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What is an Emitter?

An emitter is the mirror of a connector: where a connector brings data in to the Lakehouse, an emitter pushes selected data out to an external system you control (your SQL Server, your Fabric Warehouse, etc.). Emitters use the same integration types the collector uses (Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Fabric SQL, and so on) — but each emitter requires its own connection to the destination system, separate from any collector connection. Emission connections need write credentials; collection connections only need read. You can’t reuse a collector connection for an emitter, even if it points at the same system.

Browse all destinations

See which systems Entegrata can emit to today

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How an Emitter Works

Each emitter is bound to one destination connection and one source layer in the Lakehouse:
  • Source layer — typically the curated Silver layer of a pipeline you’ve already mapped. Emit takes whatever transformations you’ve defined in the pipeline and ships the result.
  • Destination connection — the credentials and network details for the system on the receiving end.
  • Resource selection — the specific tables/views from the source layer the emitter is allowed to write.
On every emission run, Entegrata:
1

Read from the source layer

Loads the latest contents of each selected resource from the Lakehouse.
2

Stage and apply

Writes rows into a staging table in the destination, then atomically swaps or merges into the target. Existing indexes, unique keys, and foreign keys are preserved across the swap.
3

Record the result

Logs which entities succeeded, which failed, row counts, and duration.

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Emitter Properties

Every emitter has a set of properties you configure when you create it. Some apply to all destinations; others are specific to the destination type the emitter targets.

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Core Properties

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string
required
Display label for the emitter. Used everywhere the emitter appears in the admin portal.
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string
Optional human-readable description.
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string
required
The destination connection this emitter writes to. Only active emission connections are selectable.
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enum
How emissions are kicked off.
  • Manual — run on demand from the emitter detail page.
  • Event — currently fires automatically when an associated pipeline run completes. More event sources may be added in the future.
Event-driven emitters can still be triggered manually at any time from the emitter detail page — the trigger type controls automatic runs, not whether you’re allowed to run it yourself.
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boolean
default:"true"
Swap primary-key and foreign-key columns to a numeric sys_id (bigint) instead of the default id (uuid) when the source resource has one. Use this when the destination prefers integer keys for indexing or downstream tooling.

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Destination-Specific Properties

Beyond the core fields, each emitter exposes options that come from the destination type. These are shown on the Options tab when you create or edit an emitter, and the available fields are determined by the selected connection.
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enum
Which Lakehouse layer the emitter pulls from. Currently only Silver is supported. Gold may be enabled as a source in the future.
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string
Schema inside the destination database where emitted tables land. Defaults vary by destination (dbo for SQL Server / Fabric, etc.). Dedicate a schema to Entegrata — see Permissions Model below.
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enum
default:"snake_case"
How emitted table and column names are formatted. Default is snake_case. Configure to match the downstream tools that consume the replica.
The exact set of destination-specific properties depends on the connector type. See the per-destination guide (Microsoft SQL Server, Fabric SQL, Fabric Warehouse) for the full list available for that destination.

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Emission Modes

You choose the mode when you start an emission. Entegrata then makes a best-effort attempt to achieve that mode and falls back automatically if the underlying data doesn’t allow it.
Emit every selected resource from scratch. Entegrata loads all rows into staging tables and atomically swaps them with the targets.Use Full when you want a guaranteed clean state in the destination, after large schema changes, or for the first run.

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Lifecycle

1

Create an emission connection

Add the destination’s credentials and network details. This is a separate connection from any collector connection pointing at the same system — emission connections need write access.
2

Create an emitter

Bind a source pipeline layer to the destination connection. The emitter inherits credentials and network rules from the connection.
3

Pick resources

Choose the tables/views to emit. The picker surfaces row counts, recently-updated flags, and foreign-key dependencies so you can see what will be included.
4

Run the emission

Trigger the emitter on demand or let it run on its configured schedule, picking Full, Incremental, or Specific.
5

Monitor

Check the emitter detail page to see per-run status, per-entity outcomes, and row counts.

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Permissions Model

Emitters need write access to the destination, unlike collectors which only need read. The service account or identity the emission connection uses typically needs:
  • SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE on the target schema
  • CREATE TABLE, ALTER, DROP on the target schema (so Entegrata can create staging tables, apply schema changes, and atomically swap tables on Full)
  • VIEW DEFINITION on existing objects in the schema
Entegrata manages the lifecycle of the tables it emits — it creates, drops, and swaps them as part of normal operation. Dedicate an emission schema rather than sharing one with tables maintained by other systems.
The exact permissions vary by destination. See the per-destination guide for specifics.

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Supported Destinations

Microsoft SQL Server

On-prem SQL Server, Azure SQL Database, Azure SQL Managed Instance, or RDS for SQL Server

Microsoft Fabric SQL

Microsoft Fabric SQL endpoint

Microsoft Fabric Warehouse

Microsoft Fabric Warehouse
Don’t see your destination? Contact your Entegrata Customer Experience Manager about adding emit support to an existing connector or building a new one.

Connector Catalog

Browse the systems Entegrata can collect data from

Connections

Manage the connections emitters depend on

Pipelines

Define the transformations whose output emitters ship

Jobs

Monitor emission runs alongside collection runs