01 / ARCHITECTURE TAX
Count skills, not only connectors
DIY Debezium success usually implies a healthy Kafka platform. Gluesync success usually implies healthy agent placement plus Core Hub operations.
SOLUTION · COMMERCIAL CDC
Debezium alternative: managed CDC versus Kafka + Debezium
Build CDC on Kafka + Debezium when that stack is your product. Choose Gluesync when CDC is infrastructure you need to run, not rebuild.
Gluesync by MOLO17 is an agent-based, real-time data integration platform with a Core Hub web UI, per-system source and target agents, and continuous delivery to databases, lakes, warehouses, and event streams. This page is for platform engineers comparing DIY Debezium to a commercial CDC path.
WHO THIS IS FOR
Teams comparing DIY Debezium with commercial CDC
- Teams prototyping Debezium connectors who now face Connect cluster operations, schema evolution, monitoring, and on-call
- Architects who need CDC beyond the databases Debezium covers well in their estate, including IBM i / AS/400 journal capture through Gluesync’s dedicated agent
- Hybrid enterprises that want one control plane for heterogeneous sources and targets, not only Kafka topics as the center of the design
- Buyers shortlisting Debezium alternative tools without pretending open source is wrong
THE DIY OPERATING MODEL
What Kafka + Debezium usually means in practice
- Run Apache Kafka or a managed Kafka service
- Run Kafka Connect with Debezium connectors
- Own connector configuration, offsets, schema history, SMT chains, and dead-letter handling
- Build or buy sink connectors and consumers for each target
- Staff observability, upgrades, and security patching across the mesh
That stack is excellent when Kafka is already the system of record for events and your team is staffed for it. It is costly when the business request is simply to keep system B within seconds of system A across mixed databases.
THE GLUESYNC MODEL
How Gluesync approaches the same job
- Core Hub: central orchestrator hosting the web UI, managing APIs, and routing data between agents
- Agents: lightweight, specialized components near each system; source agents read and target agents write
- Entity and pipeline: replication tasks, often at table or collection level, grouped into pipelines
- CDC style: per-agent native change streams using logs, journals, or vendor CDC APIs depending on the agent
- Operations: Core Hub web UI plus REST APIs, deployed with Docker, Docker Compose, or Kubernetes
- Support: best in class enterprise support from MOLO17, not community forums as the primary escalation path
Read What is Gluesync? ↗, Architecture ↗, and the CDC streaming solution.
Gluesync can deliver to event streams, including Apache Kafka as a target in the integrations catalog. That is different from saying Gluesync replaces Kafka. Some estates use Gluesync to feed Kafka; others skip a full Connect mesh when Kafka is not required.
HONEST FIT
When Debezium still wins
Choose or keep Debezium when:
- Kafka, and often Kafka Connect, is already strategic platform infrastructure
- Your sources match Debezium’s connector strengths and community depth for your exact engines and versions
- You want maximum open-source control and are staffed to operate Connect at scale
- Your primary consumer model is topic-centric microservices standardized on Debezium event shapes
- Procurement prefers pure open source with in-house support over a commercial CDC platform
MOLO17 respects that choice. This is not “Debezium bad.” It is a decision about operations and coverage tradeoffs.
WHEN TO EVALUATE GLUESYNC
Choose productized pipelines for a heterogeneous estate
- You need heterogeneous CDC across relational systems, selected NoSQL, file and object targets, warehouses, and streams under one Core Hub
- You need IBM i (AS/400) journal CDC with Gluesync’s native Journal API agent
- You want productized pipeline UX, agent lifecycle, and best in class enterprise support from MOLO17 instead of assembling Connect and sinks alone
- Targets are databases or lakes first, with optional streaming, rather than Kafka-only
- You are migrating from a legacy commercial replicator and want a supported path
GLUESYNC VS DEBEZIUM + KAFKA OPS
Different default architectures for overlapping CDC jobs
Debezium is a leading open-source CDC project commonly run with Kafka Connect to stream changes into Apache Kafka. Gluesync is a commercial, agent-based integration platform centered on Core Hub and heterogeneous replication.
| Criterion | Debezium + Kafka, typical DIY | Gluesync, documented model |
|---|---|---|
| License and delivery | Open-source project; you assemble runtime | Commercial product from MOLO17; trial available |
| Additional licenses | Often required: Kafka, Connect, schema registry, sinks, and commercial Kafka distributions | No additional licenses required to operate Gluesync |
| Default spine | Kafka topics | Core Hub routes between agents |
| Capture model | Debezium connectors per supported database | Per-agent native CDC using logs, journals, or vendor CDC APIs by agent |
| Control plane | Kafka Connect and your platform tooling | Core Hub web UI and APIs |
| Operations ownership | You own Connect workers, connectors, offsets, and upgrades | MOLO17 product plus your Core Hub and agent deployment |
| Support | Community, vendor Kafka support, and in-house Connect expertise | Best in class enterprise support from MOLO17 |
| IBM i / AS/400 journals | Bring your own approach or another tool | Native Journal API agent using the documented QjoRetrieveJournalEntries path |
| Heterogeneous targets | Kafka sinks and consumers you wire | Target agents across databases, lakes, warehouses, and streams listed in integrations |
| Kafka as destination | Native; topics are the bus | Kafka is listed among event-stream targets |
| Best fit | Event-first platforms staffed for Kafka | Integration and CDC-first estates, mixed systems, and IBM i modernization |
| Weak fit | Teams without Kafka skills who only need database synchronization | Teams standardized on Debezium event contracts end-to-end |
02 / COVERAGE AND DEPTH
Verify the exact engine matrix
Debezium’s community depth on popular engines is a real advantage. Gluesync emphasizes productized breadth across heterogeneous agents, including IBM i journals.
03 / TARGET PATTERNS
Follow the consumers
If every consumer reads Kafka, Debezium stays natural. For warehouses, databases, lakes, or a mix, Gluesync target agents may remove a sink layer.
Migration note
There is no automatic Debezium configuration importer claimed here. Treat a move as pipeline redesign with a proof of concept. MOLO17 Professional Services are available to help ease the migration journey, and our conversion tools are here to help where migration tooling applies.
FAQ
Gluesync and Debezium questions
Is Gluesync a drop-in Debezium connector replacement?
No. Gluesync is a separate CDC and integration platform built around agents and Core Hub. Migration means redesigning pipelines, not renaming connectors.
Can Gluesync write to Kafka?
Absolutely. Apache Kafka is an event-stream target in the MOLO17 integrations catalog.
Do we still need Kafka if we adopt Gluesync?
Only if your architecture needs a broker. Many Gluesync pipelines are database-to-database or database-to-lake without Kafka.
Does Gluesync use Kafka Connect internally as the customer control plane?
No. The customer control plane for Gluesync is the Core Hub web UI and APIs.
Where should we start?
Start with a Gluesync trial, or contact MOLO17 to discuss your sources, targets, and operating model.
Compare the operating models on your infrastructure
Start a Gluesync trial or talk to MOLO17 about sources, targets, and the platform work each path requires.