Integrate Apache Kafka Connect with PostgreSQL using Debezium and mutual TLS Limited availability

Learn how to set up Apache Kafka Connect with PostgreSQL and Debezium using mutual TLS for secure data synchronization.

Overview

Integrating Apache Kafka Connect with PostgreSQL using Debezium and mutual TLS (mTLS) enhances data security by enforcing mutual authentication between the client and server. The configuration process establishes a secure and efficient data synchronization channel between Apache Kafka Connect and a PostgreSQL database.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following:

Access to an Aiven for Apache Kafka service with Apache Kafka Connect enabled.
Administrative access to a PostgreSQL database with SSL enabled.
The following SSL certificates and keys obtained from your PostgreSQL database:
- SSL client certificate: The public certificate for client authentication.
- SSL root certificate: The certificate of the Certificate Authority (CA) that signed the servers' and clients' certificates.
- SSL client key: The client's private key is used to encrypt the data sent to the server. For additional details, see Certificate requirements.

For CloudSQL PostgreSQL databases

If you're integrating with a CloudSQL database, perform these additional steps only if they are not already configured:

IP whitelisting: Whitelist Aiven's IP addresses to allow connections from Apache Kafka Connect to reach your CloudSQL database.
Configure WAL and logical decoding:
- To capture database change events, set cloudsql.logical_decoding to on.
- To configure the Write-Ahead Log (WAL) for logical replication, set cloudsql.enable_pglogical to on.
- Restart the CloudSQL instance to apply changes.
Activate the pgoutput extension: In your CloudSQL instance, enable the extension Debezium uses for logical decoding:
```
CREATE EXTENSION pgoutput;
```

Verify SSL certificates: After whitelisting IPs, ensure your SSL configuration is correct by testing the database connection:

psql "sslmode=verify-ca \
  sslrootcert=server-ca.pem \
  sslcert=client-cert.pem \
  sslkey=client-key.pem \
  hostaddr=<YOUR_IP_ADDRESS> \
  port=5432 \
  user=<YOUR_USER> \
  dbname=<YOUR_DB_NAME>"

Set Debezium output plugin: Use pgoutput or decoderbufs as the plugin.name in your Debezium connector for logical decoding.

note
Starting with Debezium 2.5, the wal2json plugin is deprecated. You can use either pgoutput or decoderbufs as the recommended replacement plugin.

Variables

The following table lists the variables for the configuration steps. Replace them with your actual environment values in the provided code snippets:

Variable	Description
`<kafka_cluster_name>`	Name of your Aiven for Apache Kafka service
`<kafka_connect_name>`	Name of your Apache Kafka Connect service
`<cloud_provider_and_region>`	Your cloud provider and region identifier
`<plan>`	Service plan for Apache Kafka/Apache Kafka Connect
`<project_name>`	Name of your project in the Aiven platform
`<integration_config>`	JSON configuration for PostgreSQL endpoint
`<integration_endpoint_id>`	ID of the created PostgreSQL endpoint
`<connector_config>`	JSON configuration for Debezium connector

## Configure the integration

Verify your existing Aiven for Apache Kafka service is active and accessible. If you don't have one, create an Apache Kafka cluster using this command:
```
avn service create <kafka_cluster_name> \
  --service-type kafka \
  --cloud <cloud_provider_and_region> \
  --plan <plan> \
  --project <project_name>
```
note
Ensure topic auto-creation is enabled to automatically generate required Apache Kafka topics. If disabled, manually create topics before starting the connector.

Create an Apache Kafka Connect service and configure it to communicate with your Aiven for Apache Kafka service:

avn service create <kafka_connect_name> \
  --service-type kafka_connect \
  --cloud <cloud_provider_and_region> \
  --plan <plan> \
  --project $PROJECT

Create an external PostgreSQL integration endpoint to represent your PostgreSQL database. Use the following JSON configuration and replace the placeholders:

