diff --git a/datastream-kafka-connector/src/main/java/com/linkedin/datastream/connectors/kafka/KafkaBrokerAddress.java b/datastream-kafka-connector/src/main/java/com/linkedin/datastream/connectors/kafka/KafkaBrokerAddress.java
index 016e16453..0a332a5eb 100644
--- a/datastream-kafka-connector/src/main/java/com/linkedin/datastream/connectors/kafka/KafkaBrokerAddress.java
+++ b/datastream-kafka-connector/src/main/java/com/linkedin/datastream/connectors/kafka/KafkaBrokerAddress.java
@@ -8,21 +8,13 @@
 import java.util.Comparator;
 import java.util.Objects;
 
-import org.apache.commons.validator.routines.DomainValidator;
-import org.apache.commons.validator.routines.InetAddressValidator;
-
 
 /**
  * The object representation of a Kafka Broker
  */
 public class KafkaBrokerAddress {
-  public static final Comparator<KafkaBrokerAddress> BY_URL = (o1, o2) -> {
-    int nameComparison = o1._hostName.compareTo(o2._hostName);
-    if (nameComparison != 0) {
-      return nameComparison;
-    }
-    return Integer.compare(o1._portNumber, o2._portNumber);
-  };
+  public static final Comparator<KafkaBrokerAddress> BY_URL =
+      Comparator.comparing((KafkaBrokerAddress o) -> o._hostName).thenComparingInt(o -> o._portNumber);
 
   private final String _hostName;
   private final int _portNumber;
@@ -112,16 +104,6 @@ private static String validateHostname(String hostName) throws IllegalArgumentEx
     if (trimmed.isEmpty()) {
       throw new IllegalArgumentException("empty host name");
     }
-    // we allow ipv4/6 addresses and RFC 1123 host names
-    InetAddressValidator inetAddressValidator = InetAddressValidator.getInstance();
-    DomainValidator domainValidator = DomainValidator.getInstance(true);
-    boolean valid =
-        domainValidator.isValid(trimmed)
-            || inetAddressValidator.isValidInet4Address(trimmed)
-            || inetAddressValidator.isValidInet6Address(trimmed);
-    if (!valid) {
-      throw new IllegalArgumentException(trimmed + " is not a valid hostname or ip");
-    }
     return trimmed;
   }
 
diff --git a/datastream-kafka-connector/src/test/java/com/linkedin/datastream/connectors/kafka/TestKafkaBrokerAddress.java b/datastream-kafka-connector/src/test/java/com/linkedin/datastream/connectors/kafka/TestKafkaBrokerAddress.java
index 9fce38382..948fef2fa 100644
--- a/datastream-kafka-connector/src/test/java/com/linkedin/datastream/connectors/kafka/TestKafkaBrokerAddress.java
+++ b/datastream-kafka-connector/src/test/java/com/linkedin/datastream/connectors/kafka/TestKafkaBrokerAddress.java
@@ -76,9 +76,4 @@ public void testParseIpv6() {
   public void testTostring() {
     Assert.assertEquals("somewhere:666", new KafkaBrokerAddress("somewhere", 666).toString());
   }
-
-  @Test(expectedExceptions = IllegalArgumentException.class)
-  public void testParseBadIpv6() {
-    KafkaBrokerAddress.valueOf(":: 1:666");
-  }
 }