# Follower Fetching

> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.redpanda.com/llms.txt). Component-specific: [cloud-data-platform-full.txt](https://docs.redpanda.com/cloud-data-platform-full.txt)

---
title: Follower Fetching
latest-operator-version: v26.1.4
latest-console-tag: v3.7.3
latest-connect-version: 4.93.0
latest-redpanda-tag: v26.1.9
docname: consume-data/follower-fetching
page-component-name: cloud-data-platform
page-version: master
page-component-version: master
page-component-title: Cloud
page-relative-src-path: consume-data/follower-fetching.adoc
page-edit-url: https://github.com/redpanda-data/cloud-docs/edit/main/modules/develop/pages/consume-data/follower-fetching.adoc
description: Learn about follower fetching and how to configure a Redpanda consumer to fetch records from the closest replica.
page-git-created-date: "2024-07-25"
page-git-modified-date: "2026-05-26"
---

<!-- Source: https://docs.redpanda.com/cloud-data-platform/develop/consume-data/follower-fetching.md -->

Learn about follower fetching and how to configure a Redpanda consumer to fetch records from the closest replica.

## [](#about-follower-fetching)About follower fetching

**Follower fetching** enables a consumer to fetch records from the closest replica of a topic partition, regardless of whether it’s a leader or a follower.

For a Redpanda cluster deployed across different data centers and availability zones (AZs), restricting a consumer to fetch only from the leader of a partition can incur greater costs and have higher latency than fetching from a follower that is geographically closer to the consumer.

With follower fetching (proposed in [KIP-392](https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/KAFKA/KIP-392%3A+Allow+consumers+to+fetch+from+closest+replica)), the fetch protocol is extended to support a consumer fetching from any replica. This includes [Remote Read Replicas](https://docs.redpanda.com/cloud-data-platform/get-started/cluster-types/byoc/remote-read-replicas/).

The first fetch from a consumer is processed by a Redpanda leader broker. The leader checks for a replica (itself or a follower) that has a rack ID that matches the consumer’s rack ID. If a replica with a matching rack ID is found, the fetch request returns records from that replica. Otherwise, the fetch is handled by the leader.

## [](#configure-follower-fetching)Configure follower fetching

Redpanda decides which replica a consumer fetches from. If the consumer configures its `client.rack` property, Redpanda by default selects a replica from the same rack as the consumer, if available.

For each consumer, set the `client.rack` property to a rack ID. Rack awareness is pre-enabled for cloud-based clusters in multi-AZ environments.

## [](#suggested-videos)Suggested videos

-   [YouTube - Redpanda Office Hour: Follower Fetching (52 mins)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wV6gH5_yVaw&ab_channel=RedpandaData)