Stream Azure Table 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 Azure, Kafka can work with live Azure Table data. This article describes how to connect, access and stream Azure Table data into Apache Kafka Topics and to start Confluent Control Center to help users secure, manage, and monitor the Azure Table 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 Azure Table data. When you issue complex SQL queries to Azure Table, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to Azure Table 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 Azure Table data using native data types.

Prerequisites

Before connecting the CData JDBC Driver for streaming Azure Table 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 Azure Table data

1. Download CData JDBC Driver for Azure 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 Azure Table

      		mkdir AzureTables
      		

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

      		mv AzureTablesJDBCDriver.zip AzureTables/
      		

   3. Unzip the CData AzureTablesJDBCDriver contents into this new directory

      		unzip AzureTablesJDBCDriver.zip
      		

3. Open the Azure Table directory and navigate to the lib folder

   ls
   cd lib/
   

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

   cp -r /path/to/CData JDBC Driver for Azure/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 Azure Table JDBC driver license using the given command, followed by your Name and Email ID

   	java -jar cdata.jdbc.azuretables.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 Azure Table to stream messages using Kafka Connect Driver into Kafka Topics on ksqlDB.

   👁 Start the Confluent local services
   
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_azuretables_01", 
   		"config": { 
   			"connector.class": "io.confluent.connect.jdbc.JdbcSourceConnector", 
   			"connection.url": "jdbc:azuretables:AccessKey=myAccessKey;Account=myAccountName;",
   		"topic.prefix": "azuretables-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 Azure Table 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 Azure. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.

     		java -jar cdata.jdbc.azuretables.jar
     		

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

     Specify your AccessKey and your Account to connect. Set the Account property to the Storage Account Name and set AccessKey to one of the Access Keys. Either the Primary or Secondary Access Keys can be used. To obtain these values, navigate to the Storage Accounts blade in the Azure portal. You can obtain the access key by selecting your account and clicking Access Keys in the Settings section.

     👁 Using the built-in connection string designer to generate a JDBC URL (Salesforce is shown.)
     
   • topic.prefix: A prefix that will be added to the Kafka topics created by the connector. It's set to "azuretables-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 Azure Table 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;
   

   👁 List the Kafka Topics (BigCommerce is shown)
   
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 Azure and start streaming Azure Table data into Apache Kafka. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.