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Disaster Recovery Overview

Disaster Recovery (DR) setups continuously replicate Kafka data to one or more standby clusters so that traffic can be cut over with minimal downtime and data loss when a primary cluster becomes unavailable.

The DR type is derived automatically from the link configuration you define in the topology step — it is not selected manually.

DR TypeLinksCluster RolesDescription
Active-PassiveUnidirectionalPrimary, SecondaryData flows one way. Secondary receives replication and is promoted during failover.
Active-ActiveBidirectionalPeer, PeerBoth clusters serve traffic simultaneously. Data flows in both directions.
HybridMixedPrimary, Secondary, PeerCombination of unidirectional and bidirectional links in the same topology.
StatusMeaning
DraftSetup is being configured in the wizard. No replication is running.
ConfiguredWizard is complete. Setup is ready to start.
ReplicatingReplication is active across all links.
PausedReplication has been manually paused. Resumable with no data loss.
DegradedOne or more links are in a degraded state. Replication may be impaired.
Failover-In-ProgressA failover operation is underway.
Failed-OverFailover is complete. Secondary is now the active cluster.
Failback-In-ProgressA failback operation is underway.
FailedThe setup has encountered an unrecoverable error.
DecommissionedAll replication infrastructure has been torn down. The setup is read-only.

Each link within a setup has its own workflow phase, independent of the overall setup status.

Link StatusMeaning
DormantLink is defined but replication has not started.
ReplicatingLink is actively replicating data.
PausedLink replication has been paused by the operator.
DegradedLink is experiencing health issues.
Failing-OverFailover is in progress for this link.
Failed-OverFailover is complete for this link.
Failing-BackFailback is in progress for this link.
Failed-BackFailback is complete. Replication has resumed to the original primary.
FailedLink has encountered an unrecoverable error.
DecommissionedLink has been decommissioned.

Cluster Linking is the supported replication tool for DR setups. MirrorMaker 2 and Replicator will be supported in a future release.

DR setups are listed on the Dashboard under the DR tab. Click any setup to open its detail view, or click + New DR Setup to start the creation wizard.