<a id="gateway-deploy-overview"></a>

# Deploy Confluent Gateway

Before installing Confluent Gateway, prepare your environment by reviewing the system
requirements, component compatibility, license modes, and available deployment
paths.

For a conceptual introduction to Confluent Gateway, see
[Confluent Gateway overview](overview.md#gateway-overview).

Confluent Gateway is an add-on to Confluent Platform. You can deploy it in front of
Confluent Platform clusters that run on VMs or on Kubernetes. The Confluent Gateway deployment is
separate from the Confluent Server deployment, so you don’t need to change your existing
brokers.

Confluent Gateway runs as a stateless service, typically as a set of containerized
instances within the target environment. For example, Confluent for Kubernetes, VM
clusters, or container platforms. It supports deployment on-premises, in
VPCs, and in hybrid environments. Confluent Gateway deployment is officially
supported on Docker and Kubernetes, including for production workloads.

## Deployment process at a glance

A complete Confluent Gateway deployment follows these high-level steps:

1. **Verify requirements**: Confirm that CPU, memory, network throughput,
   and storage meet the minimum requirements in
   [Requirements and considerations](#gateway-deploy-requirements).
2. **Choose a license mode**: Select between **Trial mode (default)** and
   **Enterprise mode** based on your use case. For more information on
   license modes, see [License modes](#gateway-license-modes).
3. **Select a deployment path**: Deploy Confluent Gateway using Docker or CFK
   based on your runtime environment. For deployment options, see [Next steps](#gateway-deploy-overview-next-steps).
4. **Deploy and configure**: Deploy Confluent Gateway on the chosen runtime, and
   configure the streaming domains
   and routes that connect it to the Apache Kafka®
   clusters that clients reach through it. For more information, see the
   following guides:
   * **Docker:** [Configure and Deploy using Docker](gateway-deploy.md#gateway-deploy-docker)
   * **CFK:** [Configure and Deploy using CFK](https://docs.confluent.io/operator/current/gateway/co-gateway-deploy.html)
5. **Configure administration and metrics**: Expose the administration and
   observability endpoints Confluent Gateway provides.
6. **Apply security configuration**: Set up secret stores, TLS/SSL,
   authentication swapping, and passwords. For more information on
   security configuration, see the following guides:
   * **Docker:** [Configure Security for Confluent Gateway](gateway-security.md#gateway-security-docker)
   * **CFK:** [Configure security for Gateway on CFK](https://docs.confluent.io/operator/current/gateway/co-gateway-security.html)

<a id="gateway-deploy-requirements"></a>

## Requirements and considerations

Before you begin, make sure the following requirements and considerations
are satisfied.

### System requirements

| Resource                     | Requirement                                                   |
|------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------|
| CPU and memory (minimum)     | 2 vCPUs, 4 GB RAM                                             |
| CPU and memory (recommended) | 4 vCPUs, 8 GB RAM                                             |
| Network throughput           | 45 MB/sec of sustained workload for a 1 Gigabit link (1 Gbps) |
| Storage                      | 10 GB of disk space                                           |

### Network access requirements

The Confluent Gateway container must have access to the necessary Kafka clusters.
Configure firewall ports for bidirectional traffic as needed.

<a id="gateway-deploy-docker-software-requirements"></a>

### Docker software requirements

For Docker-based deployments, you must meet the following software requirements:

| Component        | Requirement                                                                                                        |
|------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Docker Engine    | Version 20.10 or later is recommended.                                                                             |
| Docker Compose   | Docker Compose v2.x is required.                                                                                   |
| Operating System | Any Linux distribution that supports Docker (RHEL, Ubuntu, Rocky<br/>Linux) or Windows/macOS using Docker Desktop. |

### CFK compatibility

Confluent Gateway requires CFK 3.4 or later and is compatible with the latest CFK
version and the images released with that version.

For details on the supported CFK version and image tags, see the
[Confluent for Kubernetes Release Notes](https://docs.confluent.io/operator/current/release-notes.html).

