Kafka Kare: Simplifying Kafka Error Handling for Small Teams
Co-authored by: Matt Konop, Allison Scott, Justin Lin, Ronal Garcia, and Jules Mai
Official website: kafkakare.com
A Comprehensive Kafka Metrics Dashboard for Small Teams
In the world of distributed systems, Apache Kafka has emerged as a leading platform for real-time data streaming. Managing and monitoring Kafka clusters, however, can be a daunting task, especially for small teams without a dedicated Kafka developer. With thousands of potential metrics to track, knowing where to start can be overwhelming.
Enter Kafka Kare: a comprehensive Kafka metrics dashboard designed to simplify the monitoring of locally running Kafka clusters. Kafka Kare provides a curated selection of important metrics on a user friendly dashboard, making it easier for small teams to maintain and optimize their Kafka deployments in real-time.
Overview
Kafka Kare is a user-friendly dashboard that allows users to add their locally running Kafka clusters to a user profile. It focuses on error reporting and provides alerts based on cluster metrics. The alerts can be conveniently received via Slack, making it easier for teams to stay updated on their Kafka cluster’s health.
How to Use
You must download Docker Desktop first. Once you have cloned from GitHub, you’re ready to go! Login with a new username and password or with you Google or Github account.
Once in, you can add local clusters with unique name to watch their performance.
Authentication
Security is a top priority for Kafka Kare. Users can securely log in using Google or GitHub OAuth. This OAuth integration ensures that only authorized users have access to the Kafka cluster metrics. To use OAuth you must provide your own security keys from Google and GitHub in a .env file. Please fork and clone from GitHub to use this feature!
Error Reporting and Alerts
One of the standout features of Kafka Kare is its focus on error reporting. The dashboard provides alerts based on the metrics of the Kafka clusters. If there’s an anomaly or an issue with a cluster, Kafka Kare will send an alert via Slack. This real-time alerting system allows teams to promptly address any issues, minimizing downtime and ensuring the smooth operation of their Kafka clusters.
Modular Graphs
Kafka Kare is not just about numbers and alerts; it’s also about visualizing data. The dashboard includes modular graphs that provide a visual representation of the Kafka cluster metrics. These graphs are customizable, allowing users to choose what they want to see and how they want to see it. Kafka Kare will provide you with the most used Kafka monitoring metrics so managing your cluster is easy.
Conclusion
Kafka Kare is more than just a Kafka metrics dashboard. It’s a comprehensive solution for monitoring Kafka clusters, providing real-time alerts, and visualizing data. With its user-friendly interface, secure OAuth login, and customizable graphs, Kafka Kare makes Kafka cluster monitoring a breeze. Whether you’re a small team or a large organization, Kafka Kare has the tools you need to keep your Kafka clusters running smoothly.
Planned Improvements
- Support for cloud clusters and KRaft mode
- Adding more metrics
- Adding more alerts and user set metrics