Apache Kafka

Apache Kafka is an open source distributed event streaming platform used for building real-time data pipelines and applications. It is designed to handle high-throughput, fault-tolerant, and scalable messaging. Originally developed at LinkedIn, Kafka is now an open-source project under the Apache Software Foundation.

Kafka is widely used for real-time data processing, log aggregation, monitoring, and event-driven architectures. It allows applications to publish, subscribe, store, and process streams of records efficiently.

What is Middleware?

Middleware is a software layer that sits between the operating system and applications, enabling communication, data exchange, and interoperability between distributed systems. It acts as a bridge that facilitates smooth data flow across different applications, services, or microservices.

Middleware is commonly used in enterprise applications, message queuing systems, database connectivity, and API management. Examples of middleware include message brokers like Apache Kafka, RabbitMQ, and ActiveMQ.

 

What is a Distributed System?

A distributed system is a collection of independent computers that work together as a single system. These computers communicate over a network, sharing resources, processing tasks, and providing scalability, fault tolerance, and high availability.

Distributed systems are commonly used in cloud computing, big data processing, and microservices architecture. Examples include Hadoop, Apache Spark, and Kubernetes.

Distributed System with Middleware

A distributed system with middleware integrates multiple computing nodes while using middleware for seamless communication and coordination. Middleware in such systems abstracts complexities like message delivery, fault tolerance, and service discovery.

Apache Kafka is an example of middleware used in distributed systems for real-time event streaming and message brokering. It enables applications to process and analyze large volumes of data efficiently.