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Metadata Observability

RightSight User Guide  ·  Module 11 of 14

Metadata Observability v7.6 beta

Monitor metadata health, detect schema drift, time-travel through snapshots, and generate operational reports.

Overview

Metadata Observability is the primary dashboard for monitoring metadata health across your connections. It provides real-time KPIs, schema drift detection, historical time-travel capabilities, snapshot comparison, and automated reporting.

Target Persona: Data Engineers, Data Stewards, Data Governance leads.

Prerequisites: At least one connection with completed metadata extraction and multiple extraction runs (for time-travel and drift detection).

How This Module Helps

This module answers: "What changed in my metadata, and when?" It enables: - Real-time schema drift detection — know immediately when tables or columns change - Time-travel to any historical point — see metadata as it existed on any date - Snapshot comparison — diff two points in time side-by-side - Automated reporting — weekly/monthly health summaries delivered via email

Connects To Relationship
Metadata Analysis Drill from KPIs to object-level detail
Metadata Extract & Enrich Extraction feeds this dashboard
DQ Command Center DQ integration for combined view
Method Path
Sidebar Observability → RightSight → Metadata Observability (under Dashboards)
URL /metadata-observability
Deep link /metadata-observability?connectionId=<id> pre-selects the connection

Features & Workflows

1. Selecting a Connection

  1. Click the Connection dropdown.
Connection selector
Figure 1: Connection selector

  1. Select a connection — KPIs and tabs load.

  2. Optionally filter by schema using the Schema multi-select.

2. KPI Dashboard

Six real-time KPI cards:

KPI Dashboard
Figure 2: KPI Dashboard
KPI Description Click Action
Schemas Total schema count Drill to Metadata Analysis
Tables Total table count Drill to Metadata Analysis
Views Total view count Drill to Metadata Analysis
Columns Total column count —
Drifts Active drift alerts Switches to Drifts tab
Alerts Active alert count Switches to Alerts tab

3. Using Time Travel

Steps

  1. Click any day in the Calendar Time Travel widget.

  2. Select an hour in the Day View that appears.

  3. The Time Travel Banner appears confirming the active snapshot.

  4. All KPIs and tabs now show metadata as of the selected timestamp.

  5. Click Exit Time Travel to return to current state.

4. Viewing Schema Drifts

  1. Click the Drifts tab.
Drifts tab
Figure 3: Drifts tab

  1. View detected changes: schema changes, column type changes, key changes, row count changes.

  2. Sort and filter by object, type, or impact.

5. Comparing Snapshots

  1. Click the Compare tab.
Compare tab
Figure 4: Compare tab

  1. Select two snapshots using the Snapshot Cards.

  2. View side-by-side diff of metadata changes.

6. Generating Reports

  1. Click the Reports tab.
Reports tab
Figure 5: Reports tab

  1. Select a report type (Weekly Health, Monthly Evolution, etc.).

  2. Click Generate to create the report.

  3. Export as HTML or CSV.

7. Subscribing to Reports

  1. Click Subscribe on a report.

  2. Configure recipients, frequency, and format.

  3. Reports are delivered via email automatically.

From Metadata Observability Navigate To
KPI click → Metadata Analysis Metadata Analysis
Time Travel → Metadata Analysis Metadata Analysis with time travel context
Connection config → Metadata Extract Metadata Extract & Enrich

Tips & Best Practices

  • Use the Calendar Time Travel to investigate "what changed and when" during incident response.
  • Enable the "Changes Only" toggle in the calendar to focus on days with actual changes.
  • Set up automated Weekly Health reports and subscribe to receive them by email.
  • Use the Compare tab to verify expected vs. actual metadata changes after deployments.
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