As your data estate grows, finding the right table, database, or instance becomes harder. Asset categories let you organize DMS instances, databases, and tables into a hierarchy that reflects your business structure—for example, by team (Finance, Sales, Platform Engineering), environment (Production, Development), or business unit. Administrators, developers, and O&M engineers can then locate and manage the assets they own without searching across an unstructured list.
Prerequisites
Before you begin, make sure you have:
A relational database or data warehouse instance registered in DMS. For supported types, see Supported database types and features.
The DMS administrator or database administrator (DBA) role. For role details, see System roles.
Key concepts
| Concept | Description |
|---|---|
| Uncategorized | The default category that DMS creates automatically. Any asset not assigned to a category you create stays here. |
| One category per asset | Each instance, database, and table can belong to only one category at a time. Moving an asset to a new category automatically removes it from its current one. |
| Category depth | Categories support up to four levels (a top-level category and up to three levels of subcategories). |
Manage categories
Create a category
Log on to the DMS console V5.0.
In the top navigation bar, choose Data Assets > Categories.
In simple mode, move the pointer over the
icon in the upper-left corner and choose All functions > Data Assets > Categories.Click Create Category.
In the Edit Category dialog box, enter a category name and click OK.
The new category appears in the left-side category tree.
Create a subcategory
If a table is already added to the current category, you cannot create a subcategory under it. Move or remove those assets from the category first, then create the subcategory.
In the category tree, move the pointer over the 
icon next to the parent category and select Create Subcategory.
Rename a category
In the category tree, move the pointer over the icon next to the category and select Change.
Delete a category
To delete a category, first remove all assets from it and delete any subcategories under it.
In the category tree, move the pointer over the icon next to the category and select Delete.
Add an asset to a category
The following steps show how to add a table to a category using Quick Add. The same approach applies to instances and databases.
Log on to the DMS console V5.0.
In the top navigation bar, choose Data Assets > Categories.
In simple mode, move the pointer over the
icon in the upper-left corner and choose All functions > Data Assets > Categories.In the category tree, click the category you want to use.
Click Quick Add in the upper-left corner.
In the dialog box, search for and select the table, then click Confirm.
The table is now listed under the selected category.
Alternative ways to add a table to a category:
On the table's Tables page, click the
icon next to Category. For details, see Manage table details.On the Uncategorized category page, find the table and click Associate Category in the Actions column.
Remove an asset from a category
On the category page, find the asset and click Remove from Category in the Actions column.