Overview

Apache NiFi is a powerful dataflow automation tool widely used for ingesting, routing, transforming, and monitoring data at scale. While setting up a standalone NiFi instance is straightforward, managing a NiFi cluster manually quickly becomes complex, error-prone, and unscalable.

In this project, I designed and implemented a fully automated Apache NiFi cluster setup using a CI/CD-driven DevOps approach. The entire infrastructure provisioning, configuration, security setup, and cluster coordination can be triggered using a single Jenkins build, eliminating repetitive manual steps and ensuring consistency across environments .

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Why Automate?

Setting up or expanding a NiFi cluster manually involves repetitive and fragile steps:

• Updating nifi.properties on every node
• Configuring ZooKeeper connectivity
• Managing certificates for secure inter-node communication
• Ensuring all nodes remain configuration-consistent
• Repeating the same process for scaling or rebuilding environments

Manual configuration becomes tedious and risky as the cluster grows.

By automating the setup:

• We achieve a single source of truth
• Cluster nodes can be added or removed seamlessly
• Configuration drift is eliminated
• Infrastructure and application lifecycle are managed declaratively

Automation transforms NiFi cluster management from an operational burden into a repeatable, reliable workflow.

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Understanding Apache NiFi Clustering

Apache NiFi follows a Zero-Master Clustering architecture:

• Every node runs the same dataflow
• Each node processes a different subset of data
• No node is permanently designated as a master

One node is automatically elected as the Cluster Coordinator using Apache ZooKeeper. This coordinator:

• Manages node membership
• Ensures flow synchronization
• Handles cluster health via heartbeats

If the coordinator fails, ZooKeeper automatically elects a new one, making the system fault-tolerant by design.

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Platform & Tools Used

This project combines multiple DevOps tools, each solving a specific problem:

• Jenkins – CI/CD orchestration and single-click automation
• Terraform – Infrastructure provisioning on AWS (IaC)
• Ansible – Configuration management and NiFi setup
• Apache NiFi – Dataflow orchestration platform
• Apache ZooKeeper – Cluster coordination and leader election
• AWS – Cloud infrastructure (EC2, VPC, Security Groups)
• LDAP – Authentication and authorization integration

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Flow of Automation

The automation pipeline follows a clean, sequential flow:

1. User triggers a Jenkins job

2. Required inputs are provided:

   • AWS credentials
   • VPC & Subnet IDs
   • Number of NiFi nodes
   • Apply or destroy infrastructure

   

3. Jenkins executes the pipeline defined in the Jenkinsfile

4. Terraform provisions:

   • EC2 instances
   • Security groups
   • Networking resources

5. Terraform invokes Ansible

6. Ansible:

   • Installs Java and NiFi
   • Configures ZooKeeper connectivity
   • Generates or applies TLS certificates
   • Updates NiFi configuration files

7. NiFi nodes auto-join the cluster

8. Cluster becomes accessible via the NiFi Web UI

All of this happens without logging into a single server manually.

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Files & Repository Structure

The repository is structured to cleanly separate concerns:

nifi/
├── Jenkinsfile
├── nifiansible/
│   ├── roles/
│   │   ├── nifi
│   │   ├── certificates
│   │   └── nifi_security
│   ├── templates/
│   │   ├── nifi.properties.j2
│   │   ├── authorizers.xml.j2
│   │   └── login-identity-providers.xml.j2
│   └── site.yml
├── nifiresources/
│   └── mycertificates/
├── nifiterraform/
│   ├── main.tf
│   ├── variables.tf
│   └── modules/
└── README.md

This structure allows:

• Independent changes to infra or config
• Easy reuse across environments
• Clear ownership of each automation layer

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Working with DevOps Tools

Jenkins

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Jenkins acts as the entry point for the entire system.

• Accepts user input via build parameters
• Injects AWS credentials securely
• Executes Terraform and Ansible in sequence
• Provides visual feedback via pipeline stages

This makes the NiFi cluster deployment repeatable, auditable, and CI/CD-friendly.

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Terraform

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Terraform is responsible for infrastructure as code:

• EC2 instances for NiFi nodes and ZooKeeper
• Security groups with controlled ingress
• Networking inside an existing VPC

Using Terraform ensures:

• Infrastructure consistency
• Easy teardown and recreation
• Version-controlled cloud architecture

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Ansible

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Ansible handles configuration management:

• Uses dynamic inventory from AWS

• Installs NiFi and dependencies

• Configures:

  • nifi.properties
  • authorizers.xml
  • login-identity-providers.xml

• Enables secure cluster communication

• Integrates LDAP authentication

All configurations are applied using templates, making scaling and changes effortless.

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NiFi UI

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Once automation completes:

• Each node exposes the NiFi Web UI
• The cluster is visible under Cluster Management
• Nodes show live heartbeats and roles
• Changes made on one node propagate to all

This validates that the cluster is healthy, synchronized, and production-ready.

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Automating Apache NiFi cluster setup not only reduces operational effort but also enables teams to scale data platforms confidently. This project was a hands-on experience in infrastructure automation, distributed systems, and DevOps engineering, and it laid a strong foundation for building reliable data platforms.

If you’re working with NiFi at scale, automation is not optional — it’s essential.