Building a Modeled Event Mesh

You build a modeled event mesh by adding event brokers, application versions, and event versions to it. In a modeled event mesh, an event broker represents a runtime Solace or Kafka event broker. The applications and events that you add represent actual runtime applications and the events that flow through your actual event brokers.

You must add at least one event broker to a modeled event mesh before you can add applications and events.

This section includes the following tasks:

Adding an Event Broker to a Modeled Event Mesh

An event broker in a modeled event mesh represents a runtime event broker in an event flow. After you create a modeled event mesh, you must add a model event broker that represents an event broker in the runtime. Event brokers that you add to a modeled event mesh represent runtime event brokers of the same type. In Solace modeled event meshes you can add multiple Solace model event brokers to represent all of the runtime event brokers in the event mesh. For Kafka modeled event meshes, you can add only one model event broker to represent the Kafka cluster in the event flow.

In a Solace modeled event mesh, you can model an existing event broker service by selecting a service from your PubSub+ Cloud account that has not already been added to another modeled event mesh. For both Solace and Kafka, you can also add an existing model event broker that was created with an Event Management Agent Connection or that was previously associated with a modeled event mesh that has since been deleted.

Alternatively, you can add a new event broker to the model. If you want to design the event flows for a new modeled event mesh but you aren't ready to add the event broker details, you can create a placeholder event broker with just a name and update the connection details later.

To add an event broker to a modeled event mesh, perform these steps:

  1. Log in to the PubSub+ Cloud Console if you have not done so yet. The URL to access the Cloud Console differs based on your authentication scheme. For more information, see Logging into the PubSub+ Cloud Console.
  2. In the Cloud Console, select Runtime Event Manager on the navigation bar.
  3. Select the Modeled Event Meshes tab.
  4. Click the name of the modeled event mesh that you want to add an event broker to.
  5. Select the Event Broker Connections tab.

  6. Click Connect Event Broker.

    Screenshot showing the options described in the surrounding text.

  7. To add a model event broker that represents an existing event broker service in PubSub+ Cloud, or to add a model event broker that already exists in Runtime Event Manager, in the Manage Event Broker Connections List, select the checkbox next to the event broker service or model event broker that you want to add. Event broker services display next to the name.
  8. To create a new event broker in a Solace modeled event mesh, perform these steps:
    1. Click New Event Broker.
    2. Enter a Name for the model event broker.
    3. Enter the Message VPN name. Cloud event broker services have only one Message VPN. For software and appliance event brokers, event flows may be segregated to multiple Message VPNs. The model event broker represents a single Message VPN.

    4. In the Management tab, enter the connection details for the event broker:

      SettingDetails

      SEMP Username

      The username to connect to the event broker.

      To avoid storing passwords in Event Portal, you add passwords on the local machine when you install the Event Management Agent.

      SEMP URL

      The address of the event broker. The address can be an IP address or an FQDN, and may include ports, for example: 123.89.40.72 or https://a1bcd2e3f45.messaging.solace.cloud:943

    5. Select the Messaging tab.

      Click Add Protocol to add a communication protocol that the event broker users. Repeat this step for each protocol that you want to add. You can add protocols more than once with different transport types. You can add the following protocols:

      6. SettingDetails

      SMF

      Solace Message Format

      Select a transport type and specify a port. Available transport types include:

      • SMF (tcp)
      • Secured SMF (tcps)
      • Compressed SMF (tcps)
      • WebSocket (ws)
      • Secure WebSocket (wss)

      AMQP

      Advanced Message Queuing Protocol

      Select a transport type and specify a port. Available transport types include:

      • APQP (amqp)
      • Secured AMQP (amqps)

      MQTT

      Message Queuing Telemetry Transport standard

      Select a transport type and specify a port. Available transport types include:

      • MQTT (tcp)
      • Secured MQTT(ssl)
      • WebSocket (ws)
      • Secure WebSocket (wss)

      REST

      Representational state transfer

      Select a transport type and specify a port. Available transport types include:

      • REST (http)
      • Secured REST(https)
    6. Click Connect Event Broker.
  9. To create an event broker in a Kafka modeled event mesh, perform these steps:
    1. Select New Event Broker.

    2. Enter the connection details for the event broker:

      SettingDetails

      Name

      The name of the event broker that displays in the modeled event mesh.

      Bootstrap Servers

      The bootstrap server addresses for event brokers in the Kafka cluster.

      Authentication type

      Select the type of authentication used to connect to the Kafka event broker.

      • No authentication
      • SASL_SCRAM
      • SASL_PLAIN
      • mTLS
      • IAM

      Authentication options

      Specify the applicable username, trust store location, and TLS options for the authentication type. If a password is required for authentication, in the Password field, select Generate an environment variable for the password to include an environment variable name in the connection details.

      To avoid storing passwords in Event Portal, you create an environment variable on the local machine when you install the Event Management Agent and supply the password in the environment variable.

    3. Click Connect Event Broker.
  10. Click Add. 

After you've added the model event broker to the modeled event mesh, you can add it to an Event Management Agent Connection to discover data from the runtime event broker that the model event broker represents. For more information, see Setting Up Event Management Agent Connections.

Managing Model Event Brokers

You can view information about each event broker in a modeled event mesh, including details about the Event Management Agent connection and the list of associated applications. For Kafka event brokers you can also view the list of associated events and schemas. For Solace event brokers, you can also view associated Event API Products. If the model event broker was created for an event broker service in your PubSub+ Cloud account, you can also view the event broker service in Cluster Manager.

You can delete an event broker from a modeled event mesh if it has no objects associated with it. When you delete an event broker, any corresponding runtime discovery data and audit results are deleted. If you created the event broker from an existing PubSub+ Cloud event broker service, it is not affected.

