Apache NiFi
| Company type | Open source software project |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software, Data Integration |
| Founded | 2014 |
| Founder | National Security Agency (NSA) |
| Products | Data automation and integration software |
| Parent | Apache Software Foundation |
Apache NiFi is a software initiative developed by the Apache Software Foundation designed to automate data movement across different software systems. Rooted in the principles of extract, transform, load (ETL), its origins trace back to the "NiagaraFiles" program created by the US National Security Agency (NSA), which influenced the project's name – NiFi. The software was released as open source in 2014 through a technology transfer effort by the NSA.
Utilizing a flow-based programming approach, NiFi supports deployment in cluster environments and ensures secure data transmission using TLS encryption. It is highly extensible, permitting users to build custom extensions, and provides a user-friendly web interface for managing data flows visually.
Components
NiFi operates as a Java application hosted on a Java virtual machine within a server environment. Its primary components consist of:
- Web Server – an HTTP interface facilitating visual management and event tracking
- Flow Controller – the central unit governing NiFi's operations, managing extensions and resource distribution
- Extensions – modular plugins that enable connectivity with diverse systems
- FlowFile repository – monitors the status of active FlowFiles transferring between systems
- Content repository – holds data during transit
- Provenance repository – records data lineage information throughout processing