A connected data asset is a pointer to data that is accessed through a connection to an external data source. You create a connected data asset by specifying a connection, any intermediate structures or paths, and a relational table or view, a set of partitioned data files, or a file. When you access a connected data asset, the data is dynamically retrieved from the data source.

You can also add a connected folder asset that is accessed through a connection in the same way. See Adding a connected folder asset to a project.

Additionally, you can add a dynamic view of relational data. This type of data asset is created by applying an SQL query to a relational table that is accessed through a connection. See Adding a dynamic view of connected data to a project.

Partitioned data assets have previews and profiles and can be masked like relational tables. However, you cannot yet shape and cleanse partitioned data assets with the Data Refinery tool.

To add multiple tables or files from a connection in a single repeatable job, use the Import metadata tool. See Importing metadata.

To add a data asset from a connection to a project:

1. From the project page, click the Assets tab, and then click Import assets > Connected data.

2. Select an existing connection asset as the source of the data. If you don't have any connection assets, cancel and go to New asset > Connect to a data source, and create a connection asset.

3. Select the data you want. You can select multiple connected data assets from the same connection. Click Import. For partitioned data, select the folder that contains the files. If the files are recognized as partitioned data, you see the message This folder contains a partitioned data set.

4. Type a name and description.

5. Click Create. The asset appears on the project Assets page.

When you click on the asset name, you can see this information about connected assets:

• The asset name and description
• The tags for the asset
• The name of the person who created the asset
• The size of the data
• The date when the asset was added to the project
• The date when the asset was last modified
• A preview of relational data
• A profile of relational data

Watch this video to see how to create a connection and add connected data to a project.

This video provides a visual method to learn the concepts and tasks in this documentation.

• Transcript
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  Video transcript

  Time	Transcript
  00:00	This video shows you how to set up a connection to a data source and add connected data to a project.
  00:08	If you have data stored in a data source, you can set up a connection to that data source from any project.
  00:16	From here, you can add different elements to the project.
  00:20	In this case, you want to add a connection.
  00:24	You can create a new connection to an IBM service, such as IBM Db2 and Cloud Object Storage, or to a service from third parties, such as Amazon, Microsoft or Apache.
  00:39	And you can filter the list based on compatible services.
  00:45	You can also add a connection that was created at the platform level, which can be used across projects and catalogs.
  00:54	Or you can create a connection to one of your provisioned IBM Cloud services.
  00:59	In this case, select the provisioned IBM Cloud service for Db2 Warehouse on Cloud.
  01:08	If the credentials are not prepopulated, you can get the credentials for the instance from the IBM Cloud service launch page.
  01:17	First, test the connection and then create the connection.
  01:25	The new connection now displays in the list of data assets.
  01:30	Next, add connected data assets to this project.
  01:37	Select the source - in this case, it's the Db2 Warehouse on Cloud connection just created.
  01:43	Then select the schema and table.
  01:50	You can see that this will add a reference to the data within this connection and include it in the target project.
  01:58	Provide a name and a description and click "Create".
  02:06	The data now displays in the list of data assets.
  02:09	Open the data set to get a preview; and from here you can move directly into refining the data.
  02:17	Find more videos in the Cloud Pak for Data as a Service documentation.