How to Setup Unity Catalog Account - Step-by-Step Guide

The Unity Catalog Account Creation process in Azure Databricks is essential for managing secure, governed, and scalable access to your data assets. Unity Catalog provides a single control plane to manage catalogs, schemas, tables, permissions, and lineage across multiple workspaces.

This guide will walk you through the entire Unity Catalog account creation process — including administrator setup, Azure resources, metastore configuration, and workspace linking. By the end of this tutorial, you’ll have a fully functional and compliant Unity Catalog setup ready to support enterprise data governance.

Section 1: Overview – Unity Catalog Account Creation Steps

Below are the high-level steps involved in the Unity Catalog Account Creation process for Azure Databricks. Each step will be detailed in the next section.

  1. Create a user with the Global Administrator role

  2. Create a Resource Group

  3. Create a Premium-tier Azure Databricks Workspace

  4. Create an ADLS Gen2 Storage Account and Container

  5. Create an Access Connector for Azure Databricks

  6. Grant access to the Access Connector on ADLS Gen2 Storage

  7. Enable Microsoft Authenticator for the new user

  8. Enable Unity Catalog by creating a metastore and assigning it to the workspace

 

Section 2: Unity Catalog Account Creation – Detailed Configuration Guide

Step 1: Create a User with Global Administrator Role

Add a New User in Entra ID

 

  • In the Azure search bar, look for “Entra ID.”
  • Select your tenant and click Add user to create a new user.
Unity Catalog Account Creation Process Create User
Unity Catalog Account Creation Process Create User 2

Assign the Global Administrator Role

  • Navigate to Assigned Roles → Add assignments
  • Search and assign Global Administrator to the new user.
Unity Catalog Account Creation Process Set Global Admin

Step 2: Create a Resource Group for Unity Catalog Setup

  • In the Azure Portal, go to the Resource Groups section.

  • Click Create, provide a name, choose a region, and confirm.

Unity Catalog Account Creation Process Create Resource Group

Step 3: Create a Premium-Tier Azure Databricks Workspace

  • Navigate to Azure Marketplace → Databricks.

  • Select the Premium pricing tier.

  • Enter workspace name, region, and link it to your resource group.

Unity Catalog Account Creation Process Create Data bricks account

Step 4: Create ADLS Gen2 Storage Account and Container

  • Create Storage Account

    • Go to Storage Accounts → Create

    • Under the Advanced tab, check Hierarchical namespace to enable Data Lake Gen2

Unity Catalog Account Creation Process Create Storage Account
Unity Catalog Account Creation Process Storage Account enable ADLS
  • Create a Container
    • Inside the storage account, navigate to Containers

    • Create a container named metastore-<location> (e.g., metastore-westindia)

Unity Catalog Account Creation Process Create Container

Step 5: Create Access Connector for Unity Catalog Account Creation

  • In the Azure Portal, go to Access Connectors

  • Choose Azure Databricks Access Connector

  • Select the region and assign a clear, meaningful name

Unity Catalog Account Creation Process Create Access Connector

Step 6: Assign Role to Access Connector on ADLS Gen2

  • Open your ADLS Gen2 storage account

  • Go to Access Control (IAM) → Add Role Assignment

  • Search for Storage Blob Data Contributor and assign it to the Access Connector

Unity Catalog Account Creation Process Create ADLS Gen2 storage blob role

Step 7: Set Up Microsoft Authenticator for the New User

Unity Catalog Account Creation Process MS authenticator
Azure Portal homepage to Configure Data Lake Folders
  • Configure the Microsoft Authenticator App

    • Download and open the Microsoft Authenticator app on your phone

    • Scan the QR code and approve the sign-in as prompted

Unity Catalog Account Creation Process MS Authenticator 2
Unity Catalog Account Creation Process MS Authenticator 3

Step 8: Enable Unity Catalog by Creating a Metastore

  • Delete Existing Metastore (If Present)
    • Go to Databricks Account Console → Catalogs

    • Delete the existing default metastore if listed

Unity Catalog Account Creation Process Enable Metastore
  • Create a New Metastore for Unity Catalog
    • Navigate to Catalog → Create Metastore

    • Enter a name, select a region, input the ADLS Gen2 path, and provide the Access Connector’s subscription ID

Unity Catalog Account Creation Process Create New Metastore
  • Assign Databricks Workspace
    • After the metastore is created, link your Databricks Workspace to it
Unity Catalog Account Creation Process Assign Workspace to Metastore
Unity Catalog Account Creation Process Assign workspace to metastore
Unity Catalog Account Creation Process Enable Catalog

Step 9: Launch Databricks Workspace Linked to Unity Catalog

  • Go to Workspaces in the Account Console

  • Launch your assigned workspace — it’s now fully connected to Unity Catalog

Unity Catalog Account Creation Process Launch unity catalog enabled workspace

Conclusion – Unity Catalog Account Creation Is Complete

You’ve now completed the full Unity Catalog Account Creation process in Azure Databricks. Your setup includes:

  • A secure and centralized data governance framework

  • Seamless control over catalogs, schemas, and table permissions

  • A ready-to-scale Lakehouse architecture with Unity Catalog enabled

What’s Next?

  • Begin assigning user permissions to catalogs and schemas

  • Use Unity Catalog-enabled clusters to create and manage tables

  • Explore integrations with Azure Purview for extended metadata management and lineage

Your Unity Catalog environment is now enterprise-ready. Continue building robust, secure, and compliant data solutions at scale.

Recent Posts

3

What's New?

demo

Quick Links Visit the Azure Free Account Signup Unity Catalog Account Creation Process Step 1: Visit the Azure Free Account Signup Page …

SAS Training

AZURE DATA

Quick Links Visit the Azure Free Account Signup Unity Catalog Account Creation Process How to Create a Free Azure Account – Step-by-Step …