Connect Your First Database

Step 1 - Add a database connection to AnomalyArmor

In this step, you’ll add your first database connection to AnomalyArmor. This establishes the secure link that allows us to discover and monitor your data assets.

Before You Begin

Make sure you have:

• Database hostname, port, and credentials
• Network access from AnomalyArmor to your database (see Quickstart Overview)
• A read-only database user (recommended)

Supported Databases

Database	Version	Notes
PostgreSQL	12+	Including RDS, Aurora, Supabase
Databricks	Unity Catalog	Requires access token
ClickHouse	21+	Including ClickHouse Cloud

Step-by-Step Guide

1. Navigate to Asset Management

   From the AnomalyArmor dashboard, click Settings in the left sidebar, then select the Assets tab.

   You’ll see the Asset Management page with a list of your existing connections (empty if this is your first time).

2. Click Add New Asset

   Click the Add New Asset button. You can find this button in the top right corner of the page, or in the center of the page if you have no assets configured yet.

3. Select Database Type

   Choose your database type from the available options:

   • PostgreSQL - For PostgreSQL, Amazon RDS, Aurora, Supabase, etc.
   • Databricks - For Databricks with Unity Catalog
   • ClickHouse - For ClickHouse or ClickHouse Cloud
4. Enter Connection Details

   Fill in your connection information:

   PostgreSQL

   Field	Description	Example
   Connection Name	A friendly name for this connection	Production PostgreSQL
   Host	Database hostname or IP	db.example.com
   Port	Database port	5432
   Database	Database name	production
   Username	Database user	anomalyarmor_reader
   Password	User password	••••••••
   SSL Mode	SSL configuration	require (recommended)

   

   Databricks

   Field	Description	Example
   Connection Name	A friendly name	Databricks Production
   Workspace URL	Your Databricks workspace	https://xxx.cloud.databricks.com
   HTTP Path	SQL warehouse path	/sql/1.0/warehouses/abc123
   Catalog	Unity Catalog name	main
   Access Token	Personal access token	dapi...

   Generate an access token in Databricks: Settings → User Settings → Access Tokens → Generate New Token

   ClickHouse

   Field	Description	Example
   Connection Name	A friendly name	ClickHouse Analytics
   Host	ClickHouse hostname	xxx.clickhouse.cloud
   Port	HTTPS port	8443
   Database	Database name	default
   Username	Database user	anomalyarmor
   Password	User password	••••••••

5. Test Connection

   Click Test Connection to verify AnomalyArmor can reach your database.

   

   If the test fails, see the Troubleshooting section below.

6. Save Connection

   Click Save to add the connection.

   You should see your new asset in the Asset Management list with a “Ready” status.

What Happens Next

After saving your connection:

1. Credentials are encrypted: Stored securely with AES-256 encryption
2. Connection is ready: You can now run discovery to scan your database
3. No data accessed yet: Discovery must be triggered manually or scheduled

Security Best Practices

Always use a read-only, dedicated user for AnomalyArmor. Never use your application’s production credentials.

Creating a Read-Only User

PostgreSQL

-- Create a dedicated user
CREATE USER anomalyarmor WITH PASSWORD 'your-secure-password';

-- Grant minimal required permissions
GRANT CONNECT ON DATABASE your_database TO anomalyarmor;
GRANT USAGE ON SCHEMA public TO anomalyarmor;
GRANT SELECT ON ALL TABLES IN SCHEMA public TO anomalyarmor;

-- For future tables (optional but recommended)
ALTER DEFAULT PRIVILEGES IN SCHEMA public
GRANT SELECT ON TABLES TO anomalyarmor;

ClickHouse

-- Create a dedicated user with read-only access
CREATE USER anomalyarmor
IDENTIFIED BY 'your-secure-password';

-- Grant read access to all tables
GRANT SELECT ON *.* TO anomalyarmor;

Databricks

In Unity Catalog:

1. Create a service principal or use a personal access token
2. Grant USE CATALOG on your catalog
3. Grant USE SCHEMA on schemas to monitor
4. Grant SELECT on tables (or use ALL PRIVILEGES for read access)

Troubleshooting

Connection refused

Cause: Network connectivity issues

Solutions:

1. Verify the hostname and port are correct
2. Check that your database is running
3. Ensure AnomalyArmor IPs are allowlisted in your firewall/security group
4. For RDS: Verify the security group allows inbound traffic on your DB port

# Test connectivity from your machine
nc -zv your-host.rds.amazonaws.com 5432

Authentication failed

Cause: Invalid credentials

Solutions:

1. Double-check username and password (copy-paste to avoid typos)
2. Verify the user exists in the database
3. Ensure the user has CONNECT permission on the database
4. Check for special characters in password that may need escaping

SSL connection required

Cause: Database requires SSL but connection isn’t using it

Solutions:

1. Set SSL Mode to require in the connection form
2. For RDS: SSL is required by default, ensure SSL Mode is set
3. For self-hosted: Verify SSL certificates are properly configured

Connection timeout

Cause: Network latency or firewall issues

Solutions:

1. Verify the database is accessible from outside your VPC
2. Check for firewall rules blocking the connection
3. For private databases: Contact us about VPC peering options

Permission denied

Cause: User lacks required permissions

Solutions:

1. Grant SELECT on information_schema tables
2. Grant USAGE on the schema you want to monitor
3. Verify user can access the specific database

Next Step

Your database is connected! Now let’s discover your tables and schemas.

Run First Discovery

Scan your database to catalog tables, views, and columns