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Data Source Management

This section describes ALTR's capabilities for managing data sources. ALTR must be connected to a data source in order to enforce data access governance and advanced data protection on sensitive data.

Data sources are managed on the Configuration → Data Sources page in ALTR. This page enables users to do the following:

  • Identify all data sources connected to their ALTR account.

  • Confirm the status of data sources connected to ALTR.

  • Connect new data sources to ALTR.

  • Disconnect existing data sources from ALTR.

  • Update already-connected data sources in ALTR.

  • Trigger Sensitive Data Discovery through Data Classification.

  • Import historical data usage for Data Access Observability.

When a data source is connected to ALTR, ALTR is able to perform access control and enforce advanced data protection against sensitive data. For more detail on how this manifests for particular data sources, see ALTR's Integration Documentation.

Connecting Data Sources

Caution

In order to connect a data source to ALTR, you must have access to a service user that has the appropriate privileges to access the database and enforce security policies. ALTR strongly recommends updating the service user's privileges before connecting a new data source, even if you think the privileges are already properly configured.

Data sources can be connected on the Data Source page in ALTR, Data Configuration → Data Sources.To connect a new data source:

  1. Click the Add New button.

  2. If your ALTR account was created from Snowflake Partner Connect, select the Snowflake account and database you wish to connect.

  3. If your ALTR account was not created from Snowflake Partner Connect, or you wish to manually configure the connection, enter the following information:

    1. Snowflake Hostname. This can be found in the bottom left-hand corner of the Snowsight UI.

    2. Database Name. If you created this database using a case-sensitive name, be sure to encase it in double quotation marks.

    3. Snowflake Service User Username.

    4. Snowflake Service User Password.

    5. (Optional) Set advanced settings for this data source. ALTR does not recommend users change any of these settings without consulting ALTR Support.

      1. Snowflake Role. If present, ALTR will attempt to use this role when connecting to Snowflake. If this value is not supplied, ALTR will use the Service User's default role.

      2. Snowflake Warehouse. If present, ALTR will attempt to use this warehouse when connecting to Snowflake. If this value is not supplied, ALTR will use the Service User's default warehouse.

      3. Port ID. The default is 443.

      4. Maximum Number of Connections. The default is 5.

  4. (Optional) Indicate if you would like to import historical access history information.

  5. (Optional) Indicate if you would like to classify the data in the database.

  6. Click Connect Data Source.

Removing Data Sources

Remove a Snowflake data source from ALTR if your service user is having problems or some other issue has occurred with the data source.

Note

If there are columns connected to your data source, you must disconnect the columns before you can remove the data source. Refer to Disconnecting Columns for more information.

To remove a data source:

  1. Select Data Configuration → Data Sources in the Navigation menu.

  2. Select the data source you wish to disconnect.

  3. Click the Remove Data Source button. The process to remove a data source can take up to several minutes to complete.

Force Remove Data Source

Warning

Before force removing a data source, consult ALTR Support.

Force removing data sources clears the integration memory from your data source connection. Be aware that if you choose to do this, artifacts, such as the masking policy and schema objects, might still be left in Snowflake.

Force remove a data source if you are unable to remove a data source as expected. This action ignores any errors encountered during the removal process. Use great caution with this feature because it cannot be undone.

To force remove a data source:

  1. Ensure all columns have been disconnected from ALTR. Refer to Disconnecting Columns for more information.

  2. Ensure there are no active row policies on the data source. Refer to Row Access Policies for more information.

  3. Select Data Configuration → Data Management in the Navigation menu.

  4. Select the data source you wish to remove.

  5. Click the Remove Data Source button.

  6. Click the Trouble removing? link; the Remove Data Source modal displays.

  7. Click the Trouble Removing Data Source button; the Force Remove Data Source modal displays.

  8. Click the Yes, Force Remove Data Source button.

  9. Review your source system and clear out any remnants, which could limit storage or pose security risks from ongoing API call requests.

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