:_mod-docs-content-type: PROCEDURE

// Module included in the following assemblies:
//
// assembly-configuring-kafka-listeners.adoc

[id='proc-accessing-kafka-using-ingress-{context}']
= Accessing Kafka using an Ingress NGINX Controller for Kubernetes

[role="_abstract"]
Use an {NginxIngressController} to access a Kafka cluster from clients outside the Kubernetes cluster.

IMPORTANT: The `ingress` listener type is deprecated because the {NginxIngressController} has been archived since March 2026.
Although the related code remains in the Strimzi codebase, it is no longer maintained, and no further enhancements or development are planned.

To be able to use an Ingress NGINX Controller for Kubernetes, add configuration for an `ingress` type listener in the `Kafka` custom resource. 
When applied, the configuration creates a dedicated ingress and service for an external bootstrap and each broker in the cluster. 
Clients connect to the bootstrap ingress, which routes them through the bootstrap service to connect to a broker. 
Per-broker connections are then established using DNS names, which route traffic from the client to the broker through the broker-specific ingresses and services.

To connect to a broker, you specify a hostname for the ingress bootstrap address, as well as the certificate used for TLS encryption.
For access using an ingress, the port used in the Kafka client is typically 443.

The procedure shows basic `ingress` listener configuration.
TLS encryption (`tls`) must be enabled.
You can also specify a client authentication mechanism (`authentication`).
Add additional configuration using `configuration` properties.
For example, you can use the `class` configuration property with `ingress` listeners to specify the ingress controller used.   

For more information on listener configuration, see the link:{BookURLConfiguring}#type-GenericKafkaListener-reference[`GenericKafkaListener` schema reference^].

.TLS passthrough

Make sure that you enable TLS passthrough in your Ingress NGINX Controller for Kubernetes deployment.
Kafka uses a binary protocol over TCP, but the Ingress NGINX Controller for Kubernetes is designed to work with a HTTP protocol. 
To be able to route TCP traffic through ingresses, Strimzi uses TLS passthrough with Server Name Indication (SNI).

SNI helps with identifying and passing connection to Kafka brokers.
In passthrough mode, TLS encryption is always used.
Because the connection passes to the brokers, the listeners use the TLS certificates signed by the internal cluster CA and not the ingress certificates.
To configure listeners to use your own listener certificates, xref:proc-installing-certs-per-listener-{context}[use the `brokerCertChainAndKey` property]. 

For more information about enabling TLS passthrough, see the {NginxIngressControllerTLSPassthrough}.

.Prerequisites

* An Ingress NGINX Controller for Kubernetes is running with TLS passthrough enabled
* A running Cluster Operator

In this procedure, the Kafka cluster name is `my-cluster`.
The name of the listener is `external2`.

.Procedure

. Configure a `Kafka` resource with an external listener set to the `ingress` type.
+
Specify an ingress hostname for the bootstrap service and for the Kafka brokers in the Kafka cluster.
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For example:
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[source,yaml,subs=attributes+]
----
apiVersion: {KafkaApiVersion}
kind: Kafka
metadata:
  labels:
    app: my-cluster
  name: my-cluster
  namespace: myproject
spec:
  kafka:
    # ...
    listeners:
      - name: external2
        port: 9094
        type: ingress
        tls: true # <1>
        authentication:
          type: tls
        configuration:
          class: nginx # <2>
          hostTemplate: broker-{nodeId}.myingress.com  # <3>
          bootstrap:
            host: bootstrap.myingress.com # <4>
    # ...
----
<1> For `ingress` type listeners, TLS encryption must be enabled (`true`).
<2> (Optional) Class that specifies the ingress controller to use. You might need to add a class if you have not set up a default and a class name is missing in the ingresses created.
<3> The host template used to generate the hostnames for the per-broker Ingress resources.
<4> The host used as the hostnames for the bootstrap Ingress resource.

. Create or update the resource.
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[source,shell,subs=+quotes]
----
kubectl apply -f _<kafka_configuration_file>_
----
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A cluster CA certificate to verify the identity of the kafka brokers is created in the secret `my-cluster-cluster-ca-cert`.
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`ClusterIP` type services are created for each Kafka broker, as well as an external bootstrap service.
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An `ingress` is also created for each service, with a DNS address to expose them using the Ingress NGINX Controller for Kubernetes.
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.Ingresses created for the bootstrap and brokers
[source,shell]
----
NAME                                  CLASS  HOSTS                    ADDRESS       PORTS
my-cluster-kafka-external2-0          nginx  broker-0.myingress.com   192.168.49.2  80,443
my-cluster-kafka-external2-1          nginx  broker-1.myingress.com   192.168.49.2  80,443
my-cluster-kafka-external2-2          nginx  broker-2.myingress.com   192.168.49.2  80,443
my-cluster-kafka-external2-bootstrap  nginx  bootstrap.myingress.com  192.168.49.2  80,443
----
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The DNS addresses used for client connection are propagated to the `status` of each ingress.
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.Status for the bootstrap ingress
[source,yaml]
----
status:
  loadBalancer:
    ingress:
    - ip: 192.168.49.2
 # ...
----

. Use a target broker to check the client-server TLS connection on port 443 using the OpenSSL `s_client`.  
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[source,shell]
----
openssl s_client -connect broker-0.myingress.com:443 -servername broker-0.myingress.com -showcerts
----
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The server name is the SNI for passing the connection to the broker. 
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If the connection is successful, the certificates for the broker are returned.
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.Certificates for the broker
[source,shell,subs=attributes+]
----
Certificate chain
 0 s:O = io.strimzi, CN = my-cluster-kafka
   i:O = io.strimzi, CN = cluster-ca v0
----

. Extract the cluster CA certificate.
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[source,shell,subs=+quotes]
kubectl get secret my-cluster-cluster-ca-cert -o jsonpath='{.data.ca\.crt}' | base64 -d > ca.crt


. Configure your client to connect to the brokers.

.. Specify the bootstrap host (from the listener `configuration`) and port 443 in your Kafka client as the bootstrap address to connect to the Kafka cluster. For example, `bootstrap.myingress.com:443`.

.. Add the extracted certificate to the truststore of your Kafka client to configure a TLS connection.
+
If you enabled a client authentication mechanism, you will also need to configure it in your client.

NOTE: If you are using your own listener certificates, check whether you need to add the CA certificate to the client's truststore configuration. 
If it is a public (external) CA, you usually won't need to add it.


