As we continue to push the boundaries of API management, we’re excited to announce the beta release of Kong Ingress Controller within Kong Konnect. Revealed at KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Europe 2023, this new integration turns Kong Konnect into the world’s first modern unified end-to-end API management platform.

With a single-pane-of-glass view, Kong Konnect now offers comprehensive visibility and control over edge, cross-application, and in-application API gateways, regardless of whether they’re deployed as a Kubernetes Ingress or through other means.

Kong Ingress Controller: Seamless Kubernetes integration

The Kong Ingress Controller combines the powerful features of the widely popular Kong Gateway with Kubernetes in a truly Kubernetes-native manner. This integration merges Kong’s extensive array of community and enterprise traffic management plugins, which cover numerous functionalities like authentication, authorization, rate limiting, request enforcement, caching, route manipulation, and observability policies.

In addition, the DevOps-ready config-driven API management layer and unrivaled runtime performance of Kong Ingress Controller are integrated into a fully Kubernetes-centric operational lifecycle model.

KIC OSS support in Kong Konnect

Streamlined gateway management and platform governance

Kong Konnect’s integration with the Kong Ingress Controller simplifies the management of Kong Gateways across different deployment scenarios, be it as an Ingress or on various cloud and Kubernetes providers.

Additionally, Kong Konnect’s robust platform governance capabilities empower platform teams to deliver secure, well-governed onboarding experiences for their application team stakeholders. This ease of use enables seamless consumption of API gateways as Kubernetes Ingress or standard gateways.

Sven Bernhardt, Chief Architect at Opitz Consulting, praised the new integration, stating, "Kong Ingress Controller empowers cloud native development by providing a seamless developer experience. API resources are declared in the same way as application resources, enabling developers to fully embrace and accelerate the benefits of APIs."

He further emphasized that the integration with Kong Konnect "unifies the management plane for all gateways, creating a connectivity platform that operates independently from the target environment, driving further adoption of Kong Konnect."

Enhanced capabilities with Kong Konnect

The Kong Ingress Controller’s integration with Kong Konnect will activate API Portal, API Analytics, and Service Registry (Service Hub) capabilities for all services managed across connected Kong Ingress Controllers. API product owners can now take advantage of Kong Konnect’s powerful API portal capabilities, enabling application registration and customized developer experiences for any Ingress-managed service at a click of a button.

Service Hub, Kong Konnect’s service registry, allows for effortless discovery, cataloging, and management of services across multiple environments and infrastructures. With Kong Ingress Controller services auto-discovered in Service Hub, organizations benefit from a streamlined and efficient service management experience. By utilizing Service Hub, organizations maintain a centralized, up-to-date record of all services, ensuring better visibility, governance, and simplified API lifecycle management.

System operators can also benefit from Kong Konnect’s robust API analytics capabilities, providing real-time latency, error, and throughput analytics. The health of Kong Ingress Controllers across different environments is actively monitored and available as well. Customized reports across environments, clouds, Kubernetes clusters, and teams can be created to monitor and optimize API performance effectively.

With the introduction of Kong Ingress Controller in Kong Konnect, we’re thrilled to offer a comprehensive solution that simplifies API management and governance for Kubernetes. Customers will now be able to associate a Kong Ingress Controller with a new Runtime Group through the Runtime Manager landing page.

Get started today with a Kong Konnect free trial and experience the power of unified API management.