emqx4.3/changes/ee/feat-11581.en.md

Preview Feature: Support for Version 2 Bridge Design

• Introduction of Action with a new 'connector' concept

  • In the original Bridge v1 design, each connector was exclusively tied to a single bridge. This design prioritized error isolation and performance but posed challenges for users setting up multiple bridges to the same service. For instance, setting up 10 bridges to a single Kafka cluster required the same configuration to be repeated for each bridge.

  • The revamped Action design provides more flexibility and better scalability:

  • Users have the option to either share a connector across multiple bridges or retain it exclusively for one bridge, as in v1.

  • For the majority of data bridges, sharing a connector among too many bridges might lead to performance degradation but avoids overloading the external system with too many connections if the number of bridges is very high.

  • In some cases, specific data bridges always utilize dedicated connections, even when the connector is shared. Right now these are:

    • Kafka Producer
    • Azure Event Hub Producer

• Management of Connectors

  • Connectors can now be managed separately, bringing in more flexibility.
  • New API endpoints have been introduced under the /connectors path for connector management.
  • Actions can be managed via the /actions endpoint.

• Limitations in e5.3.1

  • Currently, only the Kafka and Azure Event Hub producer bridges have been upgraded to the action design.
  • The action feature is accessible through config files and HTTP APIs. However, it's not yet available on the dashboard UI.