Kafka Connect is a powerful tool for streaming data between Apache Kafka and other systems. It is part of the Apache Kafka ecosystem and provides a scalable and reliable way to integrate Kafka with various data sources and sinks.

Connectors are the core components of Kafka Connect. They are responsible for moving data between Kafka and other systems. There are two types of connectors:

• Source Connectors: These import data from external systems into Kafka topics.
• Sink Connectors: These export data from Kafka topics to external systems.

Tasks are the units of work that perform the actual data movement. Each connector can be divided into multiple tasks to parallelize the data transfer and improve performance.

Workers are the processes that execute connectors and tasks. They can be deployed in standalone mode (single process) or distributed mode (multiple processes across a cluster).

Configurations define how connectors and tasks should operate. They include settings such as the Kafka topic to read from or write to, the external system's connection details, and other operational parameters.

• A running Kafka cluster
• Java installed on your system

1. Download Kafka: Download the latest version of Kafka from the official website.

2. Extract Kafka:

   tar -xzf kafka_2.13-2.8.0.tgz
   cd kafka_2.13-2.8.0
   

3. Start Zookeeper: Kafka requires Zookeeper to manage its cluster. Start Zookeeper using the following command:

   bin/zookeeper-server-start.sh config/zookeeper.properties
   

4. Start Kafka Broker: Start the Kafka broker using the following command:

   bin/kafka-server-start.sh config/server.properties
   

5. Start Kafka Connect in Standalone Mode: Create a configuration file for Kafka Connect (e.g., connect-standalone.properties) and start Kafka Connect:

   bin/connect-standalone.sh config/connect-standalone.properties config/connect-file-source.properties config/connect-file-sink.properties
   

Create a configuration file named connect-file-source.properties with the following content:

• name: The name of the connector.
• connector.class: The class name of the connector.
• tasks.max: The maximum number of tasks to use for this connector.
• file: The path to the input file.
• topic: The Kafka topic to write the data to.

Start the connector using the following command:

Create a configuration file named connect-file-sink.properties with the following content:

• name: The name of the connector.
• connector.class: The class name of the connector.
• tasks.max: The maximum number of tasks to use for this connector.
• file: The path to the output file.
• topics: The Kafka topic to read the data from.

Start the connector using the following command:

Set up a Kafka Connect pipeline that reads data from a file and writes it to another file using the File Source and File Sink connectors.

1. Create an input file with some sample data.
2. Configure and start the File Source connector.
3. Configure and start the File Sink connector.
4. Verify that the data from the input file is written to the output file.

1. Create Input File:

   echo "Hello, Kafka Connect!" > /path/to/input/file.txt
   

2. Configure and Start File Source Connector:

   name=local-file-source
   connector.class=FileStreamSource
   tasks.max=1
   file=/path/to/input/file.txt
   topic=connect-test
   

   bin/connect-standalone.sh config/connect-standalone.properties config/connect-file-source.properties
   

3. Configure and Start File Sink Connector:

   name=local-file-sink
   connector.class=FileStreamSink
   tasks.max=1
   file=/path/to/output/file.txt
   topics=connect-test
   

   bin/connect-standalone.sh config/connect-standalone.properties config/connect-file-sink.properties
   

4. Verify Output: Check the contents of /path/to/output/file.txt to ensure the data has been transferred.

• Incorrect File Paths: Ensure that the file paths specified in the configuration files are correct and accessible.
• Kafka Topic Configuration: Verify that the Kafka topic names are consistent across source and sink configurations.
• Connector Class Names: Double-check the connector class names to avoid typos.

In this section, we covered the basics of Kafka Connect, including its key concepts, setup, and practical examples of using File Source and File Sink connectors. Kafka Connect is a versatile tool that simplifies the integration of Kafka with various data systems, making it an essential component of the Kafka ecosystem. In the next module, we will delve into Kafka Streams and explore how to process data in real-time using Kafka.