Salesforce CDC Source Connector for Confluent Cloud¶
Note
This is a Quick Start for the managed cloud connector. If you are installing the connector locally for Confluent Platform, see Salesforce Change Data Capture Source Connector for Confluent Platform.
The Kafka Connect Salesforce Change Data Capture (CDC) Source connector for Confluent Cloud provides a way to monitor Salesforce records. Salesforce sends a notification when a change to a Salesforce record occurs as part of a create, update, delete, or undelete operation. The Salesforce CDC Source connector can be used to capture these change events and write them to an Apache Kafka® topic.
Features¶
The Salesforce CDC Source connector provides the following features:
- Salesforce Streaming API: This connector uses the Salesforce Streaming API (Change Data Capture). Changes captured include new records, updates to existing records, record deletions, and record undeletions.
- Support for single entity channels: The connector supports single entity channels like the LeadChangeEvent channel.
- Support for multiple entity channels: The connector supports multiple entity channels like the ChangeEvents Standard Channel or a Custom Channel like LeadCustom__chn.
- Initial start: Captures the latest changes or all changes over the last 72 hours.
- Data formats: The connector supports Avro, JSON Schema, Protobuf, JSON (schemaless), or SF_API output data. In SF_API format the record is formatted identically to the Salesforce message received by the connector and the messages are ingested as raw bytes without any schema. Schema Registry must be enabled to use a Schema Registry-based format (for example, Avro, JSON_SR (JSON Schema), or Protobuf). See Schema Registry Enabled Environments for additional information.
- Topics created automatically: The connector can automatically create Kafka topics. When using multiple entity channels with the connector, you can add
${_ObjectType}
to the topic name to create different topic names based on the entity name. - Tasks per connector: Organizations can run multiple connectors with a limit of one task per connector (that is,
"tasks.max": "1"
).
For more information and examples to use with the Confluent Cloud API for Connect, see the Confluent Cloud API for Connect section.
Limitations¶
Be sure to review the following information.
- For connector limitations, see Salesforce CDC Source Connector limitations.
- If you plan to use one or more Single Message Transforms (SMTs), see SMT Limitations.
- If you plan to use Confluent Cloud Schema Registry, see Schema Registry Enabled Environments.
Quick Start¶
Use this quick start to get up and running with the Salesforce CDC Source connector. The quick start provides the basics of selecting the connector and configuring it to monitor changes.
- Prerequisites
- Authorized access to a Confluent Cloud cluster on Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure (Azure), or Google Cloud Platform (GCP).
- The Confluent CLI installed and configured for the cluster. See Install the Confluent CLI.
- Schema Registry must be enabled to use a Schema Registry-based format (for example, Avro, JSON_SR (JSON Schema), or Protobuf). See Schema Registry Enabled Environments for additional information.
- Salesforce must be configured for CDC. See the Salesforce Change Data Capture Developer Guide.
- The Salesforce user account configured for the connector must have permission to View All Data. For details, see Required Permissions for Change Events Received by CometD Subscribers.
- For networking considerations, see Networking, DNS, and service endpoints. To use egress static IP addresses, see Egress Static IP Addresses for Confluent Cloud Connectors.
- The connector uses the Salesforce SOAP client for multiple entity channels. Before using multiple entity channels, you must enable Salesforce SOAP APIs using the API Enabled option in the Salesforce account. Be sure your organization’s firewall rules (if applicable) allow the connector to communicate with the SOAP client.
- Kafka cluster credentials. The following lists the different ways you can provide credentials.
- Enter an existing service account resource ID.
- Create a Confluent Cloud service account for the connector. Make sure to review the ACL entries required in the service account documentation. Some connectors have specific ACL requirements.
- Create a Confluent Cloud API key and secret. To create a key and secret, you can use confluent api-key create or you can autogenerate the API key and secret directly in the Cloud Console when setting up the connector.
Using the Confluent Cloud Console¶
Step 1: Launch your Confluent Cloud cluster.¶
See the Quick Start for Confluent Cloud for installation instructions.
Step 2: Add a connector.¶
In the left navigation menu, click Connectors. If you already have connectors in your cluster, click + Add connector.
Step 4: Enter the connector details.¶
Note
- Make sure you have all your prerequisites completed.
- An asterisk ( * ) designates a required entry.
At the Add Salesforce CDC Source Connector screen, complete the following:
Enter a topic name.
The connector can automatically create Kafka topics. When using multiple
entity channels (MULTI
) with the connector, you can add
${_ObjectType}
to the topic name to create different topic names based
on the entity name.
- Select the way you want to provide Kafka Cluster credentials. You can
choose one of the following options:
- Global Access: Allows your connector to access everything you have access to. With global access, connector access will be linked to your account. This option is not recommended for production.
