Push Data Lineage to Microsoft Purview with Best Practices and Recommendations

Microsoft Purview provides a comprehensive platform for managing and analyzing data governance and lineage across your data estate. Pushing data lineage to Microsoft Purview ensures better traceability, compliance, and governance for your data processes.

This guide outlines best practices and recommendations for integrating data lineage into Microsoft Purview, relevant to the DP-203 Data Engineer certification.

What is Data Lineage?

Data lineage tracks the movement and transformation of data as it flows through your data pipeline. It provides a visual representation of how data is processed, from its source to its final destination.

Key Benefits

• Traceability: Understand where data originates and how it is transformed.
• Compliance: Maintain regulatory compliance by tracking sensitive data.
• Data Quality: Identify issues in data pipelines and their impact on downstream processes.

Steps to Push Data Lineage to Microsoft Purview

1. Set Up Microsoft Purview

• Create a Purview Account:
  • Use the Azure portal to create a Microsoft Purview account.
  • Assign appropriate roles such as Data Curator or Data Reader to manage and view data lineage.
• Connect Data Sources:
  • Integrate supported Azure services like Synapse Analytics, Data Factory, and Azure Data Lake Storage into Purview.

2. Enable Lineage Capture

• Azure Data Factory:
  • Enable lineage by linking Azure Data Factory pipelines to Microsoft Purview.
  • Use the Connect to Microsoft Purview feature in the Data Factory UI.

  {
    "type": "Microsoft.DataFactory/factories",
    "properties": {
      "linkedPurviewAccount": {
        "name": "<Purview_Account_Name>"
      }
    }
  }
  

• Azure Synapse Analytics:
  • Connect Synapse workspaces to Purview to capture lineage for SQL and Spark jobs.

3. Use Purview SDK and APIs

Leverage the Microsoft Purview REST APIs or SDK for custom lineage integration. The APIs allow programmatic ingestion of lineage metadata.

Example: Push Lineage Metadata

import requests

url = "https://<purview_account>.catalog.purview.azure.com/catalog/api/atlas/v2/lineage"
headers = {
    "Authorization": "Bearer <access_token>",
    "Content-Type": "application/json"
}
lineage_data = {
    "typeName": "process",
    "attributes": {
        "name": "Data Transformation",
        "inputs": ["<input_entity_guid>"],
        "outputs": ["<output_entity_guid>"]
    }
}

response = requests.post(url, headers=headers, json=lineage_data)
print(response.status_code)

4. Automate Lineage Updates

• Use Azure Functions or Logic Apps to automate the periodic capture of lineage metadata.
• Schedule jobs to extract lineage information from ETL processes and push it to Purview.

Best Practices for Data Lineage in Purview

1. Ensure Accurate Metadata Mapping

• Define clear and consistent naming conventions for data assets.
• Maintain up-to-date metadata to avoid broken lineage graphs.

2. Leverage Built-In Connectors

• Use native Purview connectors for supported services to simplify integration.
• Example services: Azure SQL Database, Synapse Analytics, and Data Factory.

3. Validate Lineage Regularly

• Review lineage graphs periodically to ensure data flow representations are accurate.
• Use Purview’s built-in validation tools to detect gaps or errors.

4. Secure Lineage Data

• Apply role-based access control (RBAC) to restrict access to lineage metadata.
• Enable Azure Key Vault integration to securely manage credentials.

5. Monitor Purview Usage

• Use Azure Monitor to track the performance and usage of Purview.
• Set up alerts for anomalies in lineage ingestion processes.

Common Use Cases

1. Regulatory Compliance

• Track sensitive data lineage for GDPR, HIPAA, or CCPA compliance.
• Use Purview’s classification features to label and trace sensitive data.

2. Impact Analysis

• Understand the downstream impact of changes to source data.
• Identify affected reports and applications when data quality issues arise.

3. Data Quality Management

• Detect and fix broken transformations or pipeline errors by analyzing lineage graphs.

Conclusion

Integrating data lineage with Microsoft Purview enhances your organization’s ability to manage, analyze, and govern its data. By following the best practices outlined in this guide, you can ensure accurate, secure, and efficient lineage capture.

Learn more about Microsoft Purview and data lineage in the official Microsoft documentation.