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    Data Lake Formation:Getting started

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    Data Lake Formation:Getting started

    Last Updated:Jun 04, 2026

    Learn how to set up and use Data Lake Formation (DLF) to manage metadata, permissions, and storage in your data lake.

    Prerequisites

    DLF stores all data lake data in Object Storage Service (OSS). Specify an OSS bucket or path for lake storage. For more information, see Create a bucket.

    Homepage

    The DLF console homepage provides a navigation pane and quick links to all major features.

    Features

    DLF integrates metadata management, permission management, security management, lake management, and one-click data exploration into a unified platform.

    Metadata management

    Manage catalogs, databases, and tables in your data lake. Centralized metadata management increases data asset value and availability.

    Create a catalog

    1. Log on to the Data Lake Formation console.

    2. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Metadata > Metadata.

    3. Click the Catalogs tab, and then click New Catalog.

    4. Configure the following parameters and click OK.

      • Catalog ID: Required. A unique identifier for the data catalog.

      • Description: Optional. A description for the data catalog.

      • Location: Optional. The default storage path. Only OSS paths are supported.

    For more information about operations you can perform on catalogs, see Data catalog.

    Create a database

    1. Log on to the Data Lake Formation (DLF) console.

    2. In the left-side navigation pane, select Metadata > Metadata.

    3. Click the Database tab, select the target Catalogs, and then click Create Database.

    4. Configure the parameters for the database and click OK.

      Parameter

      Description

      Catalog

      Select the data catalog where you want to create the database.

      Name

      Enter a name for the database.

      Description

      Optional. Enter a description for the database.

      Select the path.

      Specify an Object Storage Service (OSS) path to store the metadata. Storing metadata in OSS ensures data security and reliability, and simplifies management and maintenance.

      Note

      Only OSS buckets that use Standard storage are supported. If a Standard storage bucket does not exist in the current region, create one in the OSS console.

    Create a table

    1. After you create a database, click the Data Table tab. Select the target Catalogs and Database Name, and then click Create Table.

    2. Configure the parameters for the table and click OK.

      Parameter

      Description

      Table Name

      Enter a name for the table.

      Catalog

      Select the data catalog for the table.

      Database:

      Select a database within the data catalog.

      Table Description

      Optional. Enter a description for the table.

      Data Storage Location

      Select the storage location for the table's data.

      The recommended default storage location is oss://[database_location]/[table_name].

      Format and Serialization

      Select the table's data format. Supported formats include Avro, CSV, JSON, Parquet, and ORC.

      Delimiter

      Optional. If you select the CSV format, specify a delimiter.

      Common Column

      Manually define the table's columns and partition keys. Specify the name, data type, and description for each.

      Partition Key Column

    For more information about operations you can perform on databases and tables, see Databases, tables, and functions.

    Extract metadata

    Metadata extraction analyzes data lake files and auto-generates metadata. For more information, see Metadata discovery.

    Migrate metadata

    Quickly migrate metadata from a Hive metastore to DLF. For more information, see Metadata migration.

    Permission management

    DLF enforces two levels of access control: RAM permissions and DLF data permissions. Both must pass before you can access pages or data.

    • RAM permissions: control access to DLF API operations and console pages. For more information, see Permissions.

    • DLF data permissions: control access to DLF resources, including databases, tables, columns, functions, and catalogs.

    Lake management

    Lake management covers location hosting, storage overview, lifecycle management, lake format management, and storage permissions. Set up location hosting to enable full data lake management.

    Best practices

    DLF works with E-MapReduce (EMR), Realtime Compute for Apache Flink, and MaxCompute to extract and migrate metadata and ingest data into data lakes.