Activate Your Databricks Share

This guide walks you through activating your Dataplex data share in Databricks using Delta Sharing. The process takes approximately 5-10 minutes.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have:

• Access to a Databricks workspace with Unity Catalog enabled

• Permission to create catalogs or manage external locations (typically admin or metastore admin role)

• A modern web browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge)

Overview

Delta Sharing is an open protocol for secure data sharing. When you activate a Dataplex share, you're creating a read-only connection to our data that:

• Stays automatically updated as we refresh the underlying data

• Requires no data copying or ETL processes

• Uses standard SQL for querying

• Integrates natively with Unity Catalog

Two Ways to Connect

Dataplex supports two connection methods. Choose the one that matches your setup:

Method	Best For	What You Need
Databricks-to-Databricks (D2D)	Databricks users who provided a sharing identifier during signup	Your Databricks sharing identifier
Activation File (Open Sharing)	All other users, or if you didn't provide a sharing identifier	Activation email from Dataplex

Not sure which method you're using? Check your welcome email. If it mentions that your data is "available in your workspace automatically," you're using D2D. If it includes a "Download Activation File" button, you're using Open Sharing.

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Databricks-to-Databricks (D2D) Sharing

If you provided your Databricks sharing identifier when you signed up, your data is shared directly between Databricks workspaces. There's no activation file to download — the data appears in your workspace automatically.

What is a Sharing Identifier?

A sharing identifier is a unique ID for your Databricks metastore in the format cloud:region:metastore-uuid (for example, azure:eastus:4e9b2149-4f45-44a1-...). When you provide this during signup, we connect directly to your workspace — no credential files needed.

Step 1: Open Delta Sharing

Log into your Databricks workspace and navigate to Catalog in the left sidebar. Then find Delta Sharing and click Shared with me.

Step 2: Find Your Dataplex Shares

You should see one or more shares from Dataplex listed (e.g., dataplex_cms, dataplex_npi). These are the data products you requested access to.

Don't see any shares? It may take a few minutes after signup for shares to appear. If they still don't appear after 15 minutes, contact [email protected].

Step 3: Create a Catalog

Click on a share and select Create catalog to make the data queryable in your workspace. Give the catalog a name (e.g., cms_dwv or dataplex_cms) and click Create.

Step 4: Query Your Data

Open a SQL editor or notebook and start querying:

-- Example: Verify CMS Data Feeds access
SELECT COUNT(*) as total_feeds FROM cms_dwv.feeds;

-- Example: Verify NPI access
SELECT COUNT(*) as total_providers FROM npi_dwv.providers;

That's it! With D2D sharing, data stays in sync automatically. Skip ahead to Verify Data Access for product-specific test queries, or jump to the Catalog and Schema Reference to see what's available.

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Activation File (Open Sharing)

If you received an activation email with a credential file, follow these steps to import your data share.

Before You Begin: Get Your Activation Email

Before you can activate your data share, you need an activation email from Dataplex. Choose one of these options:

Option 1: Start a Free Trial

Visit trial.dataplex-consulting.com to request a 14-day trial. After submitting the form, you'll receive an activation email within minutes.

Option 2: Purchase Full Access

Select a data product below to purchase a subscription:

Data Product	Records	Purchase Link
CMS Data Feeds Dataset	73B+ records	Subscribe
FDA FAERS Dataset	18M+ events	Subscribe
FDA MAUDE Dataset	14M+ events	Subscribe
CMS NPPES Provider Dataset	8M+ providers	Subscribe
CDC Open Data Product	1.7B+ records	Subscribe

After completing payment, you'll receive an activation email within minutes.

Already have your activation email? Skip to Step 1: Download the Activation File below.

Step 1: Download the Activation File

Open the activation email from Dataplex and click the Download Activation File button. This downloads a credential file (.share file) to your computer.

The activation email contains your credential file download link (expires in 24 hours)

The download link expires in 24 hours. If your link has expired, contact [email protected] for a new activation email.

Step 2: Open Databricks Catalog

Log into your Databricks workspace and navigate to the Catalog section in the left sidebar.

Step 3: Access Delta Sharing

In the Catalog view, find Delta Shares Received in the catalog list and click the Manage all shared data button.

Click "Manage all shared data" to open the Delta Sharing management page

Step 4: Install the Share

On the Delta Sharing page, click the Install share button in the top right corner.

