Apache Storm vs Heron: What are the differences?

Introduction

Apache Storm and Heron are both open-source distributed stream processing systems used for real-time analytics and data processing. While they have similar functionalities, there are some key differences between the two.

1. Scalability: Apache Storm is designed to run on a cluster of machines, which can be scaled horizontally to handle large workloads. On the other hand, Heron is built with scalability in mind from the ground up, allowing it to handle massive amounts of data more efficiently.

2. Performance: Heron achieves better performance compared to Apache Storm due to its more efficient and optimized runtime. Heron's architecture allows for lower latency and higher throughput, making it ideal for latency-sensitive applications.

3. Fault-tolerance and Reliability: Apache Storm uses the concept of "acknowledgments" to ensure reliability and fault-tolerance. However, this approach can sometimes lead to over-acknowledgment and additional overhead. In contrast, Heron introduces the concept of "exactly-once processing" which ensures end-to-end reliability without requiring explicit acknowledgments.

4. Ease of Use and Development: Apache Storm provides a relatively simpler programming model as compared to Heron, making it more suitable for beginners and developers who prefer a straightforward approach. However, Heron offers a more advanced programming model and a more extensible API, allowing developers to build more complex stream processing applications.

5. Operational Management: Apache Storm lacks built-in operational tools for managing and monitoring running topologies. However, Heron includes a wide range of operational tools like an interactive dashboard, metrics collection, and distributed tracing, making it easier to monitor, debug, and manage the execution of streaming applications.

6. Community and Support: Apache Storm has been around for longer and has a larger community of users and contributors, resulting in a larger ecosystem of libraries, connectors, and resources. Heron, being a more recent project, has a smaller but growing community, with a focus on performance and innovation.

In Summary, Apache Storm and Heron differ in terms of scalability, performance, fault-tolerance, ease of use, operational management, and community support. While Storm offers simplicity and a mature ecosystem, Heron excels in scalability, performance, and operational tooling.