Flume

The Flume destination writes data to a Flume source. When you write data to Flume, you pass data to a Flume client. The Flume client passes data to hosts based on client configuration properties.

When you configure a Flume destination, you can configure one or more hosts to use, connection information, the client type, and the data format to use. You can also configure some client properties, such as the Flume batch size or connection timeout.

The Flume destination can write data to the following client types:

Apache Avro Failover RPC Client
Apache Avro LoadBalancing RPC Client
Apache Thrift

Data Formats

The Flume destination writes data to a Flume source 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 as part of the Flume event. 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 also compress data with an Avro-supported compression codec.

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.
Postgres CSV - Postgres comma-separated file.
Postgres Text - Postgres 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 Flume Destination

Configure a Flume destination to write data to a Flume source.

In the Properties panel, on the General tab, configure the following properties:

General Property	Description
Name	Stage name.
Description	Optional description.
Stage Library	Library version that you want to use.
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 Flume tab, configure the following properties:

Flume Property	Description
Host Configuration	Flume host information: Name - Local alias for the Flume host. Flume host and port - Host name and port number for the Flume agent. Use the following format: <host name>:<port number>. Using simple or bulk edit mode, click the Add icon to add additional host configurations.
Client Type	Flume source client type: Avro Failover - Apache Avro Failover RPC Client. Avro Load Balancing - Apache Avro LoadBalancing RPC Client. Thrift - Apache Thrift RPC Client.
Backoff	The Avro load balancing client temporarily avoids writing to a failed host.
Max Backoff (ms)	The maximum amount of time that the Avro load balancing client avoids writing to a failed host. Enter the number of milliseconds between 1 and 65536. Use 0 to use the Flume default of 30000 milliseconds - 30 seconds.
Host Selection Strategy	Strategy the Avro load balancing client uses to select a Flume host.
Flume Batch Size (events)	Maximum number of events that the Flume client writes to a host at one time. The client can split a Data Collector batch into multiple Flume batches before passing the batches to the host.
Flume Client Connection Timeout (ms)	Milliseconds that the client can wait for a connection to the host.
Flume Client Request Timeout (ms)	Milliseconds the client can wait for a response after sending data to the host. When the client does not receive a response in time, the Flume destination resends the batch. It resends up to the number configured for Max Retry Attempts.
Max Retry Attempts	Maximum number of times the Flume destination resends data and waits for a response before stopping the pipeline.
Retry Wait Time (ms)	Milliseconds to wait before resending data.
One Event per Batch	Generates a single event for all records in the batch.

On the Data Format tab, configure the following property:

Data Format Property	Description
Data Format	Data format for output events: 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 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 event. 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. Postgres CSV - Postgres comma-separated file. Postgres Text - Postgres 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.

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.

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.

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.