Skip to main content

What's S2V?

Stream2Vault (S2V) is a tool designed to make building and managing your Data Vault much easier and faster.

Think about how you design your Data Vault: you identify your business concepts (Hubs), the relationships between them (Links), and the descriptive details for each (Satellites). Traditionally, turning these designs into actual database tables and the logic to load them can involve a lot of manual coding and can be prone to errors.

S2V streamlines and accelerates this entire lifecycle.

Here’s how it works in simple terms:

  1. You Define Your Model with Speed: Instead of writing complex SQL code from scratch, you describe your Hubs, Links, and Satellites in simple, human-readable configuration files (using YAML). This format makes it incredibly fast to define new objects, add attributes, or change existing structures. You tell S2V things like:

    • "This is a Customer Hub, and its business key is CUSTOMER_ID from my source system."
    • "This Link connects Customers to Orders."
    • "This Satellite stores the customer's address details and should track history."

  2. S2V Generates and Deploys Rapidly: You then use the S2V command-line tool. It takes your YAML model definitions, validates them against Data Vault rules, and then generates all the necessary SQL code.

    • Deployment is fast, and S2V supports partial deployments, meaning you can update or add only specific parts of your Data Vault without redeploying everything. This is a huge time-saver, especially in large or evolving environments.
    • When used with technologies like Snowflake Dynamic Tables, the operational overhead is significantly reduced. You simply define your desired data freshness, and the underlying platform handles the refresh logic – no complex orchestration jobs or schedulers to manage for these objects.

Why is this helpful for someone familiar with Data Vault?

  • Unmatched Development Speed: YAML definitions allow you to create, add, or change Data Vault objects much faster than manual SQL coding.
  • Consistency: Ensures that your Data Vault objects are built using standardized patterns and best practices.
  • Reduced Errors: The structured YAML approach and built-in validations minimize the chance of human error.
  • Focus on Modeling: Allows data modelers and data engineers to focus more on the business logic and the design of the Data Vault, rather than the intricacies of SQL implementation.
  • Agile Adaptability: When your source systems or business requirements change, updating your YAML definitions is straightforward. S2V can then quickly regenerate and deploy only the affected parts of your Data Vault.
  • Simplified Operations: Especially with features like Snowflake Dynamic Tables, S2V helps you move away from managing intricate loading jobs and orchestration, letting you focus on data freshness and model integrity.

In essence, Stream2Vault empowers you to build, modify, and deploy your Data Vault with exceptional speed and simplicity. It translates your Data Vault designs into optimized, deployable database structures, significantly reducing manual effort and operational complexity.