Get Kafka-Nated Episode 5

Aiven

Dec 1, 2025

In this episode, Hugh Evans sits down with Satish D, senior engineer at Uber and a driving force behind KIP-405, to unpack tiered storage in Apache Kafka.

We go beyond the basics to explore the real challenges, design decisions, and community collaboration that made this architectural change possible.

What you’ll learn:
🔷 What tiered Kafka storage actually is and why it’s a game-changer
🔷 The storage bottlenecks at Uber that sparked KIP-405
🔷 How tiered storage improves performance, cost, and operational efficiency
🔷 Technical hurdles Satish overcame while implementing KIP-405
🔷 Insights into working with the Kafka open source community
🔷 Common misconceptions and adoption tips

Whether you’re a Kafka engineer, architect, or just curious about modern streaming data architectures, this episode gives an insider look at one of Kafka’s most impactful improvements.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Intro & Welcome

00:33 – Guest Introduction: Satish Dana

01:05 – Storage Challenges in CFKA

03:00 – Proposing Fundamental Changes

04:48 – Collaborating with the Open Source Community

08:05 – Design Changes from Community Feedback

09:31 – Technical Implementation & Performance

17:04 – Modernising CFKA for the Cloud

20:04 – Adoption and Best Practices

31:05 – Supporting New KIPs & Closing Remarks

Learn more about Aiven for Apache Kafka: https://aiven.io/kafka
Learn more about Aiven Inkless: https://aiven.io/inkless
Read the blog from Uber: Introduction to Kafka Tiered Storage at Uber: https://www.uber.com/en-GB/blog/kafka-tiered-storage/
Read the blog; Iceberg Topics For Apache Kafka: https://aiven.io/blog/iceberg-topics-for-apache-kafka-zero-etl-zero-copy
Watch the previous episodes of Get Kafka-Nated on YouTube: https://youtu.be/nLt4Fkjzmok