Message Conversion Overhead from Legacy Clients

warning

performanceUpdated Mar 2, 2026

When brokers perform message format conversion for legacy clients, it adds significant CPU overhead and latency, reducing overall throughput.

Technologies:

Apache Kafkasubject

How to detect:

Monitor kafka.network.produce_message_conversions_rate > 0. This indicates brokers are converting messages, adding CPU overhead. Cross-reference with kafka.request.produce_time_99p for impact on latency.

Recommended action:

1. Identify legacy clients: Determine which producers are using old message format. 2. Upgrade clients: Update producers to use current message format. 3. Configure inter.broker.protocol.version: Ensure using latest protocol version. 4. Review log.message.format.version: Set to match broker version. 5. Monitor CPU impact: Check broker CPU usage during conversions. 6. Plan migration: Create timeline to eliminate conversion overhead.