Kafka

Kafka for events and background jobs.

Send messages between your services. Use one node while you build, and a cluster that keeps copies of every message on several nodes when it matters.

2
Modes
Any client
Standard Kafka
Private
Not on the internet
1s
Billing unit

What you get

A message queue you do not run yourself.

  • Standalone for development

    One node. Cheaper and quicker to start, but messages are only kept in one place.

  • Cluster for production

    Several nodes that copy messages to each other, so the cluster survives a node failing.

  • Brokers and controllers

    Brokers handle your messages. Controllers keep track of the cluster. You choose how many of each.

  • Works with any Kafka client

    Use the bootstrap.servers address from the console with the client library you already use.

  • Private by default

    Kafka is only reachable from services in the same environment, over the private network.

  • Storage per broker

    Each broker gets its own disk for messages. You set the size when you create the cluster.

How it works

Set up a cluster.

  1. Pick a mode

    Standalone for development and tests. Cluster for anything you cannot afford to lose.

  2. Size it

    Use at least three brokers, so one can fail without losing data, and an odd number of controllers. Three is a good default.

  3. Connect

    Copy the bootstrap.servers address from the Settings tab into your client once the cluster is running.

terminal
$ edge service create --name events --type kafka \
    --storage 10 --mode standalone
✓ Created service events
$ edge deploy up events
✓ Deployment started

A new cluster takes a few minutes to start. The connection address appears when it is ready.

Pricing

Every node is billed.

Brokers and controllers are each billed at the same vCPU and memory rates as a container. Disk is billed per broker.

  • vCPU₦0.0096 / vCPU / secondPer broker and controller
  • Memory₦0.0048 / GB / secondPer broker and controller
  • Disk₦0.0002 / GB / secondPer broker, on the size you choose

Example

Single node · 1 vCPU · 2 GB · 10 GB

₦55,714 / month

Before VAT, running all month. Change it in the estimator.

Estimate your cost
  • Storage cannot be changed after the cluster is created, so pick a size with room to grow.

Questions

Common questions

How many brokers do I need?
One for development. At least three for production, so a broker can fail without losing messages.
How many controllers?
An odd number. Three is enough for most clusters.
Can I reach it from outside?
No. Kafka is only reachable from services in the same environment.
What if I run out of disk?
Storage is fixed once the cluster exists. Choose a size with room to grow, and set retention in your topics to match.

Start a Kafka
cluster.

One node for development, a cluster when you need it. Billed by the second.