Kafka 101: Getting started with Apache Kafka on Aiven

Apache Kafka moves data between services at scale, which is why it sits at the heart of so many event-driven and streaming systems. Getting started can feel intimidating though: brokers, topics, partitions, offsets.

In about 30 minutes we'll explain the core Kafka concepts in plain terms, then get hands-on. You'll watch us deploy a Kafka cluster on Aiven and send messages through it with Python, start to finish.

Here's what we'll cover:

Kafka concepts made simple: topics, producers, consumers, brokers, partitions, and offsets, in one clear diagram and one real-world use case.
A live demo: deploy a free-tier Apache Kafka cluster in the Aiven console, then produce and consume your first messages with Python.

You'll leave having deployed a working Kafka cluster and sent your first messages through it, with a GitHub repo to keep building on and a clear view of where to go next: Kafka Connect, Kafka Streams, and the rest of the Aiven platform.

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Get to know our speaker

Hugh Evans portrait — Hugh Evans
Senior Product Advocate, Aiven
Hugh is a Senior Developer Advocate at Aiven with a background in software development, cloud infrastructure, and community building. He helps developers and data teams explore how open source technologies can power modern data and AI use cases. Outside of Aiven, Hugh organizes AI Signals, a community dedicated to real-world applications of AI, and advocates for vocational learning as an important pathway into technology careers.