Comparison with Apache Kafka

Last updated:2026-01-20 16:37:21

Comparison with Apache Kafka

Last updated: 2026-01-20 16:37:21

TDMQ for CKafka and the self-built open-source Kafka are compared as follows.
Item
Feature
CKafka
Self-built Kafka
Basic feature
Configuring topic parameters
Multiple parameters can be adjusted in the console, including number of partitions, number of replicas, message cleanup policy, minimum number of synchronous replicas, segment rolling duration, and message retention period.
CLI-based configuration makes it difficult for service personnel to customize operations.
﻿
Changing the number of partitions for a topic
The number of partitions for a topic can be changed in the console.
CLI-based configuration makes it difficult for service personnel to customize operations.
﻿
Sending messages
Messages can be sent in the console.
Not supported.
﻿
Querying messages
Messages can be queried by offset or time in the console.
CLI-based message consumption is supported, but messages cannot be queried by offset or time.
﻿
Resetting a consumption offset
The consumption offset can be reset in the console.
The offset is manually configured in the backend, which is cumbersome and error-prone.
﻿
Management capabilities
Visualized management of clusters, topics, and consumer groups is supported, and more fine-grained management capabilities are provided by using tags.
Statistical analysis of production and consumption traffic of topics is supported, and traffic details can be viewed.
An open-source management system is required, resulting in poor usability.
Intelligent Ops
Dynamic partitioning
Manual partition balancing is supported.In case of partition skew, partitions are reallocated to nodes.
Automatic partition balancing is supported. Partition distribution of topics is automatically checked at the user-defined time, and partition balancing is automated during off-peak hours.
Not supported.
﻿
Intelligent inspection
The one-click diagnosis feature is provided, which can proactively identify cluster issues and risks, provide solutions based on the experience of Tencent Cloud experts, and automatically summarize health check results to generate reports, delivering a closed-loop Ops experience.
Not supported.
﻿
Intelligent disk configuration
Automatic disk watermark adjustment is supported. When the disk watermark reaches the threshold, the message retention period is automatically adjusted, or the disk capacity is automatically expanded to prevent impact on businesses.
Not supported.
Isolation
Multi-instance
Multiple instances can be created based on a single physical cluster.
Not supported.
﻿
Bandwidth quota control
Bandwidth-based usage limitation of each instance is supported.
Not supported.
﻿
Topic traffic throttling
Topic traffic throttling is supported to maximize service reliability.
Not supported.
﻿
Disk quota control
Disk-based usage limitation of each instance is supported.
Not supported.
﻿
Multi-access point configuration
Routing policies for instances can be configured, and access points can be set in the specified Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) network.
Not supported. The broker address needs to be specified for message sending, and ZooKeeper is required for coordinating and scheduling message receiving, resulting in low flexibility.
﻿
Isolation of the control plane from the data plane
Architecturally, the control plane is isolated from the data plane. Control operations are implemented by using TencentCloud API SDK to call control components. Data plane operations are performed by using the compatible Apache Kafka SDK.
Not supported.
﻿
Root account isolation
