Apache NiFi - Basic Concepts

Apache NiFi consist of a web server, flow controller and a processor, which runs on Java Virtual Machine. It also has 3 repositories Flowfile Repository, Content Repository, and Provenance Repository as shown in the figure below.

Flowfile Repository

This repository stores the current state and attributes of every flowfile that goes through the data flows of apache NiFi. The default location of this repository is in the root directory of apache NiFi. The location of this repository can be changed by changing the property named "nifi.flowfile.repository.directory".

Content Repository

This repository contains all the content present in all the flowfiles of NiFi. Its default directory is also in the root directory of NiFi and it can be changed using "org.apache.nifi.controller.repository.FileSystemRepository" property. This directory uses large space in disk so it is advisable to have enough space in the installation disk.

Provenance Repository

The repository tracks and stores all the events of all the flowfiles that flow in NiFi. There are two provenance repositories - volatile provenance repository (in this repository all the provenance data get lost after restart) and persistent provenance repository. Its default directory is also in the root directory of NiFi and it can be changed using "org.apache.nifi.provenance.PersistentProvenanceRepository" and "org.apache.nifi.provenance.VolatileProvenanceRepositor" property for the respective repositories.