Introduction
At Capri Loans, we are committed to delivering seamless and reliable financial services by leveraging cutting-edge technology. As a fintech company, real-time data processing is essential for loan approvals, transaction processing, and credit assessments. To handle these workloads, we rely on Apache Kafka, deployed using Amazon Managed Streaming for Apache Kafka (MSK), along with AWS ECS (Elastic Container Service) to run our microservices.
Recently, we implemented a highly efficient auto-scaling solution that dynamically adjusts ECS tasks based on Kafka message lag, utilizing AWS MSK for Kafka message streaming. This achievement has not only optimized our infrastructure but also significantly improved customer experience, operational efficiency, and cost management.
This blog showcases our successful deployment of this advanced solution and its impact on Capri Loans’ operations.
The Challenge: Managing Real-Time Financial Data with AWS MSK
As our customer base and transaction volumes grew, so did the volume of real-time data streaming into our system. Our services use AWS MSK to manage Kafka clusters for handling this high-throughput message data. However, as data traffic spiked during key events—like end-of-month loan repayments and promotional campaigns—our Kafka consumers often struggled to keep pace with the incoming messages, leading to increased Kafka SumOffsetLag.
Key challenges we faced included:
- Delayed Transactions: When Kafka consumers couldn’t process messages quickly enough, the backlog (SumOffsetLag) increased, delaying critical processes like loan approvals and credit assessments.
- Inefficient Resource Management: Without dynamic scaling based on Kafka message lag, our ECS tasks were either under-provisioned during traffic spikes or over-provisioned during low traffic, leading to inefficient resource usage.
- Manual Scaling: Manually adjusting ECS task counts to manage peak workloads was time-consuming, inefficient, and error-prone, resulting in delayed processing and higher costs.
The Solution: Auto-Scaling AWS ECS Tasks Using Kafka Lag from AWS MSK
To address these challenges, Capri Loans successfully implemented a dynamic auto-scaling solution for our ECS tasks based on Kafka SumOffsetLag. Leveraging AWS MSK for Kafka message streaming and custom CloudWatch alarms, we built a system that automatically adjusts the number of ECS tasks based on the real-time message backlog, ensuring efficient and cost-effective processing.
AWS MSK and Kafka SumOffsetLag:
AWS MSK handles the management of our Kafka clusters, ensuring scalability and reliability while offloading the operational complexity of managing Kafka infrastructure. By tracking the SumOffsetLag—the total number of unprocessed messages in Kafka—we can gauge when our system needs additional processing power or when resources can be scaled back.
Custom CloudWatch Alarms for Kafka Lag:
We use CloudWatch to monitor Kafka’s SumOffsetLag metric in real time. Through custom alarms, we automatically trigger ECS task scaling actions when message lag exceeds a predefined threshold. When the backlog is cleared, the system scales down ECS tasks, ensuring that we use resources efficiently.
This solution integrates AWS MSK’s powerful Kafka management with ECS’s container orchestration capabilities, creating a seamless and scalable architecture.
The Benefits: Scalability, Efficiency, and Cost Optimization
- Optimized Resource Utilization and Cost Savings
- Reduced Operational Overhead
- Increased System Resilience
- Improved Processing Times
- Zero Downtime During Peak Periods
Conclusion: A Landmark Achievement for Capri Loans
The successful implementation of auto-scaling for ECS tasks based on Kafka SumOffsetLag with AWS MSK is a testament to Capri Loans’ commitment to innovation and operational excellence. This solution has transformed the way we process real-time financial data, delivering tangible improvements in customer experience, cost management, and system reliability.
By dynamically adjusting to real-time data demands, we’ve not only optimized our infrastructure but also set a new standard for how fintech organizations can leverage cloud technology to drive business success.
As Capri Loans continues to grow, we remain dedicated to further enhancing our platform to meet the evolving needs of our customers and the financial services industry.
Author: Vivek Joshi
