Using Apache Kafka Command Line Tools with Confluent Cloud

Confluent Cloud is 100% compatible with Apache Kafka, allowing users to utilize the same admin tools that come with the community edition of Apache Kafka. To access these tools in Confluent Cloud, users need to generate a configuration properties file by following specific steps outlined in this blog post. This file includes connectivity details such as bootstrap server endpoints and key/secret pairs for authentication. The file is used by various admin tools like kafka-console-producer and kafka-console-consumer to establish connectivity with the cluster. Additionally, users can troubleshoot potential issues related to records consumption within consumer groups using the kafka-consumer-groups tool. Connectivity from user's end to Confluent Cloud clusters is necessary, which may involve verifying network topology and firewall rules. Users have free-of-charge access to components of Confluent Platform, allowing them to leverage these tools with Kafka along with other services like Confluent Control Center and ksqlDB.