CoAP Client

Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP) is a web transfer protocol designed for machine-to-machine devices. The CoAP Client destination writes data to a CoAP endpoint. Use the destination to send requests to a CoAP resource URL. For information about supported versions, see Supported Systems and Versions in the Data Collector documentation.

The CoAP Client destination generates one request for each record. When you configure the destination, you define the resource URL and method to use for the requests. You can also use a connection to configure the destination. You configure whether each request is confirmable or nonconfirmable. You can configure a connection timeout for each request.

Data Formats

The CoAP Client destination writes data to CoAP endpoints based on the data format that you select.

The CoAP Client destination processes data formats as follows:

Avro

The stage 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 stage 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 include the Avro schema in the output.

You can also compress data with an Avro-supported compression codec. When using Avro compression, avoid configuring any other compression properties in the stage.

Binary

The stage writes binary data to 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.
Tab-Separated Values - File that includes tab-separated values.
PostgreSQL CSV - PostgreSQL comma-separated file.
PostgreSQL Text - PostgreSQL text file.
Custom - File that uses user-defined delimiter, escape, and quote characters.
Multi Character Delimited - File that uses multiple user-defined characters to delimit fields and lines, and single user-defined 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.

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, the destination can 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, the destination can discard the record or write the record separator characters to create an empty line for the record. By default, the destination discards the record.

Configuring a CoAP Client Destination

Configure a CoAP Client destination to write data to a CoAP endpoint.

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.

On the CoAP tab, configure the following properties:


CoAP Property	Description
Connection	Connection that defines the information required to connect to an external system. To connect to an external system, you can select a connection that contains the details, or you can directly enter the details in the pipeline. When you select a connection, Control Hub hides other properties so that you cannot directly enter connection details in the pipeline.
Resource URL	CoAP resource URL. Enter in the following format: `coap://<hostname>:<listening_port>/<resource_name>` For example: `coap://localhost:5683/sdc`
CoAP Method	CoAP request method to send for each record: GET, POST, PUT, or DELETE.
Request Type	Type of CoAP request to send: Confirmable - The CoAP server must return an acknowledgement message before the destination can send the next request. Use to guarantee that each request is successfully delivered. Nonconfirmable - The CoAP server does not need to acknowledge each request. Use for faster performance.
Connect Timeout	Maximum number of milliseconds to wait for a connection to the CoAP server for each request. If the timeout is exceeded, the record is handled based on the error handling configured for the stage. The destination then attempts to send the next request. Use 0 to wait indefinitely.

On the Data Format tab, configure the following property:


Data Format Property	Description
Data Format	Data format for messages. Use one of the following data formats: Avro Binary Delimited JSON Protobuf SDC Record Text

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 Confluent Schema Registry.
Avro Schema	Avro schema definition used to write the data. You can optionally use the `runtime:loadResource` function to load a schema definition stored in a runtime resource file.
Register Schema	Registers a new Avro schema with 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 and then enter the URL in the following format: `http://<host name>:<port number>`
Basic Auth User Info	User information needed to connect to Confluent Schema Registry when using basic authentication. Enter the key and secret from the `schema.registry.basic.auth.user.info` setting in Schema Registry using the following format: `<key>:<secret>` Tip: To secure sensitive information such as user names and passwords, you can use runtime resources or credential stores. For more information about credential stores, see Credential Stores in the Data Collector documentation.
Look Up Schema By	Method used to look up the schema in 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 Confluent Schema Registry. If the specified subject to look up has multiple schema versions, the stage 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 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.

For binary data, on the Data Format tab, configure the following property:


Binary Property	Description
Binary Field Path	Field that contains the binary data.

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. Tab-Separated Values - File that includes tab-separated values. PostgreSQL CSV - PostgreSQL comma-separated file. PostgreSQL Text - PostgreSQL text file. Custom - File that uses user-defined delimiter, escape, and quote characters.
Header Line	Indicates whether to create a header line.
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 ( \| ).
Record Separator String	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. Available when using a custom delimiter format.
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 ( " ).
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.
Charset	Character set to use when writing data.

For JSON data, on the Data Format tab, configure the following properties:


JSON Property	Description
JSON Content	Method to write JSON data: 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.

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 in the Data Collector documentation. For information about generating the descriptor file, see Protobuf Data Format Prerequisites.
Message Type	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.

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.