Hi <@U088WCP3B4P>, I'm exploring Elementary to che...
# ask-elementary-ai
n
Hi @kapa.ai, I'm exploring Elementary to check if it can support my use case. I'm considering having a Dev DB in Redshift where developers can create their classic views and develop and test their logic in this segregated environment, that still reads data from Production tables. Now what I'd like for the developer, during testing phase, to control if the model they are developing in Dev is consistent with the one in Production or if there particular 'anomalies' being introduced. Some are expected as part of the change that the developer wants to implement, others no - as unexpected behavioural changes. It would be nice to give the developer this kind of context, letting them know the changes is implementing and the impact are going to have. Is something like that possible to achieve using Elementary?
k
A message from kapa.ai
Elementary provides several features that align with your use case, but there are some limitations specific to Redshift that you should be aware of. ### Comparing Dev and Production Models Elementary supports comparing tables to flag data differences, which is useful for understanding the impact of changes between environments (e.g., Dev vs. Production). This functionality is available through Python tests for BigQuery and Snowflake, where you can compare two tables and identify differences. However, the knowledge sources do not confirm that this feature is currently available for Redshift. For Redshift, Elementary’s unstructured data validation and LLM-based tests are not yet supported, and documentation for such integrations is still in progress. You may want to reach out to the Elementary team for updates on Redshift support for this specific feature[Redshift support](https://docs.elementary-data.com/data-tests/ai-data-tests/supported-platforms/redshift). ### Anomaly Detection and Data Quality Monitoring Elementary excels at monitoring for anomalies and unexpected behavioral changes in your data models. You can configure anomaly detection tests (e.g., for volume, freshness, null rates, and column-level anomalies) in your dbt project. These tests compare recent metrics to historical values and flag significant deviations, which can help developers identify both expected and unexpected changes introduced during development. These tests are configured and executed like any other dbt test, and results are available in the Elementary UI and alerting system. This approach works across supported warehouses, including Redshift, for standard anomaly detection tests[How anomaly detection works](https://docs.elementary-data.com/data-tests/how-anomaly-detection-works) [Add anomaly detection tests](https://docs.elementary-data.com/data-tests/add-elementary-tests). ### Summary - Direct table comparison (Dev vs. Prod): Supported for BigQuery and Snowflake via Python tests, but not currently documented for Redshift. - Anomaly detection and monitoring: Fully supported for Redshift, allowing developers to detect unexpected changes in their models during development and testing. If your primary need is anomaly detection and monitoring for unexpected changes, Elementary can support this in Redshift. For direct table comparison, you may need to wait for future support or contact the Elementary team for more details. Let me know if you need more specifics or guidance on configuring these tests!
n
Hey @Nicholas Tucci! This is a great question and something we thought about for a while. Our best answer for this is the new Elementary MCP Server, that allows you to connect your Elementary environment to any client that supports it (Cursor, Claude, internal agents). This means that while developing in Dev, the developer can have all of the Production context (lineage, test results, health), and can have the agent check what effect a certain change can have on Prod. The MCP, along with a suite of AI agents, is available in Elementary Cloud. We just had a webinar about our MCP last week that explains exactly how it works and few of the many cases that it can solve. You can watch the recording here! Happy to chat about this if you're interested.