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

Prerequisites

Before connecting the CData JDBC Driver for streaming SAP Ariba Source 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 SAP Ariba Source data

1. Download CData JDBC Driver for SAP Ariba Source 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 SAP Ariba Source

      		mkdir SAPAribaSource
      		

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

      		mv SAPAribaSourceJDBCDriver.zip SAPAribaSource/
      		

   3. Unzip the CData SAPAribaSourceJDBCDriver contents into this new directory

      		unzip SAPAribaSourceJDBCDriver.zip
      		

3. Open the SAP Ariba Source directory and navigate to the lib folder

   ls
   cd lib/
   

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

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

   	java -jar cdata.jdbc.saparibasource.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 SAP Ariba Source 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_saparibasource_01", 
   		"config": { 
   			"connector.class": "io.confluent.connect.jdbc.JdbcSourceConnector", 
   			"connection.url": "jdbc:saparibasource:API=SupplierDataAPIWithPagination-V4;APIKey=wWVLn7WTAXrIRMAzZ6VnuEj7Ekot5jnU;Environment=SANDBOX;Realm=testRealm;AuthScheme=OAuthClient;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;",
   		"topic.prefix": "saparibasource-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 SAP Ariba Source 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 SAP Ariba Source. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.

     		java -jar cdata.jdbc.saparibasource.jar
     		

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

     In order to connect with SAP Ariba Source, set the following:

     • API: Specify which API you would like the provider to retrieve SAP Ariba data from. Select the Supplier, Sourcing Project Management, or Contract API based on your business role (possible values are SupplierDataAPIWithPaginationV4, SourcingProjectManagementAPIV2, or ContractAPIV1).
     • DataCenter: The data center where your account's data is hosted.
     • Realm: The name of the site you want to access.
     • Environment: Indicate whether you are connecting to a test or production environment (possible values are TEST or PRODUCTION).

     If you are connecting to the Supplier Data API or the Contract API, additionally set the following:

     • User: Id of the user on whose behalf API calls are invoked.
     • PasswordAdapter: The password associated with the authenticating User.

     If you're connecting to the Supplier API, set ProjectId to the Id of the sourcing project you want to retrieve data from.

     Authenticating with OAuth

     After setting connection properties, you need to configure OAuth connectivity to authenticate.

     • Set AuthScheme to OAuthClient.
     • Register an application with the service to obtain the APIKey, OAuthClientId and OAuthClientSecret.

       For more information on creating an OAuth application, refer to the Help documentation.

     Automatic OAuth

     After setting the following, you are ready to connect:

     APIKey: The Application key in your app settings. OAuthClientId: The OAuth Client Id in your app settings. OAuthClientSecret: The OAuth Secret in your app settings.

     When you connect, the provider automatically completes the OAuth process:

     1. The provider obtains an access token from SAP Ariba and uses it to request data.
     2. The provider refreshes the access token automatically when it expires.
     3. The OAuth values are saved in memory relative to the location specified in OAuthSettingsLocation.
     👁 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 "saparibasource-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 SAP Ariba Source 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 SAP Ariba Source and start streaming SAP Ariba Source data into Apache Kafka. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.