Configuration backups for Apache Kafka®
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Aiven for Apache Kafka® includes **configuration backups** that automatically back up key Apache Kafka® service configurations for you without any additional costs. 

Suppose the Apache Kafka® service is powered off/on or an incident causes the Apache Kafka cluster to stop functioning. In that case, the configuration backup enables the restoration of your Apache Kafka® service to its previous state.


Whats included in configuration backups
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The following data are backed up in the configuration backups:

* Apache Kafka® topic-related configurations.
* Everything related to Schema Registry (schemas, ids, subjects, compatibility levels).
* Apache Kafka® Connect configurations.

Benefits of configuration backups
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Some of the key benefits of configuration backups include the following: 

* Configuration backups are automatically enabled and stored in the Cloud storage.
* Configurations are backed up in 3 hours intervals.
* It helps with speedy disaster recovery in certain situations. 

  .. note:: 
     In a rare scenario where all the nodes are lost, the configurations are lost and not accessible anymore.

* It helps application users with a quick re-creation of Apache Kafka® services, allowing them to focus on development tasks rather than re-configuring the platform.

Limitations
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Configuration backups do not back up the actual data stored in topics, consumer groups, and their offsets. Only the Apache Kafka® cluster configurations are backed up. 

For additional support with configuration backups for your Aiven for Apache Kafka® services, contact support@Aiven.io.