Manage Monitors

Alation Cloud Service Applies to Alation Cloud Service instances of Alation

As a Server Admin or Data Steward, you can create, run, edit, view, delete, or configure settings for any monitor. With other user roles, you would be able to view and analyze the monitors.

Prerequisites

Before using the Alation Data Quality monitoring, ensure you have:

• Platform Requirements: Active Alation Cloud Service instance.

• Network Access: Outbound connectivity to AWS services (if using AI recommendations)

• Valid Licensing: Active Alation Data Quality license.

• Data Sources: Configured data sources with appropriate connectors and service accounts. Alation Data Quality monitors use the service account and default credentials already configured on the data source’s settings page.

• Database Permissions: For a monitor to run successfully, the correct database permissions must be in place. The service account that is configured on the data source’s settings page must have SELECT privileges on every table included in the monitor.

  Note

  The default service account used for metadata extraction, query log ingestion, and column profiling does not automatically have SELECT grants on all objects. You must work with your Data Source Admin or Database Administrator (DBA) to verify and grant these permissions before running a monitor to avoid failures.

  If permissions are insufficient, the monitor will fail and return an error message that specifies which objects were inaccessible. If you need to request SELECT permissions and are unsure who to contact, try the following:

  1. Check for Stewards: Navigate to the data source’s catalog page and check the Stewards field. Stewards can typically direct you to the correct Data Source Admin or DBA.

  2. Find the Data Source Admin (for Server Admins): If you are an Alation Server Admin, you can navigate to the data source page, click More actions (the three dots icon on the top right) > Settings, and open the Access tab to view a list of Data Source Admins.

  3. Find a Server Admin: Click the Help (?) icon in the top-right corner and select About this instance. The Server Admins are listed here and can help you locate the appropriate contacts.

• Query Log Ingestion: Confirm QLI has been configured properly for your data sources. This step is optional but is recommended to ensure that there are no random tables listed in Alation Data Quality (with no popularity data).

Add a Monitor

Alation Data Quality features a streamlined experience accessible on catalog table pages or the Data Quality application.

To add a new monitor:

1. Navigate to the Alation Data Quality application or catalog table page and click Add Monitor.

2. In the Scan Assets section, do one of the following:

   1. Select the source type: Data source or BI report.

      1. Select the listed data source or BI reports.

      2. Click Scan My Assets.

   2. In the Manual Selection section, select a data source or a BI report manually.

      1. Click Filters to search for the data source or schemas.

      2. Narrow your search using Other Filters.

      3. Select the Object Type: Tables or BI Reports.

      4. Select one of the Trust Flags: No Trust Flags, Contains Endorsement, Contains Deprecation, or Contains Warning.

      5. Click Apply.

3. Select the data asset(s) and click Continue.

4. Review the selected data assets.

5. In the Select Checks section, click Add Table Check to apply checks on the entire table.

6. (Optional) In the Select Checks section, expand each table attribute and click Add Check.

7. Select Category, Metric, and Operator from the dropdown list and add a threshold value. For more information, see Manage Checks.

8. After applying checks, click Continue.

9. In the Summary section, review the summary of the data assets on which you have applied the checks and initiate a test run to validate functionality before full deployment.

   1. To run a test evaluation and see how the checks will perform, click Run Preview.

   2. To review the generated SQL query for each check with estimated runtime, click the Preview Results tab.

   3. To modify the checks after reviewing the test results, click Back.

10. Click Continue if the results are satisfactory.

11. In the Configure section, do the following:

    1. Enter a name and describe the monitor.

    2. Set the frequency of the check to run either Daily or Weekly, or (Hourly if you have the Enterprise+ tier license)

    3. Select the means for notifications: None, Slack, or Email.

    4. Set the priority level for the check rule: Critical, High, Medium, or Low.

    For more information, see Configure Data Quality Alerts.

12. Click Create Monitor to complete adding the monitor workflow.

Run a Monitor

After you create a monitor with assets and relevant checks, you need to run the monitor to generate the data quality score. This process applies the checks configured on tables or columns in a data source or a BI report.

1. Navigate to the Alation Data Quality application and click the Monitors tab.

2. Search for the monitor you need to run.

3. Click on the monitor name to open the Monitors page.

4. Perform one of the following steps:

   1. To immediately run the monitor, click Run Now on the top-right corner of the page.

   2. To schedule the monitor run, click the Settings tab.

      1. In the Schedule section, set the schedule to run the monitor either Daily or Weekly, or (Hourly if you have the Enterprise+ tier license)

         • For daily monitoring, set the time for running the monitor.

         • For weekly monitoring, set the day and time for running the monitor.

      2. Click Save.

Configure Data Quality Alerts

This section covers configuration details on email, Microsoft Teams, and Slack notifications to receive alerts for a Data Quality monitor run. To configure notifications for Teams or Slack, a Workspace/Team administrator must first install the corresponding Alation application.

Configure Microsoft Teams to Receive Data Quality Notifications

You can configure Alation Data Quality monitors to send notifications directly to a channel in Microsoft Teams starting with the 2025.3 release.

Before you can configure notifications in Alation, a Microsoft Teams Owner who also has an Alation account must perform a one-time setup for each Team that will receive notifications. This process authorizes Alation to send messages to the channels within that team.

