Configuration Presets

Not sure which settings to use? Dekaf provides configuration presets for common scenarios. These set sensible defaults that you can override as needed.

Producer Presets

ForHighThroughput

Optimized for sending many messages with maximum efficiency:

using Dekaf;

var producer = await Kafka.CreateProducer<string, string>()
    .WithBootstrapServers("localhost:9092")
    .ForHighThroughput()
    .BuildAsync();

Settings applied:

Setting	Value	Effect
Acks	Leader	Faster acknowledgment
LingerMs	5	Allows batching
BatchSize	64KB	Larger batches
Compression	LZ4	Reduces network usage

Best for: Log aggregation, metrics, analytics, high-volume event streams

ForLowLatency

Optimized for minimal delay between sending and delivery:

using Dekaf;

var producer = await Kafka.CreateProducer<string, string>()
    .WithBootstrapServers("localhost:9092")
    .ForLowLatency()
    .BuildAsync();

Settings applied:

Setting	Value	Effect
Acks	Leader	Fast acknowledgment
LingerMs	0	No batching delay
BatchSize	16KB	Smaller batches

Best for: Real-time notifications, interactive applications, low-volume critical messages

ForReliability

Optimized for maximum durability and exactly-once semantics:

using Dekaf;

var producer = await Kafka.CreateProducer<string, string>()
    .WithBootstrapServers("localhost:9092")
    .ForReliability()
    .BuildAsync();

Settings applied:

Setting	Value	Effect
Acks	All	Wait for all replicas
EnableIdempotence	true	Prevent duplicates

Best for: Financial transactions, order processing, any data that cannot be lost

Consumer Presets

ForHighThroughput

Optimized for processing many messages efficiently:

using Dekaf;

var consumer = await Kafka.CreateConsumer<string, string>()
    .WithBootstrapServers("localhost:9092")
    .WithGroupId("my-group")
    .ForHighThroughput()
    .BuildAsync();

Settings applied:

Setting	Value	Effect
MaxPollRecords	1000	Larger batches
FetchMinBytes	1KB	Wait for more data
FetchMaxWaitMs	500ms	Allow batching

Best for: Batch processing, ETL pipelines, analytics

ForLowLatency

Optimized for processing messages as quickly as possible:

using Dekaf;

var consumer = await Kafka.CreateConsumer<string, string>()
    .WithBootstrapServers("localhost:9092")
    .WithGroupId("my-group")
    .ForLowLatency()
    .BuildAsync();

Settings applied:

Setting	Value	Effect
MaxPollRecords	100	Smaller batches
FetchMinBytes	1	Return immediately
FetchMaxWaitMs	100ms	Reduce waiting

Best for: Real-time processing, alerts, notifications

Overriding Preset Values

Presets are just starting points. Override any setting by calling the appropriate method after the preset:

using Dekaf;

var producer = await Kafka.CreateProducer<string, string>()
    .WithBootstrapServers("localhost:9092")
    .ForHighThroughput()
    .WithAcks(Acks.All)        // Override: want reliability too
    .WithLingerMs(10)          // Override: even more batching
    .BuildAsync();

The order matters - later calls override earlier ones:

using Dekaf;

// Final acks will be Leader (from ForLowLatency)
var producer = await Kafka.CreateProducer<string, string>()
    .WithBootstrapServers("localhost:9092")
    .ForReliability()      // Sets Acks.All
    .ForLowLatency()       // Overrides to Acks.Leader
    .BuildAsync();

Combining Presets with Security

Presets work alongside security configuration:

using Dekaf;

var producer = await Kafka.CreateProducer<string, string>()
    .WithBootstrapServers("kafka.example.com:9093")
    .UseTls()
    .WithSaslScramSha512("username", "password")
    .ForReliability()  // Performance preset
    .BuildAsync();

Custom Presets

Create your own preset extensions for consistency across your application:

using Dekaf;

public static class DekafPresets
{
    public static ProducerBuilder<TKey, TValue> ForOrderProcessing<TKey, TValue>(
        this ProducerBuilder<TKey, TValue> builder)
    {
        return builder
            .ForReliability()
            .UseLz4Compression()
            .WithLingerMs(1);  // Slight batching for efficiency
    }

    public static ConsumerBuilder<TKey, TValue> ForOrderProcessing<TKey, TValue>(
        this ConsumerBuilder<TKey, TValue> builder)
    {
        return builder
            .WithOffsetCommitMode(OffsetCommitMode.Manual)
            .WithAutoOffsetReset(AutoOffsetReset.Earliest)
            .ForLowLatency();
    }
}

// Usage
var producer = await Kafka.CreateProducer<string, Order>()
    .WithBootstrapServers("localhost:9092")
    .ForOrderProcessing()
    .BuildAsync();

Choosing a Preset

Scenario	Producer Preset	Consumer Preset
Log aggregation	ForHighThroughput	ForHighThroughput
Metrics collection	ForHighThroughput	ForHighThroughput
Real-time alerts	ForLowLatency	ForLowLatency
Order processing	ForReliability	ForLowLatency
Financial transactions	ForReliability	ForLowLatency
ETL pipelines	ForHighThroughput	ForHighThroughput
Chat messages	ForLowLatency	ForLowLatency
Audit logs	ForReliability	ForHighThroughput

What If No Preset Fits?

If none of the presets match your needs, configure settings individually:

using Dekaf;

var producer = await Kafka.CreateProducer<string, string>()
    .WithBootstrapServers("localhost:9092")
    .WithAcks(Acks.All)
    .WithLingerMs(2)
    .WithBatchSize(32768)
    .EnableIdempotence()
    .UseZstdCompression()
    .BuildAsync();

See Producer Options and Consumer Options for all available settings.