Overview
The Alation - Project Custom Fields set adds an Alation Publishing section to every Validatar test. Test owners use it to choose which tests the Alation Data Source Template publishes to Alation Data Health, how each one is named there, what a failure shows as, and which Alation object the result lands on.
Marketplace: Alation - Project Custom Fields
These are project custom fields, so they appear on tests in every project. The fields that hold Alation metadata in the Validatar catalog are a separate set, Alation Catalog Custom Fields. Both are part of the Alation Integration.
Import this set before you publish tests to Alation. The publish test also writes to two of these fields, and those writes fail when the fields do not exist.
Fields
All six fields sit in one section, Alation Publishing, on the Test object type.
| Field | Reference key | Type | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Publish to Alation | alation_publish |
Dropdown: Yes, No | Opts the test in or out |
| Alation Rule Name | alation_rule_name |
Short text | The rule name Data Health shows for the test. Blank uses Validatar: followed by the test's name |
| Alation Rule Key | alation_rule_key |
Short text | An optional stable key for the rule. Blank uses the Rule Key Prefix, then .test. and the test's id, for example validatar.test.1993 |
| Alation Failure Status | alation_failure_status |
Dropdown: Alert, Warning | What a failure shows as. Blank means Alert |
| Alation Object Key | alation_object_key |
Short text | The Alation object the result lands on. The publish test fills it with the table's key; set a column's key to show a column-level test on that column |
| Alation Object Type | alation_object_type |
Dropdown: Table, Column | Whether Alation Object Key names a table or a column. Blank means Table |
How publishing uses the fields
Individual test results are published only when the Alation data source's Publish Scope is Trust + Dimensions + Tests. At the narrower scopes these fields change nothing.
Publish Tests on the Alation data source decides what a blank Publish to Alation means:
- Opted-in tests publishes only tests set to Yes.
- All tests publishes every test on a matched table unless it is set to No.
A passing test shows as Good. A test that errors shows as Warning whatever Alation Failure Status says, because an error means the test could not run, not that the data failed.
The publish test fills Alation Object Key and sets Alation Object Type to Table the first time it publishes a test with Dry Run off. It never replaces a key that is already there, so a column you set by hand stays. The Push Test Result to Alation test action reads these fields to find where the result goes.
Set Alation Rule Key when a test may be rebuilt under a new id and should keep its rule in Alation. Data Health identifies a rule by its key, so a changed key starts a new rule, and Validatar does not remove the old one.
Import the fields
You need the Global Custom Metadata Admin role, or Global Admin.
From the marketplace (recommended)
- In Validatar, open Marketplace and find Alation - Project Custom Fields.
- Choose Get, then Import Directly. Validatar opens Settings > Project Custom Fields with an Import Custom Fields panel on the right.
- In the list of object types on the left, open Test. Import All adds the panel's sections to the object type that is open, so make sure it is Test.
- Choose Import All, then Save.
- Check that the Test page now has an Alation Publishing section with the six fields above.
From the downloaded file
- Choose Get, then Download XML.
- In Settings > Project Custom Fields, open Test, choose Import, select the file and choose Next.
- Choose Import All, then Save.
Note: Choose Import All once. A second Import All adds the section again, and the page will not save until you remove the copy.
If you created these fields by hand before this set existed, keep yours: the template finds the fields by reference key, so a hand-made set with the same keys works the same way.
Related
Note: The field set has been imported from the marketplace into a Validatar instance, and the template's Validatar client has written and read all six fields on a test there. In a run inside Validatar, the publish step filled Alation Object Key and Alation Object Type on the opted-in tests, and the test action used them to publish each result. It has not yet been used against a live Alation environment, so expect small adjustments after your first live run.