Single-Node Installation

You can install Control Center with Confluent Platform on a single node using archives. For a quick development setup, see Quick Start for Control Center with Docker. For production, see Multi-Node Installation for Production.

Considerations:

  • Control Center introduces a new directory structure that differs from the directory structure used with Control Center (Legacy).

  • In earlier versions of the Confluent Platform, there was a single main directory, commonly referenced as CONFLUENT_HOME and all components, including Control Center (Legacy), were inside this main directory (that is, CONFLUENT_HOME/control-center).

  • Control Center now has its own top-level directory, CONTROL_CENTER_HOME.

  • CONTROL_CENTER_HOME is placed at the same hierarchical level as CONFLUENT_HOME, not inside it.

  • The steps below offer the optimal order in which to install Confluent Platform with Control Center.

Prerequisites:

  • Provision a new virtual machine (VM) for Control Center on the same network as the Confluent Platform clusters that you want to monitor.

  • For VM sizing recommendations, see System requirements.

  • Install the same version of openjdk that is on your existing Control Center (Legacy) (openjdk-8-jdk, openjdk-11-jdk, or openjdk-17-jdk).

  • On the Control Center VM, open ports 9090 (Control Center) and 9021 (Control Center user interface).

  • On every broker or KRaft controller, ensure that you can send outgoing http traffic to port 9090 on the Control Center VM.

Considerations:

  • With local installations, the default port settings are as follows: Alertmanager uses port 9098 and controllers in KRaft mode use port 9093.

  1. Download the Confluent Platform archive 8.2 and run these commands:

    wget https://packages.confluent.io/archive/8.2/confluent-8.2.0.tar.gz

    tar -xvf confluent-8.2.0.tar.gz

    cd confluent-8.2.0

    export CONFLUENT_HOME=`pwd`

  2. Download the Control Center archive and run these commands:

    wget https://packages.confluent.io/confluent-control-center-next-gen/archive/confluent-control-center-next-gen-2.5.0.tar.gz

    tar -xvf confluent-control-center-next-gen-2.5.0.tar.gz

    cd confluent-control-center-next-gen-2.5.0

    export CONTROL_CENTER_HOME=`pwd`

  3. Change directory to the $CONFLUENT_HOME/bin directory:

    export PATH=$PATH:$CONFLUENT_HOME/bin

  4. Use the Confluent CLI to run the following command:

    confluent local services start
Considerations:

  • You must use a special command to start Prometheus on MacOS.

  • By default Alertmanager and controllers in KRaft mode use port 9093. To run Prometheus and Alertmanager and KRaft mode controllers on the same host, you must manually edit the provided Control Center scripts.

  1. Download the Confluent Platform archive (7.7 to 8.0 supported) and run these commands:

    wget https://packages.confluent.io/archive/8.0/confluent-8.0.0.tar.gz

    tar -xvf confluent-8.0.0.tar.gz

    cd confluent-8.0.0

    export CONFLUENT_HOME=`pwd`

  2. Update the broker and controller configurations to emit metrics to Prometheus by adding the following configurations to: etc/kafka/controller.properties and etc/kafka/broker.properties

    The fifth line (confluent.telemetry.exporter._c3.metrics.include=<value>) is very long. Simply copy the code block as provided and append it to the end of the properties files. Pasting the fifth line results in a single line, even though it shows as wrapped in the documentation.

