Friday, June 20, 2025

Safe entry to a cross-account Amazon MSK cluster from Amazon MSK Join utilizing IAM authentication

Amazon Managed Streaming for Apache Kafka (MSK) Join is a completely managed, scalable, and extremely obtainable service that allows the streaming of knowledge between Apache Kafka and different information programs. Amazon MSK Join is constructed on prime of Kafka Join, an open-source framework that gives a normal strategy to join Kafka with exterior information programs. Kafka Join helps quite a lot of connectors, that are used to stream information out and in of Kafka. MSK Join extends the capabilities of Kafka Join by offering a managed service with added security measures, easy configuration, and automated scaling capabilities, enabling companies to deal with their information streaming wants with out the overhead of managing the underlying infrastructure.

In some use instances, you may want to make use of an MSK cluster in a single AWS account, however MSK Join is situated in a separate account. On this submit, we show learn how to create a connector to realize this use case. On the time of writing, MSK Join connectors might be created just for MSK clusters which have AWS Identification and Entry Administration (IAM) role-based authentication or no authentication. We show learn how to implement IAM authentication after establishing community connectivity. IAM offers enhanced safety measures, ensuring your programs are protected towards unauthorized entry.

Resolution overview

The connector might be configured for quite a lot of functions, comparable to sinking information to an Amazon Easy Storage Service (Amazon S3) bucket, monitoring the supply database adjustments, or serving as a migration instrument comparable to MirrorMaker2 on MSK Join to switch information from a supply cluster to a goal cluster that is situated in a unique account.

The next diagram illustrates a use case utilizing Debezium and Amazon S3 supply connectors.

The next diagram illustrates utilizing S3 Sink and migration to a cross-account failover cluster utilizing a MirrorMaker connector deployed on MSK Join.

Presently MSK Join connectors might be created just for MSK clusters which have IAM role-based authentication or no authentication. On this weblog, I’ll information you thru the important steps for implementing the industry-recommended IAM (Identification and Entry Administration) authentication after establishing community connectivity. IAM offers enhanced safety measures, guaranteeing your programs are protected towards unauthorized entry.

The launch of multi-VPC non-public connectivity (powered by AWS PrivateLink) and cluster coverage help for MSK clusters simplifies the connectivity of Kafka shoppers to brokers. By enabling this characteristic on the MSK cluster, you need to use the cluster-based coverage to handle all entry management centrally in a single place. On this submit, we cowl the method of enabling this characteristic on the supply MSK cluster.

We don’t totally make the most of the multi-VPC connectivity offered by this new characteristic as a result of that requires you to make use of completely different bootstrap URLs with port numbers (14001:3) that aren’t supported by MSK Join as of writing of this submit. We discover a safe community connectivity resolution that makes use of non-public connectivity patterns, as detailed in How Goldman Sachs builds cross-account connectivity to their Amazon MSK clusters with AWS PrivateLink.

Connecting to a cross-account MSK cluster from MSK Join entails the next steps.

Steps to configure the MSK cluster in Account A:

  1. Allow the multi-VPC non-public connectivity(Personal Hyperlink) characteristic for IAM authentication scheme that’s enabled to your MSK cluster.
  2. Configure the cluster coverage to permit a cross-account connector.
  3. Implement one of many previous community connectivity patterns in response to your use case to ascertain the connectivity with the Account B VPC and make community adjustments accordingly.

Steps to configure the MSK connector in Account B:

  1. Create an MSK connector in non-public subnets utilizing the AWS Command Line Interface (AWS CLI).
  2. Confirm the community connectivity from Account A and make community adjustments accordingly.
  3. Verify the vacation spot service to confirm the incoming information.

Stipulations

To observe together with this submit, you must have an MSK cluster in a single AWS account and MSK Join in a separate account.

Arrange the MSK cluster setup in Account A:

On this submit, we solely present the vital steps which might be required to allow the multi-VPC characteristic on an MSK cluster:

  1. Create a provisioned MSK cluster in Account A’s VPC with the next issues, that are required for the multi-VPC characteristic:
    • Cluster model should be 2.7.1 or increased.
    • Occasion kind should be m5.giant or increased.
    • Authentication must be IAM (you should not allow unauthenticated entry for this cluster).
  2. After you create the cluster, go to the Networking settings part of your cluster and select Edit. Then select Activate multi-VPC connectivity.

  1. Choose IAM role-based authentication and select Activate choice.

It would take round half-hour to allow. This step is required to allow the cluster coverage characteristic that enables the cross-account connector to entry the MSK cluster.