- Granular access: Limits the access for your connector. You will be able to manage connector access through a service account. This option is recommended for production.
- Use an existing API key: Allows you to enter an API key and secret part you have stored. You can enter an API key and secret (or generate these in the Cloud Console).
- Click Continue.
Add the Salesforce connection and authentication details:
Salesforce grant type: Sets the authentication grant type to
PASSWORD
orJWT_BEARER
(Salesforce JSON Web Token (JWT)). Defaults toPASSWORD
.Salesforce instance: The URL of the Salesforce endpoint to use. The default is https://login.salesforce.com. This directs the connector to use the endpoint specified in the authentication response.
Note
The following properties are used based on the Salesforce grant type you choose.
JWT_BEARER
: Requires username, consumer key, JWT keystore file, and JWT keystore password.PASSWORD
: Requires username, password, password token, consumer key, and consumer secret.
Salesforce username: The Salesforce username for the connector to use.
Salesforce password: The Salesforce password for the connector to use.
Salesforce password token: The Salesforce security token associated with the username.
Salesforce consumer key: The consumer key for the OAuth application.
Salesforce consumer secret: The consumer secret for the OAuth application.
Salesforce JWT keystore file: If using the grant type
JWT_BEARER
, upload the JWT keystore file.Salesforce JWT keystore password: Enter the password used to access the JWT keystore file.
Click Continue.
Add the following details:
- Select the output record value format (data going to the Kafka topic):
AVRO, JSON, JSON_SR (JSON Schema), PROTOBUF, or SF_API. Schema
Registry must be enabled to use a Schema Registry-based
format (for example, Avro, JSON Schema, or Protobuf). Note that if
you select
SF_API
, records are ingested as raw bytes and the record format is identical to the salesforce message format. For additional information, see Schema Registry Enabled Environments. - Salesforce Channel Type: The type of Salesforce CDC channel from
which the connector consumes events. The value can be
SINGLE
orMULTI
. UseSINGLE
for a single entity channel likeLeadChangeEvent
. UseMULTI
for the Standard (ChangeEvents) channel or a Custom channel likeLeadCustom__chn
. - Salesforce CDC name: The Salesforce Change Data Capture event name to subscribe to.
Show advanced configurations
Salesforce initial start: Specify the initial starting point for the connector. Allowed values are
latest
andall
. The default value islatest
.Max Retry Time in Milliseconds: In case of error when making a request to Salesforce, the connector will retry until this time (in milliseconds) elapses.
Connection Max Message Size: The maximum message size in bytes that is accepted during a poll on the Salesforce streaming endpoint.
Transforms and Predicates: For details, see the Single Message Transforms (SMT) documentation.
For all property values and definitions, see Configuration Properties .
- Select the output record value format (data going to the Kafka topic):
AVRO, JSON, JSON_SR (JSON Schema), PROTOBUF, or SF_API. Schema
Registry must be enabled to use a Schema Registry-based
format (for example, Avro, JSON Schema, or Protobuf). Note that if
you select
Click Continue.
Based on the number of topic partitions you select, you will be provided with a recommended number of tasks.
- To change the number of tasks, use the Range Slider to select the desired number of tasks.
- Click Continue.
Verify the connection details by previewing the running configuration.
Tip
For information about previewing your connector output, see Confluent Cloud Connector Data Previews.
After you’ve validated that the properties are configured to your satisfaction, click Launch.
The status for the connector should go from Provisioning to Running.
Step 5: Check the Kafka topic.¶
After the connector is running, verify that messages are populating your Kafka topic.
For more information and examples to use with the Confluent Cloud API for Connect, see the Confluent Cloud API for Connect section.
Using the Confluent CLI¶
Complete the following steps to set up and run the connector using the Confluent CLI.
Note
Make sure you have all your prerequisites completed.
Step 1: List the available connectors.¶
Enter the following command to list available connectors:
confluent connect plugin list
Step 2: List the connector configuration properties.¶
Enter the following command to show the connector configuration properties:
confluent connect plugin describe <connector-catalog-name>
The command output shows the required and optional configuration properties.
Step 3: Create the connector configuration file.¶
Create a JSON file that contains the connector configuration properties. The following example shows the required connector properties.
