BREAKTHROUGH: Found the exact point where consumer hangs!
## Request Statistics
2049 × Metadata (apiKey=3) - Repeatedly sent
22 × ApiVersions (apiKey=18)
6 × DescribeCluster (apiKey=60)
0 × ListOffsets (apiKey=2) - NEVER SENT
0 × Fetch (apiKey=1) - NEVER SENT
0 × Produce (apiKey=0) - NEVER SENT
## Consumer Initialization Sequence
✅ Consumer created successfully
✅ partitionsFor() succeeds - finds _schemas topic with 1 partition
✅ assign() called - assigns partition to consumer
❌ seekToBeginning() BLOCKS HERE - never sends ListOffsets
❌ Never reaches poll() loop
## Why Metadata is Requested 2049 Times
Consumer stuck in retry loop:
1. Get metadata → works
2. Assign partition → works
3. Try to seek → blocks indefinitely
4. Timeout on seek
5. Retry metadata to find alternate broker
6. Loop back to step 1
## The Real Issue
Java KafkaConsumer is stuck at seekToBeginning() but NOT sending
ListOffsets requests. This indicates a BROKER CONNECTIVITY ISSUE
during offset seeking phase.
Root causes to investigate:
1. Metadata response missing critical fields (cluster ID, controller ID)
2. Broker address unreachable for seeks
3. Consumer group coordination incomplete
4. Network connectivity issue specific to seek operations
The 2049 metadata requests prove consumer can communicate with
gateway, but something in the broker assignment prevents seeking.