ServiceNow 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 ServiceNow Source Connector for Confluent Platform.
The Kafka Connect ServiceNow Source connector is used to poll for additions and changes made in a ServiceNow table (see the ServiceNow documentation) and get these changes into Apache Kafka® in real time. The connector consumes data from a ServiceNow table to add and update records in a Kafka topic.
Features¶
The ServiceNow Source connector provides the following features:
- Topics created automatically: The connector can automatically create Kafka topics.
- At least once delivery: The connector guarantees that records are delivered at least once to the Kafka topic.
- Automatic retries: When network failures occur, the connector automatically retries the request. The property
retry.max.times
controls how many times retries are attempted. An exponential backoff is added to each retry interval. - Elasticity: The connector allows you to configure two parameters that enforce the throughput limit:
batch.max.rows
andpoll.interval.s
. The connector defaults to10000
records and a30
second polling interval. If a large number of updates occur within the given interval, the connector will paginate records according to configurable batch size. Note that since ServiceNow provides precision to one second, the ServiceNow Connector provides one second as the lowestpoll.interval.s
configuration property setting. - Supports one task: The connector supports running one task only. That is, one table is handled by one task.
- Supported data formats: The connector supports Avro, JSON Schema (JSON-SR), Protobuf, and JSON (schemaless) output formats. Schema Registry must be enabled to use a Schema Registry-based format (for example, Avro, JSON Schema, or Protobuf). See Schema Registry Enabled Environments for additional information.
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 ServiceNow 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 Confluent Cloud ServiceNow Source connector. The quick start provides the basics of selecting the connector and configuring it to stream events.
- 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.
- You must have the ServiceNow instance URL, table name, and connector authentication details. For details, see the ServiceNow docs.
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 ServiceNow Source Connector screen, complete the following:
- 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 ServiceNow authentication details:
- ServiceNow Instance URL: The ServiceNow instance URL. For
example:
https://<instancename>.service-now.com/
. - ServiceNow table name: The ServiceNow table name or database view name.
- ServiceNow Username: The ServiceNow basic authentication user name.
- ServiceNow Password: The ServiceNow basic authentication password.
- ServiceNow Instance URL: The ServiceNow instance URL. For
example:
- Click Continue.
Add the following details:
- Select the output record value format (data going to the Kafka topic): AVRO, JSON, JSON_SR (JSON Schema), or PROTOBUF. Schema Registry must be enabled to use a Schema Registry-based format (for example, Avro, JSON Schema, or Protobuf). For more information, see Schema Registry Enabled Environments.
Show advanced configurations
HTTP request timeout (ms): HTTP request timeout in milliseconds.
Maximum number of times to retry request: Maximum number of times to retry the request.
Poll interval (ms)t: Frequency in seconds to poll for new data in each table. The minimum poll interval is one second and the maximum poll interval is 60 seconds.
Max rows per batch: Maximum number of rows to include in a single batch when polling for new data. This setting can be used to limit the amount of data buffered internally in the connector.
Starting time in UTC (yyyy-MM-dd): Time to start fetching all updates/creation. Default uses the time connector launched. Note that the time is in UTC and has the required format: yyyy-MM-dd.
Transforms and Predicates: For more details, see the Single Message Transforms (SMT) documentation.
For all property values and definitions, see Configuration Properties .
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.
Step 5: Check for records.¶
Verify that records are being produced at the 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": "ServiceNowSource",
"name": "ServiceNowSource_0",
"kafka.auth.mode": "KAFKA_API_KEY",
"kafka.api.key": "****************",
"kafka.api.secret": "************************************************",
"kafka.topic": "<topic-name>",
"output.data.format": "AVRO",
"servicenow.url": "<instance-URL>",
"servicenow.table": "<table-name>",
"servicenow.user": "<username>",
"servicenow.password": "<password>",
"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 the topic name where data is sent.“
output.data.format"
: Enter an output data format (data going to the Kafka topic): AVRO, JSON_SR (JSON Schema), PROTOBUF, or JSON (schemaless). 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."servicenow.<>"
: Enter the instance URL, table name (or database view name), and connector authentication details. For additional information, see the ServiceNow docs. An instance URL looks like this:https://<instancename>.service-now.com/
."tasks.max"
: Enter the number of tasks to use with the connector. The connector supports running one task only. That is, one table is handled by one task.
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 descriptions.
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 servicenow-source-config.json
Example output:
Created connector ServiceNowSource_0 lcc-do6vzd
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 | Trace
+------------+-------------------------------+---------+--------+-------+
lcc-do6vzd | ServiceNowSource_0 | RUNNING | source | |
Step 6: Check for records.¶
Verify that records are being produced at the 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 ServiceNow 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
Output messages¶
output.data.format
Sets the output Kafka record value format. Valid entries are AVRO, JSON_SR, PROTOBUF, or JSON. Note that you need to have Confluent Cloud Schema Registry configured if using a schema-based message format like AVRO, JSON_SR, and PROTOBUF
- Type: string
- Importance: high
ServiceNow details¶
servicenow.url
ServiceNow Instance URL.
- Type: string
- Importance: high
servicenow.table
ServiceNow table name.
- Type: string
- Importance: high
servicenow.user
ServiceNow basic authentication username.
- Type: string
- Importance: high
servicenow.password
ServiceNow basic authentication password.
- Type: password
- Importance: high
connection.timeout.ms
HTTP request timeout in milliseconds.
- Type: int
- Default: 50000 (50 seconds)
- Importance: low
retry.max.times
Maximum number of times to retry request.
- Type: int
- Default: 3
- Importance: low
poll.interval.s
Frequency in seconds to poll for new data in each table. The minimum poll interval is 1 second and the maximum poll interval is 60 seconds.
- Type: int
- Default: 30
- Importance: medium
ServiceNow query details¶
batch.max.rows
Maximum number of rows to include in a single batch when polling for new data. This setting can be used to limit the amount of data buffered internally in the connector.
- Type: int
- Default: 10000
- Valid Values: [1,…,10000]
- Importance: low
servicenow.since
Time to start fetching all updates/creation. Default uses the time connector launched. Note that the time is in UTC and has required format: yyyy-MM-dd.
- Type: string
- Importance: medium
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.