Alation Cloud Service and customer-managed Alation are the two ways Alation deploys its platform. In the customer-managed model, the customer obtains and hosts its own infrastructure, installs the software and performs administration and maintenance; in Alation Cloud Service the instance resides on Alation’s servers, runs on a scalable architecture and is administered, maintained and upgraded by Alation.[1] The licence differs accordingly: the MSA licenses Alation Cloud, which Alation hosts, and the On-Premises Software Addendum licenses Alation Software that the customer installs.[2][3] Alation describes Alation Cloud Service as the recommended deployment option with a broader set of features.[1] Catalog proof: Alation Cloud Service; Alation Software (customer-managed).
Editions
Deployment comparison
The feature comparison page, written as of release 2025.1.2, lists features available on Alation Cloud Service but not on customer-managed instances, including administration by Alation, the Alation Agent, Alation Anywhere for Microsoft Teams and for Slack, the Chrome extension, the Consumption Tracker, ALLIE AI Suggested Descriptions, API authentication with OAuth 2.0, Intelligent Search, the New User Experience and the status page.[1] Three features carry plan limits: AWS PrivateLink connectivity and Bring Your Own Encryption Key are available “on Enterprise and Enterprise+ plans only”, and connector authentication through an external vault is available on the Deluxe, Enterprise and Enterprise+ plans only.[1] The comparison page does not define the plans or say how they relate to the Orders; they should be confirmed against the contract. Catalog proof: Some Cloud Service features are limited to higher plans.
Who operates what
On Alation Cloud Service, backend configuration is done by authorised Alation personnel, and customer Server Admins change catalog settings in the interface. Application upgrades, security, backups and restores, and disaster recovery are Alation’s responsibility, while tasks such as authentication setup or allow-listing the cloud instance IP need both parties.[4] The customer-managed model leaves those tasks with the customer, who holds a licence file for each instance.[1][5] Catalog proof: Alation operates Cloud Service infrastructure and upgrades.
The Alation Agent
The Alation Agent is optional software that a customer installs on its own network to connect Alation Cloud Service to on-premises data sources behind the firewall, so that metadata can be catalogued to the cloud instance.[6] The MSA includes optional installation of the Agent on computers owned or controlled by the customer within the licence, and it is not licensed or priced separately in the documents reviewed.[2] Each Alation Cloud Service instance can support multiple Agents in different locations, network segments or security zones, and each Agent can support multiple connectors and data sources. The Agent supports RDBMS, BI and file system connectors, runs on supported Linux systems and not on Windows, connects through a persistent tunnel by default, and can instead run in polling mode where policy prohibits long-lived outbound connections.[6]
The Agent works only with connectors based on the Open Connector Framework (OCF); it does not support native or custom DB connectors.[6] Catalog proof: Alation Agent is optional and works only with OCF connectors.
Add-ons
The Query Service Add-on is an optional component installed on the Agent to enable the Zero Data feature, which runs queries, sampling and profiling through the on-premises Agent and writes results to the customer’s own object store (AWS S3 or Azure Blob Storage), so that no query result data traverses or is stored in Alation Cloud Service. It requires Alation Cloud Service version 2026.4 or later, Agent version 1.8.16 or later and a configured object store, and Alation states that it is entirely optional.[7] The Authentication Service Add-on is an optional feature that integrates the Agent with AWS Secrets Manager or HashiCorp Vault, and the documentation also covers Azure Key Vault, so that data source credentials do not leave the customer’s network.[8] The documents reviewed do not say whether either add-on is a separately priced SKU. Catalog proof: Query Service Add-on is optional; Query Service Add-on.
Connectors
Alation states that it offers more than 120 pre-built connectors to data sources, business intelligence systems, file systems and applications, and an Open Connector Framework for integrating other sources.[9] The Connectors Support Matrix distinguishes four families and records their support on Alation Cloud Service and with the Agent:[10]
| Connector family | Alation Cloud Service | Alation Agent |
|---|---|---|
| OCF connectors | Supported | Supported |
| Native connectors | Supported only if no OCF connector exists for the relevant source | Not supported |
| Custom DB | Supported only if no OCF connector exists for the relevant source | Not supported |
| Custom JDBC drivers | Not supported | Not supported |
For customer-managed deployments the OCF and the Native and Custom DB matrices list the supported connectors.[10] The connector documents reviewed state no per-connector licence fee. The federal addendum nonetheless lets Alation audit the number of connectors for federal end users, so the Order may set a connector limit, and a licence manager should count registered data sources and BI servers before a renewal.[11] Alation also publishes an End of Support Matrix of planned end-of-support releases for data sources, connectors, drivers, browsers and operating systems, stating that it is for planning and does not supersede contractual commitments.[12] Catalog proof: Custom JDBC drivers are not supported on Alation Cloud Service.
CData drivers
Many Alation Custom DB connectors use CData drivers, and Alation distributes the driver licences. For a proof of concept or pilot, the customer uses the trial licence downloadable from CData, packaged with a licence file valid for thirty days; Alation does not provide CData licences for proofs of concept and pilot deployments.[13] An existing customer that wants to validate a driver can download the driver and ask Alation Support for a development or test runtime key (RTK), which replaces the licence file. A customer that decides to buy a driver through Alation obtains the driver file and a production RTK from Alation Support; the production RTK is valid for 90 days, Alation tracks the period and issues a new RTK when it expires, and the RTK changes with every driver version upgrade and is appended to the JDBC URI of the connector.[13] A SAM team should therefore track the RTK expiry date for each CData-based connector, because the documents say the key must be refreshed on the 90-day cycle. Catalog proof: CData licences are not provided for POCs and pilots; Production CData runtime keys last 90 days; CData runtime key.
Metrics and counting
The deployment-specific licence unit is the Named User, with the instance wording of the customer-managed addendum. For a customer-managed instance, Use covers one each of production, backup, test and development instances, up to the Named Users covered by the licence keys, and the documents reviewed do not say how instances beyond those four categories are treated.[3] For cloud, the MSA’s usage limits are those of the Order.[2] Connectors, apps and objects are named as auditable items only in the federal addendum.[11] Catalog proof: Customer-managed instance and licence key.
Virtualization and partitioning
The documents describe no virtualization or partitioning rule. The Agent documentation recommends a dedicated physical or virtual Linux machine with no other software installed and allows a virtual machine in a shared server environment if the required CPU, memory and storage are allocated.[6] That is a system requirement, not a licence metric.
Cloud and BYOL
Moving from customer-managed to Alation Cloud Service means signing under the MSA instead of the addendum. The documents reviewed do not describe credit for unused customer-managed licences, so migration terms depend on the Order. A customer-managed instance keeps its licence file, which Alation validates, and the file is renewed from the Customer Portal.[14][5] Cloud customers cannot upload licence files.[15]
Programs
The trial and evaluation arrangements for cloud are the MSA Trials and Beta Versions, which are not for production use and are outside the service level agreement, and the thirty-day CData trial licence for proofs of concept.[2][13] The Agent and its add-ons have no published programs.[6] Catalog proof: Trials and Beta Versions.
Audit considerations
On cloud, Alation can see usage in its own service; on customer-managed instances the customer holds the licence file and the quarterly audit right applies.[3] The federal addendum adds an audit of connectors and apps.[11] The sensible evidence for a review is the Licenses page, the list of registered data sources and BI servers, the Agent inventory, the CData RTK expiry dates and the licence file expiry date.[15][13]
Out of scope
This article does not cover individual connector setup, the Alation Analytics database, SSO and SCIM configuration, or the network requirements for the Agent. It does not cover the commercial terms of Alation partners or marketplaces.