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Use EMQX Streaming in EMQX Premium

This page provides a step-by-step guide on how to use the EMQX Streaming feature in a Premium deployment.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have completed the following steps:

  • A Premium deployment has been created. For detailed instructions, refer to Create a Premium Deployment.
  • VPC peering connections are enabled for your deployment. For instructions, refer to VPC Peering Connections.
  • Any MQTT clients that will publish messages are set up and available.
  • Any Kafka clients that will consume messages are ready.

Enable EMQX Streaming in EMQX Platform Console

The EMQX Streaming feature can only be activated by submitting a ticket.

  1. Go to your deployment and navigate to Streaming (beta).
  2. Click Enable Streaming (beta) on the page to submit a ticket.

Once the EMQX Streaming is activated, the Kafka endpoint information will be displayed on the Streaming (beta) -> Streams page.

Create a Stream

Users can create two types of streams: default and free. A default stream is linked to an MQTT topic filter and created with 16 partitions by default, storing all matching MQTT messages. A free stream operates independently of MQTT topics, with customizable partition numbers, providing greater flexibility for non-MQTT use cases.

The retention period for both types of streams is fixed at 1 day and cannot be modified.

  1. Navigate to Streaming (beta) -> Streams.

  2. Click New on the Streams page. On the New Streams popup, complete the following settings:

    • Stream Name: Provide a name for the stream, for example, demo1. The Kafka topic for a Kafka client must match the stream name.
    • Stream Type: Select the stream type.
      • Default: The default type Stream is associated with an MQTT topic filter, and MQTT messages matching the topic filter are saved to the Stream.
      • Free: The free type Stream is not associated with an MQTT topic filter and is typically used for other data processing purposes.
    • MQTT Topic Filter: If you select Default as the stream type, enter a topic filter for MQTT messages. MQTT messages matching this topic filter are saved to the corresponding default type Stream. For this example, enter t1/+.
    • Number of Partitions: If you select Free as the stream type, specify the number of partitions to divide the stream for scalability and parallel processing.
  3. Click Confirm.

Once the stream is created, it will appear in the Streams list. By clicking the stream name, you can view details, including the partition offsets and other stream-specific information.

stream_details

Publish Messages Using MQTT Client

You can use MQTTX to simulate an MQTT client and publish messages to the topics t1/a and t1/b.

publish_messages

Consume Messages Using Kafka CLI

Follow the steps below to download the official Kafka CLI tool:

  1. Download and install the official Kafka CLI tool from the Kafka Downloads page.
  2. Configure the Kafka CLI tool to connect to the Kafka endpoint provided in the EMQX Platform overview.

Retrieve Topic Information

Using the Kafka CLI, you can retrieve topic information with the describe command. Ensure that the bootstrap-server option is set to the Kafka endpoint shown on the Deployment Overview page.

Example command:

bash
kafka-topics.sh --describe --bootstrap-server <kafka-endpoint>

retrieve_topic

Consume Messages from the Topic

To consume messages using the Kafka CLI, execute the following command:

bash
kafka-console-consumer.sh --bootstrap-server <kafka-endpoint> --topic <stream-name> --from-beginning

This command will consume messages from the specified stream starting from the beginning. You should see the previously published messages being consumed.

consume_messages

View Consumed Messages in EMQX Platform Console

To verify the consumed messages, navigate to Streaming (beta) -> Consumer Groups in the EMQX Platform Console.

consumer_groups

Click on the Group ID to view details about the consumer group, such as the list of consumers and their consumption progress.

consumer_group_detail

Remove a Stream

To remove a stream:

  1. Go to the Streaming (beta) -> Streams section.
  2. Click the delete icon in the Action column of the stream you want to remove.
  3. Confirm the deletion by clicking Confirm.