Production checklist
Kafka production checklist: 5 checks before launch
5 checks for running Kafka in production: 2 should-dos and 3 good-to-haves. Each one says why it matters, how to verify it and where the docs are.
Updated . Every check links the vendor’s own docs.
Should do (2)
Enable TLS and SASL authentication with ACLs
A default Kafka listener accepts any client in plain text.
Verify from the command line
Brokers have no PLAINTEXT listener reachable from outside, and each app has its own principal with ACLs.
kafka-acls.sh --bootstrap-server <broker>:9093 --command-config admin.properties --list
Replication factor 3 with min.insync.replicas=2 for important topics
Survives a broker loss without losing acknowledged messages.
Verify from the command line
Important topics show ReplicationFactor: 3 and min.insync.replicas=2, and producers send with acks=all.
kafka-topics.sh --bootstrap-server <broker> --describe --topic <topic>
Good to have (3)
Turn off automatic topic creation
A typo in a topic name otherwise creates a new topic with default settings, and messages quietly go there.
Verify from the command line
auto.create.topics.enable should be false.
kafka-configs.sh --bootstrap-server <broker> --entity-type brokers --entity-name <broker-id> --describe --all | grep auto.create.topics.enable
Monitor consumer lag
Growing lag is the first sign a consumer is stuck or too slow.
Verify from the command line
The LAG column should stay near zero under normal load; alert when it keeps growing.
kafka-consumer-groups.sh --bootstrap-server <broker> --describe --group <group>
Set retention per topic to what you need
The broker default either deletes data you need or keeps data you shouldn’t.
Verify from the command line
Each important topic sets retention.ms (or retention.bytes) on purpose.
kafka-configs.sh --bootstrap-server <broker> --entity-type topics --entity-name <topic> --describe
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