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nifi

Install and configure Apache NiFi
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Version information

  • 0.10.0 (latest)
  • 0.9.0
  • 0.8.0
  • 0.7.2
  • 0.7.1
  • 0.7.0
  • 0.6.0
  • 0.5.0
  • 0.4.0
  • 0.3.1
  • 0.3.0
  • 0.2.0
  • 0.1.0
released Oct 24th 2022
This version is compatible with:
  • Puppet Enterprise 2023.2.x, 2023.1.x, 2023.0.x, 2021.7.x, 2021.6.x, 2021.5.x, 2021.4.x, 2021.3.x, 2021.2.x, 2021.1.x, 2021.0.x, 2019.8.x, 2019.7.x, 2019.5.x, 2019.4.x, 2019.3.x, 2019.2.x, 2019.1.x, 2019.0.x, 2018.1.x, 2017.3.x, 2017.2.x, 2016.4.x
  • Puppet >= 4.10.0 < 8.0.0
  • , , ,

Start using this module

  • r10k or Code Manager
  • Bolt
  • Manual installation
  • Direct download

Add this module to your Puppetfile:

mod 'ssm-nifi', '0.10.0'
Learn more about managing modules with a Puppetfile

Add this module to your Bolt project:

bolt module add ssm-nifi
Learn more about using this module with an existing project

Manually install this module globally with Puppet module tool:

puppet module install ssm-nifi --version 0.10.0

Direct download is not typically how you would use a Puppet module to manage your infrastructure, but you may want to download the module in order to inspect the code.

Download

Documentation

ssm/nifi — version 0.10.0 Oct 24th 2022

Puppet module ssm-nifi

Description

Install and configure the Apache NiFi dataflow automation software.

Setup

What nifi affects

This module will download the Apache NiFi tarball to /var/tmp/. Please make sure you have space for this file.

The tarball will be unpacked to a subdirectory under /opt/nifi by default, where it will require about the same disk space. For ease of access, the symlink /opt/nifi/current will point to the managed nifi directory.

NiFi defaults to store logs and state and configuration within the installation directory. This module changes this behaviour.

The module will create /var/opt/nifi, for persistent storage outside the software install root. This will also configure the following nifi properties to create directories under this path.

  • nifi.content.repository.directory.default
  • nifi.database.directory
  • nifi.documentation.working.directory
  • nifi.flowfile.repository.directory
  • nifi.nar.working.directory
  • nifi.provenance.repository.directory.default
  • nifi.web.jetty.working.directory

The module will create /var/log/nifi, and configures NiFi to write log files to this directory. NiFi handles log rotation by itself. See Managing logs for more information.

The module will create /opt/nifi/conf to store puppet managed configuration files. The NiFi generated configuration files and the flow.xml configuration archive will also be stored here.

Setup Requirements

NiFi requires Java Runtime Environment. NiFi 1.14.0 runs on Java 8 or Java 11.

NiFi requires ~ 1.3 GiB download, temporary storage and unpacked storage. Ensure /opt/nifi and /var/tmp has room for the downloaded and unpacked software.

When installing on local infrastructure, consider download the distribution tarballs, validate them with the Apache distribution keys, and store it on a local repository. Adjust the configuration variables to point to your local repository. The NiFi download page also documents how to verify the integrity and authenticity of the downloaded files.

Beginning with nifi

Add dependency modules to your puppet environment:

  • puppet/archive
  • puppet/systemd
  • puppetlabs/inifile
  • puppetlabs/stdlib

You need to ensure java 8 or 11 is installed. If in doubt, use this module:

  • puppetlabs/java

By default, NiFi 1.14.0 and later starts with a self-signed TLS certificate, listens on the lo interface only, and generates a random username and password for access. You will need to add nifi properties to override this. Follow the NiFi administration guide for configuration, or see the example further down in this README.

Usage

To download and install NiFi, include the module. This will download nifi, unpack it under /opt/nifi/nifi-<version>, and start the service with default configuration and storage locations.

By default, NiFi is not available over the network. It will bind to 127.0.0.1 port 8443, using HTTPS with a self signed certificate. To make NiFi available over the network, you will need to ensure it listens on an external interface. Set the property nifi.web.https.host to a hostname or an external IP address. To change the port number, set nifi.web.https.port.

A minimal manifest for installing Java and NiFi, then making NiFi available over the network is:

class { 'java': }
class { 'nifi':
  nifi_properties => {
    'nifi.web.https.host' => $trusted['certname'],
  }
}

Class['java'] -> Class['nifi::service']

Using a specific version of NiFi

This module installs a specific version of NiFi. If a newer version of NiFi has been released available, the older one will generally not be downloadable from the Apache download CDN site. You will need to adjust the module parameters version and download_checksum:

class { 'nifi':
  version           => 'x.y.z',
  download_checksum => 'abcde...' # sha256 checksum
}

The SHA256 checksum of the NiFi tar.gz is available on the NiFi download page.

