Kinesis Producer

The Kinesis Producer destination writes data to Amazon Kinesis Streams. The destination can also send responses to a microservice origin when used in a microservice pipeline.

To write data to an Amazon Kinesis Firehose delivery system, use the Kinesis Firehose destination. To write data to Amazon S3, use the Amazon S3 destination.

When you configure Kinesis Producer, you specify the Amazon Web Services connection information for your Kinesis cluster and the data format to use. When you want the destination to send responses to a microservice origin within a microservice pipeline, you specify the type of response to send.

Kinesis Producer writes data using the following Kinesis requirements:
  • Writes a maximum of 500 messages and 4.5 MB in a batch.
  • Allows a maximum of 50 kb/message. Larger messages are sent to the stage for error handling.

AWS Credentials

When Data Collector writes data to a Kinesis Producer destination, it must pass credentials to Amazon Web Services.

Use one of the following methods to pass AWS credentials:

IAM roles
When Data Collector runs on an Amazon EC2 instance, you can use the AWS Management Console to configure an IAM role for the EC2 instance. Data Collector uses the IAM instance profile credentials to automatically connect to AWS.
When you use IAM roles, you do not need to specify the Access Key ID and Secret Access Key properties in the destination.
For more information about assigning an IAM role to an EC2 instance, see the Amazon EC2 documentation.
AWS access key pairs

When Data Collector does not run on an Amazon EC2 instance or when the EC2 instance doesn’t have an IAM role, you must specify the Access Key ID and Secret Access Key properties in the destination.

Tip: To secure sensitive information such as access key pairs, you can use runtime resources or credential stores.

Send Microservice Responses

The Kinesis Producer destination can send responses to a microservice origin when you use the destination in a microservice pipeline.

When sending responses to a microservice origin, the destination can send one of the following:
  • All successfully written records.
  • Responses from the destination system - For information about the possible responses, see the documentation for the destination system.

Data Formats

Kinesis Producer writes data to Kinesis based on the data format that you select. You can use the following data formats:

Avro
The destination writes records based on the Avro schema. You can use one of the following methods to specify the location of the Avro schema definition:
  • In Pipeline Configuration - Use the schema that you provide in the stage configuration.
  • In Record Header - Use the schema included in the avroSchema record header attribute.
  • Confluent Schema Registry - Retrieve the schema from Confluent Schema Registry. The Confluent Schema Registry is a distributed storage layer for Avro schemas. You can configure the destination to look up the schema in the Confluent Schema Registry by the schema ID or subject.

    If using the Avro schema in the stage or in the record header attribute, you can optionally configure the destination to register the Avro schema with the Confluent Schema Registry. You can also optionally include the schema definition in the message. Omitting the schema definition can improve performance, but requires the appropriate schema management to avoid losing track of the schema associated with the data.

You can compress data with an Avro-supported compression codec. When using Avro compression, avoid using any other compression properties in the destination.
Binary
The destination writes binary data from a single field in the record.
Delimited
The destination writes records as delimited data. When you use this data format, the root field must be list or list-map.
You can use the following delimited format types:
  • Default CSV - File that includes comma-separated values. Ignores empty lines in the file.
  • RFC4180 CSV - Comma-separated file that strictly follows RFC4180 guidelines.
  • MS Excel CSV - Microsoft Excel comma-separated file.
  • MySQL CSV - MySQL comma-separated file.
  • PostgreSQL CSV - PostgreSQL comma-separated file.
  • PostgreSQL Text - PostgreSQL text file.
  • Tab-Separated Values - File that includes tab-separated values.
  • Custom - File that uses user-defined delimiter, escape, and quote characters.
JSON
The destination writes records as JSON data. You can use one of the following formats:
  • Array - Each file includes a single array. In the array, each element is a JSON representation of each record.
  • Multiple objects - Each file includes multiple JSON objects. Each object is a JSON representation of a record.
Protobuf
Writes one record in a message. Uses the user-defined message type and the definition of the message type in the descriptor file to generate the message.
For information about generating the descriptor file, see Protobuf Data Format Prerequisites.
SDC Record
The destination writes records in the SDC Record data format.
Text
The destination writes data from a single text field to the destination system. When you configure the stage, you select the field to use. When necessary, merge record data into the field earlier in the pipeline.
You can configure the characters to use as record separators. By default, the destination uses a UNIX-style line ending (\n) to separate records.
When a record does not contain the selected text field, you can configure the destination to report the missing field as an error or to ignore the missing field. By default, the destination reports an error.
When configured to ignore a missing text field, you can configure the destination to discard the record or to write the record separator characters to create an empty line for the record. By default, the destination discards the record.

