Welcome to Zuora Product Documentation

Explore our rich library of product information

Validate and activate the Kafka connection

Validate the Kafka connection and activate it for use in meters.

  1. Click Validate to run connectivity and permission checks against your Kafka cluster using the connection settings you configured.

    The test connection uses a 15-second timeout. If your network path or Kafka cluster is slow and the test does not complete within 15 seconds, validation fails with a timeout error.

    When testing a Kafka connection, Zuora:
    • Creates a Kafka AdminClient with the provided configuration.
    • Calls describeCluster() to validate connectivity and authentication.
    • Optionally validates that a specific topic exists and is accessible when you provide a topic in the test parameters.
    If validation passes, a Validation Successful message is displayed and the Activate Connection button is enabled.
  2. Click Activate Connection to activate the Kafka connection
The connection is now active and available for selection in Mediation meters.

Updating the configuration of an active Kafka connection creates a new inactive version. When you activate the new version, previous versions are deactivated so that only one version is active at a time.

When you include a topic in the validation test parameters, Zuora enforces additional constraints on the topic name:

  • Maximum length: 249 characters.
  • The names `.` and `..` are not allowed.
  • Only the following characters are allowed: `a–z`, `A–Z`, `0–9`, `.`, `_`, `-`.

If a topic name violates these rules, validation fails with a topic-validation error.

When validation fails, the error message indicates the category of the failure. Typical categories include:

  • DNS resolution error – The bootstrap server hostname cannot be resolved; check DNS and hostnames.
  • Connection refused – The broker is not reachable on the specified port; verify firewall rules and listener ports.
  • TLS/SSL handshake or certificate error – Issues with truststore/keystore, expired certificates, or hostname mismatch; confirm certificates and truststore contents.
  • SASL authentication error – Invalid username/password or JAAS configuration; verify credentials and mechanism.
  • Topic not found / Not authorized – The topic does not exist or your user lacks permissions; create the topic or adjust Kafka ACLs.
  • Connection timed out – Network latency or blocking firewall; check connectivity and consider retriggering the test.