Confluent Cloud
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
Confluent Cloud is a fully managed service for Apache Kafka, enabling real-time data streaming and processing. It allows organizations to build applications that can process and manage real-time data efficiently without the overhead of managing infrastructure.
2. Key Concepts
- Topics: Named streams of records in Kafka, where producers write data and consumers read it.
- Partitions: A single topic is divided into partitions, allowing for parallel processing and scalability.
- Producers: Applications that publish data to topics.
- Consumers: Applications that subscribe to topics to read data.
- Consumer Groups: A group of consumers that work together to read data from a topic.
3. Setting Up Confluent Cloud
Step-by-Step Process
- Create a Confluent Cloud account on the Confluent Cloud website.
- Create a new Kafka cluster in the Confluent Cloud dashboard.
- Configure your cluster settings (region, size, etc.).
- Obtain your API key and secret for authentication.
- Use the Confluent Cloud CLI or API to manage topics and consumers.
4. Best Practices
Important: Always monitor your cluster's performance and adjust configurations as necessary.
- Use the right partitioning strategy to balance load.
- Implement data retention policies to manage storage.
- Monitor throughput and latency metrics regularly.
- Utilize schema registry for managing data formats.
5. FAQ
What is the cost of using Confluent Cloud?
Pricing depends on the resources used, including storage, data transfer, and compute resources. Check the pricing page for details.
Can I run Confluent Cloud on-premises?
No, Confluent Cloud is a fully managed service that runs on public cloud infrastructures (AWS, GCP, Azure).
How does Confluent Cloud handle data security?
Confluent Cloud provides encryption in transit and at rest, along with IAM-based access controls.