# Migrate from the classic processor to the Flink processor

```json metadata
{
  "schema_version": 2,
  "title": "Migrate from the classic processor to the Flink processor",
  "description": "Learn how to migrate an existing RDI pipeline from the classic processor to the Apache Flink-based processor.",
  "categories": ["docs","integrate","rs","rdi"],
  "group": "di",
  "tableOfContents": {"sections":[{"id":"before-you-migrate","title":"Before you migrate"},{"id":"step-1-configure-the-flink-processor-at-the-helm-chart-level-kubernetes","title":"Step 1: Configure the Flink processor at the Helm chart level (Kubernetes)"},{"id":"step-2-switch-the-pipeline-to-the-flink-processor","title":"Step 2: Switch the pipeline to the Flink processor"},{"id":"step-3-adapt-deprecated-and-classic-only-properties","title":"Step 3: Adapt deprecated and classic-only properties"},{"id":"step-4-tune-the-flink-processor-optional","title":"Step 4: Tune the Flink processor (optional)"},{"id":"step-5-update-observability","title":"Step 5: Update observability"},{"id":"rolling-back","title":"Rolling back"}]}

,
  "codeExamples": []
}
```


RDI ships with two stream processor implementations. The default *classic*
processor is implemented in Python. The *Flink* processor is built on top of
[Apache Flink](https://flink.apache.org/). Both run on VM and Kubernetes
installations. The Flink processor can achieve much higher throughput
during snapshots, scales horizontally by changing the number of TaskManager replicas,
and uses Flink checkpointing for fault tolerance. See [Stream processor implementations](https://redis.io/docs/latest/integrate/redis-data-integration/1.19.1/architecture#stream-processor-implementations)
for an overview.

This page describes how to migrate an existing pipeline from the classic
processor to the Flink processor. The steps are the same on VMs and Kubernetes,
except for the optional Helm-level tuning in [Step 1](#step-1-configure-the-flink-processor-at-the-helm-chart-level-kubernetes),
which applies to Kubernetes only.

## Before you migrate

Confirm that your pipeline is compatible with the Flink processor:

-   `JSON.MERGE` semantics differ from the classic processor's Lua-based merge
    when null values are involved (see
    [`use_native_json_merge`](https://redis.io/docs/latest/integrate/redis-data-integration/1.19.1/reference/config-yaml-reference#processors)).
    The Flink processor always uses the native `JSON.MERGE` command when the
    target database supports it.
-   Ensure your Kubernetes cluster or VM has enough capacity for the Flink JobManager
    and TaskManager pods (see
    [Configure the Flink processor](https://redis.io/docs/latest/integrate/redis-data-integration/1.19.1/installation/install-k8s#configure-the-flink-processor)
    for the default sizing).

## Step 1: Configure the Flink processor at the Helm chart level (Kubernetes)

This step applies to **Kubernetes** installations only. On VM installations,
skip it and enable the Flink processor per pipeline in step 2.

The Flink processor is always available — no opt-in is required at the Helm
chart level. The defaults are sized for typical workloads, so you can skip
this step if you don't need to override them. To adjust the JobManager and
TaskManager defaults, add an `operator.dataPlane.flinkProcessor` block to
your `rdi-values.yaml` file and run `helm upgrade` as described in
[Configure the Flink processor](https://redis.io/docs/latest/integrate/redis-data-integration/1.19.1/installation/install-k8s#configure-the-flink-processor).
Existing pipelines continue to run on the classic processor until you switch
them in step 2.

For VM installations, skip this step. You can configure per-pipeline Flink
resources in step 4.

## Step 2: Switch the pipeline to the Flink processor

In the pipeline's `config.yaml`, set
[`processors.type`](https://redis.io/docs/latest/integrate/redis-data-integration/1.19.1/data-pipelines/pipeline-config#processors)
to `flink`:

```yaml
processors:
  type: flink
  ...
```

Then redeploy the pipeline. The operator stops the classic processor pods
and starts the Flink JobManager and TaskManager workloads for the pipeline.

## Step 3: Adapt deprecated and classic-only properties

Some `processors` properties are no-ops, classic-only, or have moved to
`processors.advanced` for the Flink processor. The following table lists the
properties that need attention when migrating.

| Property | Action when migrating to Flink |
| :-- | :-- |
| `on_failed_retry_interval` | No-op. Remove. |
| `duration` | No-op. Use `read_batch_timeout_ms` instead. |
| `dedup`, `dedup_max_size`, `dedup_strategy` | Classic-only. Remove. |
| `enable_async_processing`, `batch_queue_size`, `ack_queue_size` | Classic-only. Remove. |
| `initial_sync_processes` | Classic-only. Configure parallelism through `advanced.flink.taskmanager.numberOfTaskSlots` and `advanced.resources.taskManager.replicas` instead. |
| `idle_streams_check_interval_ms`, `busy_streams_check_interval_ms` | Classic-only. Use `processors.advanced.source.discovery.interval.ms` for a single discovery interval. |
| `idle_sleep_time_ms` | Classic-only. Remove. |
| `use_native_json_merge` | Classic-only. The Flink processor always uses `JSON.MERGE` when the target supports it. |

The classic processor silently ignores `processors.advanced`,
and the Flink processor silently ignores classic-only top-level properties, so keeping
both top-level properties and their `processors.advanced` equivalents lets
you switch back without further edits.

## Step 4: Tune the Flink processor (optional)

Fine-tune the Flink processor through the `processors.advanced` section.
For example:

```yaml
processors:
  type: flink
  advanced:
    source:
      # Time between checks for new input streams.
      discovery.interval.ms: 1000
    flink:
      # Number of parallel task slots per TaskManager pod.
      taskmanager.numberOfTaskSlots: 2
      # Total memory budget for each TaskManager JVM process.
      taskmanager.memory.process.size: 4096m
    resources:
      taskManager:
        # Number of TaskManager pods.
        replicas: 2
```

See the
[`processors.advanced` reference](https://redis.io/docs/latest/integrate/redis-data-integration/1.19.1/reference/config-yaml-reference#processors)
for the full set of available properties.

## Step 5: Update observability

The Flink processor exposes Prometheus metrics directly
from the Flink JobManager and TaskManager pods.
See
[Flink processor metrics](https://redis.io/docs/latest/integrate/redis-data-integration/1.19.1/observability#flink-processor-metrics)
for the `ServiceMonitor` configuration and the available metrics.

## Rolling back

To revert a pipeline to the classic processor, set `processors.type` back to
`classic` (or remove the property) and redeploy the pipeline. The
`processors.advanced` section is silently ignored by the classic processor,
so you don't need to remove it before switching back.