Zero Downtime Migration to Apache Kafka®

One of the emerging trends we’ve observed in the data architecture space is the growing interest in migrating from externally hosted Kafka to companies running Kafka in their own environments.

In this post, we’ll detail why companies are migrating Kafka to their internal environments, the importance of zero downtime migration, and how we ensure a seamless Apache Kafka migration.

Why Migrate Kafka to Run in Your Own Environment?

Running Kafka in your own environment, whether cloud or on-prem, has multiple benefits.

Speed
Building Kafka alongside your infrastructure guarantees to reduce latency in your system. On the contrary, when Kafka is hosted in a third party’s cloud (i.e. hosted Kafka), there is unnecessary latency.

Data Authority & Security
With Apache Kafka hosted on a third party’s cloud, your company’s and customers’ data is exposed to additional risk for breach. With hosted Kafka you don’t have full data authority and are largely left in the dark about security risks and breaches. You lose control over how many people have access to your data. And you are unprotected against the hosting company changing its security practices.

Ownership
By running Kafka in your environment, you have an easier time changing how you manage your Kafka service as your team grows or changes. You also have more autonomy to move to a new managed Kafka provider should your current provider not live up to your expectations.

Pricing
Hosted Kafka can get very expensive as data volume grows. As data volume increases, hosting provider surcharges and other fees add up. For instance, our management fees are half the cost of Confluent when moving 500 Mb/sec. And with our service you get much more than Confluent. You get personalized help, 15-minute response times, and training.

Why Zero Downtime Migration to Kafka Matters

Downtime is more than just an inconvenience; it’s a significant business risk. For many companies, even a few minutes of downtime can result in substantial financial losses, and potential damage to reputation and customer trust.

Zero downtime is not just a nice-to-have; it’s a necessity. This is especially true when migrating critical systems like messaging platforms, where data integrity and availability are paramount.

Achieving Zero Downtime Migration to Apache Kafka in Your Environment

Achieving Zero Downtime Migration

So, how do we ensure a smooth Kafka migration with zero downtime? While each migration can have its unique requirements, here is our general approach:

Dual Writing
If migrating from another Kafka cluster, we can set up replication of messages and cursor positions from the original to the new Kafka cluster. If migrating from another messaging application, we can set up an intermediary application that copies all messages from the original messaging application to Kafka. This approach ensures that even as we transition, there’s no loss of data.

Incremental Migration
Instead of a wholesale switch, we migrate topics incrementally. This phased approach allows us to monitor and address any issues that arise during the migration process without affecting the entire system.

Thorough Testing
Before fully switching over to Kafka in your environment, we conduct extensive testing in a testing environment. This method makes certain that when the switch happens, it’s seamless and without surprises.

Expertise and Support
Our team of engineers is with you every step of the way through the preparation, migration, and ongoing management. We monitor Kafka 24×7 to catch any emerging issues early before they become problems in production.

As your trusted partner, we’re here to ensure that your migration to Kafka is seamless, efficient, and sets your business up for future success.

Get Apache Kafka® migration help

Visit our Apache Kafka® service pages for more details on our Kafka migration services.

Zero Downtime Migration to Apache Kafka®