Data Studio Enhancements: Query Remote Catalogs Using SQL Syntax

Oracle continues to innovate its Autonomous Database Serverless offering by enhancing Data Studio with a powerful new capability: the ability to query remote catalogs using familiar SQL syntax.

Release Date: June 17, 2025

What’s New?

With this enhancement, you can now mount external data catalogs and query their contents seamlessly using simplified SQL commands — directly from Data Studio. This means you can effortlessly discover, analyze, and integrate external data sources without complicated setups or multiple query languages.

Why It Matters

Accessing and analyzing data spread across multiple repositories is a common challenge in modern data-driven organizations. This new capability simplifies data exploration and federation by:

• Allowing data analysts and developers to work with external catalogs as if they were local

• Using standard SQL syntax — no need to learn new query languages or APIs

• Enabling faster insights by integrating data from diverse sources with minimal overhead

How It Works

Data Studio lets you mount external catalogs — such as other Autonomous Databases or supported data lakes - through a straightforward process. Once mounted, these remote catalogs become part of your queryable metadata, allowing you to write SQL queries that join, filter, or aggregate data across both local and remote datasets.

For example, you can execute SQL statements like:

SELECT * FROM remote_catalog.schema.table WHERE condition;

This federated querying capability bridges data silos and accelerates analytics workflows, empowering you to unlock greater value from your data ecosystem.

Getting Started

To use this feature:

1. Mount the remote catalog in Data Studio following your organization’s security and access policies.

2. Write SQL queries that reference remote catalogs just like local tables.

3. Explore and analyze combined datasets effortlessly.

For detailed instructions, configurations, and examples, please refer to the official Oracle documentation on Querying Remote Databases in Autonomous Database Serverless.

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Final Thoughts

This enhancement makes Data Studio an even more versatile tool for data professionals, enabling cross-database querying with minimal friction. Whether you’re integrating data from multiple Autonomous Databases or bridging to data lakes, this feature simplifies your workflow while maximizing the reach of your analytics.