Getting started as a subscriber - AWS Data Exchange User Guide
Step 1: Set up AWS Data ExchangeStep 2: Browse the catalogStep 3: (Optional) Request a recommendation for a data productStep 4: (Optional) Evaluate products containing data dictionaries and samples Step 5: Subscribe to and access a product

Getting started as a subscriber

The following topics describe the complete process of becoming a data product subscriber on AWS Data Exchange using the AWS Data Exchange console. The process has the following steps:

Step 1: Set up AWS Data Exchange

Before you can use AWS Data Exchange, you must sign up for AWS and create a user. For more information, see Setting up AWS Data Exchange.

To set up AWS Data Exchange

  1. Sign up for an AWS account. For more information, see Sign up for an AWS account.

  2. Create a user. For more information, see Create a user.

Step 2: Browse the catalog

You can find products and review the associated public or custom offers and product details on both AWS Marketplace and AWS Data Exchange.

If the provider has issued a private offer to your account, the product is available on the My product offers page of the AWS Data Exchange console. For more information, see Subscribing to data products on AWS Data Exchange.

To browse the catalog

  1. Open and sign in to the AWS Data Exchange console.

  2. In the left side navigation pane, under Discover data products, choose Browse catalog.

  3. Enter a term or phrase in the Search bar and then choose Search.

  4. (Optional) Under Browse catalog, enter in a word or phrase and then choose Search to view results matching your query.

  5. (Optional) Under Refine results, choose from one of the specific Categories to browse specific data products.

  6. (Optional) Under Refine results, use the Data set type filter and select from the following options to find products:

    • Files (Amazon S3 Objects) – Products containing file-based data

    • Amazon Redshift – Products containing Amazon Redshift datashares

    • API – Products containing APIs

    • Access to Amazon S3 – Products containing Amazon S3 data access

    • AWS Lake Formation – Products containing AWS Lake Formation data permissions (Preview)

  7. Select a product from the list of returned results, and review its product details page.

Step 3: (Optional) Request a recommendation for a data product

If you're unable to find a product in the catalog, you can request personalized recommendations from the AWS Data Exchange Data Discovery Team.

To request a data product recommendation

  1. Open and sign in to the AWS Data Exchange console.

  2. In the left side navigation pane, under Discover data products, choose Request data product.

  3. On the Request data product page, for Details, enter a Data description.

  4. (Optional) Expand Additional details - optional and complete the fields as directed.

    1. Select one or more Product categories.

    2. Enter an Example data product URL.

    3. For Data set type, choose from Files (Amazon S3 Objects), Amazon API Gateway API, Amazon Redshift datashare, AWS Lake Formation data permissions (Preview) or Amazon S3 data access.

    4. Enter specific details about the product you want including Delivery cadence, Example data product URL, Subscription start date, Subscription length, and Subscription budget.

    5. If the Data set type you chose is Amazon API Gateway API, under Subscription budget, select Including metered costs.

  5. For Data providers, choose from a list of Existing providers or enter the name of Other providers. Then indicate whether you have an existing relationship with the providers.

  6. Choose Submit.

    You should receive a response from the AWS Data Exchange Data Discovery Team within 2 business days.

Step 4: (Optional) Evaluate products containing data dictionaries and samples

A provider might include a data dictionary and samples of the data set with their product. To help you determine if the product’s data set will meet your needs, you can view and download the data dictionary and samples before you subscribe. For more information, see Data dictionaries and samples.

You can perform the following actions to help with your evaluation of a product’s data sets:

Viewing a data dictionary

A provider can add one data dictionary per data set that you can view.

To view a data dictionary

  1. On the product detail page, choose the Data dictionary and samples tab.

  2. View the data dictionary in one of the following ways:

    • Scroll down to the product Overview section to see the data dictionary under View data dictionaries.

    • Choose the Data dictionaries and samples tab, expand a data set row, choose the option button next to a data dictionary, and then choose View all data dictionaries.

  3. (Optional) Enter a keyword or phrase into the Search bar to search across all data sets and all tables.

  4. (Optional) Modify your search and filters as necessary.

Downloading a data dictionary

A provider can add one data dictionary per data set that you can download.

To download a data dictionary

  1. On the product detail page, choose the Data dictionary and samples tab.

  2. Expand the data set row by choosing the expand icon (plus icon to the left of the data set name).

  3. Choose the option button next to a data dictionary name.

  4. Choose Download.

    The data dictionary file is downloaded to your computer.

Viewing and downloading all data dictionaries

If the product has multiple data sets, the provider might add a data dictionary for each data set. To evaluate all the data sets, you might want to view and download all data dictionaries.

To view and download all data dictionaries

  1. On the product detail page, choose the Data dictionary and samples tab.

  2. Choose View all data dictionaries.

  3. In the View data dictionaries dialog box, choose the Download (CSV) to download the .csv file.

    The .csv file is downloaded to your computer.

  4. Choose Close to close the dialog box.

Previewing a sample

To preview a sample

  1. On the product detail page, choose the Data dictionary and samples tab.

  2. Expand the data set by choosing the expand icon (plus icon to the left of the data set name)

  3. Choose the option button next to a sample name.

  4. Choose Preview sample (CSV only) to preview the sample.

    1. (Optional) In the preview dialog box, choose Download to download the .csv file.

      The .csv file is downloaded to your computer.

    2. Choose Close to close the dialog box.

Downloading a sample

To download a sample

  1. On the product detail page, choose the Data dictionary and samples tab.

  2. Expand the data set by choosing the expand icon (plus icon to the left of the data set name)

  3. Choose the option button next to a sample name.

  4. Choose Download.

    The sample is downloaded to your computer.

Step 5: Subscribe to and access a product

After you discover a product in the AWS Data Exchange catalog and determine that it meets your needs, you can subscribe to the product and then access the product.

If you subscribe to a paid product, you are billed on your AWS bill. You get access to the entitled data set. For more information, see Subscribing to data products on AWS Data Exchange.

For more information about how to subscribe to products containing different types of data sets, see the following: