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How the Alation integration works

Once the Alation integration is configured and active, Prizm runs a CATALOG_SYNC job to synchronize quality data with your Alation catalog. On the push side, quality scores, alerts, issues, and measure results appear on Alation table and column pages — visible to anyone browsing the catalog. On the pull side, Alation domain assignments and tags are imported into Prizm and surface as metadata on asset detail pages. Sync jobs can be monitored and managed from the Prizm integration log. You can kill a running job, restart a completed or failed job, and view per-job logs.

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What appears in Alation after a push

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Asset (table) pages

When Asset push is enabled, the following quality data appears on Alation table catalog pages: Deprecation and Warning flags — visible as flag indicators on the table overview row. A Deprecation flag appears when Prizm has identified open issues with the table. A Warning flag appears when Prizm has identified active alerts. DQLABS custom field section — a rich text custom field named DQLABS appears in the table Overview tab and is populated with the following metrics: Health tab — a dedicated Health tab is added to the Alation asset page and populated with all data quality checks from Prizm. The Health tab shows each quality check as a row with Rule name, Object Name, Status, Value, Description, and Last Updated timestamp. This gives catalog users a comprehensive view of all quality rules evaluated against the table.

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Attribute (column) pages

When Attribute push is enabled, the following quality data appears on Alation column catalog pages: Warning and Deprecation indicators — flag indicators appear on the column overview row to surface active alerts or issues at the column level. DQLABS custom field section — the DQ Score for the column appears in the column’s DQLABS custom field, allowing analysts to see the quality score for individual attributes directly on the column catalog page.

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Domain pages

When Domain push is enabled, Prizm pushes domain-level metrics and semantic context to Alation domain catalog entries. The push mode (Auto, Semantics, Custom) controls how Prizm maps data to Alation domain fields.

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What Prizm pulls from Alation

When PULL is enabled, Prizm imports the following on each sync cycle: Domains — Alation domain assignments are imported into Prizm as domain metadata on the corresponding assets. Tags — Alation tags are imported and applied to the corresponding assets in Prizm. Pulled metadata appears on the Semantics page for each object in Prizm with the source type labeled “Alation”. This context helps data engineers working in Prizm understand the business classification and ownership of an asset without cross-referencing the catalog.

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Metrics pushed per sync event

For every standalone measure evaluation, Prizm pushes the following to Alation:
  • Alert Details — details of any active alerts triggered by the measure
  • Issue Details — details of any open issues linked to the measure
  • Summary Update — updated quality summary reflecting the latest evaluation
  • Standalone Measure — the measure result itself (value, threshold, pass/fail status)

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Job management

Every Alation sync run creates a CATALOG_SYNC job in Prizm. You can view, manage, and diagnose jobs from the integration log page.

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Accessing the job log

Navigate to Organization → Integration, find the Alation entry, and click the log icon to open the job log. You can also navigate directly from the integration list view.

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Job log columns

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Job overview metrics

The top of the log page shows aggregate counts across all jobs:
  • Total Runs — number of times the sync has run
  • Failed Runs — number of runs that ended with one or more failed tasks
  • Pending Runs — number of jobs currently queued or running
  • Completed Runs — number of runs that finished without failures

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Job actions

Kill — stops a currently running job. Use this if a sync job is running longer than expected or consuming excessive resources. Restart — reruns a completed or failed job. Useful after fixing a connectivity issue or updating push configuration.
Killing a running job stops it mid-sync. Assets that were already updated in Alation before the job was killed retain their changes. Assets not yet reached by the job remain at their previous state until the next sync.

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Scheduling

Sync jobs can run on a fixed schedule independent of individual asset or measure evaluation events. Schedule intervals: Minutes, Hours, Days, Weeks, Month When a schedule is configured:
  • Automatic per-asset and per-measure sync triggers are disabled
  • The integration runs a full push of all configured metrics on each schedule interval
  • Scheduled job runs appear in the job log alongside manually triggered runs
Schedule the Alation sync to run shortly after your metric evaluation jobs complete. If metrics evaluate at midnight, setting the Alation sync to run at 1 AM ensures the quality scores pushed to Alation always reflect the most recent results rather than scores from the previous cycle.

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Manual sync

To trigger a sync outside the schedule, navigate to Organization → Integration, find the Alation entry, and use the available sync action. Prizm creates a new CATALOG_SYNC job immediately and adds it to the job log.

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Viewing Alation metadata in Prizm

After a PULL sync, Alation metadata is available on each Prizm asset detail page under the Semantics section. Each pulled item shows:
  • The field name (domain or tag)
  • The value imported from Alation
  • The source type, labeled “Alation”
This gives data engineers working in Prizm direct visibility into the catalog classification and tagging of each asset without needing to open Alation.