    metric.reporters=io.confluent.telemetry.reporter.TelemetryReporter
confluent.telemetry.exporter._c3.type=http
confluent.telemetry.exporter._c3.enabled=true
confluent.telemetry.exporter._c3.metrics.include=io.confluent.kafka.server.request.(?!.*delta).*|io.confluent.kafka.server.server.broker.state|io.confluent.kafka.server.replica.manager.leader.count|io.confluent.kafka.server.request.queue.size|io.confluent.kafka.server.broker.topic.failed.produce.requests.rate.1.min|io.confluent.kafka.server.tier.archiver.total.lag|io.confluent.kafka.server.request.total.time.ms.p99|io.confluent.kafka.server.broker.topic.failed.fetch.requests.rate.1.min|io.confluent.kafka.server.broker.topic.total.fetch.requests.rate.1.min|io.confluent.kafka.server.partition.caught.up.replicas.count|io.confluent.kafka.server.partition.observer.replicas.count|io.confluent.kafka.server.tier.tasks.num.partitions.in.error|io.confluent.kafka.server.broker.topic.bytes.out.rate.1.min|io.confluent.kafka.server.request.total.time.ms.p95|io.confluent.kafka.server.controller.active.controller.count|io.confluent.kafka.server.session.expire.listener.zookeeper.disconnects.total|io.confluent.kafka.server.request.total.time.ms.p999|io.confluent.kafka.server.controller.active.broker.count|io.confluent.kafka.server.request.handler.pool.request.handler.avg.idle.percent.rate.1.min|io.confluent.kafka.server.session.expire.listener.zookeeper.disconnects.rate.1.min|io.confluent.kafka.server.controller.unclean.leader.elections.rate.1.min|io.confluent.kafka.server.replica.manager.partition.count|io.confluent.kafka.server.controller.unclean.leader.elections.total|io.confluent.kafka.server.partition.replicas.count|io.confluent.kafka.server.broker.topic.total.produce.requests.rate.1.min|io.confluent.kafka.server.controller.offline.partitions.count|io.confluent.kafka.server.socket.server.network.processor.avg.idle.percent|io.confluent.kafka.server.partition.under.replicated|io.confluent.kafka.server.log.log.start.offset|io.confluent.kafka.server.log.tier.size|io.confluent.kafka.server.log.size|io.confluent.kafka.server.tier.fetcher.bytes.fetched.total|io.confluent.kafka.server.request.total.time.ms.p50|io.confluent.kafka.server.tenant.consumer.lag.offsets|io.confluent.kafka.server.session.expire.listener.zookeeper.expires.rate.1.min|io.confluent.kafka.server.log.log.end.offset|io.confluent.kafka.server.broker.topic.bytes.in.rate.1.min|io.confluent.kafka.server.partition.under.min.isr|io.confluent.kafka.server.partition.in.sync.replicas.count|io.confluent.telemetry.http.exporter.batches.dropped|io.confluent.telemetry.http.exporter.items.total|io.confluent.telemetry.http.exporter.items.succeeded|io.confluent.telemetry.http.exporter.send.time.total.millis|io.confluent.kafka.server.controller.leader.election.rate.(?!.*delta).*|io.confluent.telemetry.http.exporter.batches.failed
confluent.telemetry.exporter._c3.client.base.url=http://localhost:9090/api/v1/otlp
confluent.telemetry.exporter._c3.client.compression=gzip
confluent.telemetry.exporter._c3.api.key=dummy
confluent.telemetry.exporter._c3.api.secret=dummy
confluent.telemetry.exporter._c3.buffer.pending.batches.max=80
confluent.telemetry.exporter._c3.buffer.batch.items.max=4000
confluent.telemetry.exporter._c3.buffer.inflight.submissions.max=10
confluent.telemetry.metrics.collector.interval.ms=60000
confluent.telemetry.remoteconfig._confluent.enabled=false
confluent.consumer.lag.emitter.enabled=true

  3. Download the Control Center archive and run these commands:

    wget https://packages.confluent.io/confluent-control-center-next-gen/archive/confluent-control-center-next-gen-2.5.0.tar.gz

    tar -xvf confluent-control-center-next-gen-2.5.0.tar.gz

    cd confluent-control-center-next-gen-2.5.0

    export C3_HOME=`pwd`

  4. Start Prometheus and Alertmanager

    To start Control Center, you must have three dedicated command windows: one for Prometheus, another for the Control Center process, and a third dedicated command window for Alertmanager. Run the following commands from $C3_HOME in all command windows.

    1. Open etc/confluent-control-center/prometheus-generated.yml and change localhost:9093 to localhost:9098

      alerting:
   alertmanagers:
      - static_configs:
         - targets:
            - localhost:9098

    2. Start Prometheus.

      All operating systems except MacOS:

      bin/prometheus-start

      MacOS:

      bash bin/prometheus-start

      Note

      Prometheus runs but does not output any information to the screen.

