Kafka 2.x and 3.x are supported.

Data Systems

Apache Kafka Monitoring

Monitor Apache Kafka broker health, partition lag, consumer groups, and throughput in real time with zero configuration.

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Why monitor Apache Kafka?

Apache Kafka is the backbone of real-time data pipelines and event streaming. Monitoring Kafka ensures healthy broker clusters, minimal consumer lag, optimal partition distribution, and reliable message delivery.

Auto-discovery via Xitogent

Broker health and ISR tracking

Consumer group lag monitoring

Partition distribution metrics

Message throughput rates

Disk usage per broker

Topic-level metrics

1-minute collection intervals

Metrics

What we monitor

Broker Count

Active brokers in the cluster.

Consumer Lag

Messages behind for each consumer group.

Messages In/sec

Message ingestion rate.

Bytes In/Out

Network throughput per broker.

Under-Replicated Partitions

Partitions below replication factor.

ISR Shrinks

In-sync replica shrink events.

Triggers & Alerts

Configurable alert triggers

Set up custom triggers in your dashboard to get notified the moment Apache Kafka metrics cross your defined thresholds.

Apache Kafka monitoring trigger configuration dashboard

Consumer Lag

critical

Fires when consumer falls behind.

Under-Replicated Partitions

critical

Alerts on replication issues.

Broker Down

critical

Triggers when a broker leaves the cluster.

Disk Usage

warning

Fires when broker disk is filling up.

Importance of Kafka Monitoring

Kafka processes trillions of messages daily. Consumer lag, broker failures, and partition imbalance can cause data pipeline failures.

Detect consumer lag before data loss
Monitor ISR for data durability
Track broker health across clusters
Ensure partition balance

Why Choose Xitoring

Enterprise-grade Kafka monitoring.

Zero-config setup
Global nodes
Unified dashboard
Multi-channel alerts
Historical retention

Before you start

Prerequisites for Apache Kafka

Make sure you've got these in place — most installs are a 60-second job once they are.

Kafka brokers with JMX enabled (default port 9999)
Network reachability from Xitogent to each broker's JMX port
JMX authentication credentials if security is configured

Setup Guide

Get started in minutes

Install Xitogent on each broker

Install the lightweight Xitogent monitoring agent on every Kafka broker you want to monitor.

curl -s https://xitoring.com/install.sh | sudo bash -s -- --key=YOUR_API_KEY

Enable JMX on each broker

Kafka exposes broker metrics through JMX. Set `KAFKA_JMX_OPTS` to enable a JMX listener (typically port 9999) on each broker, reload the service, and confirm the agent host can connect to the JMX port.

sudo xitogent integrate

Enable the Kafka integration

Use the Xitoring dashboard or CLI to enable the Kafka integration. Xitogent auto-discovers broker IDs, topics, and consumer groups across the cluster.

Configure alert thresholds (optional)

Set custom thresholds for Consumer Lag, Under-Replicated Partitions, or Broker Down events to catch replication issues and back-pressure before consumers fall behind.

Verify it's working

Run this command on the server to confirm Xitogent picked up the integration. Fresh metrics will start streaming to your dashboard within ~30 seconds.

sudo xitogent status

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Considering alternatives?

See how Xitoring stacks up against the alternatives for Apache Kafka monitoring — flat pricing, deeper integrations, and one agent that covers your whole stack.