Configure Compose for OCF Data Sources

Alation Cloud Service Applies to Alation Cloud Service instances of Alation

Customer Managed Applies to customer-managed instances of Alation

You can configure the use of Compose for your OCF data source on the Compose tab of the Settings page. The following options for Compose are configurable:

On the Compose tab, you can also View the Data Source Driver.

Enable or Disable Export and Download of Query Results

To enable or disable exporting and downloading of Compose query results for your OCF data source:

  1. Enable or disable the Allow Export and Download toggle under the Export and Download section of the Compose tab. This option is enabled by default.

  2. By default, all users with access to the data source have export and download access. To limit it to specific users, clear the Everyone has export and download access checkbox and click the +Add button to designate users and groups who can export and download query results.

  3. Click Save to save the changes.

    Note

    Compose has a global setting that controls the ability to download query results. See Manage Access to Data Export and Download for more details about how settings on the data source level combine with the global setting.

Preserve Query Results

Alation allows you to preserve query results permanently after running a query.

To preserve query results permanently until you choose to delete them, enable the Allow Preserve Query Execution Results toggle in the Preserve Query Execution Results section of the Compose tab. To disallow storing query results, disable the toggle.

Enable Data Source in Compose

By default, a data source is not enabled for use in Compose. To allow Compose for a data source:

  1. Click the Enabled in Compose toggle to activate the use of Compose. This will reveal the Compose Connections information.

  2. Edit the default connection or add a new connection:

    • To edit the default Compose connection, click the pencil icon for the Default Connection row of the Compose Connections table. In the Edit Connection dialog that opens, update the URL field as necessary. Click OK in the dialog to save your changes.

    • To create a new connection for Compose, click +Add to the right of the Compose Connections section title. In the Add Connection dialog that opens, specify a Title (name) for your connection and a URL. Click Add in the dialog to save your changes.

The connections created on this page appear in the Connection Settings dialog in Compose and are visible to users:

  • In Compose, they can be selected to establish a data source connection for querying.

  • In the catalog, they can be selected when running query forms, uploading data, and performing dynamic sampling.

Find more information in Working with Data Source Connections and Set Up Dynamic Sampling.

Note

Users are not required to select an existing connection, as they can create their own connections via the Connection Settings dialog.

Configure Compose Connection Sharing

Select one of the Compose connection sharing options:

  • Shared connections across tabs—This option lets users use the same connection across multiple Compose tabs.

  • Separate connection per tab—Users can use different connections for each Compose tab, which enables them to run multiple queries at the same time.

Enable User Impersonation

The Enable User Impersonation setting is available on the Compose tab if your data source supports it. To connect to the data source with the impersonation account, enable the Enable User Impersonation option. You can execute all Compose queries against the database as queries from one impersonated user.

After enabling user impersonation, specify the username and password for the impersonation account. If applicable, enable the Enable Kerberos Authentication toggle and upload the appropriate keytab.

Configure Data Uploader

Select a Data Uploader option based on the description below:

  • Use Global Setting (true) or Use Global Setting (false)—Use the global setting option.

    Note

    The global setting is configured on the backend of the Alation server in the alation_conf parameter alation.data_uploader.enabled. Users are allowed to upload data to data sources if this flag is set to True; or if the flag is set to False, users are not allowed to upload data into any data source.

  • Enable for this data source—Use this option to enable the data upload for this data source and override the global setting if the global setting is set to False.

  • Disable for this data source—Use this option to disable the data upload for this data source and override the global setting if it is set to True.

Configure Sharing of Query Results

You can configure the sharing of query results by changing the query result sharing permissions under the Share Query Results section of the Compose tab. Select one of the available options:

  • No Sharing Allowed—Select this option to disable the result sharing.

  • Allow Private Sharing Of Compose Results only—Select this option to enable only private sharing of query results and disable public result sharing.

  • Allow Private and Public Sharing Of Compose Results—Select this option to enable private and public result sharing.

View the Data Source Driver

The drivers for OCF data sources are compiled with the OCF connectors. You can view the driver information in the Driver section of the Compose tab.