Schema Registry replication factor mismatch causes startup failure

Schema Registry deployed simultaneously with Kafka creates internal topics with replication factor less than default of 3 when Kafka brokers are not fully started. Later, when all brokers are up, Schema Registry fails to start because topic replication factors don't match the expected value of 3.

Delete the Schema Registry deployment and re-deploy once Kafka is fully up with all brokers running. Alternatively, reconfigure the topics to align with Schema Registry default replication factor of 3. Ensure Kafka cluster is fully operational before deploying Schema Registry.