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Istio Service mesh components

Istio is a tool that enables fast development iteration and controls deployment to local or remote clusters^[400-devops-07-monitoring-and-observability-k8s-istio-samples-cicd-skaffold-readme.md]. The deployment and management of Istio are structured around specific modules and profiles^[400-devops-07-monitoring-and-observability-k8s-istio-samples-cicd-skaffold-readme.md].

Core Components

The fundamental layer of the Service mesh consists of the base and the control plane:

  • istio-base: This is the foundational layer required to deploy the service mesh^[400-devops-07-monitoring-and-observability-k8s-istio-samples-cicd-skaffold-readme.md].
  • istio (istiod): This module represents the control plane^[400-devops-07-monitoring-and-observability-k8s-istio-samples-cicd-skaffold-readme.md]. When deployed (e.g., via skaffold run -m istiod), it includes the istio-base component^[400-devops-07-monitoring-and-observability-k8s-istio-samples-cicd-skaffold-readme.md].

Ingress Components

To manage traffic entering the mesh, an Ingress component is utilized. The Ingress module builds upon the core layers by adding istio-base, istio, and the Ingress gateway functionality^[400-devops-07-monitoring-and-observability-k8s-istio-samples-cicd-skaffold-readme.md].

Observability and Add-ons

Istio integrates with tools for monitoring and visualizing the mesh's state:

  • Kiali: A Service mesh observability tool used for validation and configuration^[400-devops-07-monitoring-and-observability-k8s-istio-samples-cicd-skaffold-readme.md].
  • Sample Applications: The bookinfo application is a canonical sample often deployed alongside Kiali and Ingress to demonstrate the mesh's capabilities^[400-devops-07-monitoring-and-observability-k8s-istio-samples-cicd-skaffold-readme.md].

Deployment Profiles

The system allows for modular deployment configurations. Common profiles include:

  • istiod: Deploys the control plane^[400-devops-07-monitoring-and-observability-k8s-istio-samples-cicd-skaffold-readme.md].
  • ingress: Adds the Ingress gateway to the control plane^[400-devops-07-monitoring-and-observability-k8s-istio-samples-cicd-skaffold-readme.md].
  • kiali: Adds observability features^[400-devops-07-monitoring-and-observability-k8s-istio-samples-cicd-skaffold-readme.md].

Sources

^[400-devops-07-monitoring-and-observability-k8s-istio-samples-cicd-skaffold-readme.md]