Google Cloud PubSub and Databricks Integration

Input and output integration overview

This plugin ingests metrics from Google Cloud PubSub, allowing for real-time data processing and integration into monitoring setups.

Use Telegraf’s HTTP output plugin to push metrics straight into a Databricks Lakehouse by calling the SQL Statement Execution API with a JSON-wrapped INSERT or volume PUT command.

Integration details

Google Cloud PubSub

The Google Cloud PubSub input plugin is designed to ingest metrics from Google Cloud PubSub, a messaging service that facilitates real-time communication between different systems. It allows users to create and process metrics by pulling messages from a specified subscription in a Google Cloud Project. One of the critical features of this plugin is its ability to operate as a service input, actively listening for incoming messages rather than merely polling for metrics at set intervals. Through various configuration options, users can customize the behavior of message ingestion, such as handling credentials, managing message sizes, and tuning the acknowledgment settings to ensure that messages are only acknowledged after successful processing. By leveraging the strengths of Google PubSub, this plugin integrates seamlessly with cloud-native architectures, enabling users to build robust and scalable applications that can react to events in real-time.

Databricks

This configuration turns Telegraf into a lightweight ingestion agent for the Databricks Lakehouse. It leverages the Databricks SQL Statement Execution API 2.0, which accepts authenticated POST requests containing a JSON payload with a statement field. Each Telegraf flush dynamically renders a SQL INSERT (or, for file-based workflows, a PUT ... INTO /Volumes/... command) that lands the metrics into a Unity Catalog table or volume governed by Lakehouse security. Under the hood Databricks stores successful inserts as Delta Lake transactions, enabling ACID guarantees, time-travel, and scalable analytics. Operators can point the warehouse_id at any serverless or classic SQL warehouse, and all authentication is handled with a PAT or service-principal token—no agents or JDBC drivers required. Because Telegraf’s HTTP output supports custom headers, batching, TLS, and proxy settings, the same pattern scales from edge IoT gateways to container sidecars, consolidating infrastructure telemetry, application logs, or business KPIs directly into the Lakehouse for BI, ML, and Lakehouse Monitoring. Unity Catalog volumes provide a governed staging layer when file uploads and COPY INTO are preferred, and the approach aligns with Databricks’ recommended ingestion practices for partners and ISVs.

Configuration

Google Cloud PubSub

[[inputs.cloud_pubsub]]
  project = "my-project"
  subscription = "my-subscription"
  data_format = "influx"
  # credentials_file = "path/to/my/creds.json"
  # retry_delay_seconds = 5
  # max_message_len = 1000000
  # max_undelivered_messages = 1000
  # max_extension = 0
  # max_outstanding_messages = 0
  # max_outstanding_bytes = 0
  # max_receiver_go_routines = 0
  # base64_data = false
  # content_encoding = "identity"
  # max_decompression_size = "500MB"

Databricks

[[outputs.http]]
  ## Databricks SQL Statement Execution API endpoint
  url = "https://{{ env "DATABRICKS_HOST" }}/api/2.0/sql/statements"

  ## Use POST to submit each Telegraf batch as a SQL request
  method = "POST"

  ## Personal-access token (PAT) for workspace or service principal
  headers = { Authorization = "Bearer {{ env "DATABRICKS_TOKEN" }}" }

  ## Send JSON that wraps the metrics batch in a SQL INSERT (or PUT into a Volume)
  content_type = "application/json"

  ## Serialize metrics as JSON so they can be embedded in the SQL statement
  data_format = "json"
  json_timestamp_units = "1ms"

  ## Build the request body.  Telegraf replaces the template variables at runtime.
  ## Example inserts a row per metric into a Unity-Catalog table.
  body_template = """
  {
    \"statement\": \"INSERT INTO ${TARGET_TABLE} VALUES {{range .Metrics}}(from_unixtime({{.timestamp}}/1000), {{.fields.usage}}, '{{.tags.host}}'){{end}}\",
    \"warehouse_id\": \"${WAREHOUSE_ID}\"
  }
  """

  ## Optional: add batching limits or TLS settings
  # batch_size = 500
  # timeout     = "10s"

Input and output integration examples

Google Cloud PubSub

1. Real-Time Analytics for IoT Devices: Utilize the Google Cloud PubSub plugin to aggregate metrics from IoT devices scattered across various locations. By streaming data from devices to Google PubSub and using this plugin to ingest metrics, organizations can create a centralized dashboard for real-time monitoring and alerting. This setup allows for immediate insights into device performance, facilitating proactive maintenance and operational efficiency.

2. Dynamic Log Processing and Monitoring: Ingest logs from numerous sources via Google Cloud PubSub into a Telegraf pipeline, utilizing the plugin to parse and analyze log messages. This can help teams quickly identify anomalies or patterns in logs and streamline the process of troubleshooting issues across distributed systems. By consolidating log data, organizations can enhance their observability and response capabilities.

3. Event-Driven Workflow Integrations: Use the Google Cloud PubSub plugin to connect various cloud functions or services. Each time a new message is pushed to a subscription, actions can be triggered in other parts of the cloud architecture, such as starting data processing jobs, notifications, or even updates to reports. This event-driven approach allows for a more reactive system architecture that can adapt to changing business needs.

Databricks

1. Edge-to-Lakehouse Telemetry Pipe: Deploy Telegraf on factory PLCs to sample vibration metrics and post them every second to a serverless SQL warehouse. Delta tables power PowerBI dashboards that alert engineers when thresholds drift.
2. Blue-Green CI/CD Rollout Metrics: Attach a Telegraf sidecar to each Kubernetes canary pod; it inserts container stats into a Unity Catalog table tagged by deployment_id, letting Databricks SQL compare error-rate percentiles and auto-rollback underperforming versions.
3. SaaS Usage Metering: Insert per-tenant API-call counters via the HTTP plugin; a nightly Lakehouse query aggregates usage into invoices, eliminating custom metering micro-services.
4. Security Forensics Lake: Upload JSON batches of Suricata IDS events to a Unity Catalog volume using PUT commands, then run COPY INTO for near-real-time enrichment with Delta Live Tables, producing a searchable threat-intel lake that joins network logs with user session data.

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