diff --git a/.github/workflows/publish-snapshot-docs-to-website.yaml b/.github/workflows/publish-snapshot-docs-to-website.yaml
index 60e9e19d12..d4095b60ed 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/publish-snapshot-docs-to-website.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/publish-snapshot-docs-to-website.yaml
@@ -58,8 +58,10 @@ jobs:
           path: kroxylicious
           ref: ${{ github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' && github.event.inputs.branch || github.ref_name }}
 
+      # - name: Setup Java
+      #   uses: kroxylicious/kroxylicious/.github/actions/common/setup-java@main        
       - name: Setup Java
-        uses: ./.github/actions/common/setup-java
+        uses: ./kroxylicious/.github/actions/common/setup-java   
       
       - name: Build and install BOM
         run: mvn clean install -pl :kroxylicious-bom
diff --git a/.github/workflows/run-system-tests.yml b/.github/workflows/run-system-tests.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..f7e3c10bc3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/run-system-tests.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,155 @@
+#
+#  Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one or more
+#  contributor license agreements. See the NOTICE file distributed with
+#  this work for additional information regarding copyright ownership.
+#  The ASF licenses this file to You under the Apache License, Version 2.0
+#  (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with
+#  the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+#  Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+#  distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+#  WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+#  See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+#  limitations under the License.
+#
+name: System Tests
+
+on:
+  workflow_dispatch:
+    inputs:
+      kafkaClient:
+        description: "Kafka client to be used"
+        default: "strimzi_test_client"
+        required: false
+        type: string
+      groups:
+        description: "Groups to be included in test run"
+        required: false
+        type: string
+      excludedGroups:
+        description: "Groups to be excluded from test run"
+        required: false
+        type: string
+  workflow_call:
+    inputs:
+      kafkaClient:
+        description: "Kafka client to be used"
+        default: "strimzi_test_client"
+        required: false
+        type: string
+      groups:
+        description: "Groups to be included in test run"
+        required: false
+        type: string
+      excludedGroups:
+        description: "Groups to be excluded from test run"
+        required: false
+        type: string
+
+jobs:
+  discover_system_test_chunks:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    outputs:
+      test_chunks: ${{ steps.discover.outputs.test_chunks }}
+    steps:
+      - name: 'Check out repository'
+        uses: actions/checkout@v6
+        with:
+          fetch-depth: 0
+      - name: 'Discover STs'
+        working-directory: kroxylicious-systemtests
+        id: discover
+        run: |
+          TEST_CHUNKS="[$(find . -type f -name "*ST.java" -exec basename {} .java \; | tr ' ' , | sed 's/.*/"&"/' | sed -z 's/\n/,/g;s/,$/\n/')]"
+          echo "test_chunks=$TEST_CHUNKS" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+
+  run_system_tests:
+    needs: discover_system_test_chunks
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    strategy:
+      fail-fast: false
+      matrix:
+        tests: ${{ fromJson(needs.discover_system_test_chunks.outputs.test_chunks) }}
+
+    steps:
+      - name: Log tests to run
+        run: echo "Running tests on classes '${{ matrix.tests }}'"
+      - name: 'Check out repository'
+        uses: actions/checkout@v6
+        with:
+          fetch-depth: 0
+      - name: Set up QEMU
+        uses: docker/setup-qemu-action@c7c53464625b32c7a7e944ae62b3e17d2b600130
+      - name: Setup Java
+        uses: ./.github/actions/common/setup-java
+      - name: Setup Minikube
+        uses: ./.github/actions/common/setup-minikube
+      - name: 'Set up Docker Buildx'
+        uses: docker/setup-buildx-action@8d2750c68a42422c14e847fe6c8ac0403b4cbd6f
+      - name: 'Cache Maven packages'
+        uses: ./.github/actions/common/cache-maven-packages
+      - name: 'Build Kroxylicious Operator/Operand Container Images & Operator Zip'
+        run: |
+          mvn --quiet --batch-mode --activate-profiles dist --also-make --projects :kroxylicious-app,:kroxylicious-operator,:kroxylicious-operator-dist -Dquick package
+      - name: 'Load Kroxylicious Operand Docker Image in Minikube'
+        run: |
+          minikube image load kroxylicious-app/target/kroxylicious-proxy.img.tar.gz
+          minikube image load kroxylicious-operator/target/kroxylicious-operator.img.tar.gz
+          
+          # https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/issues/21393 - minikube image load doesn't fail if the load fails.
