Reltio Integration for Alation architecture
Learn where Reltio Integration for Alation fits in the big picture.
See how Reltio Integration for Alation works within the system architecture.
Reltio Integration for Alation system architecture
- Entity types
- Entity attributes: Simple, Nested, and Reference
- Relationship types
- Relationship attributes: Simple and Nested
For more information on the RIH, see topic Integration Hub at a glance.
Reltio objects map to Alation schemas and tables
| Reltio | Alation |
|---|---|
| Reltio | Virtual data source (VDS) |
| Tenant | Schema in Reltio VDS |
| Entity Type | Table within Tenant Schema |
| Relationship Type | Table within Tenant Schema |
| Nested attribute (Entity Type, Relationship Type) | Table within Tenant Schema |
| Reference attribute (Entity Type) | Table within Tenant Schema |
| Simple attributes (within Nested attribute on Entity Type and Relationship Type) | Columns of the corresponding table |
The integration establishes a Reltio virtual data source (VDS) in Alation, where Reltio tenants are synced as schemas under the VDS.
The Reltio tenant schema includes the following properties: description, updated by, and updated time.
All Reltio entity types, nested attributes, reference attributes, and relationship types are represented as tables in the tenant schema. Unique table names in Alation are generated using the object URI from Reltio.
- Name
- Label
- Description
- Type (Entity, Relationship, Nested Attribute, or Reference Attribute)
- Abstract
The attributes of Reltio entities, relationships, and sub-attributes of nested attributes are represented as columns in the corresponding tables.
Simple attributes
- Name
- Description
- Required (Reltio)
- Hidden (Reltio)
- PII (Reltio) Personally Identifiable Information data masking
- RDM lookup (Reltio) value
Nested attributes
Nested attributes, whether part of an entity or another nested attribute, are linked to their parent in Alation using a DATAFLOW object. This object is labeled as contains and indicates relationships like "Entity Type contains Nested Attribute" or "Nested Attribute contains another Nested Attribute."
Reference attributes
An entity's reference attribute connects to its entity type through a 'references' DATAFLOW object. This connection is described as "Entity Type references Reference Attribute." In the example below, an Individual Entity references an Address attribute.
Reference attributes act as a links between entities, therefore don't have subattributes of their own but instead refer to attributes from relationships and/or related entities. As a result, the Reference Attribute table doesn't contain any columns. Instead, it connects to the relationship and related entity through DATAFLOW objects labeled contains.
In the example below, the Address reference attribute in the Individual entity type contains the address type attribute from the has address relationship, along with other attributes from the Location entity type.
Additionally, the DATAFLOW object for reference attributes includes a list of all attributes from the related relationship or entity type within its description.
Attributes from the has address relationship:
Attributes from the Location entity:
Relationship types
Relationship types in a tenant are represented as tables in Alation and are linked to their start and end entity types using a DATAFLOW object named after the relationship type.
In the example below the Employer relationship connects the Organization and Individual entity types.