Kubernetes Networking: Comparative Insights into API Gateways and Service Mesh Implementations
Vertex Systems have always offered Master´s Thesis opportunities to university students to support their academic and professional qualifications. There are more than 40 Master´s Theses completed for Vertex during the years. The research results are implemented in our product development to provide cutting-edge software solutions for our customers.
In the “My Master´s Thesis Journey” blog series, our young professionals tell about their Master´s theses and what they have learned and accomplished during the journey.”
Background
I joined Vertex Systems as a software developer in 2023, initially focusing on frontend development for our cloud-native Vertex Sync team. Over time, my role expanded to cover more of the full-stack development process, deepening my understanding of cloud-native technologies. This growing involvement naturally led me to choose a Master’s thesis topic closely aligned with both my personal interests and the company’s needs.
Given Vertex Systems’ increasing reliance on microservices and cloud-native architecture, effective networking solutions became crucial. Specifically, there was a pressing need to address service-to-service and client-to-service communication challenges. My thesis aimed to analyze and compare two prominent solutions, API gateways and service meshes, specifically in Kubernetes contexts. This comparative analysis sought to clarify their architectural differences, evaluate relative strengths and weaknesses, and ultimately guide Vertex Systems in selecting the best solution for scalable, secure, and efficient server-to-server communication.
Kubernetes Networking: Comparative Insights into API Gateways and Service Mesh Implementations
The thesis provided a detailed comparison between API gateways, typically handling client-to-service communications, and service meshes, primarily addressing service-to-service communications. While each technology originally served distinct purposes, my research highlighted a notable convergence in their functionalities, signaling an industry shift toward commoditized, multifunctional networking solutions.
Through extensive literature review and architectural analysis, my study outlined the specific strengths and weaknesses of each solution. For example, service meshes proved highly effective for managing secure and reliable inter-service communications within complex microservice structures. API gateways, however, excelled at tasks involving external client traffic management and offered significant value in terms of security, authentication, and traffic routing.
The findings underscored the importance of clearly understanding these subtle yet critical distinctions when selecting appropriate technologies. As a direct result of this analysis, Vertex Systems decided to implement service mesh technologies, particularly leveraging Istio (in ambient mode) alongside Cilium. This implementation provided the company with a state-of-the-art, scalable networking solution that effectively meets current and anticipated future needs.
Conclusions
A key challenge of the thesis was ensuring fair comparisons, given the evolving maturity and overlapping functionalities of the technologies studied. The rapid pace of development in cloud-native solutions posed additional complexity. However, focusing specifically on Kubernetes environments allowed for deeper insights, rendering the outcomes highly valuable and applicable to Vertex Systems.
My thesis journey not only supported Vertex Systems in making informed decisions regarding Kubernetes networking solutions but also provided me with a profound professional growth experience. The practical impact is evident in our adoption of Istio (with Ambient Mode) and Cilium, both of which are now integral to ensuring secure and efficient communication within our products.