Feature Comparison

Compare OSO Kafka Backup with alternative approaches for Kafka data protection.

Overview

Solution	Type	Best For
OSO Kafka Backup	Backup/Restore	DR, compliance, migration
MirrorMaker 2	Replication	Active-active, geo-distribution
Confluent Replicator	Replication	Enterprise replication
Tiered Storage	Offload	Cost reduction, infinite retention
Custom Scripts	DIY	Simple use cases

Detailed Comparison

OSO Kafka Backup vs. MirrorMaker 2

Feature	OSO Kafka Backup	MirrorMaker 2
Purpose	Backup/restore	Real-time replication
Point-in-time recovery	Yes	No
Data transformation	Yes (plugins)	Limited
Storage backends	S3, Azure, GCS, local	Kafka only
Offset preservation	Built-in	Requires configuration
Network requirement	One-time transfer	Continuous connection
Compression	Zstd, LZ4	Kafka default
Cost	Storage costs	Double infrastructure
Recovery time	Minutes-hours	Instant (already replicated)
Data loss (RPO)	Last backup	Near-zero

Choose OSO Kafka Backup when:

• You need point-in-time recovery
• Clusters can't communicate directly
• Cost optimization is important
• Compliance requires immutable backups

Choose MirrorMaker 2 when:

• Near-zero RPO is required
• Active-active is needed
• Real-time geo-distribution
• Network allows continuous sync

OSO Kafka Backup vs. Confluent Replicator

Feature	OSO Kafka Backup	Confluent Replicator
Licensing	Open source (MIT)	Commercial
Point-in-time recovery	Yes	No
Schema Registry sync	Enterprise	Yes
Offset sync	Built-in	Yes
Data transformation	Plugins	SMT (Connect)
Monitoring	Prometheus	Control Center
Support	Community/Enterprise	Confluent support

Choose OSO Kafka Backup when:

• Open source is preferred
• PITR is required
• Budget constraints exist
• Not using Confluent Platform

Choose Confluent Replicator when:

• Already using Confluent Platform
• Need Schema Registry sync
• Prefer integrated tooling
• Have Confluent support contract

OSO Kafka Backup vs. Tiered Storage

Feature	OSO Kafka Backup	Tiered Storage
Purpose	Backup/restore	Cost reduction
Point-in-time recovery	Yes	Limited
Independent from Kafka	Yes	No (Kafka feature)
Cross-cluster restore	Yes	No
Compression	Additional	Kafka default
Availability	Any Kafka	Kafka 3.0+ / Confluent
Broker dependency	None	Requires running brokers

Choose OSO Kafka Backup when:

• Cross-cluster recovery needed
• Independent disaster recovery
• Using older Kafka versions
• Compliance requires separate backups

Choose Tiered Storage when:

• Primary goal is cost reduction
• Data stays in same cluster
• Using compatible Kafka version
• Simpler operational model preferred

OSO Kafka Backup vs. Custom Scripts

Feature	OSO Kafka Backup	Custom Scripts
Development effort	None	High
Maintenance	Vendor managed	Self-maintained
Performance	Optimized (Rust)	Variable
Features	Complete	What you build
Reliability	Production-tested	Depends
Offset management	Built-in	Must implement
Cloud storage	Native support	Must implement

Choose OSO Kafka Backup when:

• Don't want to build from scratch
• Need production-ready solution
• Value ongoing development
• Time to market matters

Choose Custom Scripts when:

• Very simple requirements
• Unique constraints
• Learning exercise
• Full control required

Feature Matrix

Core Features

Feature	OSO Backup	MM2	Replicator	Tiered
Backup to object storage	Yes	No	No	Yes
Point-in-time recovery	Yes	No	No	Limited
Cross-cluster restore	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Incremental backup	Yes	N/A	N/A	N/A
Compression	Zstd/LZ4	Kafka	Kafka	Kafka
Topic selection	Patterns	Patterns	Patterns	All
Topic remapping	Yes	Yes	Yes	No