The Delta Sharing page shows all providers sharing data with your workspace

Step 5: Import Your Credentials

In the Import using open Delta Sharing credentials dialog:

1. Provider name: Enter a descriptive name for this data provider (e.g., dataplex_cms, dataplex_fda_trial, or dataplex_paid)

2. Activation credential file: Drag and drop the .share file you downloaded in Step 1, or click browse to select it

3. Description (optional): Add a note like "CMS trial data" or "FDA production access"

4. Click Import

Upload the credential file you downloaded from the activation email

Provider naming tips:

• Use lowercase with underscores (e.g., dataplex_cms)

• Include trial or paid if you want to distinguish access levels

• You can have multiple providers if you subscribe to different products

Step 6: Access Your Data

After importing, the provider and its shares will appear in your Delta Sharing list. Click on the provider name to see available shares and catalogs.

The shared data is now available in your Unity Catalog and can be queried immediately.

Step 7: Verify Data Access

Open a Databricks SQL editor or notebook and run a test query to confirm access:

CMS Data Feeds

-- Verify CMS Data Feeds access
SELECT COUNT(*) as total_feeds
FROM cms_dwv.feeds;

-- View sample data
SELECT title, description, view_name
FROM cms_dwv.feeds
LIMIT 10;

FDA FAERS Dataset

CDC Open Data

Congratulations! If your query returns results, you've successfully activated your Dataplex data share. You can now explore the full dataset using the queries in our Healthcare Data Catalog.

Catalog and Schema Reference

After activation, your data will be available in Unity Catalog with the following structure:

Data Product	Catalog	Schema	Example Table
CMS Data Feeds Dataset	cms_dwv	(tables at catalog level)	cms_dwv.feeds
FDA FAERS Dataset	fda_faers_dwv	(tables at catalog level)	fda_faers_dwv.drug__events
FDA MAUDE Dataset	fda_maude_dwv	(tables at catalog level)	fda_maude_dwv.device__events
CMS NPPES Provider Dataset	nppes_dwv	(tables at catalog level)	nppes_dwv.providers
CDC Open Data Product	cdc_dwv	(tables at catalog level)	cdc_dwv.datasets

Catalog names may vary depending on what you specified during activation. The examples above use default naming conventions.

Troubleshooting

"Permission denied" or "Access denied" errors

Cause: Your Databricks user account lacks permission to create catalogs or accept shares.

Solution:

1. Contact your Databricks workspace administrator

2. Request CREATE CATALOG privilege or metastore admin role

3. Alternatively, ask an admin to accept the share on your behalf

Activation link expired

Cause: Activation links expire after 7 days for security.

Solution:

1. Contact [email protected]

2. Request a new activation link

3. Complete activation within 7 days of receiving the new link

"Unity Catalog not enabled" error

Cause: Your Databricks workspace doesn't have Unity Catalog configured.

Solution:

1. Contact your Databricks administrator to enable Unity Catalog

2. Alternatively, create a new workspace with Unity Catalog enabled

3. See Databricks Unity Catalog documentation for setup instructions

Share not appearing in catalog

Cause: The share acceptance may not have completed, or you're looking in the wrong catalog.

Solution:

1. Go to Data in the Databricks sidebar

2. Look for the catalog name you specified during activation

3. If not visible, try refreshing the page

4. Check Data > Delta Sharing > Shared with me to see pending shares

Query returns no results

Cause: For trial accounts, data is limited to 1,500 rows per table.

Solution:

1. Verify you're querying the correct catalog and table names

2. Remove any restrictive WHERE clauses for initial testing

3. If the table is genuinely empty, contact [email protected]

"Invalid or expired token" error

Cause: The Delta Sharing authentication token has expired or been revoked.

Solution:

1. Go to Data > Delta Sharing > Shared with me

2. Find the Dataplex share and check its status

3. If expired, contact [email protected] for a new activation link

Managing Your Share

Viewing Share Details

To see information about your active shares:

1. Open Data in the Databricks sidebar

2. Navigate to Delta Sharing > Shared with me

3. Click on the Dataplex share to view details

Revoking Access

If you no longer need access to a share:

1. Open Data > Delta Sharing > Shared with me

2. Find the share you want to remove

3. Click Remove to revoke access

Revoking access is immediate. Any queries or dashboards using the shared data will stop working. You'll need to request a new activation link to restore access.

Next Steps

Now that your share is activated:

1. Explore the documentation - Visit the Healthcare Data Catalog for detailed schema information and sample queries

2. Build your first analysis - Use the sample queries in each product's documentation as starting points

3. Set up dashboards - Connect the shared data to Databricks SQL dashboards for ongoing monitoring

4. Upgrade to full access - If you're on a trial, purchase a subscription when ready for production use

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Need Help?

Contact our support team at [email protected] for assistance with:

• Activation issues or expired links

• Permission configuration questions

• Data access problems after activation

• Unity Catalog setup guidance

Our team typically responds within 24 hours on business days.