    3. Start Alertmanager.

      1. Run this command:

        export ALERTMANAGER_PORT=9098

      2. All operating systems except MacOS:

        bin/alertmanager-start

        MacOS

        bash bin/alertmanager-start

  5. Start Control Center.

    1. Open etc/confluent-control-center/control-center-dev.properties and update port 9093 to 9098:

      confluent.controlcenter.alertmanager.url=http://localhost:9098

    2. Run this command:

      bin/control-center-start etc/confluent-control-center/control-center-dev.properties

  6. Start Confluent Platform.

    To start Confluent Platform, you must have two dedicated command windows, one for the controller and another for the broker process. All the following commands are meant to be run from CONFLUENT_HOME in both command windows. The Confluent Platform start sequence requires you to generate a single random ID and use that same ID for both the controller and the broker process.

    1. In the command window dedicated to running the controller, change directories into CONFLUENT_HOME.

      cd $CONFLUENT_HOME

    2. Generate a random value for KAFKA_CLUSTER_ID.

      KAFKA_CLUSTER_ID="$(bin/kafka-storage random-uuid)"

    3. Use the following command to get the random ID and save the output. You need this value to start the controller and the broker.

      echo $KAFKA_CLUSTER_ID

    4. Format the log directories for the controller:

      bin/kafka-storage format --cluster-id $KAFKA_CLUSTER_ID -c etc/kafka/kraft/controller.properties --standalone

    5. Start the controller:

      bin/kafka-server-start etc/kafka/kraft/controller.properties

    6. Open a command window for the broker and navigate to CONFLUENT_HOME.

      cd $CONFLUENT_HOME

    7. Set the KAFKA_CLUSTER_ID variable to the random ID you generated earlier with kafka-storage random-uuid.

      export KAFKA_CLUSTER_ID=<KAFKA-CLUSTER-ID>

    8. Format the log directories for this broker:

      bin/kafka-storage format --cluster-id $KAFKA_CLUSTER_ID -c etc/kafka/kraft/broker.properties

    9. Start the broker:

      bin/kafka-server-start etc/kafka/kraft/broker.properties
Considerations:

  • You must use a special command to start Prometheus on MacOS.

  1. Download the Confluent Platform archive (7.7 to 7.9 supported) and run these commands:

    wget https://packages.confluent.io/archive/7.9/confluent-7.9.0.tar.gz

    tar -xvf confluent-7.9.0.tar.gz

    cd confluent-7.9.0

    export CONFLUENT_HOME=`pwd`

  2. Update broker configurations to emit metrics to Prometheus by adding the following configurations to: etc/kafka/server.properties

