Connect to Kafka Data in RapidMiner

This article shows how you can easily integrate the CData JDBC driver for Kafka into your processes in RapidMiner. This article uses the CData JDBC Driver for Kafka to transfer Kafka data to a process in RapidMiner.

Connect to Kafka in RapidMiner as a JDBC Data Source

You can follow the procedure below to establish a JDBC connection to Kafka:

1. Add a new database driver for Kafka: Click Connections -> Manage Database Drivers.
2. In the resulting wizard, click the Add button and enter a name for the connection.
3. Enter the prefix for the JDBC URL: jdbc:apachekafka:
4. Enter the path to the cdata.jdbc.apachekafka.jar file, located in the lib subfolder of the installation directory.
5. Enter the driver class: cdata.jdbc.apachekafka.ApacheKafkaDriver
6. Create a new Kafka connection: Click Connections -> Manage Database Connections.
7. Enter a name for your connection.
8. For Database System, select the Kafka driver you configured previously.
9. Enter your connection string in the Host box.

   Set BootstrapServers and the Topic properties to specify the address of your Apache Kafka server, as well as the topic you would like to interact with.

   Authorization Mechanisms

   • SASL Plain: The User and Password properties should be specified. AuthScheme should be set to 'Plain'.
   • SASL SSL: The User and Password properties should be specified. AuthScheme should be set to 'Scram'. UseSSL should be set to true.
   • SSL: The SSLCert and SSLCertPassword properties should be specified. UseSSL should be set to true.
   • Kerberos: The User and Password properties should be specified. AuthScheme should be set to 'Kerberos'.

   You may be required to trust the server certificate. In such cases, specify the TrustStorePath and the TrustStorePassword if necessary.

   Built-in Connection String Designer

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

   java -jar cdata.jdbc.apachekafka.jar

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

   A typical connection string is below:

   User=admin;Password=pass;BootStrapServers=https://localhost:9091;Topic=MyTopic;
10. Enter your username and password if necessary.

You can now use your Kafka connection with the various RapidMiner operators in your process. To retrieve Kafka data, drag the Retrieve operator from the Operators view. With the Retrieve operator selected, you can then define which table to retrieve in the Parameters view by clicking the folder icon next to the "repository entry." In the resulting Repository Browser, you can expand your connection node to select the desired example set.

Finally, wire the output to the Retrieve process to a result, and run the process to see the Kafka data.