Configuring a Kinesis Producer Destination

Configure a Kinesis Producer destination to write data to Amazon Kinesis Streams.

  1. In the Properties panel, on the General tab, configure the following properties:
    General Property Description
    Name Stage name.
    Description Optional description.
    Required Fields Fields that must include data for the record to be passed into the stage.
    Tip: You might include fields that the stage uses.

    Records that do not include all required fields are processed based on the error handling configured for the pipeline.
    Preconditions Conditions that must evaluate to TRUE to allow a record to enter the stage for processing. Click Add to create additional preconditions.

    Records that do not meet all preconditions are processed based on the error handling configured for the stage.
    On Record Error Error record handling for the stage:
    • Discard - Discards the record.
    • Send to Error - Sends the record to the pipeline for error handling.
    • Stop Pipeline - Stops the pipeline. Not valid for cluster pipelines.
  2. On the Kinesis tab, configure the following properties:
    Kinesis Property Description
    Access Key ID

    AWS access key ID.

    Required when not using IAM roles with IAM instance profile credentials.
    Secret Access Key

    AWS secret access key.

    Required when not using IAM roles with IAM instance profile credentials.

    Region Amazon Web Services region that hosts the Kinesis cluster.
    Endpoint Endpoint to connect to when you select Other for the region. Enter the endpoint name.
    Stream Name Kinesis stream name.
    Partitioning Strategy Strategy to write data to Kinesis shards:
    • Random - Generates a random partition key.

    • Expression - Uses the result of an expression as the partition key.
    Partition Expression Expression to generate the partition key used to pass data to different shards.

    Use for the expression partition strategy.

    Kinesis Producer Configuration Additional Kinesis properties.

    When you add a configuration property, enter the exact property name and the value. The Kinesis Producer does not validate the property names or values.

    Preserve Record Order Select to preserve the order of records. Enabling this option can reduce pipeline performance.
  3. On the Data Format tab, configure the following property:
    Data Format Property Description
    Data Format Format of data to be written. Use one of the following options:
    • Avro
    • Binary
    • Delimited
    • JSON
    • Protobuf
    • SDC Record
    • Text
  4. For Avro data, on the Data Format tab, configure the following properties:
    Avro Property Description
    Avro Schema Location Location of the Avro schema definition to use when writing data:
    • In Pipeline Configuration - Use the schema that you provide in the stage configuration.
    • In Record Header - Use the schema in the avroSchema record header attribute. Use only when the avroSchema attribute is defined for all records.
    • Confluent Schema Registry - Retrieve the schema from the Confluent Schema Registry.
    Avro Schema Avro schema definition used to write the data.

    You can optionally use the runtime:loadResource function to use a schema definition stored in a runtime resource file.

    Register Schema Select to register a new Avro schema with the Confluent Schema Registry.
    Schema Registry URLs Confluent Schema Registry URLs used to look up the schema or to register a new schema. To add a URL, click Add. Use the following format to enter the URL:
    http://<host name>:<port number>
    Look Up Schema By Method used to look up the schema in the Confluent Schema Registry:
    • Subject - Look up the specified Avro schema subject.
    • Schema ID - Look up the specified Avro schema ID.
    Schema Subject Avro schema subject to look up or to register in the Confluent Schema Registry.

