{
  "id": 235459,
  "title": "What is it, and when to use Kafka?",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/06/o-que-e-e-quando-usar-kafka",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-08-06T20:20:22.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Dev.to",
    "slug": "dev-to",
    "url": "https://dev.to/vixtorocha/o-que-e-e-quando-usar-kafka-3n0f"
  },
  "original_language": "pt",
  "account": "Imagine um e-commerce que recebe milhares de pedidos por hora. To guarantee seamless operation, it is crucial to orchestrate events like orders, payments, inventory updates, and notifications. This is where the power of messaging comes into play.\n\nIn scenarios with numerous sensors, such as smart farms, factories, or medical device networks, IoT devices constantly transmit measurements. These data points are then sent to a message broker like Kafka. Subsequently, other devices react to this information. For instance, a sensor measures soil moisture, temperature, and light levels in a specific area of a plantation. It sends this data to a message broker, after which an irrigation service reads the moisture data and decides whether to activate the sprinklers in that area.\n\nMessaging is a method by which various systems can exchange information with one another without one service calling the other directly. They communicate by sending and receiving messages through an intermediary, such as Kafka, RabbitMQ, etc. Messaging helps solve several common issues in modern systems:\n\n- Decoupling services: Ensures microservices communicate without creating dependency.\n- Processing tasks asynchronously: Operations occur in the background without blocking the user.\n- Distributing work among multiple consumers: Makes the system more resilient, as messages are stored if a service fails and are processed once it returns.\n\nApache Kafka is an open-source messaging system that stores data streams in a durable, ordered, and distributed manner. It enables the creation of systems that collect logs, track user activity, and integrate various components in a resilient manner. Kafka distinguishes itself from most brokers by retaining messages even after a consumer reads and confirms processing.\n\nAdvantages include handling high volumes of messages, real-time processing, and durability and fault tolerance. Kafka also ensures data durability and supports multiple consumers.\n\nHowever, there are also some disadvantages: It becomes excessive when there is low data volume (less than 1000 messages per second). It requires complex configuration and operation. It comes with a high maintenance cost and requires specialized personnel. It has a steep learning curve.",
  "summary": "Imagine o seguinte cenário: você é desenvolvedor de um e-commerce que recebe milhares de pedidos por hora; isso significa orquestrar eventos de pedidos, pagamentos, atualização de estoque e notificações. A Mensageria brilharia nesse cenário onde há muitos eventos chegando em tempo real e múltiplos sistemas que precisam processá-los de forma assíncrona. Em ambientes com muitos sensores, como…",
  "key_points": [
    "Kafka is a messaging system for decoupling services and asynchronous processing.",
    "Apache Kafka stores data streams durably and distributes them among consumers.",
    "Kafka retains messages after consumers process them, ensuring fault tolerance."
  ],
  "editors_take": "The use of Kafka offers advantages like handling high message volumes and real-time processing, but its complexity and high maintenance costs make it less suitable for low-data-volume applications.",
  "illustration": "https://urgent.news/ill/235459.png",
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}