Troubleshooting Snowplow on AWS MSK: Kafka Authentication Issues Explained

Running Snowplow on AWS MSK provides a robust solution for handling event data pipelines at scale, but users may encounter authentication issues, particularly between Snowplow's Scala Stream Collector and Kafka brokers. A common error involves the connection terminating during authentication, which can arise from mismatched SASL mechanisms, incorrect credentials, or firewall and networking issues. To resolve these problems, it's essential to ensure that the AWS MSK cluster and Snowplow configurations align, particularly by using the correct SASL/SCRAM authentication method and verifying credential accuracy. Additionally, updating both the Snowplow Collector and Kafka client versions can help address compatibility issues. As of 2024-2025, Snowplow recommends enhancing security by running collectors in a VPC with PrivateLink, securely managing Kafka credentials via AWS Secrets Manager, and configuring the Kafka producer with "acks" set to "all" for improved delivery guarantees. These measures help maintain a secure and efficient event data pipeline using AWS MSK.