Azure Event Hubs is a highly scalable data ingestion service that can intake and process massive amounts of data in real-time. It serves as a rapid and resilient option for sending telemetry and event data to Azure. The Event Hubs resource provider enables the use of Azure Event Hubs features on Azure Stack Hub, making it easier to build applications that work across Azure and Azure Stack Hub.
To use the Event Hubs resource provider in Azure Stack Hub, you need to plan the deployment thoroughly.
Prerequisites for Deployment
Before you can begin the deployment process, you need to ensure your environment meets the requirements. You need to have an Azure Stack Hub that’s integrated with Azure Active Directory (Azure AD). You also need to have permissions to register an Azure AD application and assign the necessary role-based access control (RBAC) permissions.
Steps to Deploy Event Hubs resource provider
- Prepare the Environment: The Event Hubs resource provider runs in a Windows Server 2016 virtual machine (VM). Prepare a VM that meets the recommended system requirements.
- Register Azure AD Application: You’ll need to register an Azure AD application. This is necessary to authenticate your service.
- Deployment: After the environment is prepared and the Azure AD application is registered, you can then deploy using Azure PowerShell, available in the Azure Stack Hub user portal.
Here is an example of how to use Azure Powershell to deploy the Event Hubs resource provider.
$serviceAdminPassword = ConvertTo-SecureString "Password123!" -AsPlainText -Force
$resourceGroup = "system.local"
$location = "local"
New-AzsEventHubResourceProvider `
-Name "system.eventhub" `
-Location $location `
-ResourceGroupName $resourceGroup `
-VMSize Standard_A4_v2 `
-VMPassword $serviceAdminPassword
- Post-deployment operations: Once the Event Hubs resource provider is deployed, you need to ensure that your users have the proper permissions to the resource provider.
Considerations during Deployment
While planning your Event Hubs resource provider deployment, here are few considerations:
- Scaling: In Azure Event Hubs, scalability is about event throughput. Plan for the number of messages and the message size that you expect to send to your event hub.
- Data Ingress: A single event hub is capable of ingesting many millions of events per second. Plan your data ingress capacity according to your business needs.
- Throughput Units: A throughput unit (TU) is a measure of the capacity of Event Hubs. Plan your TU capacity, always have a higher count that fits your needs.
- Partitioning: Partitions are used by Event Hubs to provide message streaming. Plan and configure according to your message processing logic.
In conclusion, planning for an Event Hubs resource provider deployment in Azure Stack Hub requires careful consideration of several key factors. In-depth understanding of your system’s needs and Azure Event Hubs capabilities can greatly assist in ensuring a successful deployment.
Practice Test
True or False: An Azure Event Hubs resource provider deployment mainly focuses on coordinating the handling of large data streams in cloud environments.
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: Event Hubs is a highly scalable data streaming platform and event ingestion service, capable of receiving and processing millions of events per second.
What is the primary purpose of the Azure Event Hubs resource provider deployment?
- A) To provide email services
- B) To offer video streaming services
- C) To deal with large data stream coordination
- D) None of the above
Answer: C) To deal with large data stream coordination
Explanation: The Event Hubs resource deployment effectively coordinates the management of sending, receiving, and processing large data streams in real-time.
When planning an Event Hubs resource provider deployment, which of the following aspects should be taken into consideration? Select all that apply.
- A) Scale of data streams to be handled
- B) Cost of Azure resources
- C) Encryption and security requirements
- D) Type of music for the event
Answer: A) Scale of data streams to be handled, B) Cost of Azure resources, C) Encryption and security requirements
Explanation: These are all important considerations for planning an Event Hubs resource provider deployment, as they directly influence the performance, cost, and security of the system.
True or False: For an Event Hubs resource provider deployment in a highly secure environment, Azure Private Link can not be utilized.
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: Azure Private Link provides a secure and scalable way to consume Event Hubs privately from within a virtual network.
In an Event Hubs resource provider deployment, the term “Throughput units” refers to what?
- A) The number of events processed per second
- B) The amount of storage used
- C) The number of concurrent users
- D) The speed of data transfer
Answer: A) The number of events processed per second
Explanation: Throughput units (TU) dictate the amount of data in MB/sec and the number of events/sec that your Event Hubs processes.
True or False: When planning an Event Hubs resource provider deployment, there is no need to consider latency requirements.
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: Latency can impact real-time event processing and hence needs to be taken into consideration during planning.
