June 2025 Summaries

Aiven has introduced enhanced plans for its ClickHouse service, offering more flexible, cost-effective options across AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure to better meet user needs. The updated plans provide increased compute power for the same cost and allow for up to a 30% reduction in expenses by using modern instance types, such as ARM chipsets, which improve both performance and cost efficiency. A key feature of these plans is Dynamic Disk Sizing (DDS), which enables users to scale local storage independently and pay only for the resources they use, thus avoiding overprovisioning. This relaunch aims to simplify resource management and optimize costs, with a straightforward migration process for existing users ahead of the mandatory plan update by August 29, 2025.

Diskless Kafka, introduced through Apache Kafka's KIP-1150, represents a significant shift in data streaming by moving replication from local broker disks to cloud-based object storage such as Amazon S3. This change, facilitated by Aiven's "Inkless" implementation, promises to reduce the total cost of ownership by up to 80% by eliminating the need for costly cross-zone replication, which is a major expense in cloud environments like AWS. While Diskless Kafka maintains compatibility with existing Kafka APIs and offers the flexibility to operate both traditional low-latency and cost-optimized diskless topics within the same cluster, it presents a trade-off with slightly higher latency, suitable for non-latency-critical applications such as logging. Despite the "Diskless" moniker, brokers still require local disks for metadata and temporary operations, but the innovation lies in how user data is managed. This evolution enables new possibilities for Kafka users, offering both cost savings and the potential for new use cases without the need to migrate from existing Kafka infrastructure. The community's participation in the ongoing development is encouraged through engagement with the KIP-1150 discussion, signaling a collaborative effort in shaping the future of Kafka.

Aiven has introduced new pricing plans for its ClickHouse service, allowing users to either double their compute power at the same cost or reduce total expenses by up to 30%, depending on usage. Through comprehensive benchmarking against AWS and GCP instances, Aiven identified optimal configurations to deliver improved performance and cost-effectiveness for ClickHouse workloads. The analysis utilized the ClickBench standard and involved testing various instance types, focusing on ARM processors for AWS, particularly the m8g series with EBS, and the C4 family with Hyperdisk for GCP. This approach prioritizes flexible, dynamic storage solutions over fixed SSD sizes, enhancing scalability and cost-efficiency. Aiven's commitment to leveraging the latest cloud advancements ensures that users benefit from cutting-edge infrastructure, providing superior price-performance and peace of mind by removing the complexity of VM selection.

Diskless Kafka BYOC is a cloud-based architecture that splits storage from compute, delegating replication to cheap object storage and turning Apache Kafka brokers into a stateless compute layer. This approach eliminates inter-AZ replication and local disk storage, reducing costs by up to 80%. BYOC (Bring Your Own Cloud) nails the three Es: Economics, Enforcement, and Enterprise Discounts. It allows customers to control data residency, reduce cloud tolls, and harness enterprise discounts on their cloud bills. Diskless Kafka BYOC is designed for high-scale Kafka workloads, mission-critical applications, and organizations with stringent security requirements. The architecture provides a clear monthly fee, volume-based annual commit, and zero data leaving the house, making it an attractive option for customers who value control, simplicity, and cost-effectiveness.