Getting Started with Kafka for Message Production and Consumption

Step 1: Preparations

1. Register with Huawei Cloud and complete real-name authentication.

   For details, see Signing up for a HUAWEI ID and Enabling Huawei Cloud Services and Real-Name Authentication.

   If you already have a Huawei account and have completed real-name authentication, skip this step.

2. Top up the account.

   Ensure that your account has sufficient balance before creating a Kafka instance. For details about how to top up an account, see Topping Up an Account.

3. Grant Kafka instance permissions.

   To achieve fine-grained management of your cloud resources, create Identity and Access Management (IAM) user groups and users and grant specified permissions to the users. For more information, see Creating a User and Granting DMS for Kafka Permissions.

4. Create a VPC and subnet.

   Before creating a Kafka instance, ensure that a VPC and a subnet are available. For details about how to create a VPC and a subnet, see Creating a VPC and Subnet.

   

   The VPC must be created in the same region as the Kafka instance.

5. Create a security group and add security group rules.

   Before creating a Kafka instance, ensure that a security group is available. For details about how to create a security group, see Creating a Security Group.

   To connect to Kafka instances, add the security group rules described in Table 1. Other rules can be added based on site requirements.

   Table 1 Security group rules

   Direction	Protocol	Port	Source address	Description
   Inbound	TCP	9093	0.0.0.0/0	Accessing a Kafka instance over a private network within a VPC (in ciphertext)

   

   After a security group is created, it has a default inbound rule that allows communication among ECSs within the security group and a default outbound rule that allows all outbound traffic. If you access your Kafka instance using the private network within a VPC, you do not need to add the rules described in Table 1.

6. Construct a client for message production and consumption.
   This section uses a Linux elastic cloud server (ECS) as the client. Before creating a Kafka instance, create an ECS with an EIP, install the JDK, configure environment variables, and download an open-source Kafka client.

   1. Log in to the console, click in the upper left corner, click Elastic Cloud Server under Computing, and then create an ECS.

      For details about how to create an ECS, see Purchasing a Custom ECS. If you already have an available ECS, skip this step.

   2. Log in to an ECS as user root.
   3. Install Java JDK and configure the environment variables JAVA_HOME and PATH.
      1. Download a JDK.
         

         Use Oracle JDK instead of ECS's default JDK (for example, OpenJDK), because ECS's default JDK may not be suitable. Obtain Oracle JDK 1.8.111 or later from Oracle's official website.

      2. Decompress the JDK.

         tar -zxvf jdk-8u321-linux-x64.tar.gz

         Change jdk-8u321-linux-x64.tar.gz to your JDK version.

      3. Open the .bash_profile file.

         vim ~/.bash_profile

      4. Add the following content:

         export JAVA_HOME=/root/jdk1.8.0_321 
         export PATH=$JAVA_HOME/bin:$PATH

         Change /root/jdk1.8.0_321 to the path where you install JDK.

      5. Press Esc. Enter the following line and press Enter. Save the .bash_profile file and exit.

         :wq

      6. Run the following command to make the change take effect:

         source .bash_profile

      7. Check whether the JDK is installed.

         java -version

         If the following message is returned, the JDK is installed.

         java version "1.8.0_321"

   4. Download an open-source Kafka client.

      wget https://archive.apache.org/dist/kafka/2.7.2/kafka_2.12-2.7.2.tgz

   5. Run the following command to decompress the package:

      tar -zxf kafka_2.12-2.7.2.tgz

Step 2: Create a Kafka Instance

1. Go to the Buy Instance page.
2. On the Quick Config tab page, set basic instance configurations shown in Figure 2. Table 2 lists the configuration details.

   Table 2 Setting basic instance configurations

   Parameter	Description
   Billing Mode	Select Pay-per-use, which is a postpaid mode. You can pay after using the service, and will be billed for your usage duration. The fees are calculated in seconds and settled by hour.
   Region	DMS for Kafka in different regions cannot communicate with each other over an intranet. Select a nearest location for low latency and fast access. Select AP-Singapore.
   AZ	An AZ is a physical region where resources use independent power supply and networks. AZs are physically isolated but interconnected through an internal network. Select AZ1, AZ2, and AZ3.

   Figure 2 Setting basic instance configurations
   

3. Set the instance specifications and storage space, as shown in Figure 3. For details, see Table 3.

   Table 3 Setting the instance specifications and storage space

   Parameter	Description
   Bundle	Choose Recommended > Starter. This entry level can be managed, compatible with open-source Kafka. Ideal for cost-sensitive services or test environments that are tolerant to limited performance and latency.
   Storage Space per Broker	Select the disk type and specify the disk size as required. Total storage space = Storage space per broker × Broker quantity. After the instance is created, you cannot change the disk type. Select Ultra-high I/O and enter 100.

