IBM Streaming Analytics service¶

Overview¶

IBM® Streaming Analytics for IBM Cloud is powered by IBM® Streams, an advanced analytic platform that you can use to ingest, analyze, and correlate information as it arrives from different types of data sources in real time. When you create an instance of the Streaming Analytics service, you get your own instance of IBM® Streams running in IBM® Cloud, ready to run your IBM® Streams applications.

Package support¶

This streamsx package supports :

Developing streaming applications in Python that can be submitted to a Streaming Analytics service. See streamsx.topology.topology, STREAMING_ANALYTICS_SERVICE.

Submitting streaming applications written in Python or SPL to a Streaming Anlaytics service. See Python applications, SPL applications.

Submitting a pre-compiled Streams application bundle (sab file) Python or SPL to a Streaming Anlaytics service. See Streams application bundles.

Python bindings to the IBM Streams REST API and the Streaming Analytics REST API. See streamsx.rest

Accessing a service¶

In order to use a Streaming Analytics service you must have access to credentials for the service. There are two mechanisms used by this package, VCAP services and direct use of Streaming Analytics credentials.

VCAP services¶

This is the format used by Cloud Foundry for bindable services. The service key for Streaming Analytics service is streaming-analytics, the value of that key in the VCAP services is a list of accessible services, each service represented by a separate object.

Each streaming analytics object must have these keys:

name identifying the name of the service.

credentials identifying the connection credentials for the service.

Example VCAP services containing two Streaming Analytics services sa-test and sa-prod (with the specific connection details elided):

{
"streaming-analytics": [
{
  "name": "sa-test",
  "credentials":
  {
     "apikey": "...",
     "iam_apikey_description": "Auto generated apikey during resource-key operation for Instance - ...",
     "iam_apikey_name": "auto-generated-apikey-...",
     "iam_role_crn": "crn:v1:bluemix:public:iam::::serviceRole:Writer",
     "iam_serviceid_crn": "crn:v1:bluemix:public:iam-identity ...",
      "v2_rest_url": "https://streams-app-service.ng.bluemix.net/v2/streaming_analytics/..."
  }
},
{
  "name": "sa-prod",
  "credentials":
  {
     "apikey": "...",
     "iam_apikey_description": "Auto generated apikey during resource-key operation for Instance - ...",
     "iam_apikey_name": "auto-generated-apikey-...",
     "iam_role_crn": "crn:v1:bluemix:public:iam::::serviceRole:Writer",
     "iam_serviceid_crn": "crn:v1:bluemix:public:iam-identity ...",
      "v2_rest_url": "https://streams-app-service.ng.bluemix.net/v2/streaming_analytics/..."
  }
}
]
}

Note

The specific keys in the credentials may differ depending on the service plan.

Cloud Foundry applications¶

When a Streaming Analytics service is bound to a Cloud Foundry Python application the environment variable VCAP_SERVICES is automatically defined and contains a string representation of the JSON VCAP services information.

Client applications¶

Client applications are ones that run outside of the IBM Cloud, for example on a local laptop, or applications that are not bound to a service.

Client applications running must define a valid VCAP services in its JSON format as either:

In the environment variable VCAP_SERVICES containing a string representation of the JSON VCAP services information.

In a file containing a string representation of the JSON VCAP services information and have the file’s absolute path in either:

the environment variable VCAP_SERVICES

the configuration property VCAP_SERVICES when submitting an application using submit() with context type STREAMING_ANALYTICS_SERVICE. This overrides the environment variable VCAP_SERVICES.

The contents of the file must be manually created, the credentials for the credentials key are obtained from the Streaming Analytics manage console. Select the Service Credentials page and then copy the required credentials. You may need to first create credentials. You can an copy the credentials by taking the View credentials action and then clicking the copy to clipboard icon on the right hand side.

Warning

The credential information in VCAP services is in plain text. Ensure that the any file containing the information or setting the environment variable has suitable permissions set. For example only readable by the intended user.

Selecting the service¶

The Streaming Analyitcs service to use is specifed by its name, the required service much exist in the VCAP service information using the name key.

The name of the service to use is set by:

the environment variable STREAMING_ANALYTICS_SERVICE_NAME.

the configuration property SERVICE_NAME when submitting an application using submit() with context type STREAMING_ANALYTICS_SERVICE. This overrides the environment variable STREAMING_ANALYTICS_SERVICE_NAME.

the --service-name option to streamsx-runner.

Service definition¶

The Streaming Analytics service to use may be specified solely using its credentials. The credentials are specified:

with the configuration property SERVICE_DEFINITION when submitting an application using submit() with context type STREAMING_ANALYTICS_SERVICE.

when using streamsx.rest.StreamingAnalyticsConnection.of_definition() to create a REST connection.

Credentials obtained from the Streaming Analytics manage console. Select the Service Credentials page and then copy the required credentials. You may need to first create credentials. You can an copy the credentials by taking the View credentials action and then clicking the copy to clipboard icon on the right hand side.