Set your Data in Motion with Confluent on AWS

Confluent Cloud on AWS is a fully managed, cloud-native data streaming platform powered by Apache Kafka®. It enables real-time data processing and integration across AWS services without the operational overhead of managing Kafka infrastructure. By leveraging AWS infrastructure, Confluent Cloud provides a scalable and reliable streaming solution that integrates seamlessly with your AWS environment.

Learn more about Confluent Cloud on AWS

Confluent Cloud offers seamless integration with AWS services through fully managed connectors. You can connect to services like Amazon S3, AWS Lambda, Amazon Redshift, and Amazon Elasticsearch Service. These integrations enable you to build robust data pipelines and streaming applications that interact directly with AWS resources.

Explore AWS integrations with Confluent Cloud

Yes, when you deploy Confluent Cloud on AWS, it runs on AWS infrastructure, utilizing AWS's global network, security features, and compliance standards to provide a reliable and scalable data streaming service.

Learn about Confluent Cloud deployment options

Absolutely. Confluent Cloud provides a fully managed Apache Kafka service on AWS, allowing you to deploy Kafka clusters without worrying about setup, scaling, or maintenance. If you prefer a self-managed solution, you can also deploy Confluent Platform on AWS using AWS CloudFormation templates.

Get started with Confluent Cloud on AWS

Using Confluent Cloud on AWS offers numerous benefits:

• Simplified Management: Offload operational tasks like provisioning, scaling, and patching to Confluent.
• Seamless AWS Integration: Leverage fully managed connectors to integrate with AWS services.
• Scalability: Automatically scale resources based on workload.
• Enhanced Security: Benefit from built-in security features and compliance certifications.
• Cost Efficiency: Pay-as-you-go pricing reduces upfront costs.

Discover the benefits of Confluent Cloud

Yes, AWS offers Amazon Managed Streaming for Apache Kafka (Amazon MSK), a service that simplifies the setup and management of Kafka clusters. However, Confluent Cloud provides additional features such as advanced connectors, ksqlDB and Apache Flink for stream processing, Schema Registry, and enterprise support.

Compare Confluent Cloud and Amazon MSK

While both Confluent Cloud and Amazon MSK provide managed Apache Kafka services, there are key differences:

• Feature Set: Confluent Cloud offers a complete streaming platform with additional tools like ksqlDB, Flink, Schema Registry, and fully managed connectors.
• Operational Overhead: Confluent Cloud is fully managed, handling operational tasks like upgrades and scaling automatically, whereas Amazon MSK requires more hands-on management.
• Global Availability: Confluent Cloud is available across multiple AWS regions with multi-zone replication.
• Support: Confluent provides enterprise-grade support with Kafka expertise.

Read more about Confluent Cloud vs. Amazon MSK

To set up Confluent Cloud on AWS:

• Sign Up: Create a Confluent Cloud account.
• Select AWS: Choose AWS as your cloud provider during cluster creation.
• Configure Cluster: Select the desired region and cluster specifications.
• Connect Applications: Use provided bootstrap servers and credentials to connect your producers and consumers.

Follow the step-by-step guide to set up Confluent Cloud on AWS

Confluent Cloud uses a consumption-based pricing model, charging based on:

• Data Ingress/Egress: Volume of data streamed.
• Storage: Amount of data stored in Kafka topics.
• Additional Services: Usage of connectors, Apache Flink, ksqlDB, and Schema Registry.
• There are also committed usage plans for discounted rates.

View Confluent Cloud pricing details

Confluent Cloud enables real-time data streaming by providing a high-throughput, low-latency platform for ingesting and processing streaming data. With integrations to AWS services, you can build end-to-end real-time data pipelines and applications.

Learn about real-time data streaming with Confluent Cloud

Best practices include:

• Use Managed Connectors: Leverage Confluent's fully managed connectors for AWS services.
• Security Configurations: Implement proper authentication and encryption.
• Schema Management: Use Schema Registry to manage data schemas.
• Monitoring: Utilize Confluent's monitoring tools to track cluster health.
• Optimize Performance: Configure topic partitions and replication factors appropriately.

Read the best practices guide

Yes, Confluent Cloud offers fully managed Apache Flink, allowing you to perform real-time stream processing and transformations using SQL-like syntax without managing the underlying infrastructure.

