# Demystifying Service Mesh: New Pattern or New Technology?

In a short period of time, service APIs went from being primarily an edge interface connecting developers outside of the organization with internal systems to the **glue that binds those internal systems (microservices) into a functioning whole**. Consequently, one of the unavoidable results of microservice-oriented architectures is that internal** communication within the data center****will increase**. Service mesh arose as a potential solution to the **challenges that arise from increased East-West traffic** by providing a different framework for deploying existing technology.

However, most of what service mesh introduces has been provided for many years by API Management products. Features such as observability, network error handling, health-checks, etc. are hallmarks of API management. These features don't constitute anything novel in themselves, but as a pattern, service mesh introduces a new way of deploying those features within our architecture.

Join Kong CTO and Co-Founder Marco Palladino as he walks attendees through the architectural changes that have led to the rise of service mesh and why legacy API management solutions born before the advent of containers can't keep up.

**Webinar takeaways:**

• - Service mesh as an architecture pattern, not a technology
• - The implications of adopting microservices-oriented architectures
• - Why traditional API management solutions can’t keep up