How do we enable unity catalog for our workspace?

[gauravrana]

How to enable unity catalog

[Rishabh-Pandey]

Enabling Unity Catalog in your Databricks workspace allows you to manage and secure your data effectively across all data and analytics workloads. Unity Catalog provides fine-grained governance for data and AI in Databricks.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to enable Unity Catalog for your Databricks workspace:

Steps to Enable Unity Catalog

1. Prerequisites

Before enabling Unity Catalog, ensure that you have the following:

• Databricks Premium or Enterprise Plan: Unity Catalog is only available on Premium or Enterprise tiers.
• Admin Access: You need to have administrative privileges in both Databricks and your cloud provider’s account.
• Cloud Provider Setup:
  • AWS: Ensure that your account has the necessary IAM roles and policies.
  • Azure: Ensure that you have the necessary permissions to set up and manage Azure resources.
  • GCP: Ensure that you have the necessary IAM roles in GCP.

2. Configure Cloud Storage and Network

Unity Catalog uses cloud storage to manage your data. You will need to configure storage accounts and policies in your cloud environment.

• AWS: Set up S3 buckets and IAM roles with policies that allow Unity Catalog to access your data.
• Azure: Configure Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 (ADLS Gen2) and ensure you have permissions set for Unity Catalog access.
• GCP: Set up Google Cloud Storage (GCS) and appropriate IAM roles and permissions for Unity Catalog.

3. Set Up Unity Catalog in Databricks

1. Access the Databricks Admin Console:

   • Navigate to your Databricks workspace.
   • Click on your user icon in the top right corner and select Admin Console.

2. Navigate to Unity Catalog Settings:

   • In the Admin Console, go to the Unity Catalog section.

3. Create and Configure a Metastore:

   • Click on Create Metastore.
   • Follow the prompts to configure the metastore. This typically involves specifying your cloud storage configuration and IAM roles.

4. Assign the Metastore to Workspaces:

   • Once the metastore is created, assign it to the workspaces that will use Unity Catalog. This is done within the Unity Catalog settings by selecting the workspace and linking it to the metastore.

5. Set Up Permissions and Access Control:

   • Define roles and permissions within Unity Catalog to manage access to data and resources. This includes setting up data owners, data stewards, and configuring fine-grained access controls.

4. Register Data Sources and Manage Data

1. Register Data Sources:

   • Register the data sources that you want to manage under Unity Catalog. This can include databases, tables, and other data assets from your cloud storage.

2. Define and Organize Schemas:

   • Use Unity Catalog to define schemas and organize your data into catalogs and databases for better management and governance.

3. Set Up Data Lineage and Governance:

   • Configure data lineage to track the flow of data across your environment.
   • Apply governance policies to enforce compliance and security.

5. Verify the Setup

1. Test Access and Permissions:

   • Verify that users and roles have the appropriate access to data as configured in Unity Catalog.
   • Ensure that data access, lineage, and governance policies are correctly enforced.

2. Monitor and Manage:

   • Use the Unity Catalog UI and API to monitor data access and manage your data assets efficiently.