+          KROXYLICIOUS_PROXY_IMAGE="$(mvn --quiet --projects kroxylicious-app --activate-profiles dist org.apache.maven.plugins:maven-help-plugin:3.5.1:evaluate -Dexpression=io.kroxylicious.proxy.image.name -DforceStdout)"
+          KROXYLICIOUS_OPERATOR_IMAGE="$(mvn --quiet --projects kroxylicious-operator --activate-profiles dist org.apache.maven.plugins:maven-help-plugin:3.5.1:evaluate -Dexpression=io.kroxylicious.operator.image.name -DforceStdout)"
+          KROXYLICIOUS_VERSION="$(mvn --quiet org.apache.maven.plugins:maven-help-plugin:3.5.1:evaluate -Dexpression=project.version -DforceStdout)"
+          minikube image tag ${KROXYLICIOUS_PROXY_IMAGE} quay.io/kroxylicious/kroxylicious:${KROXYLICIOUS_VERSION}          
+          minikube image ls | grep --fixed-strings quay.io/kroxylicious/kroxylicious:${KROXYLICIOUS_VERSION}
+          minikube image ls | grep --fixed-strings ${KROXYLICIOUS_OPERATOR_IMAGE}
+
+      - name: 'Run system tests'
+        timeout-minutes: 90
+        env:
+          KAFKA_CLIENT: ${{ inputs.kafkaClient }}
+          GROUPS_OPT: ${{ inputs.groups != '' && format('-Dgroups={0}', inputs.groups) || '' }}
+          TESTS_OPT: ${{ matrix.tests != '' && format('-Dtest={0}',  matrix.tests)  || '' }}
+          EXCLUDED_GROUPS_OPT: ${{ inputs.excludedGroups != '' && format('-DexcludedGroups={0}', inputs.excludedGroups) || '' }}
+        run: |
+          mvn --quiet --batch-mode verify --activate-profiles systemtest -Pdist -DskipDocs=true $EXCLUDED_GROUPS_OPT $GROUPS_OPT $TESTS_OPT
+
+      - name: Archive JUnit test results
+        if: ${{ always() }}
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v5
+        with:
+          name: junit-results-${{ matrix.tests }}-${{ inputs.kafkaClient }}
+          path: kroxylicious-systemtests/target/surefire-reports/**/TEST-*.xml
+
+      - name: Archive systemtest logs
+        if: ${{ failure() }}
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v5
+        with:
+          name: systemtest-logs-${{ matrix.tests }}-${{ inputs.kafkaClient }}
+          path: kroxylicious-systemtests/target/logs
+
+  system_tests_proxy:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    needs: run_system_tests
+    if: always()
+    permissions:
+      actions: read
+    steps:
+      - name: 'Check all matrix builds'
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
+        run: |
+          FAILED_JSON=$(gh api repos/${{ github.repository }}/actions/runs/${{ github.run_id }}/jobs \
+            --jq '.jobs[] | select(.conclusion=="failure") | {name: .name, url: .html_url}')
+          if [ -z "$FAILED_JSON" ]; then
+            echo "All jobs passed!" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
+            echo "No failures detected."
+            exit 0
+          fi
+          echo "Failed Matrix Jobs" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
+          echo "The following instances failed:"
+          echo "$FAILED_JSON" | jq -r '"* [\(.name)](\(.url))"' >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
+          echo "$FAILED_JSON" | jq -r '"\(.name): \(.url)"'
+          exit 1
diff --git a/.github/workflows/system-tests-merge.yaml b/.github/workflows/system-tests-merge.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..2cfcb84d3f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/system-tests-merge.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,134 @@
+#
+#  Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one or more
+#  contributor license agreements. See the NOTICE file distributed with
+#  this work for additional information regarding copyright ownership.
+#  The ASF licenses this file to You under the Apache License, Version 2.0
+#  (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with
+#  the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+#  Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+#  distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+#  WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+#  See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+#  limitations under the License.
