Various embodiments of a method to access metadata from a plurality of data servers from a federated database management system are provided. In one embodiment, a request for metadata, from a client application, is received by the federated database management system. Data servers which are accessible from the federated database management system are identified. For each data server, metadata describing data of a data source of that data server is retrieved in accordance with the application request. The retrieved metadata from each of the data servers is aggregated to produce an aggregated result in a uniform format. The aggregated result is provided. In another embodiment, for each data server, a source metadata request for metadata of that data server is generated in accordance with the application request and a source metadata application programming interface. A view is created based on the source metadata request for metadata for each data server.