Introduction to Apache Kafka: Real-Time Data Streaming Simplified

Apache Kafka is an open-source software developed by the Apache Software Foundation. Written in Java and Scala, Kafka is designed to handle real-time data feeds with high throughput and low latency. It is a part of the Hadoop ecosystem and is primarily influenced by transactional logs.​

Different Types of Apache Kafka

Introduced in Kafka version 0.9.0.0, the Kafka Connect API is a framework for importing and exporting data from other systems. It uses connectors to execute logic for reading or writing data, facilitating easy integration with external systems.

Added in Kafka version 0.10.0.0, the Kafka Streams API is a Java library for stream processing. It allows for stateful stream processing with features like scalability, elasticity, and fault tolerance. The API supports high-level operations such as filtering, mapping, grouping, windowing, aggregations, and joins.

Kafka brokers are compatible with clients based on their versions. Until version 0.9.x, brokers were compatible only with older clients. Starting from version 0.10.0.0, brokers are compatible only with newer clients. This versioning ensures that features provided by brokers can be accessed appropriately.

Kafka's performance is crucial for enterprise-level infrastructure integration. Monitoring metrics from brokers, consumers, and producers is essential to ensure optimal performance. ZooKeeper is used for maintaining coordination between consumers, contributing to Kafka's overall performance.