Alation
Data catalog platform for data discovery, governance, and lineage
Apache Atlas
Unified metadata governance for Hadoop and enterprise data ecosystems
Apache Atlas offers a framework for data governance, lineage, and security across Hadoop and other platforms, integrating with Ranger for access control.
Overview
Overview
Apache Atlas provides a comprehensive set of governance services that give enterprises visibility into their Hadoop environment and beyond. It captures technical and operational metadata, enriches lineage with business taxonomies, and stores everything in a common metadata repository that can be consumed by any downstream tool.
Capabilities & Deployment
The platform integrates tightly with Apache Ranger to enforce role‑based and attribute‑based access controls at runtime. A rich collection of extensible hooks (Hive, HBase, Kafka, Impala, etc.) lets you capture metadata from a wide range of data systems. Atlas can be built with Maven or run instantly via the provided Docker images, making it suitable for both on‑premises clusters and containerized deployments.
Who Benefits
Data engineers, compliance officers, and security teams gain a single source of truth for data assets, enabling audit‑ready lineage reports, impact analysis, and fine‑grained security policies across the enterprise data ecosystem.
Highlights
Centralized metadata store with shared access
Automated lineage tracking enriched by business taxonomies
Integrated security via Apache Ranger (RBAC & ABAC)
Extensible hooks for Hive, HBase, Kafka, Impala, and more
Pros
- Strong governance across Hadoop and related platforms
- Rich lineage and taxonomy capabilities
- Fine‑grained security integrated with Ranger
- Pluggable architecture for custom data sources
Considerations
- Primarily focused on Hadoop ecosystems
- Requires Java/Maven expertise for building from source
- Initial configuration can be complex
- User interface may feel dated compared to newer catalogs
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Fit guide
Great for
- Large enterprises with extensive Hadoop deployments
- Teams needing compliance reporting and audit trails
- Organizations requiring a unified metadata layer across multiple systems
- Security‑focused groups leveraging Ranger policies
Not ideal when
- Small teams without Hadoop infrastructure
- Projects that need a lightweight, quick‑setup catalog
- Non‑Java environments lacking Maven tooling
- Companies preferring fully managed SaaS data catalog solutions
How teams use it
Regulatory compliance reporting
Generate audit‑ready lineage reports to demonstrate data handling compliance.
Data impact analysis for schema changes
Visualize downstream dependencies to assess risk before altering tables.
Cross‑system data discovery
Search unified metadata to locate assets across Hive, Kafka, and HBase.
Fine‑grained access enforcement
Apply Ranger policies to restrict data access at row and column levels.
Tech snapshot
Java57%
JavaScript28%
TypeScript7%
HTML3%
Python2%
SCSS2%
Frequently asked questions
How do I install Apache Atlas?
You can build it with Maven using `mvn clean install` and `mvn clean package -Pdist`, or run the pre‑built Docker image from the `dev-support/atlas-docker` directory.
Which programming languages are supported?
The core platform is written in Java, but it provides REST APIs and client libraries for Java, Python, and JavaScript.
How does Atlas enforce security?
Security is enforced through Apache Ranger, supporting both role‑based (RBAC) and attribute‑based (ABAC) access controls.
Can I run Atlas in a container?
Yes, Docker build instructions are included, allowing you to start Atlas with a single container command.
How can I contribute to the project?
Contributions are accepted via GitHub pull requests or through Review Board; create a corresponding JIRA ticket and reference it in your PR.
Project at a glance
Active- Stars
- 2,058
- Watchers
- 2,058
- Forks
- 901
LicenseApache-2.0
Repo age8 years old
Last commit2 days ago
Primary languageJava
Last synced 3 hours ago