> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.streamnative.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Cluster Profiles Overview

A cluster profile is a preconfigured performance and cost setting that determines how a data streaming cluster behaves based on its underlying storage, latency expectations, and workload characteristics. Each profile packages the right combination of infrastructure choices—such as disk-based storage for low-latency access or object storage for cost-efficient retention—to deliver a predictable experience without requiring users to tune individual parameters. By selecting a cluster profile, you can align your cluster with the needs of your applications, whether you prioritize real-time responsiveness, throughput, or cost optimization.

All cluster profiles run on the [URSA engine](/cloud/overview/data-streaming-engine), StreamNative Cloud's unified data streaming engine. The profile you pick determines the write-ahead log (WAL), metadata store, and supported protocols; the cluster type (Pulsar or Kafka) determines the API surface.

## Cluster profile types

StreamNative Cloud offers two cluster profiles. Pick the one that matches your workload's latency and cost priorities.

### Latency-Optimized profile

The Latency-Optimized cluster profile is designed for real-time, interactive, and mission-critical workloads that require consistently fast data access and low end-to-end latency. Backed by high-performance disk storage, this profile delivers predictable, single-digit to tens-of-milliseconds latency for producers and consumers, making it ideal for use cases such as event processing, fraud detection, user activity tracking, and any application where responsiveness directly impacts user experience or business outcomes. By prioritizing speed over cost, the Latency-Optimized profile ensures smooth, high-throughput performance even under demanding conditions.

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/streamnative/7ctCsgmKSNCl2H4N/media/latency-optimized-profile.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=7ctCsgmKSNCl2H4N&q=85&s=268f136979005b2683b56a6f84d9325e" alt="Latency-Optimized cluster profile architecture" width="2514" height="871" data-path="media/latency-optimized-profile.png" />
</Frame>

<Tip>
  Clusters using the Latency-Optimized profile are expected to deliver end-to-end latencies in the 5–200 millisecond range.
</Tip>

The infrastructure underpinning the Latency-Optimized profile varies by cluster type:

* **Pulsar Clusters** use Apache BookKeeper as the low-latency WAL. The metadata store is ZooKeeper by default; Oxia is available on request. Pulsar Clusters support the native Pulsar protocol, and the Kafka protocol is available through the [KSN](/kafka/kafka-cluster-vs-ksn) protocol handler with full Kafka feature parity. Lakehouse integration (Iceberg, Delta) is built in via the URSA storage layer.
* **Kafka Clusters** use KRaft and local disks as the low-latency WAL, delivering native Apache Kafka with the full Kafka feature set. Lakehouse integration is built in.

### Cost-Optimized profile

The Cost-Optimized cluster profile is engineered for throughput-intensive and cost-sensitive workloads that benefit from large-scale, durable, and economical object storage. While this profile accepts higher access latencies—typically in the hundreds of milliseconds—it provides significant cost savings and unlimited scalability, making it a strong fit for data pipelines, analytics sinks, long-term retention, and applications that do not require ultra-fast consumption. By leveraging object storage, the Cost-Optimized profile offers an efficient balance of price, durability, and flexibility for workloads where latency tolerance is higher and storage economics matter most.

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/streamnative/h1SjAm2ebRTPu3PX/media/cost-optimized-profile.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=h1SjAm2ebRTPu3PX&q=85&s=ad8e1ad52cc3a6e190afcf9588322ae2" alt="Cost-Optimized cluster profile architecture" width="2348" height="803" data-path="media/cost-optimized-profile.png" />
</Frame>

<Tip>
  Clusters using the Cost-Optimized profile are expected to deliver end-to-end latencies above 200 milliseconds.
</Tip>

The infrastructure underpinning the Cost-Optimized profile uses object storage—such as Amazon S3, Google Cloud Storage, or Azure Blob Storage—as the WAL, and Oxia as the metadata store. The capabilities exposed vary by cluster type:

* **Pulsar Clusters** currently expose the **Kafka-compatible protocol only** on the Cost-Optimized profile. Native Pulsar protocol support for this profile is coming after the Apache Pulsar 5.0 release. Lakehouse integration is built in.
* **Kafka Clusters** expose the native Kafka protocol with lakehouse integration built in. Kafka transactions and topic compaction on the Cost-Optimized profile are coming soon.

## Pulsar Clusters

Pulsar Clusters support all three deployment options. Serverless automatically manages performance and cost characteristics without user-defined profiles.

<Note>
  On Pulsar Clusters, the Cost-Optimized profile currently supports the Kafka-compatible protocol only. Native Pulsar protocol support for this profile is coming after the Apache Pulsar 5.0 release.
</Note>

### Supported deployment options

| Deployment option               | Latency-Optimized | Cost-Optimized              |
| ------------------------------- | ----------------- | --------------------------- |
| **Serverless**                  | N/A               | N/A                         |
| **Dedicated**                   | Supported         | Not supported (Coming soon) |
| **Bring Your Own Cloud (BYOC)** | Supported         | Supported\*                 |

\* Cost-Optimized BYOC Pulsar Clusters currently support the Kafka-compatible protocol only. Native Pulsar protocol support is coming after the Apache Pulsar 5.0 release.