+#
+name: System Tests for Main branch
+
+on:
+  push:
+    paths-ignore:
+      - '**/**.md'
+      - '**/**.txt'
+      - '.github/**'
+      - '!.github/workflows/system-tests-merge.yaml'
+      - '!.github/workflows/run-system-tests.yaml'
+      - '!.github/actions/**'
+      - 'kroxylicious-docs**/**'
+      - 'kroxylicious-integration-test**/**'
+      - 'kroxylicious-*benchmarks/**'
+    branches:
+      - "main"
+  workflow_dispatch:
+
+jobs:
+  run_external_kafka_client_system_tests:
+    uses: ./.github/workflows/run-system-tests.yml
+    with:
+      groups: 'externalKafkaClient,operator'
+  discover_system_test_clients:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    outputs:
+      test_clients: ${{ steps.discover.outputs.test_clients }}
+    steps:
+      - name: 'Check out repository'
+        uses: actions/checkout@v6
+        with:
+          fetch-depth: 0
+      - name: 'Discover STs'
+        working-directory: kroxylicious-systemtests
+        id: discover
+        run: |
+          TEST_CLIENTS="['strimzi_test_client', 'python_test_client', 'kaf', 'kcat']"
+          echo "test_clients=$TEST_CLIENTS" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+
+  run_system_tests:
+    needs: discover_system_test_clients
+    uses: ./.github/workflows/run-system-tests.yml
+    with:
+      kafkaClient: ${{ matrix.tests }}
+      excludedGroups: 'externalKafkaClient,operator'
+    strategy:
+      fail-fast: false
+      matrix:
+        tests: ${{ fromJson(needs.discover_system_test_clients.outputs.test_clients) }}
+        
+#      - name: Set up QEMU
+#        uses: docker/setup-qemu-action@c7c53464625b32c7a7e944ae62b3e17d2b600130
+#      - name: Setup Java
+#        uses: ./.github/actions/common/setup-java
+#      - name: Setup Minikube
+#        uses: ./.github/actions/common/setup-minikube
+#      - name: 'Set up Docker Buildx'
+#        uses: docker/setup-buildx-action@8d2750c68a42422c14e847fe6c8ac0403b4cbd6f
+#      - name: 'Cache Maven packages'
+#        uses: ./.github/actions/common/cache-maven-packages
+#      - name: 'Build Kroxylicious Operator/Operand Container Images & Operator Zip'
+#        run: |
+#          mvn --quiet --batch-mode --activate-profiles dist --also-make --projects :kroxylicious-app,:kroxylicious-operator,:kroxylicious-operator-dist -Dquick package
+#      - name: 'Load Kroxylicious Operand Docker Image in Minikube'
+#        run: |
+#          minikube image load kroxylicious-app/target/kroxylicious-proxy.img.tar.gz
+#          minikube image load kroxylicious-operator/target/kroxylicious-operator.img.tar.gz
+#
+#          # https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/issues/21393 - minikube image load doesn't fail if the load fails.
