Istio

Envoy-based CNCF graduated service mesh.

Definition

Istio exposes Kubernetes CRDs: VirtualService, DestinationRule, Gateway, ServiceEntry, PeerAuthentication, AuthorizationPolicy. Istio Ambient Mode (sidecar-less, since 2022) provides ztunnel + waypoint for reduced latency. Coupled with Kiali (visualization), Jaeger (tracing), Prometheus (metrics).

Origin

Announced by Google/IBM/Lyft May 2017 ; v1.0 released July 2018 ; CNCF graduation July 2024.

Example in context

Airbnb migrates 1500 microservices to Istio Ambient Mode to cut sidecar latency by 30%.

Related terms

• Envoy — sidecar.