Active-passive vs active-active in Kafka - Quick Revision & Key Differences

Recall & Review

beginner

What is an active-passive setup in Kafka?

An active-passive setup means one Kafka cluster is active and handles all traffic, while the other cluster stays passive as a backup, ready to take over if the active one fails.

beginner

What does active-active mean in Kafka replication?

Active-active means two or more Kafka clusters are running and handling traffic simultaneously, replicating data between each other to provide continuous availability and load balancing.

intermediate

What is a key advantage of active-active over active-passive?

Active-active provides better resource utilization and zero downtime since all clusters handle traffic at the same time, unlike active-passive where the passive cluster is idle until failover.

intermediate

What is a common challenge with active-active Kafka setups?

A common challenge is data consistency and conflict resolution because multiple clusters can write data simultaneously, requiring careful synchronization.

beginner

In an active-passive Kafka setup, what happens during failover?

During failover, the passive cluster becomes active and starts handling all traffic, ensuring service continuity while the original active cluster is down.

In an active-passive Kafka setup, how many clusters handle traffic at the same time?

A One

B Two

C None

D Multiple

Only one cluster is active and handles traffic; the other is passive and waits for failover.

Which setup allows simultaneous data writes in Kafka?

A Active-passive

B Active-active

C Neither

D Both

Active-active setups allow multiple clusters to write data simultaneously.

What is a main benefit of active-passive over active-active?

A Zero downtime

B Better load balancing

C Simpler data consistency

D Higher resource utilization

Active-passive is simpler to manage because only one cluster writes data, avoiding conflicts.

What is a risk when using active-active Kafka clusters?

A Idle resources

B Single point of failure

C No failover

D Data conflicts

Active-active setups risk data conflicts due to simultaneous writes.

During failover in active-passive, what happens?

A Passive cluster becomes active

B Active cluster shuts down

C Both clusters handle traffic

D Traffic stops

The passive cluster takes over and starts handling traffic.

Explain the difference between active-passive and active-active Kafka setups.

Think about how many clusters handle traffic and how data is managed.

What are the advantages and challenges of using active-active Kafka clusters?

Consider both benefits and what makes it harder to manage.