Logical isolation of data between root accounts is implemented based on the root account and sub-account system of Tencent Cloud.
Not supported.
Monitoring and alarms
Out-of-the-box
Mature and standardized deployment and monitoring solutions are out-of-the-box.
Not supported. Users need to build and maintain an open-source monitoring system. Furthermore, the system cannot be easily customized if it does not meet the requirements.
﻿
Monitoring and alarms
Many monitoring metrics are provided, including peak production and consumption bandwidth, average production and consumption bandwidth, number of produced and consumed messages, disk utilization, number of instance connections, and number of unconsumed messages. Multi-dimensional monitoring and alarms for instances, topics, and consumer groups are supported.
Not supported. Third-party open-source components are to be connected.
﻿
Metric ranking
You can view the top 10 topics by production and consumption traffic, top 10 topics by disk usage, and top 10 topics by consumption speed of consumer groups.
Not supported.
High availability
Cross-AZ high-availability deployment
Cross-availability zone (AZ) high-availability deployment is supported, and mature fault recovery solutions are provided. Single-AZ deployment can be upgraded to cross-AZ deployment.
Supported but cumbersome. You need to design the deployment solutions and parameters.
﻿
Cross-region disaster recovery
Data synchronization between instances and replication/migration between instances in different regions are supported. All instance data and metadata will be synchronized.
Supported but cumbersome. The open source solutions are defective.
Security and compliance
ACL access control of topics
Access control based on username and IP range is supported. Access control of instances and topics can be configured. Also, both blocklist and allowlist modes are supported.
Parameters are configured by using the CLI, which is cumbersome and error-prone.
﻿
SASL password authentication
SASL authentication can be configured in the console.
Parameters are configured by using the CLI, which is cumbersome and error-prone.
﻿
SSL authentication
SSL authentication can be configured in the console.
Parameters are configured by using the CLI, which is cumbersome and error-prone.
﻿
Control operation permission control
Console operations are based on Tencent Cloud Access Management (CAM) control permissions, ensuring security and compliance.
Fine-grained control of the control operation permissions is challenging.
﻿
Operation traceability
Control operations are interconnected with CloudAudit for traceability.
Not supported.
Usage habits
Naming specifications
Topics: A topic name can contain a maximum of 128 characters, including only letters, digits, underscores, hyphens (-), and periods (.), and cannot start with double underscores.
Consumer groups: A topic name can contain a maximum of 128 characters, including only letters, digits, underscores, hyphens (-), and periods (.).
Users: A user name can contain a maximum of 64 characters, including only letters, digits, underscores, hyphens (-), and periods (.).
Note:
It is recommended to name resources according to the above specifications. Excessively long resource names or those containing special characters may be subject to restrictions during transmission to other systems.
Topics: A topic name can contain a maximum of 249 characters.
Consumer groups and users: no limitations.
Others
Online upgrade capability
CKafka versions can be seamlessly upgraded in case of bugs or security vulnerabilities in community editions.
Not supported. A manual upgrade is required, which may affect services.
﻿

