure Sampling and Profiling for OCF Data Sources.
Compose¶
For details about configuring the Compose tab of the Settings, refer to Configure Compose for OCF Data Sources.
Query Log Ingestion¶
QLI Configuration on Vertica¶
Vertica logs queries to a number of system tables. Selecting rows from these tables directly requires an admin account. For Alation to ingest the query information, you can either give the Alation service account admin access to select from the relevant system tables or request the DBA to create a view that Alation can be permitted to access.
Use the query below as an example of creating such a view. You can choose any name for the view. You will need to enter the view name in the Alation user interface when configuring query log ingestion on the Query Log Ingestion tab.
CREATE view public.alation_qli_view AS
SELECT
ri.session_id AS sessionId,
ri.user_name AS userName,
qr.start_timestamp AS startTime,
qr.end_timestamp AS endTime,
qr.request_duration_ms/1000 AS seconds,
ri.request_id,
qr.start_timestamp AS sessionStartTime,
ri.request AS queryString,
'' as defaultDatabases,
CASE WHEN qr.success THEN null
ELSE 'FAILED'
END AS cancelled,
qr.search_path
FROM v_internal.dc_requests_issued ri
JOIN v_monitor.query_requests qr
ON ri.transaction_id = qr.transaction_id
AND ri.request_id = qr.request_id
AND ri.session_id = qr.session_id;
Configuration in Alation¶
On the Query Log Ingestion tab, you can select QLI options for your data source and schedule the QLI job if necessary.
Connector Settings > Query Extraction¶
You can choose to use table-based QLI or custom query-based QLI.
If you select table-based QLI, before you set up QLI in Alation, perform the configuration on the database as is described in QLI Configuration on Vertica.
If you select query-based QLI, make sure that the Alation service account has admin-level access.
Table-Based QLI¶
To configure table-based QLI:
In the Table Name field, specify the name of the QLI view where the query logs are available. Make sure that the service account has the permissions to access this view. The view name must be provided in the following format: database.schema.view_name.
Custom Query-Based QLI¶
If you cannot create the view for QLI, for example, due to access restrictions, you can use a custom QLI query to extract query history into Alation. If you opt for custom query-based QLI, Alation will query the system table storing query history or the table you’ve created to enable QLI every time you manually run QLI or when the QLI job runs on schedule.
For custom query-based QLI to succeed, ensure that the service account has enough permissions to select from the QLI table.
The template for the QLI query is given below. You can customize it by adding, removing, or changing the filter, but the columns and their aliases must remain as is since the connector expects this query structure.
Note
When using the QLI query template, do not substitute the STARTTIME and ENDTIME parameters in the WHERE filter. These parameters are not actual column names and should stay as is. They are expected by the connector and will be substituted with the start and end date of the QLI range selected in the user interface when QLI is run manually or on schedule.
To configure query-based QLI:
Go to the Query Log Ingestion tab of the Settings page of your OCF data source.
Under Connector Settings > Query Extraction, in the Custom QLI Query field, provide the QLI query.
Click Save.
QLI Query Template¶
SELECT
ri.session_id AS sessionId,
ri.user_name AS userName,
qr.start_timestamp AS startTime,
qr.end_timestamp AS endTime,
qr.request_duration_ms/1000 AS seconds,
ri.request_id,
qr.start_timestamp AS sessionStartTime,
ri.request AS queryString,
'' AS defaultDatabases,
CASE WHEN qr.success THEN null
ELSE 'FAILED'
END AS cancelled,
qr.search_path
FROM
v_internal.dc_requests_issued ri
JOIN v_monitor.query_requests qr
ON ri.transaction_id = qr.transaction_id
AND ri.request_id = qr.request_id
AND ri.session_id = qr.session_id
WHERE date(starttime) >= STARTTIME
AND date(endtime) <= ENDTIME
ORDER BY
sessionId,
startTime;
Perform QLI¶
You can either perform QLI manually on demand or enable automated QLI:
To perform manual QLI, under the Automated and Manual Query Log Ingestion section of the Query Log Ingestion tab, ensure that the Enable Automated Query Log Ingestion toggle is disabled.
Note
Metadata extraction must be completed first before running QLI.
Click Preview to get a sample of the query history data to be ingested.
Click the Import button to perform QLI on demand.
To schedule QLI, enable the Enable Automated Query Log Ingestion toggle.
Set a schedule under Automated Query Log Ingestion Time by specifying values in the week, day, and time fields. The next QLI job will run on the schedule you have specified.
Note
The hourly schedule for automated QLI is not supported.
Troubleshooting¶
Refer to Troubleshooting for information about logs.