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Chapter 1. A

1.1. Access Operator
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An optional operator that simplifies the sharing of Kafka connection information and credentials between namespaces. Connection details are stored centrally in a Secret resource.

1.2. Authentication
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Defines how clients prove their identity to the Kafka cluster. Streams for Apache Kafka manages authentication as a client-server relationship:

  • Server-Side: The Kafka cluster’s listeners are configured to require a specific authentication type.

  • Client-Side: A client (a KafkaUser or a client-based Kafka component managed by Streams for Apache Kafka) must be configured to provide matching credentials.

    Listener authentication (Server-Side)
    Listener authentication is configured per listener in the spec.kafka.listeners array of the Kafka custom resource. Supported types include tls, scram-sha-512, and custom.
    Client authentication (Kafka user)
    For Kafka users, authentication is managed using the KafkaUser custom resource. Supported types are tls, tls-external (using an external CA), and scram-sha-512. Streams for Apache Kafka automatically creates the necessary Secret resources for the user.
    Client authentication (Kafka components)
    For Streams for Apache Kafka-managed components, authentication is managed in the custom resource of the component, such as KafkaConnect. Supported types include tls, scram-sha-256, scram-sha-512, plain, and custom.

For more information, see the following:

1.3. Authorization (cluster-wide)
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Defines which actions an authenticated client is permitted to perform on Kafka resources, such as writing to or reading from a topic. Configuration involves setting a cluster-wide mechanism and then, if required, defining user-specific rules.

Cluster-wide authorization
This defines the overall mechanism used by the Kafka cluster to control client actions. It’s configured in the spec.kafka.authorization section of the Kafka custom resource. Supported types include simple (using the Kafka’s built-in authorizer) and custom (using custom authorizers).
User authorization (ACLs)
This defines specific Access Control Lists (ACLs) for a user, granting permissions to perform actions on Kafka resources. The ACLs are defined in the spec.authorization section of the KafkaUser custom resource. If using a custom authorization mechanism, user permissions are typically managed within the external authorization system and not through the KafkaUser resource.

For more information, see the following:

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