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Item	Feature	CKafka	Self-built Kafka
Basic feature	Configuring topic parameters	Multiple parameters can be adjusted in the console, including number of partitions, number of replicas, message cleanup policy, minimum number of synchronous replicas, segment rolling duration, and message retention period.	CLI-based configuration makes it difficult for service personnel to customize operations.
		Changing the number of partitions for a topic	The number of partitions for a topic can be changed in the console.	CLI-based configuration makes it difficult for service personnel to customize operations.
		Sending messages	Messages can be sent in the console.	Not supported.
		Querying messages	Messages can be queried by offset or time in the console.	CLI-based message consumption is supported, but messages cannot be queried by offset or time.
		Resetting a consumption offset	The consumption offset can be reset in the console.	The offset is manually configured in the backend, which is cumbersome and error-prone.
		Management capabilities	Visualized management of clusters, topics, and consumer groups is supported, and more fine-grained management capabilities are provided by using tags. Statistical analysis of production and consumption traffic of topics is supported, and traffic details can be viewed.	An open-source management system is required, resulting in poor usability.
Intelligent Ops	Dynamic partitioning	Manual partition balancing is supported.In case of partition skew, partitions are reallocated to nodes. Automatic partition balancing is supported. Partition distribution of topics is automatically checked at the user-defined time, and partition balancing is automated during off-peak hours.	Not supported.
		Intelligent inspection	The one-click diagnosis feature is provided, which can proactively identify cluster issues and risks, provide solutions based on the experience of Tencent Cloud experts, and automatically summarize health check results to generate reports, delivering a closed-loop Ops experience.	Not supported.
		Intelligent disk configuration	Automatic disk watermark adjustment is supported. When the disk watermark reaches the threshold, the message retention period is automatically adjusted, or the disk capacity is automatically expanded to prevent impact on businesses.	Not supported.
Isolation	Multi-instance	Multiple instances can be created based on a single physical cluster.	Not supported.
		Bandwidth quota control	Bandwidth-based usage limitation of each instance is supported.	Not supported.
		Topic traffic throttling	Topic traffic throttling is supported to maximize service reliability.	Not supported.
		Disk quota control	Disk-based usage limitation of each instance is supported.	Not supported.
		Multi-access point configuration	Routing policies for instances can be configured, and access points can be set in the specified Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) network.	Not supported. The broker address needs to be specified for message sending, and ZooKeeper is required for coordinating and scheduling message receiving, resulting in low flexibility.
		Isolation of the control plane from the data plane	Architecturally, the control plane is isolated from the data plane. Control operations are implemented by using TencentCloud API SDK to call control components. Data plane operations are performed by using the compatible Apache Kafka SDK.	Not supported.
		Root account isolation	Logical isolation of data between root accounts is implemented based on the root account and sub-account system of Tencent Cloud.	Not supported.
Monitoring and alarms	Out-of-the-box	Mature and standardized deployment and monitoring solutions are out-of-the-box.	Not supported. Users need to build and maintain an open-source monitoring system. Furthermore, the system cannot be easily customized if it does not meet the requirements.
		Monitoring and alarms	Many monitoring metrics are provided, including peak production and consumption bandwidth, average production and consumption bandwidth, number of produced and consumed messages, disk utilization, number of instance connections, and number of unconsumed messages. Multi-dimensional monitoring and alarms for instances, topics, and consumer groups are supported.	Not supported. Third-party open-source components are to be connected.
		Metric ranking	You can view the top 10 topics by production and consumption traffic, top 10 topics by disk usage, and top 10 topics by consumption speed of consumer groups.	Not supported.
High availability	Cross-AZ high-availability deployment	Cross-availability zone (AZ) high-availability deployment is supported, and mature fault recovery solutions are provided. Single-AZ deployment can be upgraded to cross-AZ deployment.	Supported but cumbersome. You need to design the deployment solutions and parameters.
High availability		Cross-region disaster recovery	Data synchronization between instances and replication/migration between instances in different regions are supported. All instance data and metadata will be synchronized.	Supported but cumbersome. The open source solutions are defective.
Security and compliance	ACL access control of topics	Access control based on username and IP range is supported. Access control of instances and topics can be configured. Also, both blocklist and allowlist modes are supported.	Parameters are configured by using the CLI, which is cumbersome and error-prone.
		SASL password authentication	SASL authentication can be configured in the console.	Parameters are configured by using the CLI, which is cumbersome and error-prone.
		SSL authentication	SSL authentication can be configured in the console.	Parameters are configured by using the CLI, which is cumbersome and error-prone.
		Control operation permission control	Console operations are based on Tencent Cloud Access Management (CAM) control permissions, ensuring security and compliance.	Fine-grained control of the control operation permissions is challenging.
		Operation traceability	Control operations are interconnected with CloudAudit for traceability.	Not supported.
Usage habits	Naming specifications	Topics: A topic name can contain a maximum of 128 characters, including only letters, digits, underscores, hyphens (-), and periods (.), and cannot start with double underscores. Consumer groups: A topic name can contain a maximum of 128 characters, including only letters, digits, underscores, hyphens (-), and periods (.). Users: A user name can contain a maximum of 64 characters, including only letters, digits, underscores, hyphens (-), and periods (.). Note: It is recommended to name resources according to the above specifications. Excessively long resource names or those containing special characters may be subject to restrictions during transmission to other systems.	Topics: A topic name can contain a maximum of 249 characters. Consumer groups and users: no limitations.
Others	Online upgrade capability	CKafka versions can be seamlessly upgraded in case of bugs or security vulnerabilities in community editions.	Not supported. A manual upgrade is required, which may affect services.

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