Messaging solutions play a vital role in modern distributed systems, enabling reliable communication, supporting asynchronous processing, and providing loose coupling between components. Additionally, messaging solutions improve application availability and help protect systems from traffic spikes. The options range from stream-based to queue-based services, each offering unique strengths and trade-offs.
Selecting a message broker is not generally approached with a clear methodology. Decisions are often influenced by trends, personal preferences, or the ease of access to a particular technology rather than the specific needs of an application. However, selecting the right broker should focus on aligning its key characteristics with the application's requirements – this is the central focus of this article.
The complete version of this article examines two of the most popular messaging solutions: Apache Kafka (stream-based) and Amazon SQS (queue-based). By discussing how their respective characteristics align (or don't) with common messaging patterns, the article aims to provide insights that will help make more informed decisions. With this understanding, readers will be better equipped to evaluate other messaging scenarios and brokers, ultimately choosing the one that best suits their application's needs.
This content is an excerpt from a recent InfoQ article by Nehme Bilal, "Beyond Trends: A Practical Guide to Choosing the Right Message Broker".
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