Samza

Streaming & Messaging

Apache Samza is a distributed stream processing framework originally developed at LinkedIn and later donated to the Apache Software Foundation.

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Apache Samza is a distributed stream processing framework for building real-time data pipelines and event-driven applications, with native integration for Apache Kafka.

Apache Samza is a distributed stream processing framework originally developed at LinkedIn and later donated to the Apache Software Foundation. It was designed to handle high-throughput, stateful stream processing with first-class support for Apache Kafka as both a source and sink. Samza's architecture separates the processing logic from the underlying execution engine, allowing it to run on YARN, Kubernetes, or as a standalone cluster.

The project has historically been used by large-scale data infrastructure teams at companies like LinkedIn, Uber, and Slack for real-time data pipelines, event-driven applications, and stream-to-stream joins. As of May 2025, the project's GitHub repository shows 843 stars, 332 forks, and over 2,600 commits, with the most recent commit occurring on May 2, 2025. The project has seen a slowdown in active development, with the last major release (Samza 1.7.0) dating back to February 2023.

The project's documentation and website have not been updated significantly since 2023, and the community appears to have shifted focus to other stream processing frameworks like Apache Flink and Apache Kafka Streams. Samza remains a viable option for organizations already invested in the Hadoop ecosystem, but its market share has declined relative to newer alternatives. The project's long-term viability depends on renewed community engagement or corporate sponsorship.

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Who buys this

  • Large enterprises with existing Hadoop/YARN infrastructure
  • Organizations running high-throughput Kafka-based streaming pipelines
  • Data engineering teams needing stateful stream processing with exactly-once semantics
  • Companies building real-time analytics and monitoring systems

Strengths and what to watch

Strengths

  • Native Kafka integration: Samza was designed from the ground up to work with Kafka, offering tight coupling for exactly-once semantics and offset management.
  • Stateful processing: Supports persistent local state via RocksDB, enabling complex operations like windowed aggregations and stream-to-stream joins without external databases.
  • Resource elasticity: Runs on YARN or Kubernetes, allowing dynamic scaling of processing containers based on workload.

Watch for

  • Declining community activity: The last commit was May 2025, but the project has seen fewer contributors and slower release cadence compared to Apache Flink or Kafka Streams.
  • Limited ecosystem: Samza lacks the broad connector ecosystem and SQL support that Flink and Kafka Streams offer, making it harder to adopt for teams without deep Java expertise.
  • Dependence on LinkedIn: The project's original corporate sponsor has largely moved to other stream processing technologies, reducing the likelihood of significant new investment.

Key Information

Industry
Streaming & Messaging
Founded
1986

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Apache Samza used for?

Apache Samza is a distributed stream processing framework for building real-time data pipelines and event-driven applications. It handles high-throughput, stateful stream processing with native integration for Apache Kafka as both a source and sink.

How does Apache Samza integrate with Kafka?

Samza was designed from the ground up to work with Kafka, offering tight coupling for exactly-once semantics and offset management. Kafka serves as both the source and sink for streams, making it a natural fit for Kafka-based data pipelines.

Does Apache Samza support stateful stream processing?

Yes, Samza supports persistent local state via RocksDB, enabling complex operations like windowed aggregations and stream-to-stream joins without external databases. This allows for stateful processing with exactly-once semantics in high-throughput environments.

What deployment options does Apache Samza support?

Samza's architecture separates processing logic from the execution engine, allowing it to run on YARN, Kubernetes, or as a standalone cluster. This provides resource elasticity and dynamic scaling of processing containers based on workload.

Is Apache Samza still actively maintained?

As of May 2025, Samza's GitHub shows 843 stars and recent commits, but the last major release was February 2023. Community activity has slowed, with fewer contributors compared to Apache Flink or Kafka Streams, raising questions about long-term viability.

How does Apache Samza compare to Apache Flink?

Samza offers native Kafka integration and runs on YARN or Kubernetes, but lacks the broad connector ecosystem and SQL support that Flink provides. Samza's community activity has declined, and many organizations have shifted to Flink or Kafka Streams.

Sources

  1. github.com — Project metadata: stars, forks, last commit date, commit history, and repository structure.
  2. www.businesswire.com — Samsara (NYSE: IOT) FY2026 financial results: $1.89B ARR, $444.3M Q4 revenue, 30% YoY growth.
  3. www.samsara.com — Samsara Q3 FY26 results: $416M revenue, $1.75B ARR, 219 $100K+ customer additions.
  4. finance.yahoo.com — Samsara FY2026 earnings press release republished by Yahoo Finance.