Description of the Problem:

Utilizing the Openshift Logging operator involves integration with fluentd and Elasticsearch components. Following a suggestion from Red Hat to employ Vector and Loki for the Logging operator, the intention is to substitute these components within the cluster. However, a complication has arisen regarding the Vector component.

The cluster houses a ClusterLogForwarder object responsible for collecting application logs from containers and forwarding them to Kafka topics. This functionality functioned effectively until the Vector component was installed. Subsequently, numerous error logs appeared in collector pods, primarily authentication errors.

It seems that despite defining a secret, there is an inability to transmit Kafka Authentication configurations to the Vector component. Additionally, there is insufficient documentation for this secret. The query pertains to the method of passing Kafka Configurations to Vector pods.

Version-Release Number of Selected Component (if applicable):

Openshift Logging 5.8.2 and Loki Operator 5.8.2

How Reproducible:

To reproduce the issue, follow these steps:

Install Loki Operator (5.8.2)
Install LokiStack
Install ClusterLogging instance with Loki and Vector components
Create ClusterLogForwarder object with Kafka Output (SASL_PLAINTEXT authentication method)

Steps to Reproduce:

Install Loki Operator (5.8.2)
Install LokiStack
Install ClusterLogging instance with components Loki and Vector
Install ClusterLogForwarder object with Kafka Output (SASL_PLAINTEXT auth)

Actual Results:

Collector pods exhibit malfunctions and generate error logs indicating authentication failures when attempting to connect to the Kafka Cluster.

Expected Results:

Application logs should be successfully produced and forwarded to the designated Kafka topics.

Additional Info:

Upon downgrading the Operator to version 5.7.10, the issue appears to be resolved with the same configurations.