   Figure 3 Setting the instance specifications and storage space
   

4. Configure the instance network as shown in Figure 4. For details, see Table 4.

   Table 4 Configuring instance network

   Parameter	Description
   VPC	After the Kafka instance is created, its VPC cannot be changed. Select the VPC prepared in 4.
   Subnet	After the Kafka instance is created, its subnet cannot be changed. Select the subnet prepared in 4.
   Security Group	Select the security group prepared in 5.

   Figure 4 Configuring instance network
   

5. Set the instance access mode, as shown in Figure 5. For details, see Table 5.

   Table 5 Configuring the instance access mode

   Parameter	Sub-Parameter	Description
   Private Network Access	Access Mode	Select Ciphertext Access: Clients access a Kafka instance with SASL authentication.
   	Security Protocol	Select SASL_SSL: SASL is used for authentication. Data is encrypted with an SSL certificate for high-security transmission.
   	Private IP Addresses	Select Auto: The system automatically assigns IP addresses from the subnet.
   	SSL Username	Enter test. The username cannot be changed once ciphertext access is enabled. A username should contain 4 to 64 characters, start with a letter, and contain only letters, digits, hyphens (-), and underscores (_).
   	Password	A password must meet the following requirements: Contains 8 to 32 characters. Contains at least three types of the following characters: uppercase letters, lowercase letters, digits, and special characters `~! @#$ %^&*()-_=+\|[{}];:'",<.>? and spaces, and cannot start with a hyphen (-). Cannot be the username spelled forwards or backwards.
   	SASL/PLAIN	Check SASL PLAIN. The SASL/PLAIN setting cannot be changed once ciphertext access is enabled. Enabling SASL/PLAIN supports both SCRAM-SHA-512 (enabled by default) and PLAIN.
   Public Network Access	-	Skip it.

   Figure 5 Configuring the instance access mode
   

6. Configure Advanced Settings, as shown in Figure 6. For details, see Table 6. Retain default settings for other parameters.

   Table 6 Configuring instance advanced settings

   Parameter	Description
   Instance Name	You can customize a name that complies with the rules: 4–64 characters; starts with a letter; can contain only letters, digits, hyphens (-), and underscores (_). Enter kafka-test.
   Enterprise Project	This parameter is for enterprise users. An enterprise project manages project resources in groups. Enterprise projects are logically isolated. Select default.
   Capacity Threshold Policy	Select Automatically delete: When the disk reaches the disk capacity threshold (95%), messages can still be produced and consumed, but the earliest 10% of messages will be deleted to ensure sufficient disk space. Use this policy for services intolerant of interruptions. However, data may be lost.

   Figure 6 Configuring instance advanced settings
   

7. Click Confirm.
8. Confirm the instance information, read and agree to the Huawei Cloud Customer Agreement, and then submit the request.
9. Return to the DMS for Kafka page and check whether the instance has been created.

   It takes 3 to 15 minutes to create an instance. During this period, the instance status is Creating.

   • If the instance is created successfully, its status changes to Running.
   • If the instance is in the Failed state, delete it and try creating another one. If the instance creation fails again, contact customer service.
     

     Instances that fail to be created do not occupy other resources.

10. After the instance is created, click its name to go to the instance details page.
11. In the Connection area, view and record the connection address.
    Figure 7 Kafka instance addresses (private network) for intra-VPC access
    

Step 3: Create a Topic

1. On the DMS for Kafka page, click a Kafka instance.
2. In the navigation pane, choose Topics.
3. Click Create Topic.
4. Enter the topic name, specify other parameters by referring to Table 7, and click OK.