### Supported features by deployment type

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Serverless">
    <Note>
      Cluster profiles do not apply to Serverless deployments. Serverless automatically manages performance and cost characteristics without user-defined profiles.
    </Note>

    | Category              | Features                                                            |
    | --------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- |
    | **Protocol**          | Pulsar (native), Kafka (via KSN, with full Kafka feature parity)    |
    | **Table formats**     | Delta, Iceberg                                                      |
    | **Catalog**           | Unity Catalog, Snowflake Horizon Catalog, S3 Tables, Google BigLake |
    | **Storage**           | Disk (internal only)                                                |
    | **Availability Zone** | Single AZ (internal only)                                           |
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Dedicated">
    <Note>
      The Cost-Optimized profile is coming soon on Dedicated Pulsar Clusters. The table below lists the features available today on the Latency-Optimized profile.
    </Note>

    | Category              | Latency-Optimized profile                                           |
    | --------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- |
    | **Protocol**          | Pulsar (native), Kafka (via KSN, with full Kafka feature parity)    |
    | **Table formats**     | Delta, Iceberg                                                      |
    | **Catalog**           | Unity Catalog, Snowflake Horizon Catalog, S3 Tables, Google BigLake |
    | **WAL**               | Apache BookKeeper                                                   |
    | **Metadata store**    | ZooKeeper (default); Oxia on request                                |
    | **Availability Zone** | Single AZ (Not available), Multi AZ                                 |
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="BYOC">
    | Category              | Latency-Optimized profile                                           | Cost-Optimized profile                                              |
    | --------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- |
    | **Protocol**          | Pulsar (native), Kafka (via KSN, with full Kafka feature parity)    | Kafka-compatible (Pulsar protocol coming after Pulsar 5.0)          |
    | **Table formats**     | Delta, Iceberg                                                      | Delta, Iceberg                                                      |
    | **Catalog**           | Unity Catalog, Snowflake Horizon Catalog, S3 Tables, Google BigLake | Unity Catalog, Snowflake Horizon Catalog, S3 Tables, Google BigLake |
    | **WAL**               | Apache BookKeeper                                                   | Object Storage (Amazon S3, Google Cloud Storage, Azure Blob)        |
    | **Metadata store**    | ZooKeeper (default); Oxia on request                                | Oxia                                                                |
    | **Availability Zone** | Single AZ (Not available), Multi AZ                                 | Single AZ (Not available), Multi AZ                                 |
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## Kafka Clusters

<Note>
  Kafka Clusters are currently in Public Preview. For a comparison with Kafka compatibility on Pulsar Clusters (KSN), see [Kafka Cluster vs. KSN](/kafka/kafka-cluster-vs-ksn).
</Note>

<Note>
  Kafka transactions and topic compaction on the Cost-Optimized profile are coming soon. Use the Latency-Optimized profile today if your workloads require these features.
</Note>

Kafka Clusters run native Apache Kafka on the URSA engine and support both cluster profiles. Serverless support is planned.

### Supported deployment options

| Deployment option               | Latency-Optimized | Cost-Optimized |
| ------------------------------- | ----------------- | -------------- |
| **Serverless**                  | Coming soon       | Coming soon    |
| **Dedicated**                   | Supported         | Supported      |
| **Bring Your Own Cloud (BYOC)** | Supported         | Supported      |

### Supported features by deployment type

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Serverless">
    <Note>
      Serverless support for Kafka Clusters is coming soon.
    </Note>
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Dedicated">
    | Category              | Latency-Optimized profile                                           | Cost-Optimized profile                                              |
    | --------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- |
    | **Protocol**          | Kafka (native)                                                      | Kafka (native)                                                      |
    | **Table formats**     | Delta, Iceberg                                                      | Delta, Iceberg                                                      |
    | **Catalog**           | Unity Catalog, Snowflake Horizon Catalog, S3 Tables, Google BigLake | Unity Catalog, Snowflake Horizon Catalog, S3 Tables, Google BigLake |
    | **WAL**               | Local disk (KRaft + ISR)                                            | Object Storage (Amazon S3, Google Cloud Storage, Azure Blob)        |
    | **Metadata store**    | KRaft                                                               | Oxia                                                                |
    | **Caveats**           | —                                                                   | Kafka transactions and topic compaction coming soon                 |
    | **Availability Zone** | Single AZ (Not available), Multi AZ                                 | Single AZ (Not available), Multi AZ                                 |
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="BYOC">
    | Category              | Latency-Optimized profile                                           | Cost-Optimized profile                                              |
    | --------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- |
    | **Protocol**          | Kafka (native)                                                      | Kafka (native)                                                      |
    | **Table formats**     | Delta, Iceberg                                                      | Delta, Iceberg                                                      |
    | **Catalog**           | Unity Catalog, Snowflake Horizon Catalog, S3 Tables, Google BigLake | Unity Catalog, Snowflake Horizon Catalog, S3 Tables, Google BigLake |
    | **WAL**               | Local disk (KRaft + ISR)                                            | Object Storage (Amazon S3, Google Cloud Storage, Azure Blob)        |
    | **Metadata store**    | KRaft                                                               | Oxia                                                                |
    | **Caveats**           | —                                                                   | Kafka transactions and topic compaction coming soon                 |
    | **Availability Zone** | Single AZ (Not available), Multi AZ                                 | Single AZ (Not available), Multi AZ                                 |
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## Next

* [Cluster Types and Regions](/cloud/clusters/cluster-types)
* [Kafka Cluster Guide](/kafka/kafka-cluster-guide)
* [Kafka Cluster vs. KSN](/kafka/kafka-cluster-vs-ksn)
* [Choose Kafka or Pulsar](/cloud/overview/choose-kafka-or-pulsar)