Because a Solace modeled event mesh can have multiple event brokers and a Kafka modeled event mesh only has one event broker, the steps to manage them are slightly different.

To view and manage a model event broker, perform these steps:

  1. On the Runtime Event Manager home page, select the Modeled Event Meshes tab.
  2. Click the name of a modeled event mesh that you want to manage the event brokers for.
  3. In the modeled event mesh, select the Event Broker Connections tab.
  4. If you are managing event brokers in a Solace modeled event mesh, perform the following actions:
    1. In the event broker list, select the event broker you want to view the details for.
    2. Perform any of the following actions:
      • If the model event broker is connected to an Event Management Agent, click Run Discovery Scan to scan for runtime data. For more information, see Running Discovery Scans.
      • To view or edit the connection details to connect to an Event Management Agent, click View Connection Details.
      • To view the linked event broker service in Cluster Manager, click More Actions for the event broker and select View Service in Cluster Manager.
      • To view the linked event broker service in PubSub+ Broker Manager, click More Actions for the event broker and select Open in PubSub+ Broker Manager.
      • To delete the event broker from the modeled event mesh, click More Actions for the event broker and select Delete From Event Portal.
  5. If you are managing the event broker in a Kafka modeled event mesh, perform any of the following actions:
    • If the model event broker is connected to an Event Management Agent, click Run Discovery Scan to scan for runtime data. For more information, see Running Discovery Scans.
    • To view or edit the connection details to connect to an Event Management Agent, click View Connection Details.
    • To delete the event broker from the modeled event mesh, click More Actions for the event broker and select Delete From Event Portal.

Adding an Application from Designer

To add an application to a modeled event mesh from Designer, you associate an application version with an event broker in the modeled event mesh. When you associate an application version with an event broker, you also associate the events that the application version publishes and subscribes to. For more information about creating and updating applications in Designer, see Applications.

You can also associate an application with an event broker by importing a Solace queue or Kafka consumer group from runtime data collected from an event broker. For more information, see Importing Runtime Objects into Event Portal

To associate an application to an event broker from Designer, perform these steps:

  1. On the Application Domains page, click the application domain that contains the application you want to update.
  2. Click Components to switch to list view.
  3. Select the Applications tab.
  4. Select the application.
  5. In the Versions list, select the version that you want to add to an environment
  6. In the Application Details pane, click More Actions , then select Add to Environment.
  7. Select the Environment that contains the modeled event mesh that you want to add the application version to.
  8. Select a modeled event mesh from the Modeled Event Mesh list.

  9. Select one or more Event Brokers to associate the application with.

    Screenshot showing the settings described in the surrounding steps.

  10. Click Add.

After you add the application version, you can view it in the modeled event mesh in Runtime Event Manager.

If you later create a new version of an application in Designer, you can associate the new version with the event broker and then remove the previous version of the application from the event broker.

Associating an Application with Additional Event Brokers

After you associate an application version to one model event broker, you can associate it with other event brokers using Runtime Event Manager. The event broker can be in the same modeled event mesh or a different modeled event mesh in any environment.

To associate an application version to another event broker in Runtime Event Manager, perform these steps:

  1. On the Runtime Event Manager home page, select the Modeled Event Meshes tab.
  2. On the Modeled Event Meshes tab, click the name of the modeled event mesh that contains the application.
  3. Select the Architecture tab.
  4. In the Applications list, select the checkbox next to each application that you want to add to another modeled event mesh.

  5. Select Actions > Add Environment Association.

    Screenshot showing the options described in the surrounding text.

  6. Select the Environment that contains the modeled event mesh that you want to add the application version to.
  7. Select a modeled event mesh from the Modeled Event Mesh list.
  8. Select one or more Event Brokers to associate the application with.
  9. Click Add.

Adding an Event from Designer

To add a Solace event version to a modeled event mesh you associate an application version that publishes or consumes the event with an event broker in the model. You can add a Kafka event version in the same way or by associating it directly with an event broker in the modeled event mesh.

You can also associate a Kafka event with an event broker by importing a Kafka topic from an event broker. If you import both a Kafka topic and a Kafka consumer group that subscribes to it, the link between the event and the application is maintained and shown in the Graph view. For more information, see Importing Runtime Objects into Event Portal.

To associate a Kafka event version directly with an event broker, perform these steps:

  1. On the Application Domains page,click the application domain that contains the event.
  2. Click Components to switch to list view.
  3. Select the Events tab.
  4. Select the event.
  5. In the Versions list, select the version that you want to add to an environment.
  6. In the Event Details pane, click More Actions next to the version that you want to add to an environment, then select Add to Environment.
  7. Select the Environment that contains the modeled event mesh that you want to add the event version to.
  8. Select a modeled event mesh from the Modeled Event Mesh list. You can only select Kafka modeled event meshes.

  9. Select the Event Broker. Kafka modeled event meshes can have only one event broker.

    Screenshot showing the settings described in the surrounding steps.

  10. Click Add.

After you add the event version, you can view it in the modeled event mesh in Runtime Event Manager.

Managing Object Associations

You can view the environments, modeled event meshes, and event brokers that applications are associated with. You can also view associations for Kafka events added to an environment. When you view the environment associations for an object, you can add new associations or remove associations.

To remove an application from a modeled event mesh, perform these steps:

  1. When viewing a modeled event mesh, in the Graph view, right-click the application version and select Manage Environment Associations. Alternatively, in the list view, in the Applications list or Events list, click More Actions for the object and select Manage Environment Associations.
  2. Select Actions > Remove from Modeled Event Mesh.
  3. To associate the object with another event broker in any environment, click Add Environment Association.
  4. To remove an association, perform these steps:
    1. Expand the information for the associated environment.
    2. Click More Actions for the event broker and select Remove Environment Association.