  1. After it has been enabled, scroll right down to Safety settings and select Edit cluster coverage.
  2. Outline your cluster coverage and select Save adjustments.

  1. The brand new cluster coverage permits for outlining a Fundamental or Superior cluster coverage. With the Fundamental possibility, it solely permits CreateVPCConnection, GetBootstrapBrokers, DescribeCluster, and DescribeClusterV2 actions which might be required for creating the cross-VPC connectivity to your cluster. Nevertheless, we have now to make use of Superior to permit extra actions which might be required by the MSK Connector. The coverage must be as follows:
    {     "Model": "2012-10-17",     "Assertion": [{         "Effect": "Allow",         "Principal": {             "AWS": "Connector-AccountId"         },         "Action": [             "kafka:CreateVpcConnection",             "kafka:GetBootstrapBrokers",             "kafka:DescribeCluster",             "kafka:DescribeClusterV2",             "kafka-cluster:Connect",             "kafka-cluster:DescribeCluster",             "kafka-cluster:ReadData",             "kafka-cluster:DescribeTopic",             "kafka-cluster:WriteData",             "kafka-cluster:CreateTopic",             "kafka-cluster:AlterGroup",             "kafka-cluster:DescribeGroup"         ], "Useful resource": [                 "arn:aws:kafka:::cluster//",                 "arn:aws:kafka:::topic///",                 "arn:aws:kafka:::group///"             ]     }] }

You may want to switch the previous permissions to restrict entry to your sources (matters, teams). Additionally, you possibly can limit entry to a selected connector by giving the connector IAM function, or you possibly can point out the account quantity to permit the connectors in that account.

Now the cluster is prepared. Nevertheless, it’s worthwhile to be certain of the community connectivity between the cross-account connector VPC and the MSK cluster VPC.

Should you’re utilizing VPC peering or Transit Gateway whereas connecting to MSK Join both from cross-account or the identical account, don’t configure your connector to achieve the peered VPC sources with IPs within the following CIDR ranges (for extra particulars, see Connecting from connectors):

  • 10.99.0.0/16
  • 192.168.0.0/16
  • 172.21.0.0/16

Within the MSK cluster safety group, ensure you allowed port 9098 from Account B community sources and make adjustments within the subnets in response to your community connectivity sample.

Arrange the MSK connector in Account B:

On this part, we show learn how to use the S3 Sink connector. Nevertheless, you need to use a unique connector in response to your use case and make the adjustments accordingly.

  1. Create an S3 bucket (or use an current bucket).
  2. Make it possible for the VPC that you just’re utilizing on this account has a safety group and personal subnets. In case your connector for MSK Join wants entry to the web, check with Allow web entry for Amazon MSK Join.
  3. Confirm the community connectivity between Account A and Account B through the use of the telnet command to the dealer endpoints with port 9098.
  4. Create an S3 VPC endpoint.
  5. Create a connector plugin in response to your connector plugin supplier (confluent or lenses). Make a remark of the customized plugin Amazon Useful resource Title (ARN) to make use of in a later step.
  6. Create an IAM function to your connector to permit entry to your S3 bucket and the MSK cluster.
    • The IAM function’s belief relationship must be as follows:
      {     "Model": "2012-10-17",     "Assertion": [         {             "Effect": "Allow",             "Principal": {                 "Service": "kafkaconnect.amazonaws.com"             },             "Action": "sts:AssumeRole"         }     ] }

    • Add the next S3 entry coverage to your IAM function:
      {     "Model": "2012-10-17",     "Assertion": [{         "Effect": "Allow",         "Action": [             "s3:ListAllMyBuckets",             "s3:ListBucket",             "s3:GetBucketLocation",             "s3:DeleteObject",             "s3:PutObject",             "s3:GetObject",             "s3:AbortMultipartUpload",             "s3:ListMultipartUploadParts",             "s3:ListBucketMultipartUploads"         ],         "Useful resource": [                         "arn:aws:s3:::",                      "arn:aws:s3:::/*"         ],            "Situation": {         "StringEquals": {                "aws:SourceVpc": "vpc-xxxx"                }                }     }] }

    • The next coverage incorporates the required actions by the connector:
      { "Model": "2012-10-17", "Assertion": [    {         "Effect": "Allow",         "Action": [             "kafka-cluster:Connect",             "kafka-cluster:DescribeCluster",             "kafka-cluster:ReadData",             "kafka-cluster:DescribeTopic",             "kafka-cluster:WriteData",             "kafka-cluster:CreateTopic",             "kafka-cluster:AlterGroup",             "kafka-cluster:DescribeGroup"         ],         "Useful resource": [             "arn:aws:kafka:::cluster//",             "arn:aws:kafka:::topic///",             "arn:aws:kafka:::group///"         ]     } ] }

You may want to switch the previous permissions to restrict entry to your sources (matters, teams)

Lastly, it’s time to create the MSK connector. As a result of the Amazon MSK console doesn’t permit viewing MSK clusters in different accounts, we present you learn how to use the AWS CLI as an alternative. We additionally use primary Amazon S3 configuration for testing functions. You may want to switch the configuration in response to your connector’s use case.

