Access Elasticsearch Data in Mule Applications Using the CData JDBC Driver

The CData JDBC Driver for Elasticsearch connects Elasticsearch data to Mule applications enabling read , write, update, and delete functionality with familiar SQL queries. The JDBC Driver allows users to easily create Mule applications to backup, transform, report, and analyze Elasticsearch data.

This article demonstrates how to use the CData JDBC Driver for Elasticsearch inside of a Mule project to create a Web interface for Elasticsearch data. The application created allows you to request Elasticsearch data using an HTTP request and have the results returned as JSON. The exact same procedure outlined below can be used with any CData JDBC Driver to create a Web interface for the 200+ available data sources.

1. Create a new Mule Project in Anypoint Studio.
2. Add an HTTP Connector to the Message Flow.
3. Configure the address for the HTTP Connector.
4. Add a Database Select Connector to the same flow, after the HTTP Connector.
5. Create a new Connection (or edit an existing one) and configure the properties.
   • Set Connection to "Generic Connection"
   • Select the CData JDBC Driver JAR file in the Required Libraries section (e.g. cdata.jdbc.elasticsearch.jar).
   • Set the URL to the connection string for Elasticsearch

     Set the Server and Port connection properties to connect. To authenticate, set the User and Password properties, PKI (public key infrastructure) properties, or both. To use PKI, set the SSLClientCert, SSLClientCertType, SSLClientCertSubject, and SSLClientCertPassword properties.

     The data provider uses X-Pack Security for TLS/SSL and authentication. To connect over TLS/SSL, prefix the Server value with 'https://'. Note: TLS/SSL and client authentication must be enabled on X-Pack to use PKI.

     Once the data provider is connected, X-Pack will then perform user authentication and grant role permissions based on the realms you have configured.

     Built-in Connection String Designer

     For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the Elasticsearch JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.

     java -jar cdata.jdbc.elasticsearch.jar

     Fill in the connection properties and copy the connection string to the clipboard.

   • Set the Driver class name to cdata.jdbc.elasticsearch.ElasticsearchDriver.
   • Click Test Connection.
6. Set the SQL Query Text to a SQL query to request Elasticsearch data. For example: SELECT Orders.Freight, Customers.ContactName FROM Customers INNER JOIN Orders ON Customers.CustomerId=Orders.CustomerId
7. Add a Transform Message Component to the flow.
8. Set the Output script to the following to convert the payload to JSON:

   %dw 2.0
   output application/json
   ---
   payload
           

9. To view your Elasticsearch data, navigate to the address you configured for the HTTP Connector (localhost:8081 by default): http://localhost:8081. The Elasticsearch data is available as JSON in your Web browser and any other tools capable of consuming JSON endpoints.

At this point, you have a simple Web interface for working with Elasticsearch data (as JSON data) in custom apps and a wide variety of BI, reporting, and ETL tools. Download a free, 30 day trial of the JDBC Driver for Elasticsearch and see the CData difference in your Mule Applications today.