   Table 7 Topic parameters

   Parameter	Description
   Topic Name	Customize a name that contains 3 to 200 characters, starts with a letter or underscore (_), and contains only letters, digits, periods (.), hyphens (-), and underscores (_). The name must be different from preset topics: __consumer_offsets __transaction_state __trace __connect-status __connect-configs __connect-offsets Cannot be changed once the topic is created. Enter topic-01.
   Partitions	If the number of partitions is the same as that of consumers, the larger the partitions, the higher the consumption concurrency. Enter 3.
   Replicas	Data is automatically backed up to each replica. When one Kafka broker becomes faulty, data is still available. A higher number of replicas delivers higher reliability. Enter 3.
   Aging Time (h)	How long messages will be preserved in the topic. Messages older than this period cannot be consumed. They will be deleted, and can no longer be consumed. Enter 72.
   Synchronous Replication	Skip it. When this option is disabled, leader replicas are independent from follower replica synchronization. They receive messages and write them to local logs, then immediately send the successfully written ones to the client.
   Synchronous Flushing	Skip it. When this option is disabled, messages are produced and stored in memory instead of written to the disk immediately.
   Message Timestamp	Select CreateTime: time when the producer created the message.
   Max. Message Size (bytes)	Maximum batch processing size allowed by Kafka. If message compression is enabled in the client configuration file or code of producers, this parameter indicates the size after compression. Enter 10,485,760.
   Description	Skip it.

   Figure 8 Creating a topic
   

Step 4: Connect to a Kafka Instance to Produce and Consume Messages

1. Prepare the file for production and consumption configuration.
   1. Log in to a Linux ECS.
   2. Download the client.jks certificate and upload it to the /root directory on the ECS.

      To obtain the certificate: On the Kafka console, click the Kafka instance to go to the Basic Information page. Click Download next to SSL Certificate in the Connection area. Decompress the package to obtain the client certificate file client.jks.

      

      /root is the path for storing the certificate. Change it to the actual path if needed.

   3. Go to the /config directory on the Kafka client.

      cd kafka_2.12-2.7.2/config

   4. Add the following commands in both the consumer.properties and producer.properties files (PLAIN is used as an example).

      sasl.jaas.config=org.apache.kafka.common.security.plain.PlainLoginModule required \
      username="**********" \
      password="**********";        
      sasl.mechanism=PLAIN
      
      security.protocol=SASL_SSL
      ssl.truststore.location={ssl_truststore_path}
      ssl.truststore.password=dms@kafka
      ssl.endpoint.identification.algorithm=

      Description:

      • username and password are specified when enabling ciphertext access during instance creation.
      • ssl.truststore.location is the path for storing the certificate obtained in 1.b.
      • ssl.truststore.password is certified by the server, which must be set to dms@kafka and cannot be changed.
      • ssl.endpoint.identification.algorithm decides whether to verify the certificate domain name. In this example, leave this parameter blank, which indicates disabling domain name verification.

2. Go to the /bin directory on the Kafka client.

   cd ../bin

3. Produce messages.

   ./kafka-console-producer.sh --broker-list ${connection address} --topic ${topic name} --producer.config ../config/producer.properties

   Description:

   • {connection address}: the connection address obtained in 11
   • {topic name}: the topic name obtained in 4

   For example, 192.xxx.xxx.xxx:9093, 192.xxx.xxx.xxx:9093, 192.xxx.xxx.xxx:9093 are the connection addresses of the Kafka instance.

   After running this command, you can send messages to the Kafka instance by entering the information as prompted and pressing Enter. Each line of content will be sent as a message.

   [root@ecs-kafka bin]#./kafka-console-producer.sh --broker-list 192.xxx.xxx.xxx:9093,192.xxx.xxx.xxx:9093,192.xxx.xxx.xxx:9093  --topic topic-01 --producer.config ../config/producer.properties
   >Hello
   >DMS
   >Kafka!
   >^C[root@ecs-kafka bin]# 

   Press Ctrl+C to cancel.

4. Consume messages.

   ./kafka-console-consumer.sh --bootstrap-server ${connection address} --topic ${topic name} --from-beginning  --consumer.config ../config/consumer.properties

   Description:

   • {connection address}: the connection address obtained in 11
   • {topic name}: the topic name obtained in 4

   Sample:

   [root@ecs-kafka bin]#  ./kafka-console-consumer.sh --bootstrap-server 192.xxx.xxx.xxx:9093,192.xxx.xxx.xxx:9093,192.xxx.xxx.xxx:9093 --topic topic-01 --from-beginning --consumer.config ../config/consumer.properties
   Hello
   Kafka!
   DMS
   ^CProcessed a total of 3 messages
   [root@ecs-kafka bin]# 

   Press Ctrl+C to cancel.

Related Information

• Learn more about the basic concepts of Kafka.
• Learn more about Distributed Message Service for Kafka Pricing.
• To view messages on the console, see Viewing Kafka Messages.
• To view consumption offsets, see Viewing and Resetting Kafka Consumption Offsets.
• To view monitoring metrics of a Kafka instance, see Viewing Kafka Monitoring Metrics.