Get started with Apache Flink on Confluent Cloud

Confluent Cloud provides robust security features:

• Encryption: End-to-end encryption in transit and at rest.
• Authentication: Support for API keys and OAuth.
• Access Control: Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) for fine-grained permissions.
• Compliance: Compliance certifications like SOC 2, ISO 27001, and GDPR readiness.

Learn about security in Confluent Cloud

Yes, Confluent provides fully managed connectors for AWS Lambda, Amazon S3, and other AWS services. These connectors enable seamless data integration and event-driven architectures.

Explore AWS connectors in Confluent Cloud

Confluent Cloud automatically scales your Kafka clusters based on workload, allowing you to handle varying data volumes without manual intervention. This ensures your data architecture remains robust and scalable.

Understand scaling in Confluent Cloud

Absolutely. By streaming data through Confluent Cloud, you can feed real-time data into AWS AI and machine learning services like Amazon SageMaker for advanced analytics and predictive modeling.

You need:

• Confluent Cloud Account: To create Kafka clusters.
• AWS Resources: Access to AWS services you wish to integrate with.
• Managed Connectors: Use Confluent's connectors for seamless integration.
• Application Code: Develop producers and consumers as needed.

Get started with building data pipelines

Yes, Confluent provides AWS CloudFormation templates and quick-start guides to help you deploy Confluent Platform on AWS efficiently. For Confluent Cloud, you can follow the Quick Start Guide to set up your environment.

Access deployment resources

Optimize performance by:

• Configuring Partitions: Adjust topic partitions for parallelism.
• Efficient Serialization: Use Avro or Protobuf with Schema Registry.
• Monitoring: Use Confluent Control Center or Confluent Cloud Metrics API for monitoring.
• Networking: Ensure low-latency network connections by appropriately configuring your VPC settings.

Confluent's Stream Governance ensures data quality and compliance across streaming applications. It integrates with AWS data lakes and AI services by:

• Schema Management: Enforcing schemas with Schema Registry.
• Data Lineage: Tracking data flow for compliance and auditing.
• Visibility: Providing insights into data streams for better decision-making.

Learn about Stream Governance

Yes, Confluent provides connectors and integration patterns to work with AWS messaging services:

• Amazon SQS Source Connector: SQS Source Connector
• Amazon SNS Sink Connector: SNS Sink Connector
• EventBridge Integration: You can publish Kafka events to EventBridge using custom integrations or Lambda functions.

Explore messaging integrations

While both Confluent Cloud and Redpanda offer streaming platforms compatible with Kafka APIs, Confluent Cloud provides:

• Fully Managed Service: Including operational support and maintenance.
• Comprehensive Ecosystem: With managed connectors, ksqlDB, and Schema Registry.
• Enterprise Support: Access to Confluent's Kafka experts and support plans.

Compare Confluent Cloud with other streaming platforms

Yes, KaDeck is a third-party tool that can connect to Kafka clusters, including those on Confluent Cloud. You can use it for monitoring, managing topics, and analyzing messages.

Confluent Cloud is fully compatible with Apache Kafka clients. You can use existing Kafka producers and consumers to connect to your Confluent Cloud clusters on AWS with minimal code changes. Just update the bootstrap servers and authentication credentials.

Connecting clients to Confluent Cloud

Yes, Confluent Cloud supports AWS PrivateLink, allowing you to establish private connectivity between your VPCs and Confluent Cloud clusters without exposing traffic to the public internet.

Setting up AWS PrivateLink with Confluent Cloud

Yes, Confluent Cloud offers multi-zone and multi-region replication options to enhance availability and resilience across AWS regions.

Learn about multi-region clusters

Using Confluent Cloud over self-managed Kafka provides:

• Reduced Operational Overhead: Confluent handles infrastructure management.
• Enhanced Features: Access to Confluent's ecosystem like Apache Flink, Schema Registry, and managed connectors.
• Expert Support: Benefit from Confluent's Kafka expertise.
• Faster Time to Market: Deploy streaming applications quicker without infrastructure setup.

Understand the benefits of Confluent Cloud

You can migrate from Amazon MSK to Confluent Cloud using tools like Kafka MirrorMaker 2.0 or Confluent Replicator to replicate data between clusters.