Chapter 5. Kafka Bridge interface
The Kafka Bridge provides a RESTful interface that allows HTTP-based clients to interact with a Kafka cluster. It offers the advantages of a web API connection to AMQ Streams, without the need for client applications to interpret the Kafka protocol.
The API has two main resources — consumers and topics — that are exposed and made accessible through endpoints to interact with consumers and producers in your Kafka cluster. The resources relate only to the Kafka Bridge, not the consumers and producers connected directly to Kafka.
5.1. HTTP requests
The Kafka Bridge supports HTTP requests to a Kafka cluster, with methods to:
- Send messages to a topic.
- Retrieve messages from topics.
- Retrieve a list of partitions for a topic.
- Create and delete consumers.
- Subscribe consumers to topics, so that they start receiving messages from those topics.
- Retrieve a list of topics that a consumer is subscribed to.
- Unsubscribe consumers from topics.
- Assign partitions to consumers.
- Commit a list of consumer offsets.
- Seek on a partition, so that a consumer starts receiving messages from the first or last offset position, or a given offset position.
The methods provide JSON responses and HTTP response code error handling. Messages can be sent in JSON or binary formats.
Clients can produce and consume messages without the requirement to use the native Kafka protocol.
Additional resources
- To view the API documentation, including example requests and responses, see Using the AMQ Streams Kafka Bridge.
5.2. Supported clients for the Kafka Bridge
You can use the Kafka Bridge to integrate both internal and external HTTP client applications with your Kafka cluster.
- Internal clients
-
Internal clients are container-based HTTP clients running in the same OpenShift cluster as the Kafka Bridge itself. Internal clients can access the Kafka Bridge on the host and port defined in the
KafkaBridgecustom resource. - External clients
- External clients are HTTP clients running outside the OpenShift cluster in which the Kafka Bridge is deployed and running. External clients can access the Kafka Bridge through an OpenShift Route, a loadbalancer service, or using an Ingress.
HTTP internal and external client integration