INTEGRATION_CONFIG=$(cat <<-END
{
  "ssl_mode": "verify-ca",
  "host": "<postgresql_host>",
  "port": <postgresql_port>,
  "username": "<postgresql_user>",
  "ssl_client_certificate": "$(cat /path/to/your/client-cert.pem)",
  "ssl_root_cert": "$(cat /path/to/your/ca.pem)",
  "ssl_client_key": "$(cat /path/to/your/client-key.pem)",
  "password": my_password
}
END
)

avn service integration-endpoint-create \
   --project $PROJECT \
   --endpoint-name external_postgresql \
   --user-config "$INTEGRATION_CONFIG"

Retrieve endpoint ID of the integration endpoint you just created using this command:

INTEGRATION_ENDPOINT_ID=$(
    avn service integration-endpoint-list --project $PROJECT \
    | grep external_postgresql \
    | awk '{print $1}'
   )

Connect PostgreSQL endpoint to Apache Kafka Connect:

avn service integration-create \
  --project $PROJECT \
  --integration-type kafka_connect_postgresql \
  --source-endpoint-id $INTEGRATION_ENDPOINT_ID \
  --dest-service <kafka_connect_name>

Create the Debezium connector configuration to monitor your PostgreSQL database. Replace the placeholders with your PostgreSQL and Apache Kafka Connect information:
```
CONNECTOR_CONFIG=$(cat <<-END
{
  "name": "debezium-postgres-connector",
  "connector.class": "io.debezium.connector.postgresql.PostgresConnector",
  // Omitted as provided by external PostgreSQL integration:
  // "database.hostname", "database.port", "database.user", "database.password",
  // "database.dbname", "database.sslcert", "database.sslkey", "database.sslmode",
  // "database.sslrootcert"
  "database.server.name": "<kafka_connect_server_name>",
  "plugin.name": "pgoutput",
  "publication.name": "debezium_publication",
  "publication.autocreate.mode": "all_tables",
  "endpoint_id": "$INTEGRATION_ENDPOINT_ID",
  "topic.prefix": "my_prefix",
  // Topics will be named as "{prefix}.{database_name}.{table_name}"
  "database.tcpKeepAlive": "true",
  // Optional Transforms (uncomment if needed)
  //"transforms": "unwrap",
  //"transforms.unwrap.type": "io.debezium.transforms.ExtractNewRecordState"
}
END
)

avn service connector create \
  --project $PROJECT \
  --service <kafka_connect_name> \
  --config "$CONNECTOR_CONFIG"
```
where,
- name: The connector instance name. For example, debezium-postgres-connector.
- connector.class: The class of the PostgreSQL connector. For example, io.debezium.connector.postgresql.PostgresConnector.
- database.server.name: The identifier for the database server within Apache Kafka Connect.
- plugin.name: The PostgreSQL logical decoding plugin.
- publication.name: The PostgreSQL publication for tracking database changes.
- publication.autocreate.mode: If set to all_tables, it captures changes for all tables automatically.
- endpoint_id: The unique ID for the PostgreSQL endpoint managed externally.
- topic.prefix: The prefix for Kafka topics receiving database change events.
- database.tcpKeepAlive: If set to true, it prevents database connection timeouts during inactivity.
- transforms and transforms.unwrap.type: he data transformations. ExtractNewRecordState extracts the latest data state. These transformations are optional and should be used based on your specific requirements.

Verification

After successfully configuring the setup, verify the following:

Apache Kafka Connect establishes a secure SSL connection with the PostgreSQL database.
Apache Kafka topics exist as expected, whether created automatically or manually.
Data is correctly streaming into topics using the naming pattern {connector_name}.{database_name}.{table_name}.

Limitations

Consider the following limitations:

The process of delivering SSL keys to Apache Kafka Connect is asynchronous. Therefore, a delay of approximately five minutes may occur from the creation of the integration to the operational use of the keys.
The Apache Kafka setup does not support mutual authentication in verify-full SSL mode. However, the verify-ca mode is secure since the Certificate Authority (CA) is specific to the instance.
For CloudSQL PostgreSQL databases, ensure logical decoding and the pgoutput extension are enabled for replication compatibility.
As of Debezium 2.5, wal2json is deprecated. It is recommended to use pgoutput or decoderbufs for WAL output plugins.

Overview​

Prerequisites​

For CloudSQL PostgreSQL databases​

Variables​

## Configure the integration​

Verification​

Limitations​