How to load Cvent data into Elasticsearch via Logstash

Elasticsearch is a popular distributed full-text search engine. By centrally storing data, you can perform ultra-fast searches, fine-tuning relevance, and powerful analytics with ease. Elasticsearch has a pipeline tool for loading data called "Logstash". You can use CData JDBC Drivers to easily import data from any data source into Elasticsearch for search and analysis.

This article explains how to use the CData JDBC Driver for Cvent to load data from Cvent into Elasticsearch via Logstash.

Using CData JDBC Driver for Cvent with Elasticsearch Logstash

• Install the CData JDBC Driver for Cvent on the machine where Logstash is running.
• The JDBC Driver will be installed at the following path (the year part, e.g. 20XX, will vary depending on the product version you are using). You will use this path later. Place this .jar file (and the .lic file if it's a licensed version) in Logstash.
  C:\Program Files\CData\CData JDBC Driver for Cvent 20XX\lib\cdata.jdbc.cvent.jar
  
• Next, install the JDBC Input Plugin, which connects Logstash to the CData JDBC driver. The JDBC Plugin comes by default with the latest version of Logstash, but depending on the version, you may need to add it.
  https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/logstash/5.4/plugins-inputs-jdbc.html
• Move the CData JDBC Driver’s .jar file and .lic file to Logstash's "/logstash-core/lib/jars/".

Sending Cvent data to Elasticsearch with Logstash

Now, let's create a configuration file for Logstash to transfer Cvent data to Elasticsearch.

• Write the process to retrieve Cvent data in the logstash.conf file, which defines data processing in Logstash. The input will be JDBC, and the output will be Elasticsearch. The data loading job is set to run at 30-second intervals.
• Set the CData JDBC Driver's .jar file as the JDBC driver library, configure the class name, and set the connection properties to Cvent in the form of a JDBC URL. The JDBC URL allows detailed configuration, so please refer to the product documentation for more specifics.

Before you can authenticate to Cvent, you must create a workspace and an OAuth application.

Creating a Workspace

To create a workspace:

1. Sign into Cvent and navigate to App Switcher (the blue button in the upper right corner of the page) >> Admin.
2. In the Admin menu, navigate to Integrations >> REST API.
3. A new tab launches for Developer Management. Click on Manage API Access in the new tab.
4. Create a Workspace and name it. Select the scopes you would like your developers to have access to. Scopes control what data domains the developer can access.
   • Choose All to allow developers to choose any scope, and any future scopes added to the REST API.
   • Choose Custom to limit the scopes developers can choose for their OAuth apps to selected scopes. To access all tables exposed by the driver, you need to set the following scopes:

     event/attendees:read	event/attendees:write	event/contacts:read
     event/contacts:write	event/custom-fields:read	event/custom-fields:write
     event/events:read	event/events:write	event/sessions:delete
     event/sessions:read	event/sessions:write	event/speakers:delete
     event/speakers:read	event/speakers:write	budget/budget-items:read
     budget/budget-items:write	exhibitor/exhibitors:read	exhibitor/exhibitors:write
     survey/surveys:read	survey/surveys:write

Creating an OAuth Application

After you have set up a Workspace and invited them, developers can sign up and create a custom OAuth app. See the Creating a Custom OAuth Application section in the Help documentation for more information.

Connecting to Cvent

After creating an OAuth application, set the following connection properties to connect to Cvent:

• InitiateOAuth: GETANDREFRESH. Used to automatically get and refresh the OAuthAccessToken.
• OAuthClientId: The Client ID associated with the OAuth application. You can find this on the Applications page in the Cvent Developer Portal.
• OAuthClientSecret: The Client secret associated with the OAuth application. You can find this on the Applications page in the Cvent Developer Portal.

Executing data movement with Logstash

Now let's run Logstash using the created "logstash.conf" file.

A log indicating success will appear. This means the Cvent data has been loaded into Elasticsearch.

For example, let's view the data transferred to Elasticsearch in Kibana.

    GET cvent_table/_search
    {
        "query": {
            "match_all": {}
        }
    }

We have confirmed that the data is stored in Elasticsearch.

By using the CData JDBC Driver for Cvent with Logstash, it functions as a Cvent connector, making it easy to load data into Elasticsearch. Please try the 30-day free trial.