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Velocity5.0

Data streaming

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Kafka 4.4 hardens share groups and Streams, then 4.3.2 patches two data-loss risks a day later

streamingshare-groupskafka-streamstiered-storagerelease-train
◆Current state
Kafka 4.4.0 landed on October 22 with 25 KIPs and 963 commits: dead-letter queues for share groups, transactional state stores for Streams, broker-side custom task assignors, and detection of misrouted client connections. A day later 4.3.2 fixed around 60 issues, most notably two potential data-loss bugs in tiered storage size-based retention and time index truncation. 4.2.2 followed the same bugfix pattern in September.
◆Where it's heading
Share groups are moving from a working queue model toward operational completeness, with dead-letter handling and offset initialization from a file. Streams is getting the same treatment through broker-side assignment and transactional stores, and deprecations such as broker.id and the 5.0 removal notice show cleanup ahead of the next major. Older branches continue to take bugfix releases.
◆Prediction
Bugfix releases on 4.4 and 4.3 are the near-term next step. The deprecations marked for removal in 5.0 suggest that major is being prepared, though the entries give no date.

◆Recent moves

  1. 18d ago

    Apache Kafka 4.3.2 Release Announcement

    A bugfix release that matters more than most: around 60 issues, including two potential data-loss bugs in tiered storage. Clusters staying on 4.3 should take it.

    View source ↗
  2. 19d ago

    Apache Kafka 4.4.0 Release Announcement

    The feature release of the cycle, with 25 KIPs and 963 commits. Dead-letter queues for share groups and transactional Streams state stores continue the push to make both production-complete, and the broker must now match or exceed the kafka-storage tool version that formatted its directory.

    View source ↗
  3. 1mo ago

    Apache Kafka 4.2.2 Release Announcement

    A bugfix release for the 4.2 line with several critical fixes and 43 contributors. Maintenance in the established back-port pattern.

    View source ↗
  4. 4mo ago

    Apache Kafka 4.3.1 Release Announcement

    4.3.1 is a bugfix release, notably fixing a Kafka Streams RocksDB native memory leak — important to take, but maintenance rather than new capability.

    View source ↗
  5. 5mo ago

    Apache Kafka 4.2.1 Release Announcement

    4.2.1 is a bugfix release with several critical fixes on the 4.2 branch — maintenance.

    View source ↗
  6. 5mo ago

    Apache Kafka 4.3.0 Release Announcement

    ⚡ SPARK

    4.3.0 is the feature release of this run — 25 KIPs and over 600 commits since 4.2 — carrying the bulk of the period's new capability.

    View source ↗