    metric.reporters=io.confluent.telemetry.reporter.TelemetryReporter
confluent.telemetry.exporter._c3.type=http
confluent.telemetry.exporter._c3.enabled=true
confluent.telemetry.exporter._c3.metrics.include=io.confluent.kafka.server.request.(?!.*delta).*|io.confluent.kafka.server.server.broker.state|io.confluent.kafka.server.replica.manager.leader.count|io.confluent.kafka.server.request.queue.size|io.confluent.kafka.server.broker.topic.failed.produce.requests.rate.1.min|io.confluent.kafka.server.tier.archiver.total.lag|io.confluent.kafka.server.request.total.time.ms.p99|io.confluent.kafka.server.broker.topic.failed.fetch.requests.rate.1.min|io.confluent.kafka.server.broker.topic.total.fetch.requests.rate.1.min|io.confluent.kafka.server.partition.caught.up.replicas.count|io.confluent.kafka.server.partition.observer.replicas.count|io.confluent.kafka.server.tier.tasks.num.partitions.in.error|io.confluent.kafka.server.broker.topic.bytes.out.rate.1.min|io.confluent.kafka.server.request.total.time.ms.p95|io.confluent.kafka.server.controller.active.controller.count|io.confluent.kafka.server.session.expire.listener.zookeeper.disconnects.total|io.confluent.kafka.server.request.total.time.ms.p999|io.confluent.kafka.server.controller.active.broker.count|io.confluent.kafka.server.request.handler.pool.request.handler.avg.idle.percent.rate.1.min|io.confluent.kafka.server.session.expire.listener.zookeeper.disconnects.rate.1.min|io.confluent.kafka.server.controller.unclean.leader.elections.rate.1.min|io.confluent.kafka.server.replica.manager.partition.count|io.confluent.kafka.server.controller.unclean.leader.elections.total|io.confluent.kafka.server.partition.replicas.count|io.confluent.kafka.server.broker.topic.total.produce.requests.rate.1.min|io.confluent.kafka.server.controller.offline.partitions.count|io.confluent.kafka.server.socket.server.network.processor.avg.idle.percent|io.confluent.kafka.server.partition.under.replicated|io.confluent.kafka.server.log.log.start.offset|io.confluent.kafka.server.log.tier.size|io.confluent.kafka.server.log.size|io.confluent.kafka.server.tier.fetcher.bytes.fetched.total|io.confluent.kafka.server.request.total.time.ms.p50|io.confluent.kafka.server.tenant.consumer.lag.offsets|io.confluent.kafka.server.session.expire.listener.zookeeper.expires.rate.1.min|io.confluent.kafka.server.log.log.end.offset|io.confluent.kafka.server.broker.topic.bytes.in.rate.1.min|io.confluent.kafka.server.partition.under.min.isr|io.confluent.kafka.server.partition.in.sync.replicas.count|io.confluent.telemetry.http.exporter.batches.dropped|io.confluent.telemetry.http.exporter.items.total|io.confluent.telemetry.http.exporter.items.succeeded|io.confluent.telemetry.http.exporter.send.time.total.millis|io.confluent.kafka.server.controller.leader.election.rate.(?!.*delta).*|io.confluent.telemetry.http.exporter.batches.failed
confluent.telemetry.exporter._c3.client.base.url=http://localhost:9090/api/v1/otlp
confluent.telemetry.exporter._c3.client.compression=gzip
confluent.telemetry.exporter._c3.api.key=dummy
confluent.telemetry.exporter._c3.api.secret=dummy
confluent.telemetry.exporter._c3.buffer.pending.batches.max=80
confluent.telemetry.exporter._c3.buffer.batch.items.max=4000
confluent.telemetry.exporter._c3.buffer.inflight.submissions.max=10
confluent.telemetry.metrics.collector.interval.ms=60000
confluent.telemetry.remoteconfig._confluent.enabled=false
confluent.consumer.lag.emitter.enabled=true

  3. Download the Control Center archive and run these commands:

    wget https://packages.confluent.io/confluent-control-center-next-gen/archive/confluent-control-center-next-gen-2.5.0.tar.gz

    tar -xvf confluent-control-center-next-gen-2.5.0.tar.gz

    cd confluent-control-center-next-gen-2.5.0

  4. Start Control Center.

    To start Control Center, you must have three dedicated command windows: one for Prometheus, another for the Control Center process, and a third for Alertmanager. Run the following commands from CONTROL_CENTER_HOME in all command windows.

    1. Start Prometheus.

      bin/prometheus-start

    2. Start Alertmanager.

      bin/alertmanager-start

    3. Start Control Center.

      bin/control-center-start etc/confluent-control-center/control-center-dev.properties

  5. Start Confluent Platform.

    Start ZooKeeper.

    bin/zookeeper-server-start etc/kafka/zookeeper.properties

    Start Kafka.

    bin/kafka-server-start etc/kafka/server.properties

Secure your deployment

To secure Control Center, including TLS, SASL, authentication, RBAC, and securing the Prometheus and Alertmanager components, see Control Center Security on Confluent Platform.

Verify Control Center is running

After the installation is complete, visit http(s)://<c3-url>:9021 and wait for the metrics to start showing up in Control Center. It may take a couple of minutes. Control Center looks exactly like Control Center (Legacy).

To confirm Control Center is running, use the following steps:

  1. Open the network tab in Control Center.

  2. Reload Control Center.

  3. Locate the following API call: /2.0/feature/flags

  4. Verify the following key is present in the response: confluent.controlcenter.prometheus.enable: true

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