Create a Cluster in Confluent Cloud

This topic describes the steps for creating an Apache Kafka® cluster in Confluent Cloud.

Note

This content is applicable to Confluent Cloud only. If you’re using Confluent Cloud Enterprise, contact Confluent Cloud Support for assistance.

  1. Navigate to the clusters page for your environment. Click Create cluster if this is the first cluster in your environment, or click + Add cluster if your environment has existing clusters.

  2. Select a cluster type and click Begin configuration. For a description of cluster types, see Confluent Cloud Cluster Types.

    Tip

    • A Dedicated cluster type’s capacity is determined by the number of Confluent Unit for Kafka (CKU). CKUs determine the capacity and limits of your cluster. For details on CKUs, see Dedicated cluster CKUs and limits. You can add CKUs to your cluster after provisioning to increase its capacity. Decreasing the number of CKUs after provisioning is not supported.
    • If you are using VPC Peering, PrivateLink, or Transit Gateway, see Networking in Confluent Cloud.
    • Provisioning a Dedicated cluster on a non-marketplace org requires a Commit. You can apply a Commit to your org with help from the Confluent sales team.

  3. Select a cloud provider and a geographic region, and choose either single-zone or multi-zone availability.

  4. (Optional) For Dedicated clusters, follow additional steps to set up cluster networking and security.

  5. On the next page, specify a cluster name, review your configuration, add or verify your payment method, and click Launch cluster.

    Important

    If you want to encrypt your at-rest Kafka cluster data to ensure only the appropriate entity or user can decrypt it, use the cluster creation steps in Encrypt Confluent Cloud clusters using self-managed keys.

Next Steps

Learn how to use Confluent Cloud to create topics, produce and consume to a Kafka cluster with the Quick Start for Apache Kafka using Confluent Cloud.