Kafka menyimpan events untuk periode (atau ukuran) yang dapat dikonfigurasi, menyimpannya di partition logs bahkan setelah dikonsumsi — memungkinkan replay dan multiple consumers. Memahami retention dan log management penting untuk menggunakan Kafka dan mengelola storage.
Retention — events disimpan
Unlike traditional queues, Kafka RETAINS events (doesn't delete on consumption):
→ events stay in the partition log for a configured RETENTION period (e.g. 7 days) or
SIZE limit
→ enables: REPLAY (re-read history), multiple consumers reading independently, late
consumers catching up
→ after retention expires → old segments are deleted (or compacted)
→ Kafka is a durable LOG, not just a transient queue
