kubernetes-ingress-controller VS gateway-api

Kong Ingress Controller for Kubernetes

Here you go! https://github.com/Kong/kubernetes-ingress-controller/issues/729

The key to handling modern dynamic, scalable workloads in Kubernetes is a networking stack that can deliver API management, a service mesh and an ingress controller. Kong Ingress Controller allows users to manage the routing rules that control external user access to the service in a Kubernetes cluster from the same platform.

For those organizations using Kubernetes for their container orchestration, Kong created the Kong Ingress Controller which implements authentication, transformations, and other functionalities (via plugins) across Kubernetes clusters. Kong Ingress Controller updates a standard Kubernetes implementation as shown below:

This article will walk through how easy it is to set up the open source Kong Ingress Controller as a Kubernetes API gateway on a cluster.

But here is the tricky part. There are lots of Ingress Controllers available. Some of them are opensource, but some of them are paid one. For this project I’ve chosen an “official” Kubernetes Ingress Controller based on Nginx. But please be not confused with another one, also based on Nginx but created by NGINX Inc - this one is paid. Apart from these both there are also other* Ingress Controller*s available like Kong Ingress, or Traefik.

It has already been a couple of years since the Kubernetes Ingress was defined as a “frozen” feature while further development will be added to the Gateway API.

Kubernetes provides two APIs to achieve this, the Ingress API and the Gateway API.

With all that said, K8s is not really meant to function as an API gateway to arbitrary services. You should look into API gateways such as NGINX, Kong or others, service meshes as others have already pointed out, or have a look at the K8s Gateway API the SIG is currently working on. The last one is in the early stages of adoption, but it could provide you with a nice way to do an API Gateway right in K8s.

Maybe there's something in the new fangled gateways.

Keep an eye on the Gateway API GAMMA Initiative as it is currently evolving with the goal of streamlining how services meshes can implement the Gateway API and reduce some overlap.

The selling point for me was ability to configure it using Kubernetes CRD's and future support of the Gateway API (under development - <https://gateway-api.sigs.k8s.io/>).

Developers can version their API now within helm charts or even yaml templates held along the code in their repositories.

-- https://gateway-api.sigs.k8s.io

While you're learning about ingresses, also look into the k8s Gateway API, which is the next generation. https://gateway-api.sigs.k8s.io/

The GatewayAPI model is quite different from the LB/ingress model, in the cluster it consists of gateway and route objects. Once the gateway is created routes connecting gateways to services are added. If you need to change how requests are distributed, the routes are updated but the gateway remains so the address and other configuration remains consistent. Gateways can be shared by multiple routes. Take a look at https://gateway-api.sigs.k8s.io/ its a bit terse but you will get the picture.