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The hosted Iceberg catalog is a built-in catalog service for the Iceberg table engine. It simplifies the process of creating Iceberg tables by eliminating the need to set up, configure, and manage an external catalog service like AWS Glue, a separate JDBC database, or a REST service. For users new to Iceberg, or for those who want to reduce operational overhead, the hosted catalog provides the quickest way to get started with the Iceberg table engine in RisingWave.

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Hosted catalog options

RisingWave supports the following types of hosted catalogs:

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Benefits of the hosted catalog

  • Zero external dependencies: No need to set up AWS Glue, PostgreSQL, or other catalog services
  • Rapid prototyping: Get started with Iceberg immediately without infrastructure setup
  • Standard compliance: Uses the standard Iceberg JDBC catalog protocol for compatibility
  • External accessibility: Tables can be accessed by external Iceberg-compatible tools
  • Reduced complexity: Fewer moving parts in your data architecture

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When to use external catalogs instead

While the hosted catalog is great for getting started, you might want to use external catalogs when:
  • Multi-system environments: Multiple systems need to share the same catalog metadata
  • Enterprise requirements: You need integration with existing catalog infrastructure (AWS Glue, etc.)
  • Governance: You have strict data governance requirements that mandate specific catalog systems
  • Scale: You’re managing hundreds or thousands of Iceberg tables across multiple systems
For external catalog configurations, see Catalog configuration.

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System tables

When using the hosted catalog, you can inspect the catalog metadata through RisingWave’s system tables: 
-- View all Iceberg tables managed by the hosted catalog
SELECT * FROM iceberg_tables;

-- View namespace properties
SELECT * FROM iceberg_namespace_properties;

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Best practices

  1. For simplified management: Use for development, testing, or production scenarios where RisingWave is the primary system managing the Iceberg tables and a shared external catalog is not needed.
  2. Backup your metadata: Since metadata is stored in RisingWave’s metastore, ensure you have proper backup procedures for it.
  3. Monitor storage growth: Keep an eye on metastore storage as you create more tables.
  4. Plan for scale: Consider external catalogs if you anticipate managing many tables or integrating with multiple systems.

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Next steps

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