Oracle metadata collector

Release version: Australia

Updated March 12, 2026

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Summary of Oracle metadata collector

The Oracle metadata collector provides read-only access to metadata from external Oracle databases, including self-hosted and managed instances like AWS RDS. It harvests detailed metadata about Oracle objects such as tables, columns, views, functions, stored procedures, synonyms, and packages, making this information searchable and discoverable within the ServiceNow data catalog.

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Metadata Cataloged

The collector captures comprehensive metadata including:

Tables and Columns: Names, types, nullability, keys, sizes, comments, and indexes.
Views: Names, definitions, and descriptions.
Schemas and Databases: Identifiers, types, server info, and connection details.
Functions and Stored Procedures: Names, descriptions, types, definitions, and related package information.
Synonyms and Packages: Identifiers, names, and body definitions.

When profiling and sampling parameters are enabled and appropriate read permissions are granted, the collector also gathers column statistics such as average length, distinct values, min/max values, data distribution, sample string values, and table row counts.

Relationships Between Objects

The metadata includes relationship mappings between objects, such as:

Columns related to tables and indexes.
Schemas containing tables and packages.
Synonyms linked to their referenced objects.
Packages associated with stored procedures and functions.

Lineage Information

The collector captures data lineage for Oracle objects, detailing how columns and data flow across views, functions, stored procedures, and tables, including filters, sorting, and aggregation logic. To harvest lineage involving objects on different servers, the Linked host parameter must be configured.

Limitations include no support for lineage from SQL defined by variable statements, and certain stored procedures such as those with multitable inserts or transient table creation are unsupported.

Supported Versions and Authentication

Supports Oracle database version 19.0.0.0.
Authentication is via username and password.

Preparation and Usage

Before running the collector, ensure proper database user permissions are configured and advanced features set as needed. Then create and run the Oracle metadata collector to import metadata into the ServiceNow data catalog effectively.

The Oracle metadata collector provides read-only access to metadata from an external Oracle account.

The collector harvests metadata for Oracle objects, such as tables and columns, from an Oracle database, making them searchable and discoverable in the data catalog. It is suitable for both self-hosted Oracle instances and managed Oracle instances, like those hosted on AWS RDS.

Metadata cataloged

The Oracle collector catalogs the following information.

Note:

The collector harvests all versions of overloaded functions and stored procedures. Each version has its own title/name in the catalog, but a distinct identifier.

Table 1. Metadata harvested
Object	Information cataloged
Columns	Name, JDBC type, Column Type, Is Nullable, Default Value, Key type (Primary, Foreign), Column size, Column index Extended metadata: Comment
Table	Name, Primary key, Schema Extended metadata: Comment
Table Index	Index Cardinality, Column name, Index Type, Index Name, is non Unique, Ordinal Position, Pages, Sort Sequence
Views	Name, Definitions, SQL Definition Extended metadata: Description
Schema	Identifier, Name
Database	Type, Name, Identifier, Server, Port, Environment, JDBC URL
Function	Name, Description, Function Type Extended metadata: Function definition, Package Name
Stored Procedure	Name, Description, Stored Procedure Type Extended metadata: Procedure Definition, Package Name
Synonym	Identifier Extended metadata: Name
Package	Name, Specification Extended metadata: Body definition, Package Body
Public Synonym (accessible to all users in database)	Identifier, Name

If you include the profiling and sampling specific parameters while running the collector, the following additional information is harvested for Columns.

Note:

The user/role must have read access to data to be able to harvest profiling information (column statistics).

Table 2. Profiling and sampling specific information
Object	Information cataloged
Column	Average Length (sample) Average Value (sample) Data Distribution Distinct Values Estimated Distinct Values Estimated Non-null Values Maximum Length (sample) Maximum Value (sample) sorted numerically or alphabetically (z-a) Minimum Length (sample) Minimum Value (sample) sorted numerically or alphabetically (a-z) Non-null Values (sample) Sample String Values (first 5 items in a column)
Table	Row Count Sample Count (Target sample size)

Relationships between objects

The harvested metadata includes catalog pages for the following data asset types. Each catalog page has a relationship to the other related data asset types.

Table 3. Relationships between harvested data asset pages
Data asset page	Relationship
Table	Columns, Table Indexes
Columns	Table
Schema	Database that contains Schema, Table that is part of Schema
Database	Schema contained in Database
Synonym	The schema which contains the synonym, The table, view, function, procedure, or package the synonym is for
Package	Schema that contains package Extended metadata: Stored Procedures contained in package, Functions contained in package
Database	Public synonym contained in database

Lineage for Oracle

The following lineage information is collected by the Oracle collector. To harvest lineage from referenced objects located in another server, you must set up the Linked host parameter while running the collector.

Note:

Any lineage for SQL Statements defined via variable statements are not supported.

Table 4. Lineage for Oracle
Object	Lineage available
Column in View	The collector identifies: The associated column in an upstream view or table Where the data is sourced from That sort the rows via ORDER BY That filter the rows via WHERE/HAVING That aggregate the rows via GROUP BY The downstream table that has its data updated by this function.
User-defined function	A Function and: Views referenced in Function Tables referenced in Function Functions referenced in Function Stored procedures referenced in function A View and: Function referencing View The collector identifies: The associated column in an upstream view or table Where the data is sourced from That sort the rows via ORDER BYThat filter the rows via WHERE/HAVING That aggregate the rows via GROUP BY The downstream table that has its data updated by this Stored Procedure.
Stored Procedure	A Stored Procedure and: Views referenced in Stored Procedure Tables referenced in Stored Procedure Functions referenced in Stored Procedure Stored procedures referenced in Stored Procedure A View and: Stored Procedure referencing View The collector identifies: The associated column in an upstream view or table Where the data is sourced from That sort the rows via ORDER BY That filter the rows via WHERE/HAVING That aggregate the rows via GROUP BY The downstream table that has its data updated by this Stored Procedure. The following stored procedures are not supported: Stored procedures with multitable inserts. However, multiple separate insert statements that insert into one table are supported. Stored procedure with multiple SELECT and INSERT statements not separated by a semicolon delimiter. Stored procedures used to create tables or any transient tables created during the execution scope of a stored procedure.

Oracle version supported

The collector supports Oracle database version 19.0.0.0.

Authentication supported

The Oracle collector supports username/password authentication to Oracle.