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Get up-and-running on the Community and with Alteryx in record time.Databricks & Alteryx Guide
Databricks is one of the most widely used data sources among Alteryx customers. Thousands of workflows access Databricks data from Alteryx products daily, and hundreds of users create new connections every month. When enabling access to Databricks, admins pay special attention to the security model and access and identity management topics.
Having the right security model in place ensures that users can only access the data they explicitly need to accomplish their daily tasks. This is enabled by the flexibility of Databricks’s Unity Catalog, which allows administrators to define fine-grained permissions—down to specific datasets, columns, and roles.
Access and identity management is a bit of a different topic. Modern data stacks often involve a wide range of tools and platforms, each serving a specific role in the organization’s data lifecycle. Each of these products has its own authentication mechanisms that propagate individual identities to each other.
This guide focuses on the authentication mechanisms supported in Alteryx products that enable secure access to Databricks data. It explains the differences between each method and outlines the best use cases for various scenarios.
Let’s review types of authentication methods supported by Alteryx products for Databricks connections and understand the way they work.
Alteryx On-Prem Authentication
Access Databricks data from Alteryx Designer using a Personal Access Token (PAT), the simplest method for authenticating individual users to Databricks programmatically.
Access Databricks data on AWS from Alteryx Designer using Databricks native OAuth with the User-to-Machine (U2M) flow, an industry-standard authorization method that allows applications to access data on behalf of users.
Access Databricks data from Alteryx Designer using native OAuth with the Machine-to-Machine (M2M) flow—also known as 2-legged OAuth or the Client Credentials Flow—ideal for automated, no-user-interaction scenarios like data ingestion.
Access Azure Databricks data from Alteryx Designer using a multi-tenant application and Entra ID identities, leveraging OAuth to allow user-based access management across multiple services.
Access Azure Databricks data from Alteryx Designer using a single-tenant application, ideal for organizations that require tighter control over authentication and access with Entra ID identities.
Alteryx Analytics Cloud Authentication
Access Databricks data from the Alteryx Analytics Cloud Platform (AACP) using a Personal Access Token (PAT), the simplest authentication method that allows users to programmatically access their Databricks data.
Access Databricks data on AWS from AACP using native OAuth with the User-to-Machine (U2M) flow, an industry-standard method for authorizing applications to act on behalf of users.
Access Azure Databricks data from AACP using Entra ID identities and OAuth, enabling user-based access management across services within your organization.
Important: Supported authentication methods vary between Alteryx Designer and Server, and Alteryx Analytics Cloud Platform (AACP). Our teams are working hard on bringing the feature-parity across our products, but for the time being, please follow the respective section of this guide to get instructions for the Alteryx product used in your organization.
Need Help?
Post your Databricks question in the Designer Desktop discussion forum to get a response from our active community of Alteryx users. You can also search the Knowledge Base for error resolutions.
If your question seems to be an opportunity for Alteryx to make improvements, please submit your idea to Alteryx Ideas. Some of our best features are based on feedback from users.
A final option for Databricks issue resolution is to submit a case in MyAlteryx to engage the Alteryx Customer Support team. Check out this how-to guide on case creation to get started.