+#          KROXYLICIOUS_PROXY_IMAGE="$(mvn --quiet --projects kroxylicious-app --activate-profiles dist org.apache.maven.plugins:maven-help-plugin:3.5.1:evaluate -Dexpression=io.kroxylicious.proxy.image.name -DforceStdout)"
+#          KROXYLICIOUS_OPERATOR_IMAGE="$(mvn --quiet --projects kroxylicious-operator --activate-profiles dist org.apache.maven.plugins:maven-help-plugin:3.5.1:evaluate -Dexpression=io.kroxylicious.operator.image.name -DforceStdout)"
+#          KROXYLICIOUS_VERSION="$(mvn --quiet org.apache.maven.plugins:maven-help-plugin:3.5.1:evaluate -Dexpression=project.version -DforceStdout)"
+#          minikube image tag ${KROXYLICIOUS_PROXY_IMAGE} quay.io/kroxylicious/kroxylicious:${KROXYLICIOUS_VERSION}
+#          minikube image ls | grep --fixed-strings quay.io/kroxylicious/kroxylicious:${KROXYLICIOUS_VERSION}
+#          minikube image ls | grep --fixed-strings ${KROXYLICIOUS_OPERATOR_IMAGE}
+#
+#      - name: 'Run system tests'
+#        timeout-minutes: 90
+#        run: |
+#          mvn --quiet --batch-mode verify --activate-profiles systemtest -Pdist -DskipDocs=true -Dtest="${{ matrix.tests }}"
+#
+#      - name: Archive JUnit test results
+#        if: ${{ always() }}
+#        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v5
+#        with:
+#          name: junit-results-${{ matrix.tests }}
+#          path: kroxylicious-systemtests/target/surefire-reports/**/TEST-*.xml
+#
+#      - name: Archive systemtest logs
+#        if: ${{ failure() }}
+#        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v5
+#        with:
+#          name: systemtest-logs-${{ matrix.tests }}
+#          path: kroxylicious-systemtests/target/logs
+
+  system_tests_proxy:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    needs: run_system_tests
+    if: always()
+    permissions:
+      actions: read
+    steps:
+      - name: 'Check all matrix builds'
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
+        run: |
+          FAILED_JSON=$(gh api repos/${{ github.repository }}/actions/runs/${{ github.run_id }}/jobs \
+            --jq '.jobs[] | select(.conclusion=="failure") | {name: .name, url: .html_url}')
+          if [ -z "$FAILED_JSON" ]; then
+            echo "All jobs passed!" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
+            echo "No failures detected."
+            exit 0
+          fi
+          echo "Failed Matrix Jobs" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
+          echo "The following instances failed:"
+          echo "$FAILED_JSON" | jq -r '"* [\(.name)](\(.url))"' >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
+          echo "$FAILED_JSON" | jq -r '"\(.name): \(.url)"'
+          exit 1
diff --git a/.github/workflows/system-tests-pr.yaml b/.github/workflows/system-tests-pr.yaml
index 8cfc95bc48..14ab28664e 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/system-tests-pr.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/system-tests-pr.yaml
@@ -38,102 +38,7 @@ concurrency:
   cancel-in-progress: true
 
 jobs:
-  discover_system_test_chunks:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    outputs:
-      test_chunks: ${{ steps.discover.outputs.test_chunks }}
-    steps:
-      - name: 'Check out repository'
-        uses: actions/checkout@v6
-        with:
-          fetch-depth: 0
-      - name: 'Discover STs'
-        working-directory: kroxylicious-systemtests
-        id: discover
-        run: |
-          TEST_CHUNKS="[$(find . -type f -name "*ST.java" -exec basename {} .java \; | tr ' ' , | sed 's/.*/"&"/' | sed -z 's/\n/,/g;s/,$/\n/')]"
-          echo "test_chunks=$TEST_CHUNKS" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
-
   run_system_tests:
-    needs: discover_system_test_chunks
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    strategy:
-      fail-fast: false
-      matrix:
-        tests: ${{ fromJson(needs.discover_system_test_chunks.outputs.test_chunks) }}
-
-    steps:
-      - name: Log tests to run
-        run: echo "Running tests on classes '${{ matrix.tests }}'"
-      - name: 'Check out repository'
-        uses: actions/checkout@v6
-        with:
-          fetch-depth: 0
-      - name: Set up QEMU
-        uses: docker/setup-qemu-action@c7c53464625b32c7a7e944ae62b3e17d2b600130
-      - name: Setup Java
-        uses: ./.github/actions/common/setup-java
-      - name: Setup Minikube
-        uses: ./.github/actions/common/setup-minikube
-      - name: 'Set up Docker Buildx'
-        uses: docker/setup-buildx-action@8d2750c68a42422c14e847fe6c8ac0403b4cbd6f
-      - name: 'Cache Maven packages'
-        uses: ./.github/actions/common/cache-maven-packages
-      - name: 'Build Kroxylicious Operator/Operand Container Images & Operator Zip'
-        run: |
-          mvn --quiet --batch-mode --activate-profiles dist --also-make --projects :kroxylicious-app,:kroxylicious-operator,:kroxylicious-operator-dist -Dquick package
-      - name: 'Load Kroxylicious Operand Docker Image in Minikube'
-        run: |
-          minikube image load kroxylicious-app/target/kroxylicious-proxy.img.tar.gz
-          minikube image load kroxylicious-operator/target/kroxylicious-operator.img.tar.gz
-          
-          # https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/issues/21393 - minikube image load doesn't fail if the load fails.
