Kafka SASL SSL Support in Concerto

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Concerto supports the Kafka Simple Authentication and Security Layer (SASL) and Secure Socket Layer (SSL) security protocols for communicating with Versa Director. The Kafka SASL SSL ensures that the data is authenticated with SASL and encrypted with TLS/SSL for the Kafka connector used to exchange events, tasks, and notifications between Concerto and Versa Director.

Kafka SASL SSL is supported on Concerto Release 13.1.1 (Noble) deployments, and is not available on Concerto Releases 12.2.2 or earlier.

To use Kafka SASL SSL, Versa Director must be running Releases 22.1.5 and later or Releases 23.1.1 and later. If you use multiple Directors running different versions, Concerto manages each Director independently:

• Versa Director running Releases 23.1 and later, or Releases 22.1.5 and later—Uses Kafka SASL SSL (authenticated and encrypted).
• Versa Director running Releases 22.1.4 and earlier—Uses the standard Kafka connection without SASL SSL.

To use Kafka SASL SSL security on Versa Director nodes running Releases 22.1.4 and earlier, you must upgrade the Versa Director nodes to Releases 22.1.5 and later.

If you upgrade a Director from a lower version to Releases 22.1.5 and later, you must perform a Director discovery from the Concerto Portal. Director discovery updates the Director version in Concerto and configures the Kafka connector with SASL SSL security. To perform a Director discovery, see the Create a Director Cluster section in Install Concerto in Releases 12.2.2 and Earlier.