Schema-Registry on Micha Kops' Tech Notes

Message-Driven Architecture Across Multiple Teams

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0200

Whenever I start planning a new message-driven architecture that spans several software teams, I quickly realize how many moving parts there are.

To keep my head clear, I’ve put together a personal checklist of things I always try to cover.

It’s not meant to be a formal rulebook, but more of a practical reminder of what usually makes the difference between smooth collaboration and endless headaches.

Figure 1. Message Driven Architecture Article Cover Image

Avro Schema Compatibility and the Confluent Schema Registry

Sun, 08 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0200

What is Schema Compatibility?

Schema compatibility ensures that data serialized by a producer using one schema can be deserialized by a consumer using another. The Confluent Schema Registry provides several compatibility modes to enforce these rules when updating schemas.

There are two key directions of compatibility:

Backward Compatibility (Upward Compatibility): Old consumers can read data produced with a newer schema.
Forward Compatibility (Downward Compatibility): New consumers can read data produced with an older schema.

Quick Kafdrop Setup with Helm Charts

Thu, 10 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0200

Figure 1. Kafdrop Topic Viewer

In the ever-expanding world of data streaming and event-driven architecture, Apache Kafka has emerged as a cornerstone for reliable and scalable data processing. However, managing and monitoring Kafka clusters can often present its own set of challenges. This is where Kafdrop, a web-based Kafka consumer group and topic viewer, comes to the rescue. With its intuitive interface and insightful visualizations, Kafdrop offers developers and operators an efficient way to gain valuable insights into Kafka clusters.

Kafka Snippets

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Start an Image with kcat / kafka-cat for Debugging

kubectl -n NAMESPACE run "$(whoami)-debug" -it --rm \
    --image=confluentinc/cp-kafkacat:6.1.9 \
    --restart=Never \
    -- bash

Dockerfile for Kafka Analysis Container with different Tools

With jq, kafka console tools, schema registry tools and kafkacat installed ….

Dockerfile

FROM confluentinc/cp-kafka:6.2.1 as cp-kafka
FROM confluentinc/cp-schema-registry:6.2.1 as cp-schema-registry

FROM debian:10-slim
ARG DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive

# Install necessary tools
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y \
    curl \
    jq \
    yq \
    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*

# Install kafkacat binary
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y kafkacat && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*

# Copy Kafka binaries
COPY --from=cp-kafka /usr/bin/kafka-* /usr/bin/
COPY --from=cp-schema-registry /usr/bin/schema-registry* /usr/bin/

# Copy entrypoint script
COPY entrypoint.sh /usr/bin/entrypoint.sh
RUN chmod +x /usr/bin/entrypoint.sh

ENTRYPOINT ["/usr/bin/entrypoint.sh"]