ApsaraMQ for Kafka offers five instance editions across two deployment models: non-serverless and serverless. This guide helps you choose the right edition and calculate the correct instance size for migration from a self-managed Apache Kafka cluster.
Edition overview
Non-serverless instances
Non-serverless instances provide dedicated, fixed-capacity infrastructure. Choose a non-serverless instance when your traffic patterns are predictable and you need full control over capacity planning.
| Edition | Best for | Storage |
|---|---|---|
| Standard Edition (High Write) | Write-heavy workloads such as log collection and event streaming | Cloud storage. Messages retained for up to 7 days. |
| Professional Edition (High Write) | Production workloads that require longer storage or a choice between cloud storage and local storage | Cloud storage or local storage. Custom storage duration. |
| Professional Edition (High Read) | Production workloads with high consumer fanout, where read throughput exceeds write throughput | Cloud storage or local storage. Custom storage duration. |
For a detailed feature comparison, see Instance editions.
Serverless instances
Serverless instances eliminate capacity planning for storage. Cloud storage is fully managed, and you only configure reserved throughput capacity. Choose a serverless instance when your traffic is variable, you want to avoid disk management, or you need a flexible storage duration (1 to 365 days).
| Edition | Best for |
|---|---|
| Standard Edition | Variable or unpredictable workloads that benefit from elastic scaling without storage management |
| Professional Edition | Production-grade serverless workloads that need advanced features alongside elastic scaling |
Size a non-serverless instance
To migrate from a self-managed Apache Kafka cluster to a non-serverless ApsaraMQ for Kafka instance, calculate three parameters: traffic specification, disk size, and partition count.
Traffic specification
The traffic specification defines the maximum throughput of the instance. Calculate it based on your cluster's peak traffic:
Peak write traffic:
Peak write traffic in the cluster x 3Peak read traffic:
Peak read traffic in the cluster x 3
For billing details on traffic specifications:
Subscription instances: Billing of Internet traffic
Pay-as-you-go instances: Billing of Internet traffic
Disk size
Use the following formula:
Disk size = Average traffic x Storage duration x 3 (replicas)| Edition | Storage duration | Storage engine |
|---|---|---|
| Standard Edition (High Write) | Up to 7 days | Cloud storage |
| Professional Edition (High Write / High Read) | Custom duration based on your requirements | Cloud storage or local storage |
For guidance on choosing between cloud storage and local storage, see Comparison between storage engines.
Partition count
Specify the number of partitions based on your workload requirements. When migrating from a self-managed Apache Kafka cluster, consider reducing the partition count to optimize costs. Managed infrastructure often handles the same throughput with fewer partitions than a self-managed cluster requires.
Size a serverless instance
For serverless instances, configure reserved throughput capacity instead of disk size and partition count.
Reserved capacity
Calculate reserved capacity based on your cluster's peak traffic:
Reserved capacity for message publishing:
(Peak business traffic for message publishing in the cluster x 3) / 2Reserved capacity for message subscription:
(Peak business traffic for message subscription in the cluster x 3) / 2
Supported capacity ranges:
| Capacity type | Range |
|---|---|
| Message publishing | 60 MB/s to 51,300 MB/s |
| Message subscription | 20 MB/s to 17,100 MB/s |
Storage
Serverless instances use cloud storage. No disk size configuration is needed. Messages can be stored for 1 to 365 days. If you need a longer storage duration, submit a ticket.
Decision guide
Use the following criteria to choose an edition.
Choose Standard Edition (non-serverless) if:
Your traffic is steady and predictable.
A 7-day storage duration is sufficient.
You are migrating a write-heavy self-managed Apache Kafka cluster with straightforward requirements.
Choose Professional Edition (non-serverless) if:
You need a storage duration longer than 7 days.
Your workload requires a choice between cloud storage and local storage.
You have high consumer fanout (Professional Edition High Read) or high ingestion rates (Professional Edition High Write).
Choose serverless if:
Your traffic is variable or unpredictable.
You want to avoid managing disk capacity.
You need a flexible storage duration (up to 365 days) without capacity planning.