    If the specified subject to look up has multiple schema versions, the origin uses the latest schema version for that subject. To use an older version, find the corresponding schema ID, and then set the Look Up Schema By property to Schema ID.
    Schema ID Avro schema ID to look up in the Confluent Schema Registry.
    Include Schema Includes the schema in each message.
    Note: Omitting the schema definition can improve performance, but requires the appropriate schema management to avoid losing track of the schema associated with the data.
    Avro Compression Codec The Avro compression type to use.

    When using Avro compression, do not enable other compression available in the destination.

  5. For binary data, on the Data Format tab, configure the following property:
    Binary Property Description
    Binary Field Path Field that contains the binary data.
  6. For delimited data, on the Data Format tab, configure the following properties:
    Delimited Property Description
    Delimiter Format Format for delimited data:
    • Default CSV - File that includes comma-separated values. Ignores empty lines in the file.
    • RFC4180 CSV - Comma-separated file that strictly follows RFC4180 guidelines.
    • MS Excel CSV - Microsoft Excel comma-separated file.
    • MySQL CSV - MySQL comma-separated file.
    • PostgreSQL CSV - PostgreSQL comma-separated file.
    • PostgreSQL Text - PostgreSQL text file.
    • Tab-Separated Values - File that includes tab-separated values.
    • Custom - File that uses user-defined delimiter, escape, and quote characters.
    Header Line Indicates whether to create a header line.
    Replace New Line Characters Replaces new line characters with the configured string.

    Recommended when writing data as a single line of text.
    New Line Character Replacement String to replace each new line character. For example, enter a space to replace each new line character with a space.

    Leave empty to remove the new line characters.
    Delimiter Character Delimiter character for a custom delimiter format. Select one of the available options or use Other to enter a custom character.

    You can enter a Unicode control character using the format \uNNNN, where ​N is a hexadecimal digit from the numbers 0-9 or the letters A-F. For example, enter \u0000 to use the null character as the delimiter or \u2028 to use a line separator as the delimiter.

    Default is the pipe character ( | ).
    Escape Character Escape character for a custom delimiter format. Select one of the available options or use Other to enter a custom character.

    Default is the backslash character ( \ ).
    Quote Character Quote character for a custom delimiter format. Select one of the available options or use Other to enter a custom character.

    Default is the quotation mark character ( " ).
    Charset Character set to use when writing data.
  7. For JSON data, on the Data Format tab, configure the following property:
    JSON Property Description
    JSON Content Determines how JSON data is written:
    • JSON Array of Objects - Each file includes a single array. In the array, each element is a JSON representation of each record.
    • Multiple JSON Objects - Each file includes multiple JSON objects. Each object is a JSON representation of a record.
    Charset Character set to use when writing data.
  8. For protobuf data, on the Data Format tab, configure the following properties:
    Protobuf Property Description
    Protobuf Descriptor File Descriptor file (.desc) to use. The descriptor file must be in the Data Collector resources directory, $SDC_RESOURCES.

    For more information about environment variables, see Data Collector Environment Configuration. For information about generating the descriptor file, see Protobuf Data Format Prerequisites.
    Message Type The fully-qualified name for the message type to use when writing data.

    Use the following format: <package name>.<message type>.

    Use a message type defined in the descriptor file.
  9. For text data, on the Data Format tab, configure the following properties:
    Text Property Description
    Text Field Path Field that contains the text data to be written. All data must be incorporated into the specified field.
    Record Separator Characters to use to separate records. Use any valid Java string literal. For example, when writing to Windows, you might use \r\n to separate records.

    By default, the destination uses \n.
    On Missing Field When a record does not include the text field, determines whether the destination reports the missing field as an error or ignores the missing field.
    Insert Record Separator if No Text When configured to ignore a missing text field, inserts the configured record separator string to create an empty line.

    When not selected, discards records without the text field.
    Charset Character set to use when writing data.
  10. When using the destination in a microservice pipeline, on the Response tab, configure the following properties. In non-microservice pipelines, these properties are ignored.
    Response Property Description
    Send Response to Origin Enables sending a response to a microservice origin.
    Response Type The response to send to a microservice origin:
    • Successfully written records.
    • Responses from the destination system.