Understanding the difference between Kafka Address and advertised Kafka address is crucial for efficiently streaming data into Redpanda or Apache Kafka clusters, particularly when using Docker or Kubernetes (K8s) environments. A bootstrap server is initially needed for client connections, providing metadata that includes broker locations and partition leaders, allowing clients to connect directly to brokers. The Kafka Address is used for broker interconnections, while the advertised Kafka address helps clients locate brokers, especially when the client is outside the cluster's internal network. In Docker, setting appropriate advertised Kafka addresses involves registering network names and ensuring clients outside the network can reach the brokers via host addresses and exposed ports. Similarly, in K8s, NodePort can be used to expose broker ports, with separate listeners configured for internal and external connections. Debugging involves ensuring advertised Kafka addresses are correctly resolved by clients, and understanding these mechanics helps in managing network complexity and ensuring client connectivity.