You are composing a REST request to create a new connector in a running Connect...

A409 Conflictresponse in Kafka Connect REST API usually means:

The connector name provided already exists (i.e., a connector with that name is already deployed).

The Kafka Connect cluster is temporarily unavailable to accept new tasks due toa rebalance in progress.

From theConfluent Developer documentationand Kafka Connect REST API spec:

“409 – Conflict. The connector name is already in use or the worker group is in the process of rebalancing and cannot complete the request at this time.”

Option A is incorrect because invalid configurations return400 Bad Request, not 409.

Option B is invalid because Kafka Connect does not have a strict concept of "capacity" that prevents connector creation with a 409.