The objects available within our connector are accessible from the "cdata.apachehbase" module. To use the module's objects directly:

1. Import the module as follows:
   

   import cdata.apachehbase as mod

2. To establish a connection string, call the connect() method from the connector object using an appropriate connection string, such as:
   

   mod.connect("Server=127.0.0.1;Port=8080;")

Connecting to Apache HBase

The CData Python Connector for Apache HBase connects to Apache HBase via the HBase REST (Stargate) server.

To connect to Apache HBase, set these parameters:

• Server: The host name, IP address, or URL of the server hosting Apache HBase. If there are multiple nodes, use the host name, IP address, or URL of the machine running the REST (Stargate) server.
• Port: The port for the Apache HBase REST (Stargate) server.

Authenticating to Apache HBase

The CData Python Connector for Apache HBase supports the following authentication schemes:

• Anonymous
• Basic
• Negotiate (Kerberos)

Anonymous

By default, no authentication (alternatively known as "anonymous" authentication) is used. Set AuthScheme to None to explicitly enforce no authentication.

Basic

To use Basic authentication, set the following:

• AuthScheme: Set this to Basic.
• User: Set this to the Apache HBase user.
• Password: Set this to the Apache HBase password.

Kerberos

To authenticate to Apache HBase with Kerberos, set AuthScheme to NEGOTIATE.

Authenticating to Apache HBase via Kerberos requires you to define authentication properties and to choose how Kerberos should retrieve authentication tickets.

Retrieve Kerberos Tickets

Kerberos tickets are used to authenticate the requester's identity. The use of tickets instead of formal logins/passwords eliminates the need to store passwords locally or send them over a network. Users are reauthenticated (tickets are refreshed) whenever they log in at their local computer or enter kinit USER at the command prompt.

The connector provides three ways to retrieve the required Kerberos ticket, depending on whether or not the KRB5CCNAME and/or KerberosKeytabFile variables exist in your environment.

MIT Kerberos Credential Cache File

This option enables you to use the MIT Kerberos Ticket Manager or kinit command to get tickets. With this option there is no need to set the User or Password connection properties.

This option requires that KRB5CCNAME has been created in your system.

To enable ticket retrieval via MIT Cerberos Credential Cache Files:

1. Ensure that the KRB5CCNAME variable is present in your environment.
2. Set KRB5CCNAME to a path that points to your credential cache file. (For example, C:\krb_cache\krb5cc_0 or /tmp/krb5cc_0.) The credential cache file is created when you use the MIT Kerberos Ticket Manager to generate your ticket.
3. To obtain a ticket:
   1. Open the MIT Kerberos Ticket Manager application.
   2. Click Get Ticket.
   3. Enter your principal name and password.
   4. Click OK.

   If the ticket is successfully obtained, the ticket information appears in Kerberos Ticket Manager and is stored in the credential cache file.

The connector uses the cache file to obtain the Kerberos ticket to connect to Apache HBase.

Note: If you would prefer not to edit KRB5CCNAME, you can use the KerberosTicketCache property to set the file path manually. After this is set, the connector uses the specified cache file to obtain the Kerberos ticket to connect to Apache HBase.

Keytab File

If your environment lacks the KRB5CCNAME environment variable, you can retrieve a Kerberos ticket using a Keytab File.

To use this method, set the User property to the desired username, and set the KerberosKeytabFile property to a file path pointing to the keytab file associated with the user.

User and Password

If your environment lacks the KRB5CCNAME environment variable and the KerberosKeytabFile property has not been set, you can retrieve a ticket using a user and password combination.

To use this method, set the User and Password properties to the user/password combination that you use to authenticate with Apache HBase.

Enabling Cross-Realm Authentication

More complex Kerberos environments can require cross-realm authentication where multiple realms and KDC servers are used. For example, they might use one realm/KDC for user authentication, and another realm/KDC for obtaining the service ticket.

To enable this kind of cross-realm authentication, set the KerberosRealm and KerberosKDC properties to the values required for user authentication. Also, set the KerberosServiceRealm and KerberosServiceKDC properties to the values required to obtain the service ticket.