Ingress

Networking for cloud-native apps: load balancing and DNS Cloud-native apps run across many containers and nodes. A good network design uses load balancing to spread traffic and DNS to locate services. Together they protect performance and reliability. Types of load balancing: L4 load balancers operate at the transport layer, routing packets by IP and port. They are fast and simple. L7 load balancers inspect HTTP and make routing decisions based on path, headers, or query strings. External vs internal: ...

API Gateways and Service Meshes: Managing Microservices In modern software, microservices help teams move fast, but they bring new complexity. Two patterns help manage this complexity: API gateways and service meshes. They may look similar at first, but they solve different problems. An API gateway sits at the edge, handling north-south traffic from clients. A service mesh lives inside the cluster, coordinating east-west traffic between services. What they do, at a glance: ...

API Gateways and Service Meshes: Managing Microservices In a microservices world, traffic management is essential. API gateways and service meshes address different layers of this problem. A gateway sits at the boundary, while a service mesh operates inside the system. Together they improve security, reliability, and developer speed. What API gateways do API gateways act as a single entry point for external clients. They usually handle TLS termination, authentication, rate limiting, and request routing. They can transform requests, enforce API versions, and cache responses for common calls. If you run many public APIs, a gateway keeps things consistent and controlled. ...

API Gateways and Service Mesh Explained In modern apps, traffic flows from users into the public internet and then between many internal services. Two tools help manage this flow: API gateways and service meshes. They serve different goals, but many teams use both to improve security, reliability, and visibility. What is an API Gateway? An API gateway is the single entry point for clients. It sits at the edge and routes requests to the right service. Common duties include: ...

Kubernetes Essentials for Operators and Developers Kubernetes helps teams run containerized apps with reliability and scale. It covers compute, networking, storage, and policy. For operators, it reduces manual work with a desired state; for developers, it offers stable targets and repeatable builds. This guide highlights the core ideas and practical workflows that work for both roles. Core ideas for day-to-day work Pods and deployments: a Pod runs one or more containers. A Deployment stores the desired state for pods and handles restarts and upgrades. Services and discovery: a Service creates a stable access point to a set of pods, helping internal apps and users find what they need. ConfigMaps and Secrets: use ConfigMaps for config data and Secrets for sensitive values. They can be mounted or passed as environment variables. Namespaces and RBAC: Namespaces isolate projects, while role-based access control limits who can change what. Health checks: liveness and readiness probes keep apps healthy and guide safe rollouts. Practical workflows Start with a Deployment: define image, replicas, and a rollout strategy. Apply the manifest, then monitor the rollout status and adjust if needed. Separate config from code: store settings in ConfigMaps and credentials in Secrets, then mount them into pods. Expose and test: create a Service for stable access, and test in a sandbox namespace before moving to production. Observe and adjust: use logs and metrics to verify behavior; tune resource requests and limits for predictability. Roll back when needed: if something goes wrong during an update, revert to a previous revision quickly. Getting started quickly Run a local cluster (kind or minikube) and configure kubectl. Create a namespace for your project to keep things organized. Apply a small manifest for a simple app, then check pod status and events. Use safe defaults like resource requests, limits, and readiness probes to improve reliability. Best practices Treat manifests as code: store in version control and review changes. Isolate concerns with namespaces, and apply RBAC thoughtfully. Keep updates small, observable, and reversible. Plan for failure with probes, retries, and clear rollback paths. Key Takeaways Kubernetes provides reliability through declarative state and self-healing features. Clear separation of concerns with Deployments, Services, ConfigMaps, and Secrets enables repeatable workflows. Start locally, adopt safe defaults, and scale your practices as you grow.

API Gateways and Service Meshes In modern apps, API gateways and service meshes help manage traffic, security, and visibility. An API gateway sits at the edge, handling requests from clients and external systems. A service mesh runs inside the cluster, routing service-to-service calls with lightweight proxies. Together, they provide a robust, secure, and observable network for microservices. What they do API gateways route external requests to the right service, enforce authentication, apply rate limits, and sometimes translate protocols. They can also cache responses and shield internal services from direct exposure. Service meshes manage internal traffic between services. They enable mTLS for mutual authentication, retries, timeouts, and fine-grained traffic routing. They collect metrics, traces, and logs for better observability. How they differ Gateways operate on the north-south edge of the system, focusing on client access and external policy. Service meshes focus on east-west communication inside the cluster, providing security and reliability for internal calls. ...