Kong API Gateway Implementation
Resources from Video Description
- GitHub Repository - Starter code and templates
- Installing Helm Mac/Windows - Helm installation guide
- Helm Repository - Kong Helm charts
Key Takeaways
Kong vs Simple Ingress Controllers: While nginx ingress controllers are just doors that route traffic, Kong is a door with a bouncer. It provides both reverse proxy functionality and API management capabilities including authentication, rate limiting, and request validation.
External Access Without Port Forwarding: Kong transforms internal cluster services into externally accessible APIs. By installing Kong via Helm and configuring ingress resources, your APIs become reachable from outside the cluster without manual port forwarding.
Consumer-Based Authentication: Kong uses a consumer model where you create consumer accounts, each with their own API key stored in Kubernetes secrets. The key-auth plugin validates API keys in request headers before allowing access to your services.
Per-Consumer Rate Limiting: Kong's rate limiting operates on a per-consumer basis, meaning each consumer gets their own request quota (e.g., 5 requests per minute). One consumer hitting their limit won't affect other consumers' access to the API.