Announcing the release of Red Hat streams for Apache Kafka 2.7 (formerly AMQ Streams)

Announcing the release of Streams for Apache Kafka 2.7.

We're pleased to announce the release of Streams for Apache Kafka 2.7 (formerly known as Streams for Apache Kafka). Streams for Apache Kafka 2.7 simplifies the process of running Apache Kafka on OpenShift and Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

Notification of name change to streams for Apache Kafka

AMQ Streams is being renamed as streams for Apache Kafka as part of a branding effort.
This change aims to increase awareness among customers of Red Hat’s product for Apache Kafka.
During this transition period, you may encounter references to the old name, AMQ Streams.
We are actively working to update our documentation, resources, and media to reflect the new name.

What's new in Streams for Apache Kafka 2.7

Streams for Apache Kafka 2.7 uses Kafka 3.7.0.
Streams for Apache Kafka 2.7 on OpenShift is based on Strimzi 0.40.x.
Streams for Apache Kafka 2.7 on OpenShift is supported on OpenShift Container Platform 4.12 to 4.15.

Streams for Apache Kafka 2.7 on OpenShift: New features and enhancements

KRaft mode in Streams for Apache Kafka is a technology preview, with some limitations, but this release introduces a number of new features that support KRaft.

1. StableConnectIdentities feature gate (GA): The StableConnectIdentities feature gate has graduated to General Availability (GA).
2. UnidirectionalTopicOperator feature gate (Beta): The UnidirectionalTopicOperator feature gate is now enabled by default.
3. KafkaNodePools feature gate (Beta): The KafkaNodePools feature gate is now enabled by default.
4. UseKRaft feature gate (GA): The UseKRaft feature gate has graduated to General Availability (GA).
5. KRaft migration: Support for migration of Kafka clusters using ZooKeeper to KRaft-based clusters.
6. KRaft role transitions: Support for transitions of KRaft roles.
7. KRaft upgrade: Support for KRaft-to-KRaft upgrades of KRaft-based Kafka clusters.

Streams for Apache Kafka 2.7 on RHEL: New features and enhancements

1. KRaft migration: Support for migration of Kafka clusters using ZooKeeper to KRaft-based clusters.
2. KRaft upgrade: Support for KRaft-to-KRaft upgrades of KRaft-based Kafka clusters.

For more information on the Streams for Apache Kafka 2.7 features and enhancements, see the Streams for Apache Kafka 2.7 Release notes.

Technology previews

Streams for Apache Kafka 2.7 on OpenShift includes the following technology previews to try:

1. Streams for Apache Kafka Console: The Streams for Apache Kafka Console is designed to seamlessly integrate with your Streams for Apache Kafka deployment, providing a centralized hub to support the monitoring and management of Kafka clusters. Deploy the console and connect it to your Kafka clusters managed by Streams for Apache Kafka.
2. Streams for Apache Kafka Proxy: Streams for Apache Kafka Proxy is an Apache Kafka protocol-aware proxy designed to enhance Kafka-based systems.
   Through its filter mechanism it allows additional behavior to be introduced into a Kafka-based system without requiring changes to either your applications or the Kafka cluster itself. The Record Encryption filter provides encryption at rest, using industry-standard cryptographic techniques to apply encryption to Kafka Messages, ensuring the confidentiality of data stored in the Kafka cluster.
3. Tiered storage: (Developer preview) Streams for Apache Kafka now supports tiered storage for Kafka brokers, allowing you to introduce custom remote storage solutions as well as local storage.

Deprecated and unsupported features

• Support for Java 11 is deprecated.
• RHEL 7 is no longer supported.
• As the StableConnectIdentities feature gate moves to GA, direct downgrade to Streams for Apache Kafka versions older than 2.4 are no longer supported.

Get Streams for Apache Kafka 2.7

Get Streams for Apache Kafka 2.7 on OpenShift container images from the Red Hat Ecosystem Catalog.

Download Streams for Apache Kafka 2.7 installation files from the software downloads page.

Streams for Apache Kafka 2.7 documentation

For more information on Streams for Apache Kafka, see the product documentation.