Hosting NiFi on a local repository

NiFi is a big download. Please consider hosting a copy locally for your own use. To use a local repository, set the download_url, download_checksum and version parameters.

Example using puppet manifests:

class { 'nifi':
  version           => '1.14.0',
  download_checksum => '858e12bce1da9bef24edbff8d3369f466dd0c48a4f9892d4eb3478f896f3e68b',
  download_url      => 'https://repo.example.com/nifi/nifi-1.14.0-bin.tar.gz',
}

Example using hieradata:

include nifi

nifi::version: "1.14.0"
nifi::download_checksum: "858e12bce1da9bef24edbff8d3369f466dd0c48a4f9892d4eb3478f896f3e68b"
nifi::download_url: "https://repo.example.com/nifi/nifi-1.14.0-bin.tar.gz"

Please keep download_url, download_checksum and version in sync. The URL, checksum and version should match. Otherwise, Puppet will become confused.

To set nifi properties, like the 'sensitive properties key', add them to the nifi_properties class parameter. Example:

class { 'nifi':
  nifi_properties => {
    'nifi.sensitive.props.key' =>  'keep it secret, keep it safe',
  },
}

(I recommend you use hiera-eyaml to store this somewhat securely.)

Example: Configuring TLS

NiFi will generate a self-signed TLS certificate by default.

To use a trusted TLS certificate is outside the scope of this module, a good place for it is in a "profile" wrapping the nifi module with other bits and pieces.

This example is based on the PKI configuration paths on the Red Hat OS family. It assumes you have certificates and keys stored under /etc/pki/tls, and use the system CA trust store under /etc/pki/ca-trust.

The puppetlabs-java_ks is used to manage the Java keystore file used by NiFi.

class profile::nifi (
  Stdlib::Fqdn $hostname = $trusted['certname'],
  Sensitive[String] $keystorepassword = 'changeme',
) {

  $hostcert    = "/etc/pki/tls/certs/${hostname}.pem"
  $hostprivkey = "/etc/pki/tls/private/${hostname}.pem"

  class { 'java':
    package => 'java-11-openjdk-headless',
    before  => Class['nifi::service'],
  }

  class { 'nifi':
    nifi_properties => {

      # Web properties
      'nifi.web.https.host'            => $hostname,

      # TLS properties
      # - Key store generated in this profile
      'nifi.security.keystore'         => '/opt/nifi/config/kesystore.jks',
      'nifi.security.keystoreType'     => 'jks',
      'nifi.security.keystorePasswd'   => $keystorepassword,

      # - Default system trust store path and password for Java on Red Hat
      'nifi.security.truststore'       => '/etc/pki/ca-trust/extracted/java/cacerts',
      'nifi.security.truststoreType'   => 'jks',
      'nifi.security.truststorePasswd' => 'changeit',
    }
  }

  java_ks { "${hostname}:/opt/nifi/config/keystore.jks":
    ensure      => latest,
    password    => $keystorepassword,
    certificate => $hostcert,
    private_key => $hostprivkey,
    require     => Class['nifi::config'],
    before      => Class['nifi::service'],
  }
}

Clustering NiFi

Warning: Using this module for nifi clusters is not yet stable. Configuration file overrides is currently required, and your NiFi configuration may break on upgrades of this module.

To create a cluster, set the cluster class parameter to true, and add cluster members to the cluster_nodes hash. This configures the cluster to use zookeeper for shared state.

Nifi requires you to set nifi.sensitive.props.key to the same string on all cluster nodes.

If you cluster nifi and also override the authorizers.xml file, ensure you also include the cluster nodes in this file.

Also, you need to configure TLS:

  • Generate TLS certificates
  • Set the property nifi.cluster.protocol.is.secure = true

Or continue without TLS:

  • Set the property nifi.web.http.port
class profile::nifi {
  class { 'java':
    package => 'java-11-openjdk-headless',
    before  => Class['nifi::service']
  }

  class { 'nifi':
    cluster         => true,
    nifi_properties => {
      'nifi.sensitive.props.key' => 'a shared secret for encrypting properties',
    },
    cluster_nodes   => {
      'node1.example.com' => { 'id' => 1 },
      'node2.example.com' => { 'id' => 2 },
      'node3.example.com' => { 'id' => 3 },
    }
  }
}

In addition to the clustering parameters, add certificates using the TLS example in this readme from a trusted Certificate Authority for cluster communication.

