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

Prerequisites

Before connecting the CData JDBC Driver for streaming SQL Server 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 SQL Server data

1. Download CData JDBC Driver for SQL Server 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 SQL Server

      		mkdir SQL
      		

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

      		mv SQLJDBCDriver.zip SQL/
      		

   3. Unzip the CData SQLJDBCDriver contents into this new directory

      		unzip SQLJDBCDriver.zip
      		

3. Open the SQL Server directory and navigate to the lib folder

   ls
   cd lib/
   

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

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

   	java -jar cdata.jdbc.sql.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 SQL Server 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_sql_01", 
   		"config": { 
   			"connector.class": "io.confluent.connect.jdbc.JdbcSourceConnector", 
   			"connection.url": "jdbc:sql:User=myUser;Password=myPassword;Database=NorthWind;Server=myServer;Port=1433;",
   		"topic.prefix": "sql-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 SQL Server 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 SQL Server. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.

     		java -jar cdata.jdbc.sql.jar
     		

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

     Connecting to Microsoft SQL Server

     Connect to Microsoft SQL Server using the following properties:

     • Server: The name of the server running SQL Server.
     • User: The username provided for authentication with SQL Server.
     • Password: The password associated with the authenticating user.
     • Database: The name of the SQL Server database.

     Connecting to Azure SQL Server and Azure Data Warehouse

     You can authenticate to Azure SQL Server or Azure Data Warehouse by setting the following connection properties:

     • Server: The server running Azure. You can find this by logging into the Azure portal and navigating to "SQL databases" (or "SQL data warehouses") -> "Select your database" -> "Overview" -> "Server name."
     • User: The name of the user authenticating to Azure.
     • Password: The password associated with the authenticating user.
     • Database: The name of the database, as seen in the Azure portal on the SQL databases (or SQL warehouses) page.

     SSH Connectivity for SQL Server

     You can use SSH (Secure Shell) to authenticate with SQL Server, whether the instance is hosted on-premises or in supported cloud environments. SSH authentication ensures that access is encrypted (as compared to direct network connections).

     SSH Connections to SQL Server in Password Auth Mode

     To connect to SQL Server via SSH in Password Auth mode, set the following connection properties:

     • User: SQL Server User name
     • Password: SQL Server Password
     • Database: SQL Server database name
     • Server: SQL Server Server name
     • Port: SQL Server port number like 3306
     • UserSSH: "true"
     • SSHAuthMode: "Password"
     • SSHPort: SSH Port number
     • SSHServer: SSH Server name
     • SSHUser: SSH User name
     • SSHPassword: SSH Password

     SSH Connections to SQL Server in Public Key Auth Mode

     To connect to SQL Server via SSH in Password Auth mode, set the following connection properties:

     • User: SQL Server User name
     • Password: SQL Server Password
     • Database: SQL Server database name
     • Server: SQL Server Server name
     • Port: SQL Server port number like 3306
     • UserSSH: "true"
     • SSHAuthMode: "Public_Key"
     • SSHPort: SSH Port number
     • SSHServer: SSH Server name
     • SSHUser: SSH User name
     • SSHClientCret: the path for the public key certificate file
     👁 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 "sql-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 SQL Server 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 SQL Server and start streaming SQL Server data into Apache Kafka. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.