Bridge Certinia Connectivity with Apache NiFi

Apache NiFi supports powerful and scalable directed graphs of data routing, transformation, and system mediation logic. When paired with the CData JDBC Driver for Certinia, NiFi can work with live Certinia data. This article describes how to connect to and query Certinia data from an Apache NiFi Flow.

With built-in optimized data processing, the CData JDBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live Certinia data. When you issue complex SQL queries to Certinia, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to Certinia 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 Certinia data using native data types.

Connecting to Certinia Data in Apache NiFi

1. Download the CData JDBC Driver for Certinia installer, unzip the package, and run the JAR file to install the driver.

2. Copy the CData JDBC Driver JAR file (and license file if it exists), cdata.jdbc.certinia.jar (and cdata.jdbc.certinia.lic), to the Apache NiFi lib subfolder, for example, C:\nifi-1.3.0-bin\nifi-1.3.0\lib.

   On Windows, the default location for the CData JDBC Driver is C:\Program Files\CData\CData JDBC Driver for Certinia.

3. Start Apache NiFi. For example:

   cd C:\nifi-1.3.0-bin\nifi-1.3.0\bin
   run-nifi.bat
   

4. Navigate to the Apache NiFi UI in your web browser: typically http://localhost:8080/nifi
5. Click the (Configuration) button from the Operate sidebar.
6. In the NiFi Flow Configuration page, navigate to the Controller Services tab.
7. Click the button to create a new controller service.
8. In the Add Controller Service page, select DBCPConnection Pool, and then click Add.
9. Click the gear button to configure the new DBCPConnection Pool.

10. In the Configure Controller Service page, navigate to the Properties tab. Fill in the properties:

    Property	Value
    Database Connection URL	jdbc:certinia:User=myUser;Password=myPassword;Security Token=myToken;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH
    Database Driver Class Name	cdata.jdbc.certinia.CertiniaDriver

    Built-in Connection String Designer

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

    java -jar cdata.jdbc.certinia.jar

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

    There are several authentication methods available for connecting to Certinia: login credentials, SSO, and OAuth.

    Authenticating with a Login and Token

    Set the User and Password to your login credentials. Additionally, set the SecurityToken. By default, the SecurityToken is required, but you can make it optional by allowing a range of trusted IP addresses.

    To disable the security token:

    1. Log in to Certinia and enter "Network Access" in the Quick Find box in the setup section.
    2. Add your IP address to the list of trusted IP addresses.

    To obtain the security token:

    1. Open the personal information page on certinia.com.
    2. Click the link to reset your security token. The token will be emailed to you.
    3. Specify the security token in the SecurityToken connection property or append it to the Password.

    Authenticating with OAuth

    If you do not have access to the user name and password or do not want to require them, use the OAuth user consent flow. See the OAuth section in the Help for an authentication guide.

    Connecting to Certinia Sandbox Accounts

    Set UseSandbox to true (false by default) to use a Certinia sandbox account. Ensure that you specify a sandbox user name in User.

11. Click the button to enable the new DBCPConnection Pool.

Your Certinia data is now available for use in Apache NiFi. For example, you can use the DBCPConnection Pool as the source for a QueryDatabaseTable processor.

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData JDBC Driver for Certinia and start working with your live Certinia data in Apache NiFi. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.