Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Apache Kudu VS Apache Flink

Compare Apache Kudu VS Apache Flink and see what are their differences

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Apache Kudu logo Apache Kudu

Apache Kudu is Hadoop's storage layer to enable fast analytics on fast data.

Apache Flink logo Apache Flink

Flink is a streaming dataflow engine that provides data distribution, communication, and fault tolerance for distributed computations.
  • Apache Kudu Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-09-26
  • Apache Flink Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-03

Apache Kudu features and specs

  • Fast Analytics on Fresh Data
    Kudu is designed for fast analytical processing on up-to-date data. It allows for efficient columnar storage which enables quick read and write capabilities suitable for real-time analytics.
  • Hybrid Workloads
    Supports hybrid workloads of both analytical and transactional processing, making it versatile for use cases that require both types of operations.
  • Seamless Integration
    Integrates well with the Apache ecosystem, particularly with Apache Hadoop, Apache Impala, and Apache Spark, enabling a cohesive environment for data processing and management.
  • Fine-grained Updates
    Allows for efficient updates to individual columns and rows, which is useful for applications that require frequent updates alongside analytic capabilities.
  • Schema Evolution
    Supports schema evolution, which allows for adding, dropping, and renaming columns without costly table rewrites.

Possible disadvantages of Apache Kudu

  • Complexity in Installation and Configuration
    The setup and configuration of Kudu can be complex, requiring a good understanding of its architecture and dependencies.
  • Limited SQL Support
    While Kudu is optimized for analytical tasks, its SQL capabilities are limited compared to some traditional RDBMS systems, which might require additional tools for more complex queries.
  • Community and Ecosystem
    Although growing, the community and ecosystem around Kudu are smaller compared to more established systems, which may result in less available resources and third-party tools.
  • Memory Intensive
    Kudu can be memory-intensive, which might require more hardware resources compared to other systems, especially as data volumes grow.
  • Write Performance Limitations
    While Kudu offers fast reads, its write performance can be slower compared to systems specifically optimized for high-speed transactional processing.

Apache Flink features and specs

  • Real-time Stream Processing
    Apache Flink is designed for real-time data streaming, offering low-latency processing capabilities that are essential for applications requiring immediate data insights.
  • Event Time Processing
    Flink supports event time processing, which allows it to handle out-of-order events effectively and provide accurate results based on the time events actually occurred rather than when they were processed.
  • State Management
    Flink provides robust state management features, making it easier to maintain and query state across distributed nodes, which is crucial for managing long-running applications.
  • Fault Tolerance
    The framework includes built-in mechanisms for fault tolerance, such as consistent checkpoints and savepoints, ensuring high reliability and data consistency even in the case of failures.
  • Scalability
    Apache Flink is highly scalable, capable of handling both batch and stream processing workloads across a distributed cluster, making it suitable for large-scale data processing tasks.
  • Rich Ecosystem
    Flink has a rich set of APIs and integrations with other big data tools, such as Apache Kafka, Apache Hadoop, and Apache Cassandra, enhancing its versatility and ease of integration into existing data pipelines.

Possible disadvantages of Apache Flink

  • Complexity
    Flink’s advanced features and capabilities come with a steep learning curve, making it more challenging to set up and use compared to simpler stream processing frameworks.
  • Resource Intensive
    The framework can be resource-intensive, requiring substantial memory and CPU resources for optimal performance, which might be a concern for smaller setups or cost-sensitive environments.
  • Community Support
    While growing, the community around Apache Flink is not as large or mature as some other big data frameworks like Apache Spark, potentially limiting the availability of community-contributed resources and support.
  • Ecosystem Maturity
    Despite its integrations, the Flink ecosystem is still maturing, and certain tools and plugins may not be as developed or stable as those available for more established frameworks.
  • Operational Overhead
    Running and maintaining a Flink cluster can involve significant operational overhead, including monitoring, scaling, and troubleshooting, which might require a dedicated team or additional expertise.

Analysis of Apache Flink

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Apache Flink is considered a good distributed stream processing framework.

