Understand the Enterprise Catalog Landscape
Distinguish the Catalog Layers
| Layer | Role | System of Record |
|---|---|---|
| Oracle Data Dictionary | Local schemas, tables, views, grants, and external-table definitions. | The individual Oracle AI Database. |
| Operational Source Catalog | Namespaces, table names, current metadata locations, snapshots, and commits. | The source catalog implementation. |
| Mounted Catalog | A supported source catalog registered in one Oracle AI Database for discovery and SQL access. | The database-local DBMS_CATALOG configuration; source metadata remains authoritative. |
| AI Catalog | Enterprise catalog-of-catalogs for cross-system discovery, organization, business context, and governance. | The enterprise AI Catalog service. |
Use an Enterprise Catalog Service for Cross-System Discovery
An enterprise catalog service provides an enterprise view across supported data systems and operational catalogs. Its role is to help users discover assets, understand ownership and business meaning, apply governance context, and navigate to the authoritative source.
Discovery is not authorization. An asset visible in AI Catalog becomes queryable from a database only after the database, source catalog, and storage system authorize the required paths.
Keep this guide independent of product-specific screens, setup sequences, and lifecycle APIs. Those details can evolve without changing the architecture described here.
Understand the Catalog Architecture
Enterprise discovery, operational catalogs, database-local mounts, Oracle SQL, and object storage work together to provide governed Iceberg data access.
Image 3-1. Enterprise Discovery and Database-local Access
Example - One Asset across the Layers
| Layer | Example representation | Responsibility |
|---|---|---|
| AI Catalog | Enterprise record Orders | Discovery, business context, owner, and classification. |
| Operational catalog | Oracle AI Data Catalog entry SALES.ORDERS |
Authoritative Iceberg table identity and current state. |
| Database-local mount | ICEBERG_CAT through DBMS_CATALOG |
Connection and local credential mapping for one database. |
| Oracle SQL | sales.orders@iceberg_cat |
Database consumer surface and local authorization. |
| Data plane | Object storage referenced by Iceberg metadata | Physical metadata and data objects. |
Oracle AI Data Catalog is shown here as an operational Iceberg catalog example. It is distinct from the enterprise AI Catalog role.