Cassandra

This article describes the integration with the Cassandra connector, enabling streamlined metadata management through crawling, Profiling, data preview, and manual lineage building, while ensuring secure authentication via Credential Manager.

Overview

Connector Details

Connector Category	NoSQL
Connector Version	Release6.3.4
Connectivity [How the connection is established with Cassandra]	REST APIs

Connector Features

Feature	Availability
Crawling	✅
Delta Crawling	❌
Profiling	✅
Query Sheet	✅
Data Preview	✅
Auto Lineage	❌
Manual Lineage	✅
Secure Authentication via Credential Manager	✅
Data Quality	❌
DAM (Data Access Management)	❌
Bridge	✅

Metadata Mapping

The following objects are crawled from the Cassandra and mapped to the corresponding UI assets.

Cassandra Object	Cassandra Attribute	OvalEdge Attribute	OvalEdge Category	OvalEdge Type
Table	Table Name	Table	Tables	Table
Table	Table Type	Type	Tables	Table
Table	Table Comments	Source Description	Descriptions	Source Description
Columns	Column Name	Column	Table Columns	Columns
Columns	Data Type	Column Type	Table Columns	Columns
Columns	Description	Source Description	Table Columns	Columns
Columns	Ordinal Position	Column Position	Table Columns	Columns
Columns	Length	Data Type Size	Table Columns	Columns

Set up a Connection

Prerequisites

The prerequisites to establish a connection:

Whitelisting Ports

Whitelist the inbound port to allow OvalEdge to connect to the Cassandra Server database.

When any port is configured, specify the port number during connection setup, whitelist the port, and establish proper communication between the system and the Cassandra Server.

Service Account User Permissions

Use a dedicated service account to establish the connection to the data source, configured with the following minimum set of permissions.

👨‍💻 Who can provide these permissions? The Cassandra administrator grants these permissions, as standard accounts may not have the required access to assign them independently.

Objects	System Tables	Access Permission
Schema (Keyspace)	system_schema.keyspaces	Select on System schema
Tables	system_schema.tables	Select on System schema
Table Columns	system_schema.columns	Select on System schema
Table Comments/ Description	system_schema.tables (comment field)	Select on System schema

Connection Configuration Steps

Users must have the Connector Creator role to configure a new connection.

1. Log in to OvalEdge, go to Administration > Connectors, click + (New Connector), search for Cassandra, and complete the required parameters.

Fields marked with an asterisk (*) are mandatory for establishing a connection.

Field Name	Description
Connector Type	By default, "Cassandra" is displayed as the selected connector type.
Credential Manager*	Select the desired credentials manager from the drop-down list. Relevant parameters will be displayed based on the selection. Supported Credential Managers: Database HashiCorp AWS Secrets Manager Azure Key Vault
Connector Name*	Enter a unique name for the Cassandra connection (Example: "Cassandra_Prod").
Connector Environment	Select the environment (Example: PROD, STG) configured for the connector.
Connector Description	Enter the description related to the connector.
Server*	Enter the IP address of the server where Cassandra is hosted.
Port*	Cassandra uses no port by default. Enter the required port number.
Key Space*	Enter the default keyspace name to establish the initial connection context for the Cassandra database.
Username*	Enter the Username for the Cassandra server.
Password*	Enter the Password associated with the Cassandra Username.
Proxy Enabled*	Enter True to enable proxy usage, or False to connect directly without a proxy.
Plugin Server	Enter the server name when running as a plugin server.
Plugin Port	Enter the port number on which the plugin is running.

Default Governance Roles

Default Governance Roles*	Select the appropriate users or teams for each governance role from the drop-down list. All users and teams configured in OvalEdge Security are displayed for selection.

Admin Roles

Admin Roles*	Select one or more users from the dropdown list for Integration Admin and Security & Governance Admin. All users configured in OvalEdge Security are available for selection.

No of Archive Objects

No Of Archive Objects*	This shows the number of recent metadata changes to a dataset at the source. By default, it is off. To enable it, toggle the Archive button and specify the number of objects to archive. Example: Setting it to 4 retrieves the last four changes, displayed in the 'Version' column of the 'Metadata Changes' module.

Bridge

Select Bridge*	If applicable, select the bridge from the drop-down list. The drop-down list displays all active bridges configured in OvalEdge. These bridges enable communication between data sources and OvalEdge without altering firewall rules.

1. After entering all connection details, the following actions can be performed:

   • Click Validate to verify the connection.

   • Click Save to store the connection for future use.

   • Click Save & Configure to apply additional settings before saving.

2. The saved connection will appear on the Connectors home page.

Manage Connector Operations

Crawl/Profile

To perform crawl and profile operations, users must be assigned the Integration Admin role.

The Crawl/Profile button allows users to select one or more schemas for crawling and profiling.

1. Navigate to the Connectors page and click Crawl/Profile.

2. Select the schemas to crawl.

3. The Crawl option is selected by default. Click the Crawl & Profile radio button to enable both operations.

4. Click Run to collect metadata from the connected source and load it into the Data Catalog.

5. After a successful crawl, the information appears in the Data Catalog > Databases tab.

The Schedule checkbox allows automated crawling and profiling at defined intervals, from a minute to a year.

1. Click the Schedule checkbox to enable the Select Period drop-down.

2. Select a time period for the operation from the drop-down menu.

3. Click Schedule to initiate metadata collection from the connected source.

4. The system will automatically execute the selected operation (Crawl or Crawl & Profile) at the scheduled time.

Other Operations

The Connectors page in OvalEdge provides a centralized view of all configured connectors, including their health status.

Managing connectors includes:

• Connectors Health: Displays the current status of each connector, with a green icon for active connections and a red icon for inactive connections, helping monitor connectivity to data sources.

• Viewing: Click the Eye icon next to the connector name to view connector details, including Tables, Views, and Columns.

Nine Dots Menu Options:

To view, edit, validate, configure, or delete connectors, click on the Nine Dots menu.

• Edit Connector: Update and revalidate the data source.

• Validate Connector: Check the integrity of the connection.

• Settings: Modify connector settings.

  • Crawler: Configure data extraction.

  • Profiler: Customize data profiling rules and methods.

  • Query Policies: Define query execution rules based on roles.

  • Access Instructions: Add notes on how data can be accessed.

  • Business Glossary Settings: Manage term associations at the connector level.

  • Connection Pooling: Allows configuring parameters such as maximum pool size, idle time, and timeouts directly within the application.

  • Others: Configure notification recipients for metadata changes.

• Build Lineage: Automatically build data lineage using source code parsing.

• Delete Connector: Remove a connector with confirmation.

---

Copyright © 2025, OvalEdge LLC, Peachtree Corners, GA, USA.