Alation Instance Health Checks

What this pack contains

Fifteen tests that call the Alation API and tell you whether an Alation instance is working and well governed. They run on a data source built from the Alation Data Source Template. Twelve are standard tests. Three are template tests that create one child test for every Alation data source or domain in the data source's catalog, so a new data source in Alation gets its own checks after the next metadata ingestion.

Every test works the same way. It counts the issues it finds, returns that count, and passes at zero. A failing test prints the list of issues in its result and, where the runtime supports it, attaches the list as a CSV file, so you see the stale data source, the empty domain or the suspended steward rather than only a number. Thresholds sit in a PARAMETERS block at the top of each script.

The standard tests are linked to the Alation object type they judge, in the data source's Ingestion Summary schema. The template tests are linked to each data source or domain table. The Validatar catalog for the Alation data source therefore shows coverage and trust by object type and by object.

A check that needs a role the integration's Alation identity does not have shows as Error, with the role it needs, rather than passing. A check for a feature the instance does not have, such as Agents on customer-managed Alation or a Policy Center that is turned off, passes with a note.

Where to get it

Marketplace: Alation Instance Health Checks

Prerequisites

• An Alation data source created from the Alation Data Source Template, with Ingest Technical Metadata run at least once. The template tests select their objects from its Data Source and Domain schemas.
• An Alation identity with Catalog Admin. The Agents and active-steward tests need Server Admin.
• To try the pack without Alation, turn on Demo Mode on the data source. The built-in sample instance makes about four results in ten fail on purpose, so you can see what a failing result looks like.

Import

1. Open Marketplace in Validatar, find Alation Instance Health Checks and choose Import.
2. Choose the target project when prompted. The pack is project content, so Validatar asks which project to put it in.
3. Map the pack's data source Alation to your Alation data source.
4. Review the changes and import. The tests land in the folder Alation Instance Health Checks.
5. Open each of the three template tests and generate their child tests, so they pick up the data sources and domains in your catalog.
6. Run the folder, or add it to a job. Daily is a sensible schedule.

To import from a file instead, download the pack from the marketplace listing and import it on the project's Import page.

Adjusting a test

Each script starts with its thresholds. For example, the extraction check:

# Alation Instance Health Check: Metadata extraction healthy
# Runs once per Alation data source (child of a template test).
# PARAMETERS --------------------------------------------------------
MAX_AGE_DAYS = 7           # oldest acceptable extraction
REQUIRE_SCHEDULE = True    # fail when automatic extraction is off
# -------------------------------------------------------------------
dataframe = health_frame(
    alation_check_extraction(alation_client(), r"""{{table.name}}""",
                             max_age_days=MAX_AGE_DAYS, require_schedule=REQUIRE_SCHEDULE),
    "metadata_extraction")

Change a value and save. The checking logic lives in the Alation template, so a newer template version improves every test without re-importing the pack.

What the demo instance shows

With Demo Mode on, the sample instance is a fictional company with these deliberate problems:

Everything else passes. With the template tests' child tests (one per data source or domain) a demo run gives 26 results: 16 pass and 10 fail by design. The sample's five data sources include Snowflake SAMPLE_DW, which passes every check and is the one the Alation Metadata and Lineage Scripts use in their own demo.

Troubleshooting

Related

• Alation Data Source Template
• Alation Integration
• Alation Metadata and Lineage Scripts
• Quality Dimensions

Note: These tests are built from Alation's published API specifications and have been run in Validatar against the built-in sample Alation instance. They have not yet been run against a live Alation environment, so thresholds and some checks may change after that validation.