{
"connector.class": "SalesforceCdcSource",
"name": "SalesforceCdcSourceConnector_0",
"kafka.auth.mode": "KAFKA_API_KEY",
"kafka.api.key": "****************",
"kafka.api.secret": "****************************************************************",
"kafka.topic": "AccountChangeEvent",
"salesforce.grant.type": "PASSWORD",
"salesforce.username": "<my-username>",
"salesforce.password": "**************",
"salesforce.password.token": "************************",
"salesforce.consumer.key": "*************************************************************************************",
"salesforce.consumer.secret": "****************************************************************",
"salesforce.cdc.name": "AccountChangeEvent",
"output.data.format": "JSON",
"tasks.max": "1"
}
Note the following property definitions:
"connector.class"
: Identifies the connector plugin name."name"
: Sets a name for your new connector.
"kafka.auth.mode"
: Identifies the connector authentication mode you want to use. There are two options:SERVICE_ACCOUNT
orKAFKA_API_KEY
(the default). To use an API key and secret, specify the configuration propertieskafka.api.key
andkafka.api.secret
, as shown in the example configuration (above). To use a service account, specify the Resource ID in the propertykafka.service.account.id=<service-account-resource-ID>
. To list the available service account resource IDs, use the following command:confluent iam service-account list
For example:
confluent iam service-account list Id | Resource ID | Name | Description +---------+-------------+-------------------+------------------- 123456 | sa-l1r23m | sa-1 | Service account 1 789101 | sa-l4d56p | sa-2 | Service account 2
""kafka.topic"
: Enter a Kafka topic name. When using multiple entity channels with the connector, you can add ${_ObjectType} to the topic name to create different topic names based on the entity name."salesforce.grant.type"
: Sets the authentication grant type toPASSWORD
(username+password) orJWT_BEARER
(Salesforce JSON Web Token (JWT)). Defaults toPASSWORD
.Note
The following properties are used based on the
salesforce.grant.type
you choose.JWT_BEARER
: Requires username, consumer key, JWT keystore file, and JWT keystore password.PASSWORD
: Requires username, password, password token, consumer key, and consumer secret.
"salesforce.username"
: The Salesforce username for the connector to use."salesforce.password"
: The Salesforce username password."salesforce.password.token"
: The Salesforce security token associated with the username."salesforce.consumer.key"
: The consumer key for the OAuth application."salesforce.consumer.secret"
: The consumer secret for the OAuth application."salesforce.jwt.keystore.file"
: Salesforce JWT keystore file. The JWT keystore file is a binary file and you supply the contents of the file in the property encoded in Base64. To use thesalesforce.jwt.keystore.file
property, encode the keystore contents in Base64, take the encoded string, add thedata:text/plain:base64
prefix, and then use the entire string as the property entry. For example:"salesforce.jwt.keystore.file" : "data:text/plain;base64,/u3+7QAAAAIAAAACAAAAGY2xpZ...==", "salesforce.jwt.keystore.password" : "<password>",
"salesforce.jwt.keystore.password"
: Enter the password used to access the JWT keystore file."salesforce.cdc.name"
: The Salesforce Change Data Capture event name to subscribe to."output.data.format"
: Sets the output Kafka record value format (data coming from the connector). Valid entries are AVRO, JSON_SR, PROTOBUF, JSON, or SF_API. You must have Confluent Cloud Schema Registry configured if using a schema-based message format (for example, Avro, JSON_SR (JSON Schema), or Protobuf). Note that if you selectSF_API
, records are ingested as raw bytes and the record format is identical to the salesforce message format. For additional information, see Schema Registry Enabled Environments."tasks.max"
: Enter the number of tasks in use by the connector. Organizations can run multiple connectors with a limit of one task per connector (that is,"tasks.max": "1"
).
Single Message Transforms: See the Single Message Transforms (SMT) documentation for details about adding SMTs using the CLI.
See Configuration Properties for all property values and definitions.
Step 4: Load the properties file and create the connector.¶
Enter the following command to load the configuration and start the connector:
confluent connect cluster create --config-file <file-name>.json
For example:
confluent connect cluster create --config-file salesforce-cdc-source.json
Example output:
Created connector SalesforceCdcSourceConnector_0 lcc-ix4dl
Step 5: Check the connector status.¶
Enter the following command to check the connector status:
confluent connect cluster list
Example output:
ID | Name | Status | Type
+-----------+----------------------------------+---------+-------+
lcc-ix4dl | SalesforceCdcSourceConnector_0 | RUNNING | source
Step 6: Check the Kafka topic.¶
After the connector is running, verify that messages are populating your Kafka topic.
For more information and examples to use with the Confluent Cloud API for Connect, see the Confluent Cloud API for Connect section.
Configuration Properties¶
Use the following configuration properties with this connector.
Note
These are properties for the managed cloud connector. If you are installing the connector locally for Confluent Platform, see Salesforce Change Data Capture Source Connector for Confluent Platform.
How should we connect to your data?¶
name
Sets a name for your connector.