  1. Create a connector utilizing the AWS CLI with the next command with the required parameters of the connector, together with Account A’s MSK cluster dealer endpoints:
    aws kafkaconnect create-connector  --capacity "autoScaling={maxWorkerCount=2,mcuCount=1,minWorkerCount=1,scaleInPolicy={cpuUtilizationPercentage=10},scaleOutPolicy={cpuUtilizationPercentage=80}}"  --connector-configuration  "connector.class=io.confluent.join.s3.S3SinkConnector,  s3.area=,  schema.compatibility=NONE,  flush.measurement=2,  duties.max=1,  matters=,  safety.protocol=SASL_SSL,  s3.compression.kind=gzip,  format.class=io.confluent.join.s3.format.json.JsonFormat,  sasl.mechanism=AWS_MSK_IAM,  sasl.jaas.config=software program.amazon.msk.auth.iam.IAMLoginModule required,  sasl.shopper.callback.handler.class=software program.amazon.msk.auth.iam.IAMClientCallbackHandler,  worth.converter=org.apache.kafka.join.storage.StringConverter,  storage.class=io.confluent.join.s3.storage.S3Storage,  s3.bucket.identify=,  timestamp.extractor=Report,  key.converter=org.apache.kafka.join.storage.StringConverter"  --connector-name "Connector-name"  --kafka-cluster '{"apacheKafkaCluster": {"bootstrapServers": ":9098","vpc": {"securityGroups": ["sg-0b36a015789f859a3"],"subnets": ["subnet-07950da1ebb8be6d8","subnet-026a729668f3f9728"]}}}'  --kafka-cluster-client-authentication "authenticationType=IAM"  --kafka-cluster-encryption-in-transit "encryptionType=TLS"  --kafka-connect-version "2.7.1"  --log-delivery workerLogDelivery='{cloudWatchLogs={enabled=true,logGroup=""}}'  --plugins "customPlugin={customPluginArn=,revision=1}"  --service-execution-role-arn ""

  2. After you create the connector, join the producer to your matter and insert information into it. Within the following code, we use a Kafka shopper to insert information for testing functions:
    bin/kafka-console-producer.sh --broker-list  --producer.config shopper.properties --topic 

If every little thing is about up accurately, you must see the info in your vacation spot S3 bucket. If not, test the troubleshooting ideas within the following part.

Troubleshooting ideas

After deploying the connector, if it’s within the CREATING state on the connector particulars web page, entry the Amazon CloudWatch log group laid out in your connector creation request. Evaluation the logs for any errors. If no errors are discovered, look ahead to the connector to finish its creation course of.

Moreover, be certain the IAM roles have their required permissions, and test the safety teams and NACLs for correct connectivity between VPCs.

Clear up

If you’re carried out testing this resolution, clear up any undesirable sources to keep away from ongoing costs

Conclusion

On this submit, we demonstrated learn how to create an MSK connector when it’s worthwhile to use an MSK cluster in a single AWS account, however MSK Join is situated in a separate account. This structure contains an S3 Sink connector for demonstration functions, however it could actually accommodate different sorts of sink and supply connectors. Moreover, this structure focuses solely on IAM authenticated connectors. If an unauthenticated connector is desired, the multi-VPC connectivity (PrivateLink) and cluster coverage parts might be ignored. The remaining course of, which entails making a community connection between the account VPCs, stays the identical.

Check out the answer for your self, and tell us your questions and suggestions within the feedback part.

Try extra AWS Companions or contact an AWS Consultant to find out how we can assist speed up your enterprise.


Concerning the Writer

Venkata Sai Mahesh Swargam is a Cloud Engineer at AWS in Hyderabad. He makes a speciality of Amazon MSK and Amazon Kinesis companies. Mahesh is devoted to serving to prospects by offering technical steering and fixing points associated to their Amazon MSK architectures. In his free time, he enjoys being with household and touring all over the world.

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