Integrate Kafka with External Services using SnapLogic

SnapLogic is an integration platform-as-a-service (iPaaS) that allows users to create data integration flows with no code. When paired with the CData JDBC Drivers, users get access to live data from more than 250+ SaaS, Big Data and NoSQL sources, including Kafka, in their SnapLogic workflows.

With built-in optimized data processing, the CData JDBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live Kafka data. When platforms issue complex SQL queries to Kafka, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to Kafka and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations client-side (often SQL functions and JOIN operations). Its built-in dynamic metadata querying lets you work with Kafka data using native data types.

Connect to Kafka in SnapLogic

To connect to Kafka data in SnapLogic, download and install the CData Kafka JDBC Driver. Follow the installation dialog. When the installation is complete, the JAR file can be found in the installation directory (C:/Program Files/CData/CData JDBC Driver for Apache Kafka/lib by default).

Upload the Kafka JDBC Driver

After installation, upload the JDBC JAR file to a location in SnapLogic (for example, projects/Jerod Johnson) from the Manager tab.

Configure the Connection

Once the JDBC Driver is uploaded, we can create the connection to Kafka.

1. Navigate to the Designer tab
2. Expand "JDBC" from Snaps and drag a "Generic JDBC - Select" snap onto the designer
3. Click Add Account (or select an existing one) and click "Continue"
4. In the next form, configure the JDBC connection properties:
   • Under JDBC JARs, add the JAR file we previously uploaded
   • Set JDBC Driver Class to cdata.jdbc.apachekafka.ApacheKafkaDriver

   • Set JDBC URL to a JDBC connection string for the Kafka JDBC Driver, for example:

     jdbc:apachekafka:User=admin;Password=pass;BootStrapServers=https://localhost:9091;Topic=MyTopic;RTK=XXXXXX;

     NOTE: RTK is a trial or full key. Contact our Support team for more information.

     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.

     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.

5. After entering the connection properties, click "Validate" and "Apply"

Read Kafka Data

In the form that opens after validating and applying the connection, configure your query.

• Set Schema name to "ApacheKafka"
• Set Table name to a table for Kafka using the schema name, for example: "ApacheKafka"."SampleTable_1" (use the drop-down to see the full list of available tables)
• Add Output fields for each item you wish to work with from the table

Save the Generic JDBC - Select snap.

With connection and query configured, click the end of the snap to preview the data (highlighted below).

Once you confirm the results are what you expect, you can add additional snaps to funnel your Kafka data to another endpoint.

Piping Kafka Data to External Services

For this article, we will load data in a Google Spreadsheet. You can use any of the supported snaps, or even use a Generic JDBC snap with another CData JDBC Driver, to move data into an external service.

1. Start by dropping a "Worksheet Writer" snap onto the end of the "Generic JDBC - Select" snap.
2. Add an account to connect to Google Sheets
3. Configure the Worksheet Writer snap to write your Kafka data to a Google Spreadsheet

You can now execute the fully configured pipeline to extract data from Kafka and push it into a Google Spreadsheet.

Piping External Data to Kafka

As mentioned above, you can also use the JDBC Driver for Kafka in SnapLogic to write data to Kafka. Start by adding a Generic JDBC - Insert or Generic JDBC - Update snap to the dashboard.

1. Select the existing "Account" (connection) or create a new one
2. Configure the query:
   • Set Schema name to "ApacheKafka"
   • Set Table name to a table for Kafka using the schema name, for example: "ApacheKafka"."SampleTable_1" (use the drop-down to see the full list of available tables)
3. Save the Generic JDBC - Insert/Update snap

At this point, you have configured a snap to write data to Kafka, inserting new records or updating existing ones.

More Information & Free Trial

Using the CData JDBC Driver for Apache Kafka you can create a pipeline in SnapLogic for integrating Kafka data with external services. For more information about connecting to Kafka, check at our CData JDBC Driver for Apache Kafka page. Download a free, 30 day trial of the CData JDBC Driver for Apache Kafka and get started today.