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Istio Module ​

Use the Istio module to manage and configure the Istio service mesh.

What Is Istio? ​

Istio is an open-source service mesh that provides a uniform way to manage, connect, and secure microservices. It helps to manage traffic, enhance security capabilities, and provide telemetry data for understanding service behavior. See the open-source Istio documentation.

The Istio module installs and manages Istio in your Kyma cluster. By default, the Istio module is automatically added when you create a Kyma runtime instance.

Features ​

The Istio module offers the following features:

  • Management of Istio installation and upgrades: The module installs Istio and simplifies the process of managing its installation, reducing the complexity and time required for maintenance.
  • Default Istio configuration: You can quickly have Istio installed with default settings.
  • Fine-tuning capabilities: You can optimize Istio and fine-tune its settings according to specific performance or operational requirements.
  • Synchronization of the data plane with the Istio control plane: This ensures that changes you make to the control plane are consistently reflected in the data plane, ensuring that the network operates consistently and reliably without any discrepancies.
  • Support for the X-Forwarded-For (XFF) header: You can configure the XFF header to manage and track the source of incoming requests.

Architecture ​

Istio Operator Architecture

Istio Operator ​

Within the Istio module, Istio Operator handles the management and configuration of the Istio service mesh. It contains one controller, referred to as Istio Controller.

Istio Controller ​

Istio Controller manages Istio and its resources as defined in the Istio custom resource (CR). Istio Controller is responsible for:

  • Installing, upgrading, and uninstalling Istio
  • Restarting workloads that have Istio sidecar proxy injected to ensure that these workloads are using the correct version of Istio

API / Custom Resource Definitions ​

The istios.operator.kyma-project.io CustomResourceDefinition (CRD) describes the Istio CR that Istio Controller uses to manage the installation of Istio. See Istio Custom Resource.

Resource Consumption ​

To learn more about the resources used by the Istio module, see Kyma's Modules Sizing.