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Linkerd

Linkerd is a lightweight service mesh for Kubernetes that provides observability, reliability, and security without requiring code changes. It's designed to be simple, fast, and safe, making it easy to add service mesh capabilities to Kubernetes applications.

Key Features

Zero-Config mTLS

Automatic mutual TLS encryption between services.

Observability

Automatic metrics, distributed tracing, and service profiles.

Reliability

Automatic retries, timeouts, and circuit breakers.

Lightweight

Ultra-lightweight Rust-based data plane proxy.

Use Cases

  • Service Mesh: Managing microservices communication
  • Security: Automatic mTLS encryption
  • Observability: Service-to-service visibility
  • Reliability: Automatic retries and circuit breaking
  • Traffic Management: Request routing and load balancing

Configuration Example

Linkerd service profile example:

apiVersion: linkerd.io/v1alpha2
kind: ServiceProfile
metadata:
  name: my-service
  namespace: default
spec:
  routes:
  - name: GET /
    condition:
      method: GET
      pathRegex: /

Advantages

  • Ultra-lightweight and fast
  • Zero-configuration mTLS
  • No code changes required
  • Excellent observability
  • Strong security defaults

Official Resources