-          KROXYLICIOUS_PROXY_IMAGE="$(mvn --quiet --projects kroxylicious-app --activate-profiles dist org.apache.maven.plugins:maven-help-plugin:3.5.1:evaluate -Dexpression=io.kroxylicious.proxy.image.name -DforceStdout)"
-          KROXYLICIOUS_OPERATOR_IMAGE="$(mvn --quiet --projects kroxylicious-operator --activate-profiles dist org.apache.maven.plugins:maven-help-plugin:3.5.1:evaluate -Dexpression=io.kroxylicious.operator.image.name -DforceStdout)"
-          KROXYLICIOUS_VERSION="$(mvn --quiet org.apache.maven.plugins:maven-help-plugin:3.5.1:evaluate -Dexpression=project.version -DforceStdout)"
-          minikube image tag ${KROXYLICIOUS_PROXY_IMAGE} quay.io/kroxylicious/kroxylicious:${KROXYLICIOUS_VERSION}          
-          minikube image ls | grep --fixed-strings quay.io/kroxylicious/kroxylicious:${KROXYLICIOUS_VERSION}
-          minikube image ls | grep --fixed-strings ${KROXYLICIOUS_OPERATOR_IMAGE}
-
-      - name: 'Run system tests'
-        timeout-minutes: 90
-        run: |          
-          mvn --quiet --batch-mode verify --activate-profiles systemtest -Pdist -DskipDocs=true -Dtest="${{ matrix.tests }}"
-
-      - name: Archive JUnit test results
-        if: ${{ always() }}
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v5
-        with:
-          name: junit-results-${{ matrix.tests }}
-          path: kroxylicious-systemtests/target/surefire-reports/**/TEST-*.xml
-
-      - name: Archive systemtest logs
-        if: ${{ failure() }}
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v5
-        with:
-          name: systemtest-logs-${{ matrix.tests }}
-          path: kroxylicious-systemtests/target/logs
-
-  system_tests_proxy:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    needs: run_system_tests
-    if: always()
-    permissions:
-      actions: read
-    steps:
-      - name: 'Check all matrix builds'
-        env:
-          GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
-        run: |
-          FAILED_JSON=$(gh api repos/${{ github.repository }}/actions/runs/${{ github.run_id }}/jobs \
-            --jq '.jobs[] | select(.conclusion=="failure") | {name: .name, url: .html_url}')
-          if [ -z "$FAILED_JSON" ]; then
-            echo "All jobs passed!" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
-            echo "No failures detected."
-            exit 0
-          fi
-          echo "Failed Matrix Jobs" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
-          echo "The following instances failed:"
-          echo "$FAILED_JSON" | jq -r '"* [\(.name)](\(.url))"' >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
-          echo "$FAILED_JSON" | jq -r '"\(.name): \(.url)"'
-          exit 1
+    uses: ./.github/workflows/run-system-tests.yml
+    with:
+      kafkaClient: 'strimzi_test_client'
diff --git a/kroxylicious-openmessaging-benchmarks/Containerfile b/kroxylicious-openmessaging-benchmarks/Containerfile
index 8c26295de5..28a8c15e3b 100644
--- a/kroxylicious-openmessaging-benchmarks/Containerfile
+++ b/kroxylicious-openmessaging-benchmarks/Containerfile
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ RUN mvn clean package -DskipTests && \
     tar -xzf /build/package/target/openmessaging-benchmark-*-bin.tar.gz --strip-components=1 -C /opt/benchmark
 
 # ---------- Stage 2: runtime ----------
-FROM registry.access.redhat.com/ubi9/openjdk-17-runtime:1.24-2.1770236042
+FROM registry.access.redhat.com/ubi9/openjdk-17-runtime:1.24-2.1771324987
 USER root
 
 COPY --from=builder --chown=185:0 /opt/benchmark /opt/benchmark