# Follower Fetching

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

---
title: Follower Fetching
latest-redpanda-tag: v24.3.9
latest-console-tag: v3.7.3
latest-operator-version: v26.1.4
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page-is-nearing-eol: "false"
page-is-past-eol: "true"
page-eol-date: December 3, 2025
latest-connect-version: 4.93.0
docname: consume-data/follower-fetching
page-component-name: streaming
page-version: "24.3"
page-component-version: "24.3"
page-component-title: Streaming
page-relative-src-path: consume-data/follower-fetching.adoc
page-edit-url: https://github.com/redpanda-data/docs/edit/v/24.3/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: "2023-08-03"
page-git-modified-date: "2026-05-26"
support-status: past end-of-life
---

<!-- Source: https://docs.redpanda.com/streaming/24.3/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/streaming/24.3/manage/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.

To enable follower fetching in Redpanda, configure properties for the consumer and the Redpanda cluster and broker:

-   For a Redpanda cluster, set the [`enable_rack_awareness`](https://docs.redpanda.com/streaming/24.3/reference/properties/cluster-properties/#enable_rack_awareness) property to `true`.

-   For each Redpanda broker, set the [`rack`](https://docs.redpanda.com/streaming/24.3/reference/properties/broker-properties/#rack) property to a rack ID.

-   For each consumer, set the `client.rack` property to a rack ID.


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

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


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