apache / apache/pulsar-client-cpp

Add cluster-level automatic failover support (AutoClusterFailover)

Open
#568 0 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub
Dominant language
C++
Stars
71
Forks
90
Avg merge
2h 33m
Merged PRs (30d)
3

Description

**Summary**

The C++ client does not support cluster-level failover — the ability for a Pulsar client to automatically switch from a primary cluster to a secondary cluster when the primary becomes unavailable.

**Context**

The Java client has supported this since Pulsar 2.10 (May 2022) via `AutoClusterFailover` and `ControlledClusterFailover`, both built on the `ServiceUrlProvider` abstraction. The .NET client (Pulsar.Client) has also independently implemented equivalent functionality via `IServiceInfoProvider`. The C++ client still lacks this capability. Since the C++ client is the foundation for several language bindings (Node.js, Python), this gap propagates across multiple client ecosystems. Adding cluster-level failover here would bring the C++ client to parity with Java and unblock the same capability in downstream clients.

**Proposed Behavior**

1. A `ServiceUrlProvider` (or equivalent) abstraction that allows pluggable URL resolution.
2. An `AutoClusterFailover` implementation that:
- Accepts a primary service URL and one or more secondary service URLs.
- Runs a background probe task at a configurable `checkInterval` (default: 30s).
- Switches to the first healthy secondary if the primary is unreachable for longer than `failoverDelay` (default: 30s).
- Switches back to the primary once it recovers and stays healthy for `switchBackDelay` (default: 60s).
- Supports per-cluster authentication and TLS configuration.

**Use Case**

Pulsar deployments with geo-replication across multiple regions need producer clients to automatically failover to a secondary cluster when their local cluster becomes unavailable, without requiring DNS-level failover or application-level detection logic.

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

Research direction

Start by comparing the Java AutoClusterFailover and ControlledClusterFailover implementations and the .NET IServiceInfoProvider design mentioned in the issue. Define the C++ ServiceUrlProvider abstraction and failover behavior, including health checks, delays, authentication, and TLS; done means primary-to-secondary switching and recovery are covered by tests.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
cpp
Domain
distributed-systems, networking
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

Get new issues in your inbox

A short digest of beginner-friendly GitHub issues.