Apache NiFi vs StreamSets
Big Data is a big deal in the tech industry, and there are many tools available to handle it. In this blog post, we'll compare Apache NiFi and StreamSets, two popular data integration platforms, to see which one comes out on top.
Overview of Apache NiFi
Apache NiFi is an open-source tool that allows data to be easily managed, routed, and transformed from various sources to various destinations. It was developed by the National Security Agency (NSA) and then released to the public under the Apache License in 2014. Apache NiFi provides a web-based interface to design, control, and monitor data flows, it allows users to define their data pipelines with just some drag-and-drop components.
Overview of StreamSets
StreamSets is an open-source and enterprise-grade platform that allows data to be efficiently processed and managed in one place. It was founded in 2014 to simplify data ingestion in real-time. StreamSets Data Collector is also a drag-and-drop interface that lets users build data pipelines, but it has a larger library of connectors and processors out-of-the-box.
Comparison
When it comes to making a comparison between Apache NiFi and StreamSets, we have to take into account a few factors. We've chosen the following:
Ease of Use
Both platforms are user-friendly, but Apache NiFi has a more intuitive interface. Its drag-and-drop interface design encourages experimentation and iteration, making it easier for new users to understand how to use it. On the other hand, StreamSets has a steeper learning curve, but once you know how to use it, it could be as efficient as Apache NiFi.
Performance
The benchmarking test conducted by Esgyn demonstrated that in pushing data between Kafka topic pairs, both platforms had similar throughput when running with a similar hardware configuration. Ingestion rate by NiFi was higher than StreamSets in specific cases, while StreamSets enjoy lower latency.
Scalability
Both platforms scale horizontally, meaning adding more processing power will improve the performance. However, Apache NiFi seems to be more stable on the hundreds of nodes at the time of writing, while StreamSets reports some issue with stability for more than 200 nodes.
Conclusion
Apache NiFi and StreamSets are both excellent data integration platforms. It depends on the use case and features required to decide which one is best for a particular project. Apache NiFi is suitable for first-time users with less technical experience, while StreamSets is appropriate for experienced users who need an extensive solution for their pipeline processing. In both cases, it's important to benchmark performance on your specific setup to determine which performance metrics are most relevant and make your final implementation decision.