Kafka - Consumer Groups
You have a Kafka topic with 3 partitions and a consumer group with 4 consumers. What happens to the extra consumer?
You have a Kafka topic with 3 partitions and a consumer group with 4 consumers. What happens to the extra consumer?
hard📝 Application Q15 of 15
Step-by-Step Solution
Solution:
Step 1: Understand partition to consumer assignment
Each partition can be assigned to only one consumer in the group.Step 2: Analyze consumer count vs partitions
With 3 partitions and 4 consumers, only 3 consumers get partitions; the 4th consumer stays idle.Final Answer:
The extra consumer remains idle and does not receive messages -> Option CQuick Check:
More consumers than partitions means idle consumers [OK]
Quick Trick: Consumers > partitions means some consumers idle [OK]
Common Mistakes:
- Thinking Kafka creates new partitions automatically
- Assuming extra consumers share partitions
- Believing extra consumers cause errors
Master "Consumer Groups" in Kafka
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