Stream Anaplan Data into Apache Kafka Topics

Apache Kafka is an open-source stream processing platform that is primarily used for building real-time data pipelines and event-driven applications. When paired with the CData JDBC Driver for Anaplan, Kafka can work with live Anaplan data. This article describes how to connect, access and stream Anaplan data into Apache Kafka Topics and to start Confluent Control Center to help users secure, manage, and monitor the Anaplan data received using Kafka infrastructure in the Confluent Platform.

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

Prerequisites

Before connecting the CData JDBC Driver for streaming Anaplan data in Apache Kafka Topics, install and configure the following in the client Linux-based system.

1. Confluent Platform for Apache Kafka
2. Confluent Hub CLI Installation
3. Self-Managed Kafka JDBC Source Connector for Confluent Platform

Define a New JDBC Connection to Anaplan data

1. Download CData JDBC Driver for Anaplan on a Linux-based system
2. Follow the given instructions to create a new directory extract all the driver contents into it:
   1. Create a new directory named Anaplan

      		mkdir Anaplan
      		

   2. Move the downloaded driver file (.zip) into this new directory

      		mv AnaplanJDBCDriver.zip Anaplan/
      		

   3. Unzip the CData AnaplanJDBCDriver contents into this new directory

      		unzip AnaplanJDBCDriver.zip
      		

3. Open the Anaplan directory and navigate to the lib folder

   ls
   cd lib/
   

4. Copy the contents of the lib folder of the CData JDBC Driver for Anaplan into the lib folder of Kafka Connect JDBC. Check the Kafka Connect JDBC folder contents to confirm that the cdata.jdbc.anaplan.jar file is successfully copied into the lib folder

   cp -r /path/to/CData JDBC Driver for Anaplan/lib/* /usr/share/confluent-hub-components/confluentinc-kafka-connect-jdbc/lib/
   cd /usr/share/confluent-hub-components/confluentinc-kafka-connect-jdbc/lib/
   

5. Install the CData Anaplan JDBC driver license using the given command, followed by your Name and Email ID

   	java -jar cdata.jdbc.anaplan.jar -l
   	

6. Enter the product key or "TRIAL" (In the scenarios of license expiry, please contact our CData Support team)
7. Start the Confluent local services using the command:

   	confluent local services start
   	

   This starts all the Confluent Services like Zookeeper, Kafka, Schema Registry, Kafka REST, Kafka CONNECT, ksqlDB and Control Center. You are now ready to use the CData JDBC driver for Anaplan to stream messages using Kafka Connect Driver into Kafka Topics on ksqlDB.

   
8. Create the Kafka topics manually using a POST HTTP API Request:

    curl --location 'server_address:8083/connectors' 
   	--header 'Content-Type: application/json'
   	--data '{ 
   		"name": "jdbc_source_cdata_anaplan_01", 
   		"config": { 
   			"connector.class": "io.confluent.connect.jdbc.JdbcSourceConnector", 
   			"connection.url": "jdbc:anaplan:OAuthClientId=your_client_id;OAuthClientSecret=your_client_secret;CallbackURL=your_callback_url;Region=US1;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;",
   		"topic.prefix": "anaplan-01-", 
   		"mode": "bulk" 
   		} 
   	}'
   

   Let us understand the fields used in the HTTP POST body (shown above):

   • connector.class: Specifies the Java class of the Kafka Connect connector to be used.
   • connection.url: The JDBC connection URL to connect with Anaplan data.

     Built-in Connection String Designer

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

     		java -jar cdata.jdbc.anaplan.jar
     		

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

     Authenticating to Anaplan

     The driver supports authenticating with Basic, Certificate, or OAuth. In every case, set Region to the region where your Anaplan account data is hosted (e.g., US1, which is the default).

     Using Basic Authentication

     Set AuthScheme to Basic, then supply your Anaplan User and Password. If your workspace uses single sign-on (SSO), you must be assigned as an Exception User to use Basic authentication.

     Using Certificate Authentication

     Set AuthScheme to Certificate, then supply the Certificate, CertificateType, and PrivateKey properties (and the matching CertificatePassword / PrivateKeyPassword if either is encrypted). The certificate must be a CA-issued X.509 certificate registered with your Anaplan tenant administrator.

     Using OAuth Authentication

     Register a custom OAuth application in Anaplan, then set the following properties:

     • OAuthClientId: The client Id assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.
     • OAuthClientSecret: The client secret assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.
     • CallbackURL: The redirect URI defined when you registered your application.
     • InitiateOAuth: Set to GETANDREFRESH to have the driver manage the OAuth token exchange and refresh automatically.

     See the Getting Started chapter of the help documentation for a guide to creating a custom OAuth app and using OAuth.

     
   • topic.prefix: A prefix that will be added to the Kafka topics created by the connector. It's set to "anaplan-01-".
   • mode: Specifies the mode in which the connector operates. In this case, it's set to "bulk", which suggests that the connector is configured to perform bulk data transfer.

   This request adds all the tables/contents from Anaplan as Kafka Topics.

   Note: The IP Address (server) to POST the request (shown above) is the Linux Network IP Address.

9. Run ksqlDB and list the topics. Use the commands:

   ksql
   list topics;
   

   
10. To view the data inside the topics, type the SQL Statement:

    PRINT topic FROM BEGINNING;
    

Connecting with the Confluent Control Center

To access the Confluent Control Center user interface, ensure to run the "confluent local services" as described in the above section and type http://<server address>:9021/clusters/ on your local browser.

Get Started Today

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData JDBC Driver for Anaplan and start streaming Anaplan data into Apache Kafka. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.