Cloudera Docs

Create an Inbound Connection Endpoint during flow deployment

During flow deployment, you can enable an endpoint that allows NiFi to listen to external data sources.

You can create flow deployments with an Inbound Connection Endpoint during flow deployment, using the Cloudera DataFlow Deployment wizard.
  • A flow definition supporting inbound connections has been created and added to the Catalog.
  • You have DFCatalogViewer role to view flow definitions in the Catalog.
  • You have DFFlowAdmin right for the environment where you want to create the endpoint.
  1. During flow deployment, at the NiFi Configuration step, select Inbound Connections > Allow NiFi to Receive Data.

    An Endpoint Hostname, generated from the Deployment Name you provided at the Overview step is offered and port configuration options become available.

  2. You can accept the generated hostname as is, or you can change the prefix. You can also click Select Preexisting Endpoint to select an available endpoint within your environment.
    Endpoints are unavailable if they are currently used by another flow deployment.
  3. Select Listening Ports.

    Provide the protocol and port or ports where your flow will listen to incoming data. Cloudera DataFlow automatically suggests ports based on listen processors detected in the flow definition. Custom Processors, if applicable, are not detected and must be added manually.

    Using ports with mixed protocols (TCP and UDP) is not allowed. As long as the suggested ports use mixed protocols, you are not allowed to add new ports or to proceed to the next step in the Wizard.

  4. Fill in Parameters.
    If the listening port in your flow definition is parameterized instead of having a pre-defined value, you have to fill in the same listening port numbers you provided in the NiFi Configuration step. The listening ports you specified in the NiFi Configuration step are visible in the Overview pane.
  5. Configure Sizing & Scaling, then click Next.
  6. Optional: Add Key Performance Indicators, then click Next.
  7. Review the information provided and click Deploy.
    As part of the flow deployment, a Layer-4 Load Balancer (LB) is created to forward traffic to the flow deployment’s NiFi cluster on the configured ports and protocols. DNS records are created for Inbound Connection Endpoint hostname to resolve to the Layer-4 LB.