- Type: string
- Valid Values: A string at most 64 characters long
- Importance: high
Kafka Cluster credentials¶
kafka.auth.mode
Kafka Authentication mode. It can be one of KAFKA_API_KEY or SERVICE_ACCOUNT. It defaults to KAFKA_API_KEY mode.
- Type: string
- Default: KAFKA_API_KEY
- Valid Values: KAFKA_API_KEY, SERVICE_ACCOUNT
- Importance: high
kafka.api.key
Kafka API Key. Required when kafka.auth.mode==KAFKA_API_KEY.
- Type: password
- Importance: high
kafka.service.account.id
The Service Account that will be used to generate the API keys to communicate with Kafka Cluster.
- Type: string
- Importance: high
kafka.api.secret
Secret associated with Kafka API key. Required when kafka.auth.mode==KAFKA_API_KEY.
- Type: password
- Importance: high
Which topic do you want to send data to?¶
kafka.topic
Identifies the topic name to write the data to.
- Type: string
- Importance: high
How should we connect to Salesforce?¶
salesforce.grant.type
Salesforce grant type. Valid options are ‘PASSWORD’ and ‘JWT_BEARER’.
- Type: string
- Default: PASSWORD
- Importance: high
salesforce.instance
The URL of the Salesforce endpoint to use. The default is https://login.salesforce.com. This directs the connector to use the endpoint specified in the authentication response.
- Type: string
- Default: https://login.salesforce.com
- Importance: high
salesforce.username
The Salesforce username the connector should use.
- Type: string
- Importance: high
salesforce.channel.type
Indicates the type of Salesforce CDC channel from which the connector shall consume the events. The value can be SINGLE or MULTI. SINGLE should be used for a single entity channel like LeadChangeEvent. MULTI should be used for the Standard (ChangeEvents) channel or a Custom channel like LeadCustom__chn.
- Type: string
- Importance: high
salesforce.password
The Salesforce password the connector should use.
- Type: password
- Importance: high
salesforce.cdc.name
The Salesforce Change Data Capture event name to subscribe to.
- Type: string
- Importance: high
salesforce.password.token
The Salesforce security token associated with the username.
- Type: password
- Importance: high
salesforce.consumer.key
The consumer key for the OAuth application.
- Type: password
- Importance: high
salesforce.channel.entities
Comma seperated list of entities in the standard or custom channel. Eg LeadChangeEvent, AccountChangeEvent.
- Type: list
- Importance: medium
salesforce.consumer.secret
The consumer secret for the OAuth application.
- Type: password
- Importance: medium
salesforce.jwt.keystore.file
Salesforce JWT keystore file which contains the private key.
- Type: password
- Default: [hidden]
- Importance: medium
salesforce.jwt.keystore.password
Password used to access JWT keystore file.
- Type: password
- Importance: medium
Connection details¶
salesforce.initial.start
Specify the initial starting point for the connector for replaying events.
- Type: string
- Default: latest
- Importance: high
connection.timeout
The amount of time to wait in milliseconds while connecting to the Salesforce streaming endpoint.
- Type: long
- Default: 30000
- Importance: low
request.max.retries.time.ms
In case of error when making a request to Salesforce, the connector will retry until this time (in ms) elapses. The default value is 30000 (30 seconds). Minimum value is 1 sec
- Type: long
- Default: 30000 (30 seconds)
- Valid Values: [1000,…,250000]
- Importance: low
connection.max.message.size
The maximum message size in bytes that is accepted during a long poll on the Salesforce streaming endpoint.
- Type: int
- Default: 1048576
- Valid Values: [1048576,…,104857600]
- Importance: low
Output messages¶
output.data.format
Sets the output Kafka record value format. Valid entries are AVRO, JSON_SR, PROTOBUF, JSON or SF_API. Note that you need to have Confluent Cloud Schema Registry configured if using a schema-based message format like AVRO, JSON_SR, and PROTOBUF. When SF_API is selected, the record will be identical in format to the salesforce message as received by the connector. Note that in SF_API, messages are ingested as raw bytes without any schema.
- Type: string
- Importance: high
convert.changed.fields
Whether to convert field names within changed fields section of the ChangeEventHeader to match field names present on the Kafka record.
- Type: boolean
- Default: false
- Importance: low
Number of tasks for this connector¶
tasks.max
Maximum number of tasks for the connector.
- Type: int
- Valid Values: [1,…,1]
- Importance: high
Next Steps¶
For an example that shows fully-managed Confluent Cloud connectors in action with Confluent Cloud ksqlDB, see the Cloud ETL Demo. This example also shows how to use Confluent CLI to manage your resources in Confluent Cloud.