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What is offset management in Kafka?

Spark/Big Datamedium0.3 min readPremium

**Offset**: Position in partition log. Consumer commits offset to track progress. Stored in __consumer_offsets (Kafka) or external (Spark checkpoint). **Modes**: Auto-commit (periodic) vs. manual (commitSync/commitAsync after process). Manual required for exactly-once. **Why...

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Frequency
Low
Asked at 1 company
Category
452
questions in Spark/Big Data
Difficulty Split
88E|81M|283H
in this category
Total Bank
1,863
across 7 categories
Asked at these companies
Delivery Hero
Key Concepts Tested
partitionspark

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Expert Answer
69 words

Offset: Position in partition log. Consumer commits offset to track progress. Stored in __consumer_offsets (Kafka) or external (Spark checkpoint).

Modes: Auto-commit (periodic) vs. manual (commitSync/commitAsync after process). Manual required for exactly-once.

Why It Matters: Lost offset = reprocess or skip. Exactly-once needs atomic process+commit.

Scalability Trade-offs: Rebalance invalidation; consumer must handle. Spark checkpoint = exactly-once with idempotent sink.

Cost Implications: Reprocess = double cost. Durability of offsets is critical.

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