:_mod-docs-content-type: CONCEPT

// This module is included in:
//
// overview/assembly-kafka-components.adoc

[id="kafka-concepts-node-pools-{context}"]
= Node pools

[role="_abstract"]
A Kafka cluster consists of nodes assigned KRaft roles. 
These roles can be _brokers_, responsible for message streaming and storage, or _controllers_, which manage cluster state and metadata. 
While a node can perform both roles, separating them in production simplifies cluster management.

Strimzi manages Kafka nodes using node pools. 
A node pool is a distinct group of Kafka nodes within a cluster. 
You define node pools using the `KafkaNodePool` custom resource. 
Each node pool has its own configuration, defining aspects such as the role assigned to all its nodes, replica count, and storage settings.
Node pools are associated with a single Kafka cluster through this configuration.

Cluster-wide settings, such as the Kafka version and listener configuration, are defined in the `Kafka` custom resource. 
Any configuration not defined in node pools is inherited from the cluster configuration in the `Kafka` resource.

The key benefits of using node pools are as follows:

Role separation::
In production, it is recommended to run a dedicated node pool of three or more controller nodes, separate from broker nodes.
This separation isolates controllers from broker workloads and allows broker pools to scale independently.
Distinct node pool configurations::
Not all brokers need to be identical.
Node pools allow you to define different configurations within the same cluster, such as pools with fast or cost-effective storage to support different workloads.
Simplified operations:: 
Node pools simplify cluster operations such as scaling and hardware migration.
You can scale individual pools, move nodes between pools, or create new pools with updated storage configurations to replace older ones.