1. Install the Alation Anywhere for Microsoft Teams application from the Teams app store if it’s not already installed.

2. Log in to the Alation account as a Team Owner through the Alation Teams application.

3. Add the Alation application to the specific Team:

   1. In Teams, find your Team, click the three-dots menu (…), and select Manage team.

   2. Go to the Apps tab and click Get more apps.

   3. Search for and select the Alation app.

   4. Click Open. In the dialog that appears, select any channel within the Team and click Go.

4. You’ll see a welcome message confirming that the app has been added to the entire Team, making all its channels eligible to receive Alation Data Quality notifications.

5. Proceed with configuring notifications in Alation.

Configure Slack to Receive Data Quality Notifications

You can configure Alation Data Quality monitors to send notifications to a Slack channel by installing the Alation Slack application in your workspace.

Before setting up notifications in Alation, a Slack Workspace Administrator must install and configure the Alation app for your Slack workspace. This one-time setup links your Slack workspace to your Alation instance.

Note

The following steps are a high-level guide. You must follow the standard procedure for installing a third-party Slack application.

1. Install the Alation Anywhere for Slack application if it’s not already installed.

2. You will be redirected to a Slack page to confirm permissions for the app. Approve the permissions to proceed.

3. After granting permissions, you will be redirected to a screen asking for your Alation domain.

4. Enter your Alation instance domain (e.g., mycompany.alationcatalog.com) to complete the link between Slack and Alation.

5. Proceed with configuring notifications in Alation.

Configure Notifications in Alation

1. Navigate to the Alation Data Quality application and click the Monitors tab.

2. Search for the monitor you need to set the notifications for.

3. Click on the monitor name to open the Monitors page.

4. Click the Settings tab.

5. In the Notifications section, choose one of the following:

   1. Select Teams if you wish to receive notifications through Microsoft Teams.

      1. Select the Team where you want to send notifications. This list only shows Teams that have had the Alation app successfully added.

      2. A Channel dropdown will appear. Select the specific channel within the Team to receive the notifications.

      3. Click Save. The monitor summary page will now display the configured Teams channel under Notifications.

   2. Select Slack if you wish to receive notifications on a Slack messenger.

      1. Select the Slack channel to send notifications.

      2. A Channel dropdown will appear, listing the available public channels in your connected Slack workspace.

      3. Select the specific channel to receive the notifications.

      4. Click Save. The monitor summary page will now display the configured Slack channel under Notifications.

   3. Select Email if you wish to receive notifications through email.

      1. Select the email recipients to send notifications.

      2. Click Save.

View Run History

The Run History view provides an audit trail of monitor executions and gives insight into the health of monitored data and the effectiveness of applied quality checks. It allows users to track how checks are performing over time and troubleshoot failing results. Each monitor has its own run history accessible.

Use Run History for the following information:

• Review failed or errored checks daily for critical monitors.

• Track patterns over time to identify recurring data quality issues.

• Use View Details to validate the check logic and determine necessary remediations.

• Export or screenshot job results if needed for audits or data pipeline teams.

To view Run History, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to the Alation Data Quality application and click Monitors.

2. Click on a monitor name to select it.

3. In the Monitor page, select the Run History tab.

This view displays the following summary table of each time the monitor ran, either manually or via schedule:

Field	Description
Run Time	The timestamp when the monitor started execution
Status	Overall result of the run (e.g., “Checks Failed”)
Duration	Approximate time taken to complete the monitor run
Failed/Errored	Count of checks that failed or errored out of total active checks
Triggered By	How the monitor was run: “Manual” or by “Schedule”
Message	Execution summary, usually confirming success or error
View Details	Opens a full result breakdown for each check executed during that run

View Execution Details

Use View Details beside any row in the Run History tab to inspect results at the check level.

Field	Description
Job ID / Timestamp	Unique ID and execution window for the job run
Job Message	System confirmation that the job executed successfully
Object Name	The name of the monitored table or column
Check Category	The quality dimension assessed (e.g., Completeness, Validity, Uniqueness)
Check Definition	The exact condition being evaluated
Status	Result: Pass or Fail
Observed Value	Actual result measured during check execution
Status Message	Explanation for why the check passed or failed

Update a Monitor

Monitor maintenance and modifications are accessible through the Checks tab on the monitor-specific page. This centralized interface provides comprehensive control over all aspects of check configuration and asset management.

You can update a monitor from the Monitors tab when you need to edit it to add or delete more columns, tables, or check. This is also useful when you feel the need to edit the frequency of the monitor run or edit the priority level for a check.

1. Navigate to the Alation Data Quality application and click the Monitors tab.

2. Search for the monitor you need to update.

3. Click on the monitor name to open the Monitors page.

4. To edit checks, click the Checks tab.

   1. Click on the pencil icon to edit checks on the columns.

   2. (Optional) Select and expand the table, click Add Table Check to add more table checks.

   2. Select and expand the columns, click Add Check to add more checks.

   3. (Optional) Click Remove Column if you no longer need the column.

5. To edit settings, click the Settings tab.

   1. Edit the fields that you need to update on Name, Schedule, Notifications, or Priority.

6. Click Save to confirm the changes.

Delete a Monitor

You can delete a monitor when you don’t need to monitor a particular table from the data source or BI report.

1. Navigate to the Alation Data Quality application and click the Monitors tab.

2. Search for the monitor you need to delete.

3. Click on the monitor name to open the Monitors page.

4. Click the Settings tab.

5. In the top-right corner of the Settings tab, click Delete Monitor.