Open Connector Framework (OCF) Release Notes

Alation Cloud Service Applies to Alation Cloud Service instances of Alation

Customer Managed Applies to customer-managed instances of Alation

November 22, 2023

Databricks on AWS OCF Connector: Version 2.1.4

Compatible Alation version: 2023.1 or higher

Fixed Issues

Query Log Ingestion Fails for AWS OCF Connector

The Query Log Ingestion (QLI) Preview and ingestion fails due to the Log4j library upgrade after successful datasource connection and metadata extraction.

Preview Error:

QLI Preview failed: The connector responded with the following error message: NA_LOCATION_INFO.

QLI Error:

No queries were found to Ingest.

This issue is resolved.

Azure Power BI Scanner OCF Connector: Version 2.1.0

Compatible Alation version: 2023.3.2 or higher

Enhancements

Support for Cross-System Lineage Between PowerBI and Databricks Unity Catalog, Azure SQL, and Azure Synapse

Alation now supports cross-system lineage between PowerBI and the following data sources:

  • Databricks Unity Catalog

  • Azure SQL

  • Azure Synapse

To start using this feature, perform the following:

  1. Upgrade to Alation version 2023.3.2 or later.

  2. Set the following flag to True using alation_conf:

    alation_conf alation.resolution.DEV_bi_connector_returns_db_for_two_part_schema -s True

  3. Install the latest Azure Power BI Scanner OCF Connector.

For details, see Azure Power BI Scanner OCF Connector.

PostgreSQL OCF Connector: Version 1.1.10

Compatible Alation version: 2023.1 or higher

Fixed Issues

Query Log Ingestion Fails If the Custom Query Does Not Include a transactionid Column

From PostgreSQL OCF Connector versions 1.1.9 and 1.1.10 onwards, QLI fails if the Custom QLI Query does not include a transactionid column.

This issue is fixed. Now, in PostgreSQL OCF Connector versions 1.1.9 and 1.1.10 or higher, QLI completes successfully even if the Custom QLI Query does not include a transactionid column. However, Alation recommends that you include the transactionid column in your query to obtain accurate durations for the query.

SAP BW OCF Connector: Version 1.2.0

Compatible Alation version: 2022.4 or higher

Enhancements

Improved Performance and Memory Utilization

Alation has now improved the metadata extraction logic for the SAP BW OCF connector to enhance performance and memory utilization.

This enhancement will address the existing or potential performance issues (longer MDE runs) or MDE failures due to out-of-memory errors in the Connector.

SAP ECC OCF Connector: Version 1.2.0

Compatible Alation version: 2022.4 or higher

Enhancements

Improved Performance and Memory Utilization

Alation has now improved the metadata extraction logic for the SAP ECC OCF connector to enhance performance and memory utilization.

This enhancement will address the existing or potential performance issues (longer MDE runs) or MDE failures due to out-of-memory errors in the Connector.

November 16, 2023

Snowflake OCF Connector Version 2.2.9

Compatible Alation version: 2023.3.2.1 or higher

Enhancements

With Alation version 2023.3.2.1 and Snowflake OCF connector version 2.2.9, Alation has introduced an enhanced user interface for configuring the Snowflake data source settings.

The documentation for the new Snowflake experience is available at Snowflake OCF Connector (New).

The enhanced user interface provides the following features:

Improved User Experience

The enhanced Snowflake Admin user interface provides better navigation and multiple visual cues, making it easy to configure and manage Snowflake data source.

Easy to Connect

The Snowflake Admin user interface now provides a step-by-step process to connect to your Snowflake data source easily and quickly.

Extra Error-Prevention Checks

The Snowflake Admin user interface now includes added checks to avoid obvious configuration mistakes. The user interface also includes text to assist and provide cues while configuring.

Actionable Error Messages and Detailed Error Reports

The Snowflake Admin user interface has made troubleshooting easier for metadata extraction and query log ingestion, as you can now have actionable error messages. We also support a detailed error report for Metadata Extraction, which contains a detailed error description and steps to resolve the issue.

November 8, 2023

SQL Server OCF Connector Version 1.3.7

Compatible Alation version: 2022.2 or higher

Fixed Issues

Connection Test Fails When Using SSL with NTLM Authentication

Fixed an issue when the connection test failed when SSL was enabled with NTLM authentication. The test resulted in the following error:

Caused by: sun.security.validator.ValidatorException: PKIX path building failed:
sun.security.provider.certpath.SunCertPathBuilderException:
unable to find valid certification path to requested target

To use SSL with NTLM, basic, or Kerberos authentication, use the following JDBC URL format:

sqlserver://<Host_Name>:<Port_Number>;encrypt=true;hostNameInCertificate=<certificate_name>;

This JDBC URI includes the following additional SSL related parameters:

  • encrypt=true

  • hostNameInCertificate=<certificate_name>

You can run the command below to verify your certificate name. In the result, check for the value after CN=. That’s the certificate name.

openssl x509 -noout -subject -in <certificate_name>.crt;

Example:

sqlserver://10.13.82.165:1433;encrypt=true;hostNameInCertificate=abc.corp.net;