Set up and manage Unity Catalog

What is the process of setting up Unity Catalog?

The process of setting up Unity Catalog involves several steps. Initially, you need to confirm that your workspace is enabled for Unity Catalog. Then, you need to add users and assign the workspace admin role (see further below for handling user permissions). The next steps involve creating clusters or SQL warehouses that users can use to run queries and create objects, granting privileges to users, and creating new catalogs and schemas. Optionally, you can assign the metastore admin role and upgrade tables in your Hive metastore to Unity Catalog tables.

   
• Workspace Enablement: The first step in setting up Unity Catalog is to ensure your workspace is enabled for it. This involves checking your workspace settings and making necessary adjustments.
   
• User Addition and Role Assignment: After enabling your workspace, you need to add users and assign them the workspace admin role. This allows them to manage and control the workspace.
   
• Creation of Clusters or SQL Warehouses: To allow users to run queries and create objects, you need to create clusters or SQL warehouses. These provide the necessary computational resources.
   
• Granting Privileges: Users need to be granted certain privileges to access and create objects in Unity Catalog. This is an essential step in the setup process.
   
• Creation of Catalogs and Schemas: The last step involves creating new catalogs and schemas. These are the structures that hold and organize the data.

How can Unity Catalog be managed?

Managing Unity Catalog involves several steps. You may need to upgrade tables in your Hive metastore to Unity Catalog tables. Optionally, you can keep working with your Hive metastore or create metastore-level storage. It's also important to regularly review and update user permissions and monitor the performance and usage of your catalogs and schemas.

   
• Upgrading Tables: One aspect of managing Unity Catalog is upgrading tables in your Hive metastore to Unity Catalog tables. This ensures that your data is stored in the most efficient and accessible format.
   
• Working with Hive Metastore: Depending on your needs, you may choose to continue working with your Hive metastore. This can provide additional flexibility and control over your data.
   
• Creating Metastore-Level Storage: Another management task could be creating metastore-level storage. This provides a higher level of data organization and storage.
   
• User Permissions: Regularly reviewing and updating user permissions is a crucial part of managing Unity Catalog. This ensures that users have the appropriate access and capabilities.
   
• Performance Monitoring: Monitoring the performance and usage of your catalogs and schemas can help you identify any issues or areas for improvement.

What are the benefits of using Unity Catalog?

Unity Catalog offers several benefits. It allows for efficient data management in your Azure Databricks workspace. It is primarily intended for workspace admins who are using Unity Catalog for the first time. By the end of the setup process, you will have a workspace that is enabled for Unity Catalog, compute that has access to Unity Catalog, and users with permission to access and create objects in Unity Catalog.

   
• Efficient Data Management: Unity Catalog provides a structured and efficient way to manage data in your Azure Databricks workspace. It allows for the creation of catalogs and schemas, which organize data in a meaningful way.
   
• Access Control: Unity Catalog allows for granular control over who can access and create objects in the catalog. This helps ensure data security and integrity.
   
• Integration with Azure Databricks: Unity Catalog is fully integrated with Azure Databricks, allowing for seamless data management and analysis within the platform.

What are the prerequisites for setting up Unity Catalog?

Before setting up Unity Catalog, you need to confirm that your workspace is enabled for it. You also need to have users to whom you can assign the workspace admin role. It's also beneficial to have a basic understanding of how to create clusters or SQL warehouses, and how to grant privileges to users.

   
• Workspace Enablement: Before setting up Unity Catalog, you need to ensure your workspace is enabled for it. This involves checking your workspace settings and making necessary adjustments.
   
• Users: You need to have users to whom you can assign the workspace admin role. These users will have the ability to manage and control the workspace.
   
• Understanding of Clusters or SQL Warehouses: Having a basic understanding of how to create clusters or SQL warehouses is beneficial. These provide the computational resources needed for data analysis and object creation.
   
• Understanding of User Privileges: It's also important to understand how to grant privileges to users. This allows them to access and create objects in Unity Catalog.

What additional resources are available for Unity Catalog?

There are several additional resources available for Unity Catalog. For a quick walkthrough of how to create a table and grant permissions in Unity Catalog, you can refer to the tutorial: Create your first table and grant privileges. For key Unity Catalog concepts and an introduction to how Unity Catalog works, you can refer to the article: What is Unity Catalog?. To learn how best to use Unity Catalog to meet your data governance needs, you can refer to the article: Unity Catalog best practices.

   
• Tutorial: Create your first table and grant privileges provides a quick walkthrough of how to create a table and grant permissions in Unity Catalog.
   
• Article: What is Unity Catalog? provides key Unity Catalog concepts and an introduction to how Unity Catalog works.
   
• Best Practices:  Unity Catalog best practices provides guidance on how best to use Unity Catalog to meet your data governance needs.

How can I upgrade an existing non-Unity-Catalog workspace to Unity Catalog?

If you want to upgrade an existing non-Unity-Catalog workspace to Unity Catalog, you might benefit from using UCX, a Databricks Labs project that provides a set of workflows and utilities for upgrading identities, permissions, and tables to Unity Catalog. You can refer to the article: Use the UCX utilities to upgrade your workspace to Unity Catalog for more information.

   
• UCX: UCX is a Databricks Labs project that provides a set of workflows and utilities for upgrading identities, permissions, and tables to Unity Catalog. It can be a valuable tool if you're looking to upgrade an existing non-Unity-Catalog workspace to Unity Catalog.
   
• Upgrading Identities, Permissions, and Tables: UCX allows for the upgrading of identities, permissions, and tables to Unity Catalog. This can help streamline the upgrade process and ensure that your data is stored in the most efficient and accessible format.
   
• Article: Use the UCX utilities to upgrade your workspace to Unity Catalog provides detailed information on how to use UCX to upgrade your workspace to Unity Catalog.