NiFi user authentication

User authentication is managed using the nifi.login.identity.providers.configuration.file and nifi.security.user.login.identity.provider properties. On a fresh install, NiFi uses the single-user-provider. A random username and password is created and written to the nifi-app.log file. This is documented at https://nifi.apache.org/docs/nifi-docs/html/administration-guide.html#user_authentication

This module does not manage login identity provider configuration. If you want to connect your NiFi to Active Directory or other LDAP server, you need to manage this property and provide a file.

class profile::nifi {
  $login_identity_providers => '/opt/nifi/conf/custom-login-identity-providers.xml'

  class nifi {
    nifi_properties => {
      nifi.login.identity.providers.configuration.file => $login_identity_providers,
      nifi.security.user.login.identity.provider       => 'my-custom-identity-provider',
    }
  }

  $template_params = {
    # [...]
  }
  file { $login_identity_providers:
    content => epp('profile/nifi/my-custom-login-identity-providers.epp, $template_params')
    # [...]
  }
}

NiFi user authorization

Authorization is managed using the nifi.authorizer.configuration.file and nifi.security.user.authorizer properties. This is documented at 'https://nifi.apache.org/docs/nifi-docs/html/administration-guide.html#multi-tenant-authorization'

This module manages /opt/nifi/conf/authorizers.xml to support clustering, it is otherwise similar to the default content.

You can override this file using a collector (using the File <| ... |> {} syntax) to use your own template by overriding the content parameter of the file managed by the nifi module.

class profile::nifi {
  $authorizers => '/opt/nifi/conf/authorizers.xml'

  class { 'nifi':
    nifi_properties => {
      nifi.authorizer.configuration.file => $authorizers, # module default, added for clarity
      nifi.security.user.authorizer      => 'my-custom-authorizer-provider',
    }
  }

  $template_params = {
    # [...]
  }
  File <| title == $authorizers |> {
    content => epp('profile/nifi/my-custom-authorizers.epp, $template_params')
  }
}

Note: The example above assumes that the module parameter nifi::config_directory is left at its default /opt/nifi/conf.

Managing upgrades

The Upgrade Recommendations lists properties which should be set to enable NiFi upgrades to keep the same configuration and state.

The module has defaults for data storage outside the installation directory. For now, you need to add add settings to point to the config_resource_dir used in the examples above.

  • nifi.flow.configuration.file
  • nifi.flow.configuration.archive.dir
  • nifi.authorizer.configuration.file

Managing logs

The NiFi logs are written to $nifi::log_directory (default /var/log/nifi). The directory prevents access for "other", but the files within are otherwise readable. You can use ACLs on the directory to permit access to your favourite log reading program. The puppet-posix_acl module can be used like this:

class profile::nifi (
  $log_directory => '/var/log/nifi',
) {

  class { 'nifi':
    log_directory => $log_directory,
    # [...]
  }

  posix_acl { $log_directory:
    action     => set,
    permission => [ 'user:logreader:r-x' ],
    require    => File[$log_directory],
  }
}

NiFi state management

This module configures NiFi to use /opt/nifi/conf/state-management.xml instead of the ./conf/state-management.xml in the NiFi install directory. The values in this file are NiFi defaults, apart from the local state management directory or the cluster state management connect string.

To override this file with your own values, provide a nifi_properties class parameter which includes nifi.state.management.configuration.file pointing to your own file.

class profile::nifi (
  $custom_state_management => '/path/to/custom/state-management.xml',
) {

  class { 'nifi':
    nifi_properties => {
      'nifi.state.management.configuration.file' => $custom_state_management
    }
  }

  file { $custom_state_management:
    notify => Class['nifi::service'],
  }
}

Notes and thoughts

About the ZooKeeper connection string. The NiFi administration guide says "This should containe a list of all ZooKeeper instances in the ZooKeeper quorum", while the ZooKeeper overview says "a client connects to one node". This module follows assumes that the NiFi cluster runs its own ZooKeeper and lets any node connect as client to any other node.

  nifi 1          nifi 2          nifi 3
    |               |               |
zookeeper 1 --- zookeeper 2 --- zookeeper 3

Java Keystore: NiFi administration guide says "JKS is the preferred type", while the "keytool" utility provided by the java package says "JKS is deprecated, use PKCS12".

Limitations

This module is under development, and therefore somewhat light on functionality and sensible defaults.

State management: This module configures rudimentary NiFi state management for local state and with zookeeper for cluster state. The redis method is not managed with this module.

Cluster configuration breaks authorization: Enabling clustering with this module using cluster => true will break the default user authorization. You will have to override this file to add your preferred method. See examples above.

To manage more configuration files, add a file resource of your own, and set the related property using the nifi_properties class parameter.

Development

In the Development section, tell other users the ground rules for contributing to your project and how they should submit their work.