---
title: Clusters for Apache Kafka® - Concepts
description: Understand the key concepts for Clusters for Apache Kafka®.
tags: billing account pricing payment
dates:
  posted: 2025-11-26
  validation: 2026-06-19
---

## Cluster

A cluster is a deployment of Apache Kafka®. It consists of one or more nodes (called **brokers**) that work together to store, manage and distribute event streams. [Data replication](#data-replication) across the cluster ensures high availability and robustness.

## Clusters for Apache Kafka®

Clusters for Apache Kafka® is Scaleway's product to provide a secure, fully-managed infrastructure for your Apache Kafka® deployments. With our clusters, you can create data pipelines and event-driven architectures that run natively on Apache Kafka®, without having to manage the underlying infrastructure.

## Credentials

Credentials consist of a username and password that allow you to connect to your cluster. These are defined during cluster creation. Currently, a limit of one user (i.e. one set of credentials) per cluster is applied.

## Data replication

Data replication is the mechanism that ensures event data is copied across multiple brokers in a cluster, for fault tolerance and high availability. If a node fails, data replication means Apache Kafka® can keep serving data without downtime or data loss.

## Endpoint

Currently, access to your Cluster for Apache Kafka® is via private endpoints only. When creating your cluster, you must attach it to a [Private Network](/vpc/concepts/#private-networks), and all nodes in the cluster receive a private IPv4 endpoint on this network. Endpoints are in a format similar to `bf610fb0-f7eb-4ec3-a893...634aea.kafka.fr-par.scw.cloud`.

## Event streaming

Clusters for Apache Kafka® is specifically designed for implementing event streaming at scale. Event streaming is the process of capturing, storing, and processing a continuous flow of events in real time. Each event represents something that happened, e.g.,`User added item to cart`, `User clicked 'Pay now'`, `Payment was rejected by bank`. Events are stored in topics, e.g., `Inventory`, `Payment`, `Orders`. Typically, programs and microservices subscribe to these topics to consume their events and take action in relation to them, e.g., `Generate invoice`, `Check for fraud`, `Program delivery`.

## Node

A Cluster for Apache Kafka® consists of one or more nodes, also called **brokers**. Nodes work together to store, manage, and distribute event streams. When creating a cluster, you can choose between **dedicated** nodes or **shared** nodes, based on your workload requirements, budget, and use case:

- **Dedicated node**: Runs only your cluster, with no other customers sharing the broker's resources.
- **Shared node**: Runs your cluster along with other customers', on the same broker.

## Storage

A cluster's storage is used to persist events, so they can be reliably consumed by services and applications. When creating a cluster, you can define the amount of storage you want per node.

## TLS certificate

A TLS certificate (aka SSL certificate) is a digital credential that encrypts data in transit and verifies the identity of a server or client. Scaleway generates a TLS certificate for each Cluster for Apache Kafka®, and all clients connecting to the cluster must install this certificate in order to be authenticated. This ensures secure and encrypted communication between nodes (brokers) and clients.

## Users

See [credentials](#credentials).