Operational Features

Feature	OSO Backup	MM2	Replicator	Tiered
Kubernetes operator	Yes	No	Yes	No
GitOps support	CRDs	No	CRDs	No
Prometheus metrics	Yes	JMX	JMX	JMX
CLI tool	Yes	No	No	No
Scheduled operations	Yes	N/A	N/A	N/A
Dry-run validation	Yes	No	No	No

Enterprise Features

Feature	OSO Backup	MM2	Replicator	Tiered
Field-level encryption	Enterprise	No	No	No
Data masking	Enterprise	No	SMT	No
Audit logging	Enterprise	No	Yes	No
RBAC	Enterprise	No	Yes	No
Schema Registry	Enterprise	No	Yes	No

Architecture Comparison

OSO Kafka Backup

┌─────────────┐    ┌─────────────┐    ┌─────────────┐
│   Kafka     │───▶│   Backup    │───▶│   Object    │
│   Cluster   │    │   Service   │    │   Storage   │
└─────────────┘    └─────────────┘    └─────────────┘
                                             │
                                             ▼
                   ┌─────────────┐    ┌─────────────┐
                   │   Target    │◀───│   Restore   │
                   │   Cluster   │    │   Service   │
                   └─────────────┘    └─────────────┘

Pros:

• Decoupled storage
• Independent recovery
• Cost-effective long-term storage

Cons:

• Not real-time
• Recovery takes time

MirrorMaker 2 / Replicator

┌─────────────┐    ┌─────────────┐    ┌─────────────┐
│   Source    │───▶│   MM2 /     │───▶│   Target    │
│   Cluster   │    │   Replicator│    │   Cluster   │
└─────────────┘    └─────────────┘    └─────────────┘

Pros:

• Real-time sync
• Active-active possible
• Near-zero RPO

Cons:

• No PITR
• Continuous infrastructure cost
• Network dependency

Tiered Storage

┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│              Kafka Cluster              │
│  ┌───────────┐      ┌───────────────┐   │
│  │   Hot     │ ───▶ │   Cold        │   │
│  │   Tier    │      │   Tier (S3)   │   │
│  │  (Local)  │      │               │   │
│  └───────────┘      └───────────────┘   │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘

Pros:

• Transparent to clients
• Infinite retention
• Cost optimization

Cons:

• No cross-cluster recovery
• Broker dependency
• Limited PITR

Cost Comparison

Monthly Cost Example (100 GB/day, 30-day retention)

Solution	Infrastructure	Storage	Network	Total
OSO Backup (hourly)	$0	~$70	~$10	~$80
OSO Backup (daily)	$0	~$70	~$1	~$71
MM2	~$500	$0	~$50	~$550
Replicator	~$500+	$0	~$50	~$550+ license
Tiered Storage	$0	~$70	$0	~$70

Costs are illustrative and vary by region and provider.

Cost Analysis

OSO Kafka Backup:

• One-time transfer costs
• Object storage (cheaper than block)
• No additional compute during backup window

Replication solutions:

• 2x Kafka infrastructure
• Continuous network transfer
• Ongoing compute costs

Migration Path

From MirrorMaker to OSO Backup

If currently using MM2 for backup purposes:

1. Set up OSO Backup alongside MM2
2. Validate backups match replicated data
3. Disable MM2 (keep target cluster temporarily)
4. Rely on OSO Backup for recovery
5. Decommission MM2 target cluster

From Custom Scripts to OSO Backup

1. Audit current script capabilities
2. Map to OSO Backup configuration
3. Run parallel backups
4. Validate backup contents match
5. Retire custom scripts

Decision Framework

Use OSO Kafka Backup If:

• Point-in-time recovery is important
• Compliance requires immutable backups
• Cost optimization is a priority
• Cross-region/cross-cloud recovery needed
• Kubernetes-native operations preferred
• Open source is preferred

Use Replication (MM2/Replicator) If:

• Near-zero RPO is required
• Active-active architecture needed
• Real-time geo-distribution required
• Network allows continuous sync
• Immediate failover is critical

Use Both When:

• Defense in depth required
• Different RPO/RTO for different scenarios
• Compliance requires multiple protection methods
• Active-active + disaster recovery needed

Next Steps

• Getting Started - Try OSO Kafka Backup
• Disaster Recovery - DR planning
• Migration Guide - Migrate from alternatives