Azure Stack Hub is a product line designed for which purposes? Select all that apply.
- A) Hosting static websites in Azure
- B) Running AI models in Azure
- C) Running Azure services consistently across different environments
- D) Establishing hybrid cloud solution
Answer: C) Running Azure services consistently across different environments, D) Establishing hybrid cloud solution
Explanation: Azure Stack Hub allows organizations to deliver Azure services from their own datacenter, establishing a hybrid cloud solution with a consistent application model.
Which Azure service is particularly useful for processing and analyzing the streaming data in real-time in coordination with Event Hubs?
- A) Azure Functions
- B) Azure Logic Apps
- C) Azure Stream Analytics
- D) Azure DevOps
Answer: C) Azure Stream Analytics
Explanation: Azure Stream Analytics integrates seamlessly with Azure Event Hubs for real-time analytics, including anomaly detection, transformations, and aggregates.
Should you consider the usage pattern of your application when planning an Azure Event Hubs resource provider deployment?
- A) Yes
- B) No
Answer: A) Yes
Explanation: Understanding and planning for usage patterns is key to appropriate resource allocation and optimizations for cost and performance.
True or False: For an Azure Event Hubs resource provider deployment, Dedicated clusters are always a better choice rather than single Event Hubs, regardless of cost and scalability requirements.
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: Dedicated clusters provide single-tenancy and almost infinite scale but at a higher cost, making it not always the best choice. It depends on a business’s specific needs and goals.
Interview Questions
What is the main function of Azure Event Hubs?
Azure Event Hubs is a real-time data ingestion service on the Azure cloud that can gather millions of events per second. This enables you to process and analyze the massive amounts of data produced by your connected devices and applications.
How does Event Hubs process and analyze data produced by connected devices and applications?
Event Hubs uses its Capture feature to automatically deliver the data from these connected devices and applications to a Blob storage or Azure Data Lake Store. It does this for further analysis.
What is ‘Throughput unit’ in Event Hubs?
A throughput unit is a measure of capacity in Event Hubs. When you purchase Event Hubs, you are buying throughput units, each of which is capable of handling up to 1 MB per second of ingress (events sent into Event Hubs), but no greater than 1000 events per second.
How can you increase the Throughput Unit in Event Hubs?
You can incrementally increase the number of throughput units for an Event Hubs namespace up to 20. For a higher number, you need to contact Microsoft customer support.
What is partitioning in Azure Event Hubs and what is its significance?
Partitions are a fundamental part of Event Hubs’ data organization. They are ordered sequences of events that are held in an event hub. These partitions are spread across Event Hubs for scalability and redundancy.
What are Consumer groups in Azure Event Hubs?
Consumer groups are a view (state, or position) of an entire Event Hub. They enable consuming applications to each have a separate view of the data (i.e., to consume independently).
Why does one need multiple Consumer groups in Azure Event Hubs?
Multiple consumer groups are helpful when you have numerous consuming applications that you want to enable to consume independently at their own pace and with their own offsets.
What happens if you do not specify a consumer group in your receiver?
If you do not specify a consumer group in your receiver, the Event Hubs service defaults to the $Default consumer group.
How can you control access to Event Hubs?
You control access to Event Hubs by assigning specific rights to an identity, which can be a user, application, or managed identity. This is done through Shared Access Signature (SAS) keys.
How does the Event Hubs service handle data compression?
The Event Hubs service automatically decompresses data that is received in the ‘application/gzip’ and ‘application/deflate’ formats.
What is the role of Azure Functions in combination with Azure Event Hubs?
Azure Functions can be used with Event Hubs in order to react to events. Each time an event comes in, Azure Functions can process it individually.
What is Capture in Azure Event Hubs?
Capture is the automatic process of archiving data streaming into an event hub into Azure Blob storage or Azure Data Lake Storage Gen 1 or Gen 2 for later batch processing.
What does Namespace mean in Azure Event Hubs?
A namespace is a scoping container that you can use to address Event Hubs in your application.
Is it possible to use Azure Event Hubs across multiple regions?
Yes, Azure Event Hubs offers Geo Disaster Recovery and Geo Replication to facilitate usage across multiple regions.
Can you restrict IP addresses from sending data to your Event Hub?
Yes, you can specify IP filter rules to allow or deny specific IP addresses or ranges of IP addresses access to your Event Hubs namespace.