<a id="gateway-license-modes"></a>

## License modes

Confluent Gateway operates in Trial and Enterprise modes.
Enterprise mode requires a Confluent Enterprise license for Confluent Platform with the
Confluent Gateway add-on. The mode is selected
automatically based on whether a valid license key is provided at deployment.
The following table compares the two modes.

| Feature               | Trial mode (default)                     | Enterprise mode                                                                                      |
|-----------------------|------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| **License required**  | No license key required                  | Valid Confluent Enterprise license for Confluent Platform that includes the Confluent Gateway add-on |
| **Ideal use case**    | Proof of concept (PoC) and evaluation    | Production environments                                                                              |
| **Route limit**       | Maximum of four routes                   | Unlimited routes                                                                                     |
| **Scope**             | Evaluation of Confluent Gateway features | Production traffic forwarding to self-managed Kafka clusters                                         |
| **Duration**          | Unlimited                                | Per the terms of your Enterprise agreement                                                           |
| **Technical support** | Community, limited support               | Full Confluent Enterprise support                                                                    |

## Supported component compatibility

Confluent Gateway supports standard Kafka client libraries, CFK, and Docker.
It does not support proprietary vendor APIs.

### Client library compatibility

Confluent Gateway is built on top of Kafka Client 4.0, and it
inherits the same Client/Broker Forward Compatibility guarantees as defined
in the [Kafka 4.0 documentation](https://kafka.apache.org/40/documentation.html#api_compatibility), enabling
interoperability between Kafka clients and brokers across supported
version ranges.

Confluent Gateway officially supports the `librdkafka` C/C++ Kafka
client library versions v2.0.0 through v2.13.0. This support
enables non-Java clients to use the full range of Confluent Gateway
capabilities, including partner data sharing and disaster recovery.

Other third-party clients that support Kafka protocol versions compatible
with 3.x and 4.x should work through Confluent Gateway based on protocol
compatibility. However, these client libraries have not been extensively
tested with Confluent Gateway. Validate the behavior and compatibility of
these specific library versions within your own environment.

### Unsupported vendor-specific APIs

Confluent Gateway is designed primarily to govern message flows using standard Kafka
APIs. Confluent Gateway does not support proprietary APIs from vendors. For example,
Confluent Platform-specific APIs, such as `CREATE_CLUSTER_LINKS` or
`LIST_CLUSTER_LINKS`, are not supported by Confluent Gateway.

<a id="gateway-support-policy"></a>

## Support and maintenance policy

Confluent provides a standardized support lifecycle for Confluent Gateway with a
quarterly patch cadence. Each release receives technical support for three
years from its initial `x.0` release date. The following table lists the
support lifecycle for each released Confluent Gateway version.

| Confluent Gateway version   | Release date   | Standard End of Life   | Standard End of Support   |
|-----------------------------|----------------|------------------------|---------------------------|
| 1.4.0                       | October 2026   | April 2027             | October 2029              |

Review the following considerations for the Confluent Gateway support policy:

* **Standard End of Life:** Marks the end of the six-month patch window for a
  version. After Standard End of Life, Confluent continues to provide
  technical support such as troubleshooting and access to knowledge-base
  articles, but does not issue new patches for that version.
* **Standard End of Support:** Marks the end of Confluent technical support
  for that version, three years after its initial release.
* **Patch cadence:** Each Confluent Gateway version receives up to two quarterly patch
  updates within the six-month patch window. For example, version X.Y.0
  receives up to two quarterly patches, X.Y.1 and X.Y.2. It does not receive
  more patches such as X.Y.3.
* **Upgrades:** To get later fixes or features after the six-month patch
  window, upgrade to the next minor or major Confluent Gateway version.

<a id="gateway-deploy-overview-next-steps"></a>

## Next steps

Pick the deployment path that fits how you run Kafka and follow the linked guide to install Confluent Gateway.

| Deployment path                | When to use                                                                                                                                              | Where to start                                                                                              |
|--------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Confluent for Kubernetes (CFK) | You run Kafka workloads on Kubernetes and want<br/>operator-managed deployment, upgrades, and scaling of Confluent Gateway.                              | [Configure and Deploy using CFK](https://docs.confluent.io/operator/current/gateway/co-gateway-deploy.html) |
| Docker                         | You deploy on VMs or container hosts without Kubernetes, or you want<br/>a lightweight setup for development, evaluation, or small-scale<br/>production. | [Configure and Deploy using Docker](gateway-deploy.md#gateway-deploy-docker)                                |