Data Streaming | Ignite Documentation

Ignite Summit 2025 – Call for Speakers Now Open – Learn more 

Edit

Data Streaming

Overview

Ignite provides a Data Streaming API that can be used to inject large amounts of data into an Ignite cluster. The main goal of streaming is efficient, quick data loading. The data that is added to the streamer is automatically organized and distributed between the nodes in partition-aware and parallel manner.

Data Streaming

The Data Streaming API is designed to be scalable and provides at-least-once delivery semantics for the data streamed into Ignite, meaning each entry is processed at least once.

Usage

A data streamer is associated with a specific cache and provides an interface for streaming data into the cache.

In a typical scenario, you obtain a data streamer and use one of its methods to stream data into the cache, and Ignite takes care of the rest.

You can obtain the data streamer for a specific cache as follows:

// Get the data streamer reference and stream data.
try (IgniteDataStreamer<Integer, String> stmr = ignite.dataStreamer("myCache")) {
    // Stream entries.
    for (int i = 0; i < 100000; i++)
        stmr.addData(i, Integer.toString(i));
}
System.out.println("dataStreamerExample output:" + cache.get(99999));

In the Java version of Ignite, a data streamer is an implementation of the IgniteDataStreamer interface. IgniteDataStreamer provides a number of addData(…​) methods for adding key-value pairs to caches. Refer to the IgniteDataStreamer javadoc for the complete list of methods.

using (var stmr = ignite.GetDataStreamer<int, string>("myCache"))
{
    for (var i = 0; i < 1000; i++)
        stmr.AddData(i, i.ToString());
}
This API is not presently available for C++.

The streamer can accept data to load by multiple threads.

A good use of streaming is data preloading.

Limitations

DataStreamer doesn’t guarantee:

  • By default, data consistency until successfully finished;

  • Immediate data loading. Data can be kept for a while before loading;

  • Data order. Data records may be loaded into a cache in a different order compared to load into the streamer;

  • By default, working with external storages.

If 'allowOverwrite' property is 'false' (default), consider:

  • You should not have the same keys repeating in the data being streamed;

  • Streamer cancelation or streamer node failure can cause data inconsistency;

  • If loading into a persistent cache, concurrently created snapshot may contain inconsistent data and might not be restored entirely.

Most important behavior of Ignite Data Streamer is defined by stream receiver and 'allowOverwite' setting.

Streamer receivers.

Ignite DataStreamer is an orchestrator and doesn’t write data itself. StreamerReceiver does. The default receiver is designed for fastest load and fewer network requests. With this receiver, streamer focuses on parallel transfer of backup and primary records.

You can set your own receiver. See Stream Transformer and Stream Visitor. The logic implemented in a stream receiver is executed on the node where data is to be stored.

try (IgniteDataStreamer<Integer, String> stmr = ignite.dataStreamer("myCache")) {

    stmr.allowOverwrite(true);

    stmr.receiver((StreamReceiver<Integer, String>) (cache, entries) -> entries.forEach(entry -> {

        // do something with the entry

        cache.put(entry.getKey(), entry.getValue());
    }));
}
private class MyStreamReceiver : IStreamReceiver<int, string>
{
    public void Receive(ICache<int, string> cache, ICollection<ICacheEntry<int, string>> entries)
    {
        foreach (var entry in entries)
        {
            // do something with the entry

            cache.Put(entry.Key, entry.Value);
        }
    }
}

public static void StreamReceiverDemo()
{
    var ignite = Ignition.Start();

    using (var stmr = ignite.GetDataStreamer<int, string>("myCache"))
    {
        stmr.AllowOverwrite = true;
        stmr.Receiver = new MyStreamReceiver();
    }
}
This API is not presently available for C++.
Important

The class definitions of the stream receivers to be executed on remote nodes must be available on the nodes. This can be achieved in two ways:

Changing receiver to non-default changes data distribution algorithm. With non-default receiver streamer sends data batches only to primary node receiver. And primary node needs another requests to send backup writes.

Note
A stream receiver does not put data into cache automatically. You need to call one of the put methods explicitly.

Overwritting data.

By default, existing keys aren’t overwritten. You can change that behavior by setting the allowOverwrite property of the data streamer to true. Since the default receiver does not overwrite data, other provided one is automatically chosen. Any non-default receiver is considered as not-overwriting. And allowOverwrite property says true. However, your own receiver may use putIfAbsent for instance.

Note
When allowOverwrite is set to false (default), the updates are not propagated to the external storage (if it is used).
stmr.allowOverwrite(true);
stmr.AllowOverwrite = true;
This API is not presently available for C++.

Stream Transformer

A stream transformer is a convenient implementation of a stream receiver, that updates the data in the stream. Stream transformers take advantage of the colocation feature and update the data on the node where it is going to be stored.

In the example below, we use a stream transformer to increment a counter for each distinct word found in the text stream.

String[] text = { "hello", "world", "hello", "Ignite" };
CacheConfiguration<String, Long> cfg = new CacheConfiguration<>("wordCountCache");

IgniteCache<String, Long> stmCache = ignite.getOrCreateCache(cfg);

try (IgniteDataStreamer<String, Long> stmr = ignite.dataStreamer(stmCache.getName())) {
    // Allow data updates.
    stmr.allowOverwrite(true);

    // Configure data transformation to count instances of the same word.
    stmr.receiver(StreamTransformer.from((e, arg) -> {
        // Get current count.
        Long val = e.getValue();

        // Increment count by 1.
        e.setValue(val == null ? 1L : val + 1);

        return null;
    }));

    // Stream words into the streamer cache.
    for (String word : text)
        stmr.addData(word, 1L);

}
class MyEntryProcessor : ICacheEntryProcessor<string, long, object, object>
{
    public object Process(IMutableCacheEntry<string, long> e, object arg)
    {
        //get current count
        var val = e.Value;

        //increment count by 1
        e.Value = val == 0 ? 1L : val + 1;

        return null;
    }
}

public static void StreamTransformerDemo()
{
    var ignite = Ignition.Start(new IgniteConfiguration
    {
        DiscoverySpi = new TcpDiscoverySpi
        {
            LocalPort = 48500,
            LocalPortRange = 20,
            IpFinder = new TcpDiscoveryStaticIpFinder
            {
                Endpoints = new[]
                {
                    "127.0.0.1:48500..48520"
                }
            }
        }
    });
    var cfg = new CacheConfiguration("wordCountCache");
    var stmCache = ignite.GetOrCreateCache<string, long>(cfg);

    using (var stmr = ignite.GetDataStreamer<string, long>(stmCache.Name))
    {
        //Allow data updates
        stmr.AllowOverwrite = true;

        //Configure data transformation to count instances of the same word
        stmr.Receiver = new StreamTransformer<string, long, object, object>(new MyEntryProcessor());

        //stream words into the streamer cache
        foreach (var word in GetWords())
        {
            stmr.AddData(word, 1L);
        }
    }

    Console.WriteLine(stmCache.Get("a"));
    Console.WriteLine(stmCache.Get("b"));
}

static IEnumerable<string> GetWords()
{
    //populate words list somehow
    return Enumerable.Repeat("a", 3).Concat(Enumerable.Repeat("b", 2));
}
This API is not presently available for C++.

Stream Visitor

A stream visitor is another implementation of a stream receiver, which visits every key-value pair in the stream.

In the example below, we have 2 caches: "marketData", and "instruments". We receive market data ticks and put them into the streamer for the "marketData" cache. The stream visitor for the "marketData" streamer is invoked on the cluster member mapped to the particular market symbol. Upon receiving individual market ticks it updates the "instrument" cache with the latest market price.

Note, that we do not update the "marketData" cache at all, leaving it empty. We simply use it for colocated processing of the market data within the cluster directly on the node where the data is stored.

static class Instrument {
    final String symbol;
    Double latest;
    Double high;
    Double low;

    public Instrument(String symbol) {
        this.symbol = symbol;
    }

}

static Map<String, Double> getMarketData() {
    //populate market data somehow
    return new HashMap<>();
}

@Test
void streamVisitorExample() {
    try (Ignite ignite = Ignition.start()) {
        CacheConfiguration<String, Double> mrktDataCfg = new CacheConfiguration<>("marketData");
        CacheConfiguration<String, Instrument> instCfg = new CacheConfiguration<>("instruments");

        // Cache for market data ticks streamed into the system.
        IgniteCache<String, Double> mrktData = ignite.getOrCreateCache(mrktDataCfg);

        // Cache for financial instruments.
        IgniteCache<String, Instrument> instCache = ignite.getOrCreateCache(instCfg);

        try (IgniteDataStreamer<String, Double> mktStmr = ignite.dataStreamer("marketData")) {
            // Note that we do not populate the 'marketData' cache (it remains empty).
            // Instead we update the 'instruments' cache based on the latest market price.
            mktStmr.receiver(StreamVisitor.from((cache, e) -> {
                String symbol = e.getKey();
                Double tick = e.getValue();

                Instrument inst = instCache.get(symbol);

                if (inst == null)
                    inst = new Instrument(symbol);

                // Update instrument price based on the latest market tick.
                inst.high = Math.max(inst.high, tick);
                inst.low = Math.min(inst.low, tick);
                inst.latest = tick;

                // Update the instrument cache.
                instCache.put(symbol, inst);
            }));

            // Stream market data into the cluster.
            Map<String, Double> marketData = getMarketData();
            for (Map.Entry<String, Double> tick : marketData.entrySet())
                mktStmr.addData(tick);
        }
    }
}
class Instrument
{
    public readonly string Symbol;
    public double Latest { get; set; }
    public double High { get; set; }
    public double Low { get; set; }

    public Instrument(string symbol)
    {
        this.Symbol = symbol;
    }
}

private static Dictionary<string, double> getMarketData()
{
    //populate market data somehow
    return new Dictionary<string, double>
    {
        ["foo"] = 1.0,
        ["foo"] = 2.0,
        ["foo"] = 3.0
    };
}

public static void StreamVisitorDemo()
{
    var ignite = Ignition.Start(new IgniteConfiguration
    {
        DiscoverySpi = new TcpDiscoverySpi
        {
            LocalPort = 48500,
            LocalPortRange = 20,
            IpFinder = new TcpDiscoveryStaticIpFinder
            {
                Endpoints = new[]
                {
                    "127.0.0.1:48500..48520"
                }
            }
        }
    });

    var mrktDataCfg = new CacheConfiguration("marketData");
    var instCfg = new CacheConfiguration("instruments");

    // Cache for market data ticks streamed into the system
    var mrktData = ignite.GetOrCreateCache<string, double>(mrktDataCfg);
    // Cache for financial instruments
    var instCache = ignite.GetOrCreateCache<string, Instrument>(instCfg);

    using (var mktStmr = ignite.GetDataStreamer<string, double>("marketData"))
    {
        // Note that we do not populate 'marketData' cache (it remains empty).
        // Instead we update the 'instruments' cache based on the latest market price.
        mktStmr.Receiver = new StreamVisitor<string, double>((cache, e) =>
        {
            var symbol = e.Key;
            var tick = e.Value;

            Instrument inst = instCache.Get(symbol);

            if (inst == null)
            {
                inst = new Instrument(symbol);
            }

            // Update instrument price based on the latest market tick.
            inst.High = Math.Max(inst.High, tick);
            inst.Low = Math.Min(inst.Low, tick);
            inst.Latest = tick;
        });
        var marketData = getMarketData();
        foreach (var tick in marketData)
        {
            mktStmr.AddData(tick);
        }
        mktStmr.Flush();
        Console.Write(instCache.Get("foo"));
    }
}
This API is not presently available for C++.

Configuring Data Streamer Thread Pool Size

The data streamer thread pool is dedicated to process batches coming from the data streamers.

The default pool size is max(8, total number of cores). Use IgniteConfiguration.setDataStreamerThreadPoolSize(…​) to change the pool size.

<bean class="org.apache.ignite.configuration.IgniteConfiguration">
    <property name="dataStreamerThreadPoolSize" value="10"/>

    <!-- other properties -->

</bean>
IgniteConfiguration cfg = new IgniteConfiguration();
cfg.setDataStreamerThreadPoolSize(10);

Ignite ignite = Ignition.start(cfg);
This API is not presently available for C#/.NET. You can use XML configuration.
This API is not presently available for C++. You can use XML configuration.