Running lineage reports

You can run lineage reports that combine information from job designs, operational metadata, and user-defined relationships between assets. You can also include dependencies that are not related to data flow, such as job sequencing, for impact analysis. You can see the flow of data through specific child assets, for example, the flow of data through selected database columns of a database table. You can hide assets, or assets and their flows, from the report. You can refine the lineage report by using lineage filters and lineage report templates.

Before you begin

You must have any Information Governance Catalog security role except the Information Governance Catalog Glossary Basic User role.

You can display extension mapping documents only once in the lineage report or multiple times. A mapping document can describe the data flow of a single ETL process or script, or it can describe the data flow of multiple ETL processes or scripts. You can choose to repeat the extension mapping documents in lineage reports for each ETL step to improve the report structure. Configure the display setting in Administration > Lineage Management > Lineage Administration > Lineage Configuration.

About this task

Data lineage reports can show the flow of information both to and from a selected asset, or the flow of data in one direction only. By default, the reports include design, operational, and user-defined relationships between assets. Dependencies between assets that are not related to data flow can be added for impact analysis.

In both data lineage and business lineage reports, you can apply a lineage filter to hide assets, or to hide assets and their flows, from the display.

If you applied a lineage report template to design the lineage report, Hover Help in the lineage report also displays the asset properties that you defined in your template.

The default maximum number of nodes that are displayed in a lineage report is 500. If more than this number of nodes is present in your lineage report, the report is truncated. A Stop icon Truncated branch next to a node name indicates that the node is in a truncated branch of the report. A right arrow indicates that lineage from the node and onward is truncated. A left arrow indicates that lineage up to the node is truncated. To change the default number of nodes that are displayed, see this technote.

You cannot run a lineage report from a stage or a stage column that is in a shared container.

How you configure the display of extension mapping documents can improve the readability of your lineage report. See the following two lineage reports. The lineage report on the left side is produced when the extension mapping document is not repeated for each ETL step. All ETL steps go to a single extension mapping document. The lineage report on the right side is produced when each ETL step goes to a separate extension mapping document.
Tip: To see the side-by-side comparison of the two lineage reports, expand the window to full-screen width.
The lineage report on the left side is produced when the extension mapping document is not repeated for each ETL step. All ETL steps go to a single extension mapping document. The lineage report on the right side is produced when each ETL step goes to a separate extension mapping document. The lineage report on the left side is produced when the extension mapping document is not repeated for each ETL step. All ETL steps go to a single extension mapping document. The lineage report on the right side is produced when each ETL step goes to a separate extension mapping document.

Procedure

  1. In the Browse window of the asset type, hover the mouse pointer over the name of an asset. Click the Open Data Lineage Viewer icon Data lineage viewer or the Business Lineage Viewer icon Business lineage viewer. Alternatively, in the Details page of the asset, click the icon in the upper-right corner of the window.
  2. In the Lineage Properties window, do any of these steps.
    1. Optional: Select a filter to further refine the information that is displayed in the lineage report.
    2. Optional: Select a lineage report template.
    3. Optional: Select the direction of data flow to display in the graphic, and then select which types of analysis relationships to display in the report.
    4. Click Run Lineage.
  3. Optional: In an asset node, click the Select [Column | Field | Member | Parameter] link, if available, to trace data lineage through specific child assets.
  4. Optional: In a job node, click the Expand link to see the flow of data between the stages that are contained in that job.

    You cannot select columns in a stage asset. When you hover the cursor over a link in the expanded job, the link name and those stage columns that are involved in the data flow are displayed.

  5. Optional: To display the rest of the truncated lineage, click the Arrow icons in the corner of the node.
    The truncated branch of the lineage is expanded and displayed in a new window.
  6. Click the Save icon Save the report to a PDF file or a CSV file.
    You can save the lineage report to a file in a PDF format. Alternatively, you can save the lineage results to a file in a comma-separated value (CSV) format.