Data sources
A data source is a set of tables or files your organization keeps in one place, so that services and workspaces can read and write it without copies.
On this page7 sections
What a data source is for#
Files in a workspace belong to that workspace. A data source is for data that outlives any one piece of work and is used by several: a history of past analyses, reference tables, a shared set of client files.
A data source holds one of two things.
| Holds | Use it for |
|---|---|
| Tables | Structured data the agent queries. Can be partitioned, for example by client or by month. |
| Files | Documents and other files, read and written by path. |
Data stays in the data source. When a workspace uses one, the agent reads and writes it in place rather than copying it into the workspace.
Create a data source#
Any member can create one.
- Open Data sources in the sidebar and click All.
- Click New data source.
- Choose What it holds: Tables or Files.
- Give it a Name and, optionally, a description. For tables you can also set what it is Partitioned by.
The name has to be unique in your organization. A new data source is private to you, and you manage it.
The data source page#
Click a data source to see where it lives, how many files it has and their total size, its most recent writes, and what it is attached to.
Share a data source#
Click Share on the data source's page. You need to manage the data source.
| Level | Can do |
|---|---|
| No access | Cannot see its data. |
| Can read | Read the data. |
| Can write | Read and write the data. |
| Can manage | Also share, rename, attach and archive it. |
You can set a level for everyone in the organization, and for individual people.
Organization admins can see that every data source exists and manage who has access, but they do not see the data in a private one. To look inside, an admin has to give themselves access, and that is recorded.
Attach it to a service or workspace#
Attaching is what makes a data source available to the agent.
- On the data source's page, click Attach.
- Choose Where: a service or a workspace you can edit.
- Choose Access: Read only or Read and write.
- Confirm the name the agent will see it under.
Attaching to a service makes the data source available in the service's own workspace and in every engagement of that service.
With Read and write on a service, you can limit each engagement to writing only its own folder. This keeps one client's engagement from writing over another's.
To change between read only and read and write, Detach and attach again.
What the agent can do with it#
In a workspace with a data source attached, the agent knows the data source is there and what access it has. It queries tables and reads or writes files, within the access you gave.
Rename, archive and restore#
Open the menu on the data source's page.
- Rename or describe changes its name and description.
- Archive takes it out of use. Nothing is deleted, and Restore brings it back. If it is attached anywhere, the option reads Detach and archive.