Why this product is good

  • ["rich API", "Flink offers a rich set of APIs for various levels of abstraction, catering to different needs of developers."]
  • ["scalability", "Flink provides excellent horizontal scalability, making it suitable for handling large data streams and high-throughput applications."]
  • ["fault tolerance", "Flink's checkpointing mechanism ensures fault-tolerance, maintaining data state consistency even after failures."]
  • ["ease of integration", "Flink integrates well with other big data tools and ecosystems, facilitating broader data architecture designs."]
  • ["real-time processing", "It excels at processing data in real-time, allowing for immediate insights and action on streaming data."]
  • ["community and support", "Being a part of the Apache Software Foundation, Flink benefits from a large community and comprehensive documentation."]
  • ["complex event processing", "It supports complex event processing, which is essential for many real-time applications."]

Recommended for

  • real-time analytics
  • stream data processing
  • complex event processing
  • machine learning in streaming applications
  • applications requiring high-throughput and low-latency processing
  • companies looking for robust fault-tolerance in distributed systems

Apache Kudu videos

Apache Kudu and Spark SQL for Fast Analytics on Fast Data (Mike Percy)

More videos:

  • Review - Apache Kudu (Incubating): New Hadoop Storage for Fast Analytics on Fast Data
  • Review - Apache Kudu: Fast Analytics on Fast Data | DataEngConf SF '16

Apache Flink videos

GOTO 2019 • Introduction to Stateful Stream Processing with Apache Flink • Robert Metzger

More videos:

  • Tutorial - Apache Flink Tutorial | Flink vs Spark | Real Time Analytics Using Flink | Apache Flink Training
  • Tutorial - How to build a modern stream processor: The science behind Apache Flink - Stefan Richter

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Apache Kudu and Apache Flink)
Office & Productivity
100 100%
0% 0
Big Data
0 0%
100% 100
Technical Computing
100 100%
0% 0
Stream Processing
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Apache Flink seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 41 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Apache Kudu mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Apache Kudu yet. Tracking of Apache Kudu recommendations started around Mar 2021.

Apache Flink mentions (41)

  • What is Apache Flink? Exploring Its Open Source Business Model, Funding, and Community
    Continuous Learning: Leverage online tutorials from the official Flink website and attend webinars for deeper insights. - Source: dev.to / 17 days ago
  • Is RisingWave the Next Apache Flink?
    Apache Flink, known initially as Stratosphere, is a distributed stream processing engine initiated by a group of researchers at TU Berlin. Since its initial release in May 2011, Flink has gained immense popularity in both academia and industry. And it is currently the most well-known streaming system globally (challenge me if you think I got it wrong!). - Source: dev.to / 30 days ago
  • Every Database Will Support Iceberg — Here's Why
    Apache Iceberg defines a table format that separates how data is stored from how data is queried. Any engine that implements the Iceberg integration — Spark, Flink, Trino, DuckDB, Snowflake, RisingWave — can read and/or write Iceberg data directly. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • RisingWave Turns Four: Our Journey Beyond Democratizing Stream Processing
    The last decade saw the rise of open-source frameworks like Apache Flink, Spark Streaming, and Apache Samza. These offered more flexibility but still demanded significant engineering muscle to run effectively at scale. Companies using them often needed specialized stream processing engineers just to manage internal state, tune performance, and handle the day-to-day operational challenges. The barrier to entry... - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • Twitter's 600-Tweet Daily Limit Crisis: Soaring GCP Costs and the Open Source Fix Elon Musk Ignored
    Apache Flink: Flink is a unified streaming and batching platform developed under the Apache Foundation. It provides support for Java API and a SQL interface. Flink boasts a large ecosystem and can seamlessly integrate with various services, including Kafka, Pulsar, HDFS, Iceberg, Hudi, and other systems. - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Apache Kudu and Apache Flink, you can also consider the following products

Azure Databricks - Azure Databricks is a fast, easy, and collaborative Apache Spark-based big data analytics service designed for data science and data engineering.

Apache Spark - Apache Spark is an engine for big data processing, with built-in modules for streaming, SQL, machine learning and graph processing.

MyAnalytics - MyAnalytics, now rebranded to Microsoft Viva Insights, is a customizable suite of tools that integrates with Office 365 to drive employee engagement and increase productivity.

Spring Framework - The Spring Framework provides a comprehensive programming and configuration model for modern Java-based enterprise applications - on any kind of deployment platform.

IBM Cloud Pak for Data - Move to cloud faster with IBM Cloud Paks running on Red Hat OpenShift – fully integrated, open, containerized and secure solutions certified by IBM.

Amazon Kinesis - Amazon Kinesis services